Fox News host Jesse Watters was met with great success this week following a network shake-up that resulted in the departure of former star Tucker Carlson from his “prime-time” slot.
According to reports, Watters garnered 3.8 million viewers in his new 7 p.m. ET time slot which used to belong to Carlson – marking the best viewership for the network in a year.
The Wrap reported that Watters’ debut scored double the viewership for the hour compared to the same day in 2021 and more viewers than every ‘Fox News Primetime’ telecast since its launch last year with a rotating cast of hosts.
The show attracted 537,000 viewers within the coveted age demographic of 25 to 54 – greater than any other Fox News program in the 7 p.m. time slot since January 6th, 2021 when there was an insurrection at the U.S Capitol Building.
“Watters beat CNN’s Anderson Cooper, 666,000 viewers, and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, 1,306,000, combined,” Slay News added.
“The Five”, which Watters also co-hosts, was cable television’s top-rated program on Monday evening with 3.9 million total average viewers including 588,000 falling within 25-54 age range bracket – making it both Fox News’ most-watched prime-time show as well as FNC’s highest rated live program all throughout cable broadcasting during its 5 PM/ET timeslot that day.
Watters spoke about his new role earlier this month praising Fox Network for affording him such an opportunity, noting that many news outlets are not “in touch with American people” like they are at Fox News.
“If you only watch and read mainstream media…my mother only reads The New York Times, she has no idea Biden family were taking bribes from overseas,” he joked while emphasizing stories they cover are ones American people care about such as crime corruption and border control issues.
Earlier in the month, Watters spoke about his new time slot and praised Fox for providing him the opportunity, saying his show is “in touch with the American people,” unlike many other news outlets.
“If you only watch and read the mainstream media, you’re living in a different world. My mother only reads The New York Times, and she has no idea that the Biden family was taking bribes from overseas,” Watters said, joking that he has to show his mother “real news” that she misses.
“We cover the stories that a lot of other people don’t cover because we know what the American people care about. They care about crime, care about corruption, care about the border,” Watters said. “When I cover a story, the first thing I think of is, ‘Do I care about this?’”
“I don’t speak for the American people. The American people speak to me, and we put on a show that the American people want to hear because we’re in touch with the American people,” Watters said.
“I can’t change, I can only get better,” Watters joked. “But fundamentally, my show will not change. I’m going to showcase serious news topics and serious stories. I do it in a way that some people call entertaining, but you know, no one says the news has to be boring.”
“There is pressure every night,” he said. “I don’t look at it as pressure, I look at it as an opportunity, and I’m very grateful and humbled by the opportunity. I just try to put on a killer show every night for the audience. That’s my goal.”
“I’m slightly concerned about the dinner situation. The new hour not only affects the dinner situation, but it also affects the lunch situation,” Watters deadpanned. “That will be the part of me that changes. Everything else about me will stay the same. I might have to eat lunch at home.”
Meanwhile, Laura Ingraham moved from 10 p.m. to 7 p.m., Sean Hannity stayed at 9 p.m. and Greg Gutfeld moved to 10 p.m.
Longtime news anchor Trace Gallagher will move up to 11 p.m.
Erica Carlin is an independent journalist, opinion writer and contributor to several news and opinion sources. She is based in Georgia.
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