MSNBC tops Fox in Prime Time ratings in the week after Tucker Carlson’s exit

On Monday, MSNBC scored a prime time win over Fox News in both the key age demographic and in total viewers, one week after the shocking departure of Fox’s highest rated cable star Tucker Carlson.

The network beat out its competitors with an average of 1.693million total viewers, and 176,000 in the critical 25-54 age demographic.

Fox News brought in an average of 1.598million total viewers between 8pm and 11pm, and 164,000 viewers in the demo.

CNN landed in a distant third place with 481,000 total viewers and 109,000 in the demo.

Maddow topped her Cable News competition in the 9pm slot on Monday with 2.2million viewers

Rachel Maddow led the prime time 8-11pm crowd with 2.2million views, but was still defeated by Jesse Watters at 7pm on Fox, who garnered an audience of 2.475million.

Maddow was also beaten by Fox’s The Five – on at 5pm – which brought in 2.7million viewers.

Fox News still won the day in total non-prime time viewers as well as in the demo.

Maddow is up against Sean Hannity on Fox at 9pm. Tucker Carlson’s show, which virtually always won the night, used to be Hannity’s lead in.

As Fox works to find a replacement for their star, the network’s numbers in the 8pm slot have fallen dramatically, eating into some of Hannity’s formerly valuable lead in.

Carlson was abruptly dismissed from Fox last Monday for reasons that have not yet been made entirely clear, but may have had to do with evidence presented to the Fox News board during the Dominion defamation trial last month.

Behind the scenes videos of Carlson on set have also been leaked, showing the host making sometime crude jokes and insulting the network’s streaming platform, Fox Nation. None however, appear to be the smoking gun that led to his dismissal.

An incendiary text sent by Carlson was revealed to the board of Fox News on the eve of its defamation and reportedly sparked, in part, his shocking exit from the network at which he thrived for years.

The texts from Carlson read: ‘A couple of weeks ago, I was watching a video of people fighting on the street in Washington.’

‘A group of Trump guys surrounded an Antifa kid and started pounding the living s*** out of him. It was three against one, at least. Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight.

‘Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it.

‘Then somewhere deep in my brain, an alarm went off: this isn’t good for me. I’m becoming something I don’t want to be. The Antifa creep is a human being.

‘Much as I despise what he says and does, much as I’m sure I’d hate him personally if I knew him, I shouldn’t gloat over his suffering. I should be bothered by it. I should remember that somewhere somebody probably loves this kid, and would be crushed if he was killed.

‘If I don’t care about those things, if I reduce people to their politics, how am I better than he is?’

Fox News’ Jesse Watters beat Maddow in viewers and in the key demographic on Monday

The New York Times reported that Fox’s board was concerned the messages could be made public at trial – a fear that pushed them to agree to the $787.5 million settlement.

The board told Fox executives on the day the trial began it was bringing in an outside law firm to investigate Carlson’s behavior.

The board hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz to investigate Fox’s biggest star. 

The network has been tight-lipped in its explanation of Carlson’s bombshell firing.

In a statement last Monday, a spokesman said: ‘FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways.

‘We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.’