Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson will fill the Fox News Channel anchor chair being vacated by Megyn Kelly, who is heading to NBC.
The network announced Thursday that Carlson will take over the 9 p.m. Eastern slot after Kelly does her final edition of "The Kelly File" on Friday.
The move means Fox is solidifying its block of politically right-leaning commentary programs in prime time, as Carlson will fill the hour between Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. Kelly's program, while not completely without opinion, had been more news-driven.
Carlson, 47, is a personal favorite of 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who has been running Fox News since longtime Chairman Roger Ailes departed in July. Murdoch chose Carlson to replace longtime anchor Greta Van Susteren in the 7 p.m Eastern hour after she left the network over contract issues.
Carlson was an immediate ratings success after taking over the hour. In December, he averaged 2.87 million viewers in the hour, making him the second-most-watched personality on Fox News after O'Reilly. He improved the ratings in the hour by 23 percent.
Carlson's 7 p.m. time period will be filled by a news program with Martha MacCallum called "The First 100 Days" that will focus on the early months of the presidency of Donald Trump. MacCallum, who has been with Fox News since 2009, will also take Kelly's spot in special event coverage. She will join anchor Bret Baier in covering President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration Jan. 20.
Carlson's program will be based in Washington; "The First 100 Days" will come from New York.
Although Kelly was a breakout star at Fox News _ the company offered a new contract worth more than $20 million a year in its attempt to keep her _ her occasional critical reporting on Trump generated negative reactions from some conservative viewers. Her departure is giving Fox News executives the opportunity to create a seamless block that is less likely to alienate that group. Cable news outlet MSNBC offers a full three hours of liberal commentators in prime time with its lineup of Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell.
