Newsmax claims its increased ratings are the reason behind Fox News’s changes to its regular lineup. Yesterday Fox News revealed that Martha MacCallum will be stepping down from her regular 7 pm time to make way for an opinion show. Newsmax says that its popular show “Greg Kelly Reports” has surpassed MacCallum’s viewership leading Fox News to make some internal changes in order to stay relevant.
A major shake-up at Fox News has taken place – does it have anything to do with the ratings rise of Newsmax TV? https://t.co/g7HwbtMsTU
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) January 11, 2021
Newsmax reports:
“Newsmax’s consistently strong numbers during the day and especially at the 7 p.m. ET slot has caused panic at Fox, which rarely makes lineup changes,” Newsmax said in a statement Monday, adding with a wink, “The Fox is on the run.”
MacCallum’s “The Story” had long been the #1 cable news show in the 7 p.m. time slot, until Newsmax TV’s “Greg Kelly Reports” began a ratings surge in recent months.
With Kelly pulling an average of 800,000-plus viewers per minute each night, MacCallum had fallen to third place behind CNN and MSNBC.
Newsmax has consistently taken one-third to one-half of Fox’s audience in each day part, according to the Nielsen Coverage Rating. The Coverage Rating shows a network’s viewership proportionate to the homes that can tune in.
The changes at Fox News come after months of continued criticism from President Trump and conservatives claiming the network has moved away from conservative values and has focused on catering to the left. President Trump has continuously berated Fox News and urged his millions of supporters to turn their channels to other right-wing news sources such as Newsmax and One America News Network.
The Hill reports:
“This new powerful lineup ensures FOX News Media will continue to deliver outstanding coverage for our viewers who depend on the most trusted names in the business,” Scott said in a release.
As part of the scheduling shifts, several Fox News anchors will host during new hours and shows. Martha MacCallum’s “The Story,” which currently starts at 7 p.m., will move to 3 p.m. starting next Monday.
“America’s Newsroom” will air from 9 to 11 a.m. and be hosted by Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino, who has anchored “Bill Hemmer Reports” at 3 p.m. and “The Daily Briefing” at 2 p.m., respectively.
Harris Faulkner plans to host “The Faulkner Focus” at 11 a.m. ahead of the roundtable show “Outnumbered” at noon. She previously anchored “Outnumbered Overtime” at 1 p.m.
The changes to Fox News’ schedule comes on the heels of the network celebrating its fifth consecutive year of being the most-watched cable news program.
