Fox News star Greg Gutfeld has been tearing up the late-night ratings, earning far more viewers than any of the Big Three networks’ hosts despite being in fewer households.
An announcement on Thursday will surely give ABC, NBC and CBS an even more serious case of heartburn.
Fox News said it had agreed on a new contract with the host to keep the late-night show “Gutfeld!” on the air for many years to come.
While the network’s news release did not specify the length of the contract, even one year would be a blow to the Big Three, which have been losing millions of viewers while “Gutfeld!” continues to gain them.
Gutfeld, who is also co-host of the Fox News gabfest show “The Five,” will now host and produce Fox Nation programming from time to time, the news release said.
It noted that “Gutfeld!” leads late-night programming in viewership.
“‘Gutfeld!,’ which celebrates its third anniversary this Friday … draws the largest audience in late-night television in viewers with 2.2 million viewers and 304,000 in the 25-54 demo, topping CBS’ ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ NBC’s ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’ & ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers,’ ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ and Comedy Central’s recently relaunched ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,’” Fox News said in its news release.
“‘Gutfeld!’ also beats Kimmel, Meyers, and Stewart in the 25-54 and 18-49 demos. Additionally, for the first quarter of 2024, ‘Gutfeld!’ was the highest-rated program in the 25-54 demo in cable news for the first time in the program’s history,” it said.
Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott celebrated the new contract.
“Greg is a true original whose trademark political and cultural commentary, humor and gifted writing has deeply connected and grown with our audience for more than 17 years,” Scott said in a statement.
“Upon launching Gutfeld! three years ago, he rapidly disrupted the status quo to become the most-watched host in the genre with more viewers tuning in to his show than any other late-night program on television,” she said. “We are proud to be the home of Greg, his unparalleled analysis and late-night’s highest-rated program for many years to come.”
Gutfeld himself added, “Since joining the network in 2007, FOX News has given me the freedom to be unabashedly myself and, in turn, deliver a distinct experience for our audience. There aren’t many platforms that allow this type of creative independence and I’m proud to be a part of Suzanne’s team.”
The Fox News release said “Gutfeld!” has seen steady growth since its debut.
“Since its launch in 2021, Gutfeld has increased his audience by 47% in viewership and 10% in the 18-49 demo, while also topping CNN and MSNBC combined across the board,” it said. “In addition, ‘Gutfeld!’ is home to the most affluent (among A25-54) and politically balanced audience in its timeslot with more Democrats and Independents watching than any of the competition, according to data from Nielsen and Nielsen MRI Fusion.”
Along with his busy TV work, Gutfeld is the author of six New York Times bestselling books, including his latest, “The King of Late Night.”
He has earned the respect of his viewers for his no-holds-barred take on the world in which we live.
In December, for instance, the late-night host delivered a brutal takedown of President Joe Biden’s obsession with pushing the war in Ukraine.
“That was about as persuasive as a sandpaper jockstrap,” Gutfeld said of Biden’s attack on those who oppose further aid to Ukraine. “It’s just embarrassing — to have the gall to, like, insult people who put America first.”
“The Ukraine border matters more than our border?” he said astonished at the Democrat’s policies. “We’ve had enough.”
“Biden says history will judge us harshly,” Gutfeld said. He then looked straight at the camera, and said to Biden, “It will judge you harshly.”
The Fox News release is right. His ratings have been impressive and have swamped Kimmel, Fallon and the rest.
Will the network late-night shows ever return to their former glory?
Granted, the days of getting 9 million viewers like late-night king Johnny Carson used to enjoy are long gone. But with Gutfeld pulling in more than 2 million viewers a night — even though Fox News is in fewer households than ABC, NBC and CBS — he is outpacing the others.
So, congratulations to Greg Gutfeld. May he continue to make monkeys out of ABC, NBC and CBS.
