Drudge: Fox Primetime Is Getting an Overhaul

A major shake-up at Fox News will see Sean Hannity take over Tucker Carlson's old 8pm ET timeslot and two hosts of The Five slide into prime time, according to the Drudge Report. Jesse Watters, host of Jesse Watters Primetime at 7pm, will move into Hannity's 9pm ET timeslot, while Greg Gutfeld of The Greg Gutfeld Show will transition from 11pm to 10pm, displacing Laura Ingraham's The Ingraham Angle, according to the Wednesday scoop. "It's our boldest and most fearless line-up ever," a source told Drudge, per Mediaite. Fox throws cold water on the report, however, saying "no decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration."

The network has seen its primetime ratings suffer since Carlson was fired late last month. "Meanwhile, wannabe rival Newsmax has seen its viewership explode in recent weeks as the MAGA channel has unapologetically pandered to Carlson fans," per the Daily Beast. It reports guest hosts in Fox's 8pm hour, including Brian Kilmeade and Kayleigh McEnany, typically pull "around half of Carlson's standard audience." The hope is that Fox can staunch the bleeding with Hannity, "a ratings juggernaut for the network" since his start in 1996, per the Beast. According to Variety, The Greg Gutfeld Show "has been a break-out success with the network’s viewers," while Watters' show is also "considered successful." (More Fox News stories.)