Megyn Kelly TV Ratings Hit New Low
In an ongoing theme, the ratings for Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly continue to head south.
The latest installment of the 7 p.m. Eastern time newsmagazine on NBC television attracted only 3.1 million total watchers, translating into a 0.4 rating, the show’s “lowest total viewer number since it debuted at the beginning of June. Kelly also matched a series low in the key demo,” Variety reported.
The key demographic consists of adults in the advertiser-coveted 19-49 age range.
The show again lost to 60 Minutes and America’s Funniest Home Videos reruns, prompting more buzz that NBC execs might be regretting the decision to sign Kelly to a lucrative contract.
An interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the controversy over her sit-down with Infowars impresario Alex Jones previously failed to attract or hold viewers in any meaningful way.
TV viewership is generally down in the summer months, however, which makes it a challenging time to launch a new show. Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly will go dark once NFL football resumes on NBC.
The former Fox News Channel anchor officially went to work for NBC News on May 1. Her primary gig is taking over the 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Monday through Friday time slot on NBC, which may or may not be designated part of the Today franchise.
Megyn Kelly’s morning show will premiere on September 25 in front of a live audience. NBC will obviously extensively promote her program as its debut moves closer.
In that time slot, Megyn Kelly will compete head-to-head against Live with Kelly and Ryan in most markets, along with possible competition from a new Tamron Hall talk show. Tamron Hall previously presided over the 9 a.m. hour on NBC until Megyn Kelly arrived.
It remains to be seen if Kelly’s morning show will thrive in that daypart when parents and kids resume their more structured schedules following vacations season.
That said, it may be very premature to count Megyn Kelly out, especially in just sifting through summer ratings, but the former corporate lawyer has yet to demonstrate what might be considered crossover appeal.
Related stories:
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Megyn Kelly To Compete Against Kelly Ripa And Ryan Seacrest At 9 A.M.
For one thing, Megyn Kelly detractors contend that when the ambitious media personality who anchored The Kelly File on Fox News famously challenged Donald Trump during the August 2015 GOP presidential debate over his past disparaging comments about women (“only Rosie O’Donnell,” the future president famously quipped), it was more about careerism and auditioning for another network — which turned out to be NBC — than a legitimate journalistic inquiry.
Megyn Kelly, 46, has received criticism across the spectrum, Breitbart News claimed.
“Working-class voters who support Donald Trump cannot stand her because it looks more and more like she bashed Trump and his voters solely to elevate her own profile among the media elites…Those in the establishment media have criticized Kelly for her lack of substance…Others, especially those on the left, have not forgiven Kelly for saying ‘ridiculous’ and ‘racist’ things on Fox News…”
Against that backdrop, those Fox News viewers disillusioned with Megyn Kelly over all the subsequent anti-Trump content on The Kelly File seem unlikely to follow her to NBC. On the flip side, more liberal NBC viewers could be reluctant to welcome Megyn Kelly into their living rooms because of her FNC resume.
Or, as an Inquisitr commenter previously observed, “The left hates her and the right has disowned her.”
Do you think that despite the ratings so far, Megyn Kelly will prove successful on NBC?
[Featured Image by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Images]
