NBC spent a whopping $17 million to lure Megyn Kelly from her position at Fox News, but insiders say they’re starting to regret it. Her first series with the network, Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly, so failed to get viewers that even America’s Funniest Home Videos reruns got better ratings. And with a month until the debut of her new show Megyn Kelly Today, the higher-ups are worried. The Daily Beast reports:
It was not a good omen for Kelly’s daytime prospects when Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly posted disappointing numbers, was reportedly pulled from its limited summer run July 30 two episodes short of the expected 10, and attracted unwelcome controversy with the Alex Jones segment, notably protests from the relatives of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims (including 20 young children killed in a mass shooting that Jones had called a hoax).
“The Sunday show laid such an egg that any claims that she had automatic star power, to get people in the door to see what she was doing, have been disavowed,” television news analyst Andrew Tyndall told The Daily Beast. “The stardom of the celebrity anchor was a phenomenon of the 1980s back when [flamboyant ABC News president] Roone Arledge was around. In this day and age, the shows make the anchors, not the other way around.”
Insiders say that Kelly’s popularity on Fox News didn’t translate to her first NBC show. At her old job, she was a favorite for the male, 55 and older demographics. Unfortunately for her, that isn’t enough to bring in strong ratings at NBC. They haven’t given up on her, however. Kelly’s new show will air during The Today Show, which executives hope will help her ratings.