The Megyn Kelly Experiment is Failing at NBC
A year and a half ago, FTVLive wrote this about NBC's hiring of Megyn Kelly:
Kelly has decided to walk away from huge money at Fox News to go to NBC and try her hand at a daytime talkshow.
Kelly wants it to be called a news show and not a talkshow. You can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. So, we'll call it what it is.
It will fail and most likely NBC will pull the plug after 2 years.
Today the NY Daily News writes, "NBC poured millions of dollars into "Megyn Kelly Today" and, in return, they've been rewarded with a massive drop in viewership."
The Daily News then goes on to say, her Sunday night newsmagazine show was an even bigger disappointment and was quickly shrunk to sporadic primetime specials.
So far, Kelly has lost 18% of the viewers over last year's numbers, averaging just 2.4 million per episode, according to Nielsen ratings. She's also lost 28% of viewers between the ages of 25 and 54.
Kelly asked for patience.
"Our show is a baby. We're six months old," she told the Wall Street Journal. "Morning TV is obviously new to me and I'm figuring it out as we go…I think any show needs about a year to just find its footing."
NBC President Andy Lack also defended the hiring.
"Megyn has continued to prove that she's a tremendously skilled, hard-hitting journalist, who adds valuable insight and analysis to all she touches," he told the Wall Street Journal.
Kelly's sinking viewership also appears to be affecting Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford's 10 a.m. show, according to the Wall Street Journal; their hour has seen a 6% drop in viewers and 19% among adults 25 to 54.
You can't say that FTVLive did not predict that this was all going to happen.