CNN’s Chris Wallace debuted his new show Sunday evening, “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” and the early numbers suggest another possible title for the show, as one social media user observed: Who’s watching Chris Wallace?
The premiere aired from 7-8 p.m./ET, and was down double digits across every category versus the 2022 average, delivering a paltry 401,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. In the all-important 25-54 age demo, Wallace drew only 43,800 viewers.
It’s safe to say that the show bombed, especially when comparing it to Wallace’s old network. Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy” delivered 1.3 million viewers, and 78,000 in the 25-54 demo.
Fox News dominated on Sunday night, being the most-watched cable news network in total viewers and the younger A25-54 demo in primetime (1.2 million viewers, 116,000 A25-54). “Life, Liberty and Levin” was the highest-rated program in cable news across the board, delivering 1.6 million viewers and 129,000 in A25-54, according to early data from Nielsen, and Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in the 9-11 p.m./ET time slot, delivering 936,000 viewers and 109,000 in A25-54.
Wallace signed off for the final time from “Fox News Sunday” on Dec 12, 2021, informing viewers it would be his last show after 18 years on the network. He quickly announced that he’d be hosting a weekday interview program on CNN’s new streaming platform CNN+, but that endeavor was shut down one month into its launch after former CNN chief Jeff Zucker was fired. Wallace was “irate” after Zucker was ousted and the newscaster was “second-guessing his decision” to move networks despite his estimated salary of $8-$10 million, Radar Online reported at the time.
The entertainment news and celebrity gossip outlet noted that Wallace’s intended CNN+ gig was put on ice before new CNN boss Chris Licht decided to keep the show and move it to Sunday night.
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:
CNN, where careers go to die. https://t.co/XuSYVKYLLm
— Von Tann (@VonTann1) September 26, 2022
Less than test pattern numbers.
— Kevin Pouliot (@KevinPouliot1) September 26, 2022
Hard to believe Fox News kept him for so long. I don’t know who his audience ever was.
— 😎 Ultra MAGA Princess 😎 (@colsiegirl) September 27, 2022
There are some Minecraft YouTubers that pull more views.
— Dave (@farleyglobal) September 26, 2022
Not just his attitude. But who can listen to that voice!
— Mel (@melinlorida) September 26, 2022
Maybe they can move Chris to CNN+.
— Thomas Brandon 🏴☠️ (@THOMark77) September 26, 2022
Wallace joins the lengthy list of pundits that left @Foxnews only to have their careers go down in flames.
— MilnerBear (@modelerr) September 26, 2022
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy ….
— David Moore (@woodworkindave) September 26, 2022
We might have an answer to “Who’s Talking with Chris Wallace” but the answer to “Who’s Watching Chris Wallace” is “Not many!” https://t.co/A39gTILSPs
— ReggieVV (semi-fascist) (@ReggieVanderVe2) September 26, 2022
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
- FBI’s Chris Wray warns Chinese hackers preparing to attack US infrastructure ‘to induce panic’ - April 19, 2024
- Michigan district stands by teaching elementary kids they can make up pronouns like ‘tree,’ ‘zie’ - April 19, 2024
- Crenshaw claims MTG wants GOP to lose House, she says they already have under Mike Johnson - April 19, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.