Megyn Kelly has gone all-in on sexual harassment coverage lately — and it’s working for her.
The third hour of the “Today” show’s TV ratings grew double digits last week, when Kelly welcomed guests with allegations of inappropriate behavior by prominent men in Hollywood and the media.
For the week of October 23, “Megyn Kelly Today” rose 10 percent versus the average from previous week; the hour’s 2.338 million total viewers was its largest audience since premiere week, per Nielsen.
And Kelly was up 11 percent week over week in the key 25-54 demographic, with 682,000 viewers among that age range.
Over the past couple of weeks, few — if any — have interviewed as many Harvey Weinstein accusers on camera as the NBC News employee has.
Thus far this week, Kelly has continued to trend in the right direction. On Monday and Tuesday, the Fox News Channel alum averaged 2.5 million total viewers at 9 a.m., with 774,000 of those audience members coming from the main demo.
On Monday, Kelly featured Mark Halperin accuser Eleanor McManus on her show. Tuesday was Halloween, which is typically a solid day for all of the morning and daytime talk shows.
That said, the “Today” show’s third hour is still in the red year over year. Through five weeks, the 9 o’clock hour is down 31 percent in the main demo and 19 percent overall.
But the news cycle suggests that these sexual misconduct stories aren’t going away anytime soon, so we’ll keep an eye on how many people are keeping an eye on how they play for “Megyn Kelly Today” over time.
Perhaps Kelly can apply this strategy to “Sunday Night,” which could use an injection of new viewers next summer in the newsmagazine show’s anticipated sophomore run.
11 Women Who Have Left Fox News Shows, From Megyn Kelly to Laurie Dhue (Photos)
Fox News has enhanced the careers of numerous women who have served as hosts. All were hired by Roger Ailes, the former network boss who exited in August 2016 amid a sexual harassment scandal.
Greta Van Susteren -- who had been one of Ailes' most stalwart defenders -- left in early September 2016 after saying that Fox had "not felt like a home" for years.
Laurie Dhue was a familiar presence on Fox in the early 2000s but left the network in 2008. She has reportedly been shopping a tell-all book this year.
Outspoken host Elisabeth Hasselbeck left "The View" to join "Fox & Friends" in 2013, which she exited at the end of 2015.
Andrea Tantaros, former co-host of "The Five," filed a lawsuit saying that Fox News operated like a "sex-fueled, Playboy-Mansion-like cult."
Alisyn Camerota hosted a number of Fox News programs during a 16-year run that ended in 2014. She now hosts "New Day" on CNN.
Rudi Bakhtiar jumped from CNN to Fox News in 2006. She claimed she was sexually harassed by correspondent Brian Wilson and later spoke out against Fox News' culture after the Ailes scandal broke. She now works at Reuters.
Kiran Chetry was a Fox News host from 2001 to 2007. She was reportedly also an aspirant for a role on "Fox & Friends," the network's morning show.
Libertarian commentator Jedediah Bila appeared on Fox's "Outnumbered" and later turned up on ABC's "The View."
Her lawsuit started it all: Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson claims Ailes repeatedly sexually harassed her. Her suit was later settled for a reported $20 million.
Megyn Kelly ended her 12-year run with Fox News in early 2017 in exchange for a weekday show at NBC. She turned down a four-year, $100 million offer to stay with Fox News saying that one of the reasons for her departure was to spend more time with her kids. Kelly said she was among those at Fox News sexually harassed by Ailes.
"Happening Now" anchor Jenna Lee announced that she was leaving the Fox News after working there for 10 years. Lee said she still loves being a journalist and that she has "some really big ideas on how to better serve you in that particular arena" without Fox News.
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The Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly scandals have cast even some old departures in a new light
Fox News has enhanced the careers of numerous women who have served as hosts. All were hired by Roger Ailes, the former network boss who exited in August 2016 amid a sexual harassment scandal.
