Chris Wallace Suffers Blow As Ratings For Fox New Sunday Show Increase After He Left For CNN
Fox News’ Sunday morning show, “Fox News Sunday,” saw ratings rise after former anchor Chris Wallace left the network for CNN in a big blow to Wallace’s ego. The Jan. 23 broadcast without Wallace had the most total viewers and the most viewers aged 25-54 the show has seen since Jan. 24, 2021.
But it gets worse for Wallace. According to Nielsen Media Research, the Jan. 23 show hosted by “Fox News at Night” anchor Shannon Bream saw a rating increase of 27 percent in the coveted 25-54 demo.
It also saw a 21 percent rise in total viewers over Wallace’s last show on Dec. 12, 2021. Ouch. The Jan. 23 show received 1,352,000 viewers and 343,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo during the 9 a.m. broadcast.
When adding in all the repeats of the show, that Jan 23 show had a total of 1,404,000 viewers and 237,000 with the 25-54 demo.
Bream’s show featured Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The experts predicted doom for Fox after Wallace’s departure.
From The Hill:
But experts say Wallace’s exit leaves an undeniable hole in the network’s political coverage.
“It means that [Fox has] lost a very important and significant part of their brand, but it may be a part of their brand that has fallen out of favor with a large part of their audience,” said Frank Sesno, former director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University.
“His presence gave Fox News some cover to say it was doing some legit journalism and giving everyone a run for their money. His departure deprives them of that,” Sesno said.
Network spokespeople and executives regularly rebuff criticism of its opinion programming by pointing to the strength of its hard news team, which includes Baier and MacCallum, who helmed Election Day coverage.
We said @FoxNews would be better w/o Chris Wallace! His old show, @FoxNewsSunday, now hosted by @ShannonBream, shot up 21% in ratings since Wallace left a month ago. Viewership in the key 25-54 demographic has increased by 343,000 viewers, whom Wallace failed to attract. pic.twitter.com/IsRbNLHj2I
— ⚡️ Dr. WonderWoman4USA ⚡️ (@WonderWoman4USA) January 30, 2022
'Fox News Sunday' Yet to Feel Impact of Chris Wallace's Departure, Sees Highest Rated Show in a Year. I refused to watch the Commie Wallace. Ratings had been dropping as he sucked up to radical Dem guests https://t.co/kgiOtMfdxR
— Deborah Hostetter (@HostetterGmail) January 29, 2022