FILE - In this combination photo, Tucker Carlson, host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," appears on the set in New York, Thursday, March 2, 2107, left, and Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly appears on the set of his show, "The O'Reilly Factor" on Oct. 1, 2015 in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE – In this combination photo, Tucker Carlson, host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” appears on the set in New York, Thursday, March 2, 2107, left, and Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly appears on the set of his show, “The O’Reilly Factor” on Oct. 1, 2015 in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

 

New York – Tucker Carlson moved into Bill O’Reilly’s old time slot at Fox News Channel and, on his first night Monday, took over his predecessor’s status as host of the most-watched host in cable news.

The Nielsen company said that Carlson’s first night at 8 p.m. attracted 3.17 million viewers, beating the combined audience of MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, who reached 1.52 million viewers, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who reached 1 million.

Carlson did not beat O’Reilly’s nearly 4 million average during the first three months of the year, before being fired following news about Fox settling harassment cases involving him. Carlson had averaged 3.3 million in the 9 p.m. time slot following O’Reilly.

Fox’s relocated “The Five” reached 2.76 million people at 9 p.m., while MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow had an audience of 2.16 million. CNN’s test of a Jake Tapper series at that hour reached 881,000.

As reported by Vos Iz Neias