Advertisers return to Fox News prime time after Tucker Carlson departure 

A number of blue-chip advertisers are beginning to buy new ad time within Fox News’s 8 p.m. hour in the days following former host Tucker Carlson’s departure from the network. 

Major corporations, such as Proctor and Gamble, are buying commercials they typically had not purchased during Carlson’s six years of hosting at 8 p.m., network executives told Variety this week. 

“We have had over 40 new advertisers come into the hour since we launched the new program, including some of the largest in the country and, really, across all major categories,” Jeff Collins, executive vice president of ad sales at Fox News Media said during an interview with the outlet. “We have seen new advertisers come in, and new demand.”

Fox ousted Carlson earlier this month in a move that sent shockwaves through the media and political worlds. 

Neither Fox nor Carlson has publicly commented on what led to the host’s departure, but several reports have surfaced in recent days suggesting the content of the star host’s text messages, made public as part of Dominion Voting Systems’s blockbuster lawsuit against Fox, played a factor in the network’s decision to oust him. 

Fox agreed to pay Dominion $787.5 million to settle the defamation lawsuit it brought against the network out of court. This week Fox’s parent company reported a $50 million net loss during the first quarter of 2023, which concluded before Fox and Dominion agreed to settle.

Fox’s ratings in the 8 p.m. hour have also experienced a decline in the days since Carlson’s leaving as the network rotates through a cast of top pundits and hosts in a fill-in capacity. 

Carlson’s 8 p.m. hour consistently ranked highest in the ratings across prime time at Fox, though it has been eclipsed in six straight quarters by table talk program “The Five” as the most-watched show on the channel. 

The network has not said how quickly it expects to find a full-time host for its 8 p.m. hour. 

Updated at 2:07 p.m.