The departure of Tucker Carlson, once the the most-watched host on Fox News, has led to decline in primetime viewership on the network.
The former host of Tucker Carlson Tonight pulled in more than 3.3m viewers nightly, according to Nielsen. But after Fox announced Mr Carlson would be stepping away from the network, that number dropped by more than 20 per cent.
Fox News Tonight, the show replacing Tucker Carlson Tonight, only drew in just under 2.6m viewers during its debut at the coveted 8 pm time slot on Monday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The new show’s viewership is about 21 per cent less than Mr Carlson’s former show.
Though the numbers may change as Fox News chooses what to do with the empty time slot. Fox News Tonight will take the place for the interim until the network chooses a permanent host and show.
For now, a rotating case of Fox News personalities will take turns hosting the show. Monday night’s show kicked off with Brian Kilmeade.
The drop in viewership is a testament to the loyal fanbase that Mr Carlson established throughout the seven years he hosted his show.
Known for appealing to far-right individuals and entertaining conspiracy theories on his show, Mr Carlson developed a reputation as a leader in driving conservative conversations.
At times, the Fox News host’s show was so powerful it inspired legislation.
On Twitter, right-wingers expressed their disappointment with Fox News for separating from Mr Carlson, many claimed they would not longer watch the network because of the move.
Mr Carlson’s departure from Fox News came as a shock to many this week as the host seemingly did not know he would be leaving the network.
Mr Carlson’s final show last Friday ended with him signing off, “We’ll be back on Monday. In the meantime, have the best weekend with the ones that you love.”
Neither Fox News nor Mr Carlson provided a reason for his departure, though the host was in the middle of controversy due to the lawsuit between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News.
