Chris Wallace said he could no longer remain at his old network, Fox News, in good conscience after Tucker Carlson produced a three-part series laying out a theory that deep state operatives played a role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building.
So he left for what he believed was greener pastures — CNN.
He was wrong, at least in terms of the opportunity he thought he was getting.
Wallace’s first gig with his new network was with the shortlived CNN+, a $300 million streaming network that failed to last even a month on the air because it could not attract an audience. Now, his “Who’s Talking To Chris Wallace” show, which debuted on Sunday, also tanked, and badly.
The Daily Wire notes:
According to a report from RadarOnline, Wallace’s much-touted interview show — titled “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” — racked up only 43,800 viewers in the key 25-54 age demographic. Wallace scored just 401,000 total viewers during his show, which aired in the 7 p.m. ET hour.
In comparison, the former South Carolina Congressman hosted “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy” — and pulled in more than triple Wallace’s total viewers with over 1.3 million. He also nearly doubled Wallace’s number in the key demographic, racking up 78,000 viewers aged 25-54.
“Total Bomb!” @johnnydollar01 noted on Twitter in sharing the news. “Chris Wallace’s CNN Show Premiere Tanks, Pulls Only 44k Viewers In Key Demo. The program was down double digits across every category vs the 2022 average. On Fox @TGowdySC scored a massive 1.3M viewers with 78k in the key 25-54 age demo …”
Total Bomb! Chris Wallace’s CNN Show Premiere Tanks, Pulls Only 44k Viewers In Key Demo
The program was down double digits across every category vs the 2022 average. On Fox @TGowdySC scored a massive 1.3M viewers with 78k in the key 25-54 age demo…https://t.co/kjyha5fZPN— johnny dollar (@johnnydollar01) September 26, 2022
“FoxNews made Chris Wallace, didn’t need him. Ratings don’t lie,” conservative commentator and documentarian Mike Cernovich added.
FoxNews made Chris Wallace, didn’t need him. Ratings don’t lie. https://t.co/V5xQt7SWfQ
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) September 27, 2022
Initially, Wallace claimed he was leaving Fox News because he just wanted to do something different.
“After 18 years, I have decided to leave FOX. I want to try something new, to go beyond politics, to all of the things I’m interested in,” he said during his final “Fox News Sunday” broadcast. “I’m ready for a new adventure, and I hope you’ll check it out. And so, for the last time dear friends, that’s it for today.”
But later, he cited the Carlson series, which aired on Fox’s successful streaming service, Fox Nation.
“I’m fine with opinion: conservative opinion, liberal opinion,” Wallace said. “But when people start to question the truth — Who won the 2020 election? Was Jan. 6 an insurrection? — I found that unsustainable. I spent a lot of 2021 looking to see if there was a different place for me to do my job,” he said.
Apparently, it’s not at CNN.
