Just a year ago the Fox News channel had Greta at 7, O’Reilly at 8 and Kelly at 9. They all won their time slots and dominated cable news. As of this morning all three are gone and their competitors are gloating, anticipating big gains. In fact the NY Times this AM has a story entitled:
– “Bill O’Reilly’s Ouster Will Test Loyalties of Fox Viewers”.
The subtitle is this:
– Fans have stood by him amid a series of allegations. Now, after the network they have trusted has decided not to do the same, they may turn to alternatives”.
That story and statement which is parried on the networks tells us all we need to know.
They simply don’t understand why Fox has the ratings it does. It is the news presentation, the focus of it, and not the individual personalities.
They don’t get it. If Greta were the draw how come her show on MSNBC is not getting the same ratings? It’s not even winning its slot. How come Tucker stepped in at 9:00 and got such great ratings? How come Fox Business came on the scene and lapped CNBC so quickly to become the number one business show?
It’s the message and news. There are no alternatives and by thinking that Fox will falter now just shows the ignorance of why they have been successful. The only thing that can stop Fox is the Murdoch sons who are running it. If they change the focus they will lose. If the messaging stays the same it really won’t matter who is delivering it.
Fox has announced its changes and we’ll see how it plays out. We would have moved Martha MacCallum to the eight o’clock slot. She is smart, hard hitting and direct. We would have moved The Five to the seven o’clock slot and kept Tucker at nine. Let’s see how it works. But we love Lou Dobbs at seven on Fox Business, too.