Greg Gutfeld Inks Contract Extension With Fox News - Barrett News Media (2024)

The King of Late-Night is staying put. Greg Gutfeld has signed a multi-year extension to remain with Fox News.

In a statement, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott sang the praises of the 10 PM ET host and shared her excitement that Gutfeld would remain with the cable network.

“Greg is a true original whose trademark political and cultural commentary, humor and gifted writing has deeply connected and grown with our audience for more than 17 years. Upon launching Gutfeld!three years ago, he rapidly disrupted the status quo to become the most-watched host in the genre with more viewers tuning in to his show than any other late-night program on television,” said Scott. “We are proud to be the home of Greg, his unparalleled analysis and late-night’s highest-rated program for many years to come.”

“Since joining the network in 2007, FOX News has given me the freedom to be unabashedly myself and, in turn, deliver a distinct experience for our audience,” Gutfeld added. “There aren’t many platforms that allow this type of creative independence and I’m proud to be a part of Suzanne’s team.”

Gutfeld! will celebrate its third anniversary on Friday, and has celebrated ratings gains in the process. Since its debut, the program has seen a nearly 50% rise in viewership, and was the top cable news program among the 25-54 demographic during the first quarter of 2024.

Fox News has announced that Greg Gutfeld will host his popular late-night program from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next month.

Gutfeld! will be on location from Monday, July 15th through Thursday, July 18th in Milwaukee, hosting his show outside Fiserv Forum in front of a live audience alongside Kat Timpf and various other panelists.

Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum are slated to host special primetime coverage of the convention as part of Fox News’ Democracy 24: Republican National Convention coverage. When their special primetime coverage concludes, Gutfeld will host his program at 11 PM ET.

To this point in 2024, Gutfeld! is the highest-rated program in cable news and is in the midst of its most-watched year in program history, as it averages more than 2.2 million viewers.

CNN is scheduled to host the first 2024 presidential debate Thursday night, and CEO Mark Thompson wanted to return debates to a more simplistic format.

“I wanted a return to a very simple, classical format,” Thompson told The New York Times while mentioning the famous 1960 televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon as inspiration for the network’s decisions on rules and format for the high-profile event.

During Thursday’s debate between former President Donald Trump (R) and President Joe Biden (D), the microphones of the non-answerer will be muted. No live audience will be in attendance. CNN is also bucking decades of precedent by featuring commercial breaks during the 90-minute debate. During those breaks, candidates will not be able to consult with their campaign staff.

Many conservatives have questioned why Trump would agree to a debate with such rules, and have also questioned why he would welcome a debate on a network like CNN. Charges of political bias have been lobbied against the network since his rise to the presidency in 2016.

Thompson said that while he’s happy both campaigns agreed to the debate, the network plans to let Trump and Biden be the stars of the show.

“The fact that we got it was something of a moment for us,”Thompson said. “Much of the reaction of the public, the rest of the media, and other politicians is going to depend on President Trump and President Biden, who are the stars of the show.”

CNN has defended both Jake Tapper and Dana Bash amid backlash and criticism of their perceived political biases.

In a statement to The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo, the network stood behind its decision to choose the pair to moderate the first presidential debate from its Atlanta studios this week.

“Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are well-respected veteran journalists who have covered politics for more than five decades combined. They have extensive experience moderating major political debates, including CNN’s Republican Presidential Primary Debate this cycle,” a network spokesperson said. “There are no two people better equipped to co-moderate a substantial and fact-based discussion and we look forward to the debate on June 27 in Atlanta.”

The defense of the moderators comes after CNN This Morning host Kasie Hunt prematurely ended an interview with former President Donald Trump’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt after she continually levied criticisms against Tapper.

Hunt fiercely defended her colleagues both on the air in ending the interview with Leavitt and also in a social media post.

“You come on my show, you respect my colleagues. Period,” wrote Hunt on X. “I don’t care what side of the aisle you stand on, as my track record clearly shows.”