The end of a long one

–

run

Highly appreciated

hit show can be a sobering moment for a TV network.

The Friends finale ended the seemingly unstoppable run of NBC’s Must See TV.

queue up.

HBO had to brace for a future without Game of Thrones.

when the mega hit ended. Now

Fox News faces the same challenge

after if

his most watched primetime personality

Tucker Carlson,

was suddenly torn from his perch on Monday amid the scandals and lawsuits he faced

Rupert Murdochs

conservative network.

Host

Brian Kilmeade

a co-host on Fox & Friends, filled in

for Carlson

Monday night, and others will rotate

Through

to permanent replacement

is called

for the Eastern hour of 8 p.m

is called

.

Is this the beginning of the end

for of the successful run for

Fox News run

who led as

cable news ratings

leaders

since 2002

and as one

powerful and disruptive

ve

influence in political discourse?

Not likely, history shows

it’s not likely

.

L

Liberals hate Fox News and critics call it right-wing propaganda.

But Carlson’s departure will not end his status

like it

it stays

a haven for an audience

It’s wanting that wants

to marinate

“anti-wake up” comments, running comments on everything “wake up” embarrassed Hunter Biden

,

immigration migrants crossing the southern border

and overhear every other outrage of the day

conservative right

experts.

The Fox News viewer chooses

to be inside

that environment even

without it

another voice delivering those messages. When

Bill O’Reilly, Megyn Kelly and Glenn Beck

were shown the door, the network replaced them without missing a beat.

“It’s worked in the past because they’re not selling a personality, they’re selling a mindset and a view of the world,” he said

Jon Klein

a tech entrepreneur who ran CNN from 2004 to 2010. “It’s the power of the Fox News brand.”

from Carlson

to get up

is a good example of the reliability of the formula. A seasoned print journalist, he was a two-time loser in cable news,

been fired from both CNN and MSNBC

leading to skepticism that he was the best choice to replace O’Reilly after he was ousted in 2017 over sexual harassment allegations.

But Carlson tapped into the mindset of Trump-loving MAGA viewers while being persuasive enough to attract some liberal hate viewers as well.

That made make

him an even bigger hit.

(Carlson attracted a large number of viewers who identify as Democrats and Independents, according to Nielsen).

“Tucker

Carson Carson

Tonight” retained the most ratings from O’Reilly and improved Nielsen’s ratings in the 8 p.m. Eastern Time below the

Keys

25 to 54 year olds who are advertisers

search advertisers

covet.

earlier,

Fox news

hero strong saw even stronger results afterwards

the network fired conservative firebrand

Glenn

Beck, whose conspiracy theories and on-air purport that the former

President Obama

hated white people

lost led

it

his losses

advertisers on his 5 p.m. show

which attracted more than 2 million viewers

.

After Beck was drawn, to fill Beck’s void,

Fox News came up with ‘The Five’, the poll

show table that is now the most

–

watched program in cable news, surpassing “Tucker Carlson Tonight”.

by 2022 and the first quarter of 2023,

drawing

more than good more than above

3 million viewers daily.

“The Five” has become

a Fox News talent

incubator

for Fox News talent

for other programs,

demonstrate The show demonstrates

the company’s strategy of familiarizing its audience with new faces before elevating them

their own programs and

larger roles.

Jesse Watter

who started out as a mischievous ambush interviewer for O’Reilly, gained enough followers on “The Five” to earn his own show at 7 p.m. Eastern, which improved

the

ratings in the hour by 50%.

Greg Gutfeld

the comic relief on “The Five”, took on its own

late at night

program that

walks in the late night for half of the country and

now tops broadcast network stalwarts like “

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

“And”

Jimmy Kimmel Live

.”

Fox News Media CEO

Suzanne Scott has been criticized and will not be praised

for its handling of the network’s reporting of alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election (the company paid Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle a libel lawsuit alleging false statements by the network). But

She Scott

has

shown demonstrated

a tear for identification

on-air personalities talent

that connect with

the

Fox News viewer

S

.

therefore, the network has been able to weather past storms that have changed its lineup of hosts.

“She’s very aware of who her audience is,” said a talent agent who does business with the network, speaking on condition of anonymity. “She knows how to cast. She programs for her audience, not the conference room.”

while still

Fox News is likely to have a ratings hit without Carlson. Kilmeade’s first night in the time slot was almost over

5 6

00,000 viewers from Carlson’s average of 3.

1 2

million viewers.

(

Other Fox News personalities expected to get a chance in Carlson’s chair include daytime host Harris Faulkner and

contributor Fox & Friends weekend co-host

Will Cain

)

.

But the network could be better off financially in the long run

in the hour

even with a slightly smaller audience.

although

Carlson was a ratings hit, major advertisers steered away from his show following his 2018 comments that democratic immigration policies

about

changing the demographics of the country,

which critics described as an endorsement of racist “replacement theory.”

A new host wants

probably probably

earn less than $15 million

Unpleasant

-$20 million

Salary Carlson made within an annual salary range that Carlson was in

.

Plus,

a less inflammatory personality

in the hour

could attract big brand advertisers who

had

stayed away from the program

despite its strong reviews

driving up the price of commercials.

What could change the equation is

as the

Carlson show

to sing

on a competing network. After the news

of his dismissal

broke Monday, conservative competitor Newsmax released a statement that sounded like an invitation to

the

the now showless host.

Fox News has been in the process of becoming established media for some time now and the removal of Tucker Carlson is a major milestone in that effort, Newsmax CEO said

Christopher Ruddy

said

in the statement

. Millions of viewers who liked the old Fox News have made the switch to Newsmax, and Tucker’s departure will only fuel that trend.

although

Newsmax would love to bring in Carlson, wouldn’t he?

probably probably

doesn’t have one

–

compete

clause as part of a condition that allows it

to leave the network with what was owed him on his contract. That can keep him away from a competitor

ether

up to and including 2024.

Carlson could also move to a direct-to-consumer strategy. An online newsletter, podcast or streaming brand would provide the pundit with a cheap and easy way to engage their fans

the intermediate product of

another cable network.

The real money would be in creating a D2C podcast/media property that you could sell to someone like Spotify, said

Maribel Lopez

founder of the technical research and consulting firm Lopez Research.

Controversial podcaster Joe Rogan’s own deal with the

Swedish

audio giant,

estimated to be worth about $100 million

is a good example,

she said

.

I can’t imagine Tucker Carlson not putting out content, he said

Ray Wang

, founder of the technical consulting firm Constellation Research. “Direct to the consumer is probably one way to do it.

But it’s not a perfect solution.

Six out of every seven of its viewers are over the age of 55

Eric Nuzum

, co-founder of the podcast consultancy and production company Magnificent Noise. A lot of the self-distributed platforms, whether it’s newsletters or podcasts or YouTube or all those other things, you don’t see older viewers there, or the numbers are smaller and they’re less comfortable.

Times staff writer Brian Contreras contributed to this report.