The first day of Fox News Channel's new primetime lineup saw boosted victories for much of the block -- with the 7 to 11 p.m. hours up from their comparable showings in the third quarter.
FNC's tinkered lineup included the addition of Megyn Kelly's The Kelly File at 9 p.m., as well as new hours for Greta Van Susteren and Sean Hannity. (It was business as usual for top-rated Bill O'Reilly.) All telecasts were up in total viewers compared to Q3, though Hannity and Kelly saw small dips in the demo. Van Susteren, however, was a winner on both counts. Her new 7 p.m. time slot was up a whopping 38 percent over Shepard Smith's recent showing among adults 25-54.
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The Kelly File, the night's most high-profile launch, averaged 2.066 million viewers and 289,000 adults 25-54. Viewership was up a solid 22 percent from Hannity's recent average in the hour -- but 9 percent shy in the targeted demo. And while it was enough to maintain a clear advantage over the competition in total viewers, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show topped Kelly in the demo by a margin of nearly 10,000 viewers.
Hannity lost little of his audience in the move to 10 p.m. The show brought in 1.522 million viewers -- down from the recent 1.689 million average -- but his first demo showing dipped. The 251,000 adults 25-54 was off from his Q3 average (316,000) and Van Susteren's recent showing (274,000).
All told, the four-hour block's averages (2.059 million viewers, 318,547 adults 25-54) were up a respective 15 and 6 percent.
Primetime, of course, was not the only part of the FNC lineup that changed on Monday. Shepard Smith Reporting debuted in the 3 p.m. hour with an average 1.436 million viewers and 250,036 adults 25-54. Both figures were up a respective 33 percent and 34 percent from his old 3 p.m. broadcast -- and in-line with his Q3 showing in the 7 p.m. hour.
As is always the case with cable news, first outings are hard to assess in the ratings, with numbers fluctuating throughout the week.
