TV Odds: Bill O’Reilly and the Fight for Cable News

Bill O’Reilly may be out of a job, but for Fox News it’s business as usual.

The conservative news company was forced to cut ties with O’Reilly after a slew of sexual harassment charges came to light, forcing them to call an abrupt end to their highest rated program, “The O’Reilly Factor”. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was moved to fill the 8 p.m. slot, and the cable news giant moved on as if nothing had happened.

Fox barely felt the impact of O’Reilly’s departure. Tucker Carlson’s 8 p.m. debut on Monday blew his competitors out of the water, and is already pulling in similar numbers to “The O’Reilly Factor”. The 8 p.m. competitors – MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” and CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360°” – both failed to capitalize on the shake-up. In fact, Carlson pulled in more viewers than the two shows combined.

Carlson vacated his 9 p.m. slot on Fox News, and the panel news show “The Five” was moved to take its place. MSNBC’s wildly popular “Rachel Maddow Show” currently leads that time slot in the coveted younger demographic, but “The Five” is leading overall. Over at CNN, Jake Tapper comes in at a distant third.

All this is great news for the Murdoch-owned behemoth. But we’ll have to wait and see whether Carlson can hold onto his lead. Currently, he’s riding the wave created by O’Reilly and it remains to be seen whether his viewers will stick with him for the long haul.

Fox News may be done with O’Reilly, but controversy seems to follow them. Before the O’Reilly fiasco, the channel had to deal with sexual harassment allegations regarding their CEO, Roger Ailes. Now, a class-action lawsuit is being filed by 11 Fox News employees accusing of racial discrimination. But if sexual harassment from their CEO and top-rated personality failed to make a dent in their ratings, it’s unlikely that this will.

Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN all take to the news from very different angles. MSNBC has staked a great deal on the Russia-Trump collusion story, and if something comes of that, they’ll probably receive a huge ratings boost. Meanwhile, CNN does best when it comes to breaking news and real-time reporting.

It’s still a three-way race, but Fox News currently has a very strong lead over the pack. Can MSNBC and CNN close the gap? Here are the odds!

Cable News Odds

Odds to lead the 8 p.m. in total viewership by year-end:

Fox News: 3/17
MSNBC: 9/1
CNN: 19/1

Odds to lead the 9 pm in total viewership by year-end:

Fox News: 1/1
MSNBC: 11/9
CNN: 19/1

Odds To Jump Ship in 2017:

Don Lemon: 9/1
Jake Tapper: 15/1
Anderson Cooper: 50/1
Chris Hayes: 99/1
Tucker Carlson: 250/1
Rachel Maddow: 300/1

Odds Fox News sweeps 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. by year-end: 1/1

Odds CNN leads in one time-slot from 4pm-11pm by year-end: 5/1