Megyn Kelly Leaving FOX News for ‘Broad New Role’ at NBC News

If Kelly can create a tough-on-both-sides demeanor in her new programs, that would be an obvious shift to the middle for NBC.

Kelly’s new gig is an ambitious offer from NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack to host a daytime news show, anchor a Sunday night news show, and play a role in special programming. “Now that I’ve gotten into primetime things have become more competitive between us, just given the nature of where we are”, she said referring to O’Reilly.

Kelly released a statement on Facebook Tuesday confirming reports she’s moving to NBC.

At the time, Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch, who is also co-executive chairman of its parent company, 21st Century Fox, told The New York Times he hoped Kelly won’t go anywhere. Over at “The Deplorables”, which boasts more than 450,000 members, there were multiple posts bidding Kelly farewell, some worded more politely than others but all very happy that she would soon be gone.

Kelly’s star power grew after she became a flashpoint in the presidential campaign after Trump objected to her questioning in the first Republican presidential debate a year and a half ago.

Kelly tends to be attractive to younger and female audiences, who view her as a subtle and insightful counterpoint to Fox’s stereotypical dogmatic conservatism.

We’ve been talking about Megyn Kelly a lot in recent months.

Trump berated Kelly in a tweetstorm and Kelly returned fire – saying her question was appropriate. (Sawyer summited even this, becoming the anchor of ABC World News a few years after Couric started at CBS.) It’s impossible to know if Kelly’s daytime show will be any good, but she sure would be a slamdunk doing the “10 Most Fascinating People of the Year”. The 7 p.m. hour was left vacant earlier this year when longtime Fox News host Greta Van Susteren left Fox News amid the Ailes shakeup. NBC News called out key metrics in its statement, notably that “The Kelly File” is regularly the No. 1 cable news program in the coveted 25-54 demographic. Representation for Kelly has yet to respond to request for comment.

It is not yet clear if Kelly’s Sunday night program will air during the NFL football season, when NBC broadcasts “Sunday Night Football”.

Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes in July, opening the floodgates for others to come out with allegations of their own.

It put Kelly in an awkward position with Fox News Channel viewers who favored Trump, however.