Fox News Channel officially launches its new primetime lineup tonight (July 17) with the hopes of positioning itself with viewers heading into the 2024 presidential campaign.

The lineup features Jesse Watters Primetime taking over the 8 p.m. time slot vacated by Tucker Carlson Tonight, which the network canceled in late April, along with Hannity, hosted by Sean Hannity, remaining at 9 p.m. Late-night show Gutfeld!, hosted by Greg Gutfeld, moves into the 10 p.m. time slot from 11 p.m.

Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher moves up an hour to take over the 11 p.m. time slot. Gallagher, who’s been with Fox News since the network’s launch in 1996 and serves as its chief breaking news correspondent, talked about the network’s new lineup as well as his show’s move to 11 p.m. in a recent interview — a lightly edited version of which appears below. 

MCN: What does the time change mean for you personally and for the show in general? 

Trace Gallagher: Selfishly, it gives us back an extra hour of the day. We're out in Los Angeles which means it's 8 o'clock, so we’re finishing at 9 o'clock. You've really got a little bit of a night left. It helps even if it’s just psychologically. For the show, it gives us a bigger audience. We've done well at midnight in the demo, especially over the past couple of weeks. For us, it gives us a chance to improve the product and to get more eyeballs looking at what we're doing. We love our midnight audience and we hope they follow us, but the new time gives us a chance to be able to put some things out there for different people and to see what works, and to see what's hitting and what's not. Our goal is to be the last informational source most viewers see that night, and I think that’s what we’re proud of — that’s what we’ve been doing, and we’re going to stay on that path. 

MCN: Will you look to change the show given the new time slot?

TG: It's funny because when we were at midnight, the idea was to keep people awake, so we shortened the segments. The hope was we're gonna do guests in 2½ minutes, maybe 3 minutes — you have to be compelling enough to give viewers a reason to stay up with you. Well, we love the format so much that we started to ask, ‘Why would we change it?’ So we’re going to keep this thing exactly the same. We might tweak as we go along, but the truth is, I like the pace. You get a lot of information, you get a lot of different viewpoints, and then you get a chance in the last couple of blocks of the show to maybe slow it down just a little bit and show some personality, and maybe do some lighter stuff. We think our current format is successful for us. 

MCN: Are you concerned about the added competition from both national cable news outlets and local broadcast news that you will now have to go up against? 

TG: The old saying is that those who hate competition are the ones who are ill-equipped to compete. I love the fact that there are two other cable news networks that are doing shows at 11 that we now get to compete against. It’ll show how good we are and if we need to change or adjust some things. At midnight, they were mostly playing repeats of their shows and we were winning resoundingly. The competition doesn’t intimidate me one bit — in fact I think it benefits our show.

MCN: Your show’s move is part of a bigger primetime lineup change for Fox News. Are you confident viewers will continue to tune into the network in the same numbers? 

TG: People are going to look at our lineup of [Laura Ingraham’s The Ingraham Angle] through Jesse [Watters] through Hannity and Gutfeld before us. Gutfeld! In particular is a great lead-in for us because clearly he is a draw, and the bigger the lead-in, the better we tend to do. Our job is to hold his audience as long as we possibly can. 

MCN: What do you think are going to be the biggest news headlines  going into the second half of the year?

TG: I think what everyone is looking at closely is how the GOP primary is going to shake out. Where does [Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis] pick up numbers? Does [former President Donald Trump] eventually start to bleed some numbers or does he get stronger? On the other side of the aisle there’s a lot of speculation as to whether Joe Biden is really the guy the Democrats are going with going forward. Is he in and is he committed? So there are a lot of unknowns. Meanwhile in the background, there are these cultural battles within the country and they are going to be fought on the ground, particularly with mom groups that are pushing better education, more charter schools, homeschooling and overall more school choice across the board. I think that’s a big issue we’re going to be looking at as well. 

Fox News has agreed to pay Abby Grossberg, former producer at the network, $12 million to settle a lawsuit. Grossberg accused the network of operating a hostile workplace. 

Grossberg had been head of booking on Tucker Carlson Tonight. 

In a statement that ran in The New York Times, Grossberg said she is “hopeful, based on our discussions with Fox News today, that this resolution represents a positive step by the network regarding its treatment of women and minorities in the workplace,” she said.

Fox News said in a statement, “We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation.”

Grossberg filed a lawsuit accusing Fox News and Tucker Carlson of allowing a workplace culture of misogyny and sexual harassment. She filed a second lawsuit claiming that Fox News coerced her into lying in testimony she gave in the Dominion Voting Systems case. 

She was fired not long after filing the lawsuits. 

Grossberg joined Fox News in 2019 as a senior producer for Maria Bartiromo. In 2022, she moved to Carlson’s program. 

Fox News dismissed Carlson in April, and reshuffled its primetime lineup. 

Host Tucker Carlson has left Fox News Channel. His last program was Friday, April 21. 

“Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” said the network. 

Fox News did not give a reason for parting ways with Carlson, who hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight in the 8 p.m. ET weeknight slot. 

His departure comes on the heels of Fox News paying $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought on by Dominion Voting Systems. Private text messages and emails from Fox News journalists and executives were revealed in stacks of testimony pertaining to the lawsuit, which saw Carlson express his disdain for former President Donald Trump.  

Carlson, and Fox News, is also facing a lawsuit from a former Tucker Carlson Tonight producer, Abby Grossberg, whose suit mentioned a workplace where “the staff’s distaste and disdain for women infiltrated almost every workday decision.” 

Tucker Carlson Tonight is described on FoxNews.com as “the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink.” It launched at 7 p.m. in 2016 and moved to 9 p.m. in 2017, when Megyn Kelly departed Fox. It moved again, to 8 p.m., when Bill O’Reilly left the network that same year.

Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 p.m. starting April 24 as an interim show helmed by rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named. 

Carlson was on CNN and MSNBC before joining Fox News in 2009. 

Fox News last week was the most watched cable network in primetime and on a total day basis for the first time in 2021.

The network -- which was 2020's most watched cable network in primetime and total day -- averaged 2.4 million subscribers in primetime for the week of Feb. 15-Feb. 21 to lead all networks, according to Nielsen. MSNBC was second with 1.9 million viewers, followed  by CNN’s 1.6 million viewers.

Read also: Fox News Grabs 2020 Cable Ratings Crown 

HGTV was the top entertainment-based network for 1.1 million viewers, followed by History at 1 million viewers. Hallmark Channel (996,000), TNT (909,000), ESPN (882,000), TLC (855,000) and TBS (829,000) round out the top 10 primetime list.

Fox News’ 1.3 million viewers on a total day basis topped MSNBC’s 1.1 million viewers, as well as CNN (1 million viewers), HGTV (678,000) and Hallmark Channel (580,000), according to Nielsen. 

The cable news networks continue to dominate the weekly ratings charts as Fox News, CNN and MSNBC take the top spots on the primetime and total day charts, according to Nielsen.

Fox News regained the top spot in primetime, averaging 3.4 million viewers during the week of Nov. 9 to Nov. 15 to top the 2.3 million viewers garnered by CNN, which took the top spot in the category last week, according to Nielsen. MSNBC finished a close third with 2.2 million viewers.

Cable news shows represented all but five of the top 50 most-watched shows for the week, led by Fox News’s Tucker Carlson Tonight. 

Related: Trump Reportedly Looking to Take on Fox News with Streaming Channel

ESPN finished fourth for the week in primetime with 2.1 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel with 1.6 million viewers.

CNN topped the total day charts for the second straight week, topping Fox News and MSNBC. Hallmark Channel and ESPN rounded out the top five most-watched networks on a 24-hour basis, said Nielsen. 

Fox News dominated the ratings charts during the month of October as viewers gravitated to cable news networks for coverage surrounding the upcoming Presidential election. 

Led by its record ratings-setting series Tucker Carlson Tonight, Fox News averaged 4.9 million viewers -- the network's best performance ever for the month (Sept. 28-Oct. 25), according to Nielsen. Tucker Carlson Tonight averaged 5.3 million viewers in October, a record for a cable news show. MSNBC finished a distant second with 2.7 million viewers, followed by ESPN with 2.6 million viewers and CNN with 2.4 million watchers, said Nielsen.

TBS's Major League Baseball playoffs coverage pushed them into the fifth spot with 1.5 million viewers, followed by HGTV (1.1 million viewers), Hallmark Channel and TLC (1 million), USA Network (778,000) and Food Network (770,000). 

On a total day basis, Fox News returned to the top spot for the 10th consecutive month in 2020, averaging 2.3 million viewers. MSNBC, CNN, ESPN and HGTV rounded out the top five most-watched cable networks on a 24-hour basis, said Nielsen. 

Fox News hit another ratings home run last week, setting yearly audience highs in total day and in primetime as viewers tune in to the network’s ongoing coronavirus coverage, according to Nielsen.

Fox News averaged 4.2 million viewers for the week of March 23-29, besting second place MSNBC’s 2.3 million viewers and third place CNN’s 2.1 million watchers, said Nielsen. The win was Fox News’ 10th straight in the primetime ratings category.

HGTV was fourth with 1.2 million viewers, followed by TLC, Hallmark Channel, TBS and History with 1 million viewers each.

On the total day front, Fox News drew 2.6 million viewers to win the category for the 12 consecutive week. CNN and MSNBC both garnered more than 1.4 million viewers to finish second and third respectively. 

Fox News was paced by its primetime shows Hannity, which notched its highest-rated week in total viewers since the program’s inception and its highest-rated in the demo since the 2017 Inauguration, and Tucker Carlson Tonight, which brought in a record 4.9 million viewers and 1 million in the demo for the show, said Nielsen. 

Fox News continued its dominance of the weekly cable ratings charts, easily topping all cable networks across primetime and total day.

Fox News averaged 2.2 million viewers in primetime during the week of June 10 to June 16, well above second place MSNBC’s 1.5 million viewers for its fourth straight weekly win in the category. The network was paced by its primetime lineup of Hannity, Tucker Carlson Tonight and The Ingraham Angle, which between the daily shows represented nine of the 10 most watched shows on cable last week, according to Nielsen.

HGTV finished third for the week with 1.3 million viewers, followed by A&E’s 1.1 million viewers and USA Network’s 1.0 watchers, said Nielsen. History (959,000), Hallmark Channel (926,000), TBS (911,000), Investigation Discovery (896,000) and TLC (892,000) filled out the top 10 most watched shows of the week.

Fox News also took top honors in the total day category for the 23rd consecutive week, besting in order MSNBC, HGTV, Investigation Discovery and Nickelodeon, according to Nielsen. 

Fox News Channel last week returned to top of the weekly primetime ratings among cable networks, according to Nielsen.

Fox News averaged 2.3 million viewers to finish first during the week of May 22 to May 28, unseating NBA playoffs-infused TNT, which finished second with 2 million viewers, Nielsen said. 

MSNBC finished third with 1.6 million viewers, followed by USA Network and HGTV, both tied with 1.3 million viewers.

TBS and ESPN tied for sixth with 1.2 million viewers each, followed by CNN and History (tied with 1 million viewers), and NBCSN (927,000 watchers.) 

Fox News was also the most watched cable network on a 24-hour basis for the 21st straight week, besting Nickelodeon, MSNBC, CNN and Adult Swim.

TNT was the most watched network among adults 18-49 in primetime as well as across female demos 18-49, 25-54 and 18-34, according to Nielsen.

Most Watched Cable Shows During The Week Of May 22-28

DateShowNetworkTotal Viewers

5/23   NBA Playoffs – Boston/Cleveland                         TNT                             7.0 million

5/25   NBA Playoffs – Cleveland/Boston                         ESPN                           5.8 million

5/22   NBA Playoffs – Golden State-San Antonio            ESPN                            5.7 million

5/22   Tucker Carlson Tonight                                      Fox News                      3.4 million

5/22   Hannity                                                            Fox News                      3.3 million

5/22   Shepard Smith Reporting                                   Fox News                      3.3 million

5/25   Rachel Maddow Show                                        MSNBC                         2.9 million

5/25   NHL Playoffs – Ottawa/Pittsburgh                       NBCSN                         2.9 million

5/24   Tucker Carlson Tonight                                      Fox News                     2.8 million

5/25   Tucker Carlson Tonight                                     Fox News                      2.8 million

Source: Nielsen

Fox News was easily the most watched network in primetime and on a total day basis for the first week of February, according to Nielsen.

Fox News averaged 3.2 million viewers during the week of Jan. 30 through Feb. 5, doubling the 1.6 million count of second place HGTV, Nielsen reported.  USA Network finished third with 1.5 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 1.4 million, and TBS and History with 1.3 million viewers each.

CNN, Disney Channel, Discovery and ESPN all averaged 1.2 million viewers to round out the top 10.

Fox News was also better than Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, HGTV and CNN on a 24-hour basis. USA Network was the most watched network among adults 18-49 for the week, while Adult Swim was the top choice in the demo on a 24-hour basis, reported Nielsen.

Fox News programming also dominated nine of the top 10 most watched shows for the week, according to Nielsen.