Fox News has announced that host Sean Hannity will remain in his normal time slot when the networkâs new primetime lineup launches next week.
In the nearly three months since the network ousted its most popular host Tucker Carlson, Fox News has shaken up its schedule.
Beginning on Monday, Jesse Watters will take Carlsonâs old 8 p.m. ET slot while Laura Ingraham will move from 10 p.m. ET to six oâclock.
âGutfeld!â is moving to 10 p.m. while âFox News @ Nightâ with host Trace Gallagher will begin at 11 p.m.
But the network reported Wednesday morning that âHannityâ will continue to hold the 9 p.m. ET hour heâs called home for 25 years.
âSean Hannity, who has been with Fox News Channel since it launched in 1996, will stay put at 9 p.m. ET when the networkâs revamped lineup launches on July 17, providing viewers with a bedrock in the middle of primetime,â the network said.
Fox News did not address Carlsonâs departure in the announcement, which celebrated Hannityâs longevity as part of its primetime lineup.
âLast year, Hannity broke a longstanding record previously held by famed talk show host Larry King to become the longest-running primetime cable news host in Television history,â Fox News said.
The network added, âAt the time, Hannity hosted a primetime program on Fox News for 25 consecutive years, six months and 15 days. He hasnât slowed down, and the streak seems insurmountable in the modern cable news era.â
While commenting on his daily routine and staying put at nine oâclock, Hannity said, âHonestly, Iâm grateful. Iâm doing what I love.â
Fox News has struggled since Carlsonâs exit.
The newly vacated 8 p.m. ET time slot attracted only 1.3 million total viewers last Thursday, according to Mediaite.
On any given evening with Carlson at the helm, the hour attracted an average of three million people.
âHannityâ and other programs also suffered from Carlsonâs April departure but have since rebounded considerably.
On Thursday, âHannityâ attracted just under two million total viewers and more than his competitors on CNN and MSNBC combined.
Time will tell if Fox Newsâ revamped lineup and the upcoming Republican primary will bring the network back to pre-Carlson ratings.
The networkâs parent company, the Fox Corporation, was given some bad news on Monday when Wells Fargo analyst Steve Cahall downgraded its stock.
âFoxâs earnings are mostly Fox News earnings, and Fox News is facing viewership and share pressures,â Cahall told his clients, as Yahoo Finance reported. âWith ecosystem risks also elevated we find our estimate outlook more negative and below the Street.â
Cahall said his decision was partially based on cord-cutting, but he also cited Carlsonâs departure for his decision to downgrade the stock.
âFox News was 52% of cable news primetime viewership for 2020-22, 51% in Janâ23 and that has slid to a low of 38% in June â23 post-Tucker Carlson,â Cahall said. âFox Newsâ share of conservative news viewers has fallen from 94% to 84%. While the new primetime lineup could drive a rebound, we think Fox News is a Show Me viewership story.â
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
