Megyn Kelly Vs O’Reilly: ‘The Kelly File’ Continues Ratings Climb On Fox News
Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly have taken over the major primetime news slots over on Fox News. O’Reilly has dominated the ratings in his time slot for years. He does not hide the fact that he is the man on top. Since 2013, he’s had some competition, and that competition is finally catching up to him.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Megyn Kelly came out on top and ahead of O’Reilly for the ratings collected during the first week of July. Their report revealed that, “the first week of July saw The Kelly File win among the adults 25-54 demographic, averaging 458,000 viewers in the advertiser-favored group over No. 2 The O’Reilly Factor’s 431,000.”
In addition to the weekly win for the first week of July, Kelly’s The Kelly File topped in the ratings for the month of June. That has happened only one other time since her series premiered in 2013.
O’Reilly’s The O’Reilly Factor is still the number one rated cable news program, but Kelly is closing the gap there as well. There are only 200,000 viewers separating the two Fox News programs. When will Kelly close the gap? It appears it could happen soon if these totals keep inching higher.
Why has Kelly climbed up the ratings ladder so fast? She is popular, and she goes out to grab the big interviews. She interviewed the Duggar family last month. Two of her broadcasts for June were sit down interviews with members of the Duggar family. It was their first time speaking publicly about the molestation revelations connected to Josh Duggar. People tuned in to watch Kelly ask the tough questions everyone wanted answers to. In fact, three million tuned in to watch Kelly’s interview with the Duggar family.
Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly do have a bit of a rivalry on Fox News. Kelly appears on The O’Reilly Factor weekly to offer commentary and talk about her own series. Is Bill O’Reilly jealous of Megyn Kelly? One Huffington Post report shared a moment between the two on-air. Kelly landed an interview that O’Reilly wanted, and he said that the network let her have it.
“You didn’t give her to me. We had it before you had it, and we booked it before you tried for it. Here’s what you need to know. Bill clearly feels uncomfortable that I have her and he doesn’t, so you should tune in tonight to watch our show.”
The two hosts are friends though, but Kelly’s ratings climb will not stop. In fact, The Kelly File host will expand her job description in 2016. She will have a series of primetime specials with celebrities and sports figures next year. The specials will air on Fox News. Variety even called Kelly the next Barbara Walters, and this series of special interviews is a very Walters’ thing to have.
Variety asked Kelly about the new series, and she is ready to take on her new role next year.
“Barbara Walters has retired. Diane Sawyer left her anchor role. Oprah has moved to the OWN network and is doing a different thing now. So why not me?”
In his own interview with Variety, Roger Allies, the man in charge of Fox News, spoke about Megyn Kelly and the secret to her success.
“For one thing, she’s a natural. She had to learn her craft, but she’s smart, attractive, is an attorney, and has a naturally aggressive personality. She has done all the elements. She had to put them together. It’s sort of like if you’re musical, somebody has to teach you the instrument, and what notes to hit. Other than that, she’s now honed her skills to the point where she gets a very good reading on how she should approach an interview, and she’s instinctively right.”
Allies also stated that the network plans to find her more big interviews in the future. He said, “There is no interview I would not want her to do.” He also calls her unique, and that helps her stand out. The anchorperson is gone, but people still need someone to turn to when it comes to the news. Kelly’s unique style stands out.
What do you think? Do you watch Megyn Kelly on Fox News?
[Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images]
