(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) Reeling under accusations of selling out to woke activists and their myriad leftist agendas, Fox News is scrambling to right its embattled ship and announced on Monday a new primetime lineup that replaces former host Tucker Carlson and shifts slots for some its more popular personalities.
Leading the pack, host Jesse Watters’s 7 p.m. program will move to 8 p.m. and take Carlson’s old slot, while Laura Ingraham will have her program moved into Watters’s 7 p.m. hour. The eponymously titled Hannity, with host Sean Hannity, will remain at 9 p.m. and Gutfeld!, with host Greg Gutfeld, will begin at 10 p.m.. The changes will hit airwaves next month, FNC announced.
“FOX News Channel has been America’s destination for news and analysis for more than 21 years and we are thrilled to debut a new lineup,” said FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, adding that the hosts “unique perspectives” would provide the network’s viewers with “access to unrivaled coverage from our best-in-class team for years to come.”
The announcement comes as Fox has faced fierce backlash from viewers, slumping market share and floundering ad revenue after kicking Carlson to the curb. The network’s profile sunk even lower when it tried to strong-arm Carlson, who has launched a wildly successful Twitter platform, into keeping quiet and out of the public eye.
“Fox defends its very existence on freedom of speech grounds,” Carlson attorney Bryan Freedman said when the network accused his client of breach of contract. “Now they want to take Tucker Carlson’s right to speak freely away from him because he took to social media to share his thoughts on current events.”
Fox News also did itself no favors catering to woke pronouns, drag queens and transgender activists, according to a blockbuster report that network executives used artificial intelligence to monitor the company’s efforts towards diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Entertainment site Variety noted that FNC’s latest shakeups, “also spotlight the growing power of the late-afternoon program, The Five, which now has two of its co-hosts leading primetime hours as well.”
Both Watters and Gutfeld will continue their roles co-hosting The Five, which has become Fox’s highest rated program.
