According to Sinclair TV’s Eric Bolling, a former host at Fox News, staffers at his previous network are worried by the change in audience numbers in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
Speaking at Turning Point USA’s annual Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, Bolling explained why networks such as Newsmax and One America News Network had surged in popularity after the election on November 3rd.
“Here’s what happened guys, let’s be honest with you… on November 3rd — Fox declared Biden the winner in Arizona. MAGA-world went ballistic, they said ‘I’m not watching Fox News,’ they switched over and they looked and they found Newsmax,” Bolling said.
Bolling then sparked rapturous applause among the TPUSA event attendees when he said that “Fox lost about 40% of their audience. 40%. That’s a big number.” In recent weeks, Fox has disputed such claims, pointing out that while some programs have dropped a third of their viewers since election night, they still still atop the cable news ratings.
Bolling then continued to discuss those who remain at Fox News who are concerned by the growing popularity of competitors such as Newsmax and OAN.
“I have friends still there that say they are very, very nervous about it, they’re sucking wind on it and they don’t know how to turn it around.”
Fox News’ decision on election night to call Arizona for Biden “far before any other outlet” did indeed stir controversy, with the network “drawing the ire of many Trump supporters for other on-air decisions.”
Since election night, Nielsen TV ratings showed that many of Fox News’ programs experienced a severe drop in viewership. Between the dates of November 2nd and November 11th, viewership dropped by 40% for Neil Cavuto, 40% for Bret Baier — who hosted one of the presidential debates between Trump and Biden — 40% for Martha MacCallum, 36% for Laura Ingraham, 33% for Sean Hannity, and 29% for Tucker Carlson.
While Fox News still has the highest viewership of all cable news networks, far outpacing its competitors, if Bolling is correct, the future looks bright for outlets like Newsmax and One America News as we approach 2021.
Ian Haworth is host of The Ian Haworth Show and The Truth in 60 Seconds. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.