I can’t believe that Beck is lower than Shep Smith. And they just signed Shep up to a new contract. ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!! Fox needs to get rid of Shep!!!
I am still a Beck advocate, but his ratings soared when he was focused on picking apart the czars and the seedy characters in ACORN and the administration. Lately, I am less inclined to tune in, as it is just not the same ‘must see’ tv that it was for the first year.
Beck is a one trick pony - domestic politics. What is with the total aversion to Foreign Policy?
Beck’s TV show is on at 5PM in the East. This is a bad hour. I only get to see him once or twice a week.
It’s the timeslot...Beck’s 5 pm audience is actually quite remarkable, given the fact that the number of “available” viewers (at that hour) is significantly lower than 7 pm, or in prime time. And, lest we forget, Fox was routinely losing the 5 pm hour with John Gibson and some of the hosts that preceded Beck.
The real concern for Fox, IMO, is Sean Hannity. According to these numbers, he’s losing about 1,000,000 viewers from O’Reilly’s lead-in. By comparison, Greta Van Susteren holds on to most of her lead-in from Hannity.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Beck is being groomed from a prime-time slot, and I’m sure that some of the execs at Fox are convinced that Glenn would do better at 9 pm than Sean. Meanwhile, CNN is looking for hosts who deliver more viewers than their current, pathetic prime time lineup.
Under that scenario, CNN makes a run at Hannity, offering him bigger bucks and the 8 pm timeslot. The only problem there is that Hannity’s current deal at Fox doesn’t expire 2012. Meanwhile, Beck’s contract is up next year, and he’s viewed as a more valuable property than Hannity. And believe me, Beck would like a better time slot, along with more money.
The only other possibility is that Greta gets pushed out. However, her ratings are solid and she makes far less than Beck or Hannity. Besides, I don’t think Beck would settle for the 10 pm slot, and Hannity wouldn’t accept a “demotion” to that slot, either.
One of Roger Ailes’ top post-election priorities is keeping Glenn Beck in the fold. To do that, I believe he would be willing to part company with Sean Hannity.