The Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and the actor Alec Baldwin were at the center of unconfirmed reports this week about programming changes said to be planned at two of the cable news networks.
Ms. Kelly, according to an account first reported this week by the Drudge Report, is expected to get the 9 p.m. weeknight show on Fox News, a slot now occupied by Sean Hannity. There has been wide speculation about where Fox planned to place Ms. Kelly, a rising star at the network, since the network’s chief executive, Roger Ailes, announced that she would definitely join the Fox News prime-time lineup.
MSNBC is said to be planning a show for Mr. Baldwin that would be broadcast once a week on Fridays at 10 p.m., according to the Mediaite Web site, which first reported the item on Thursday.
For the moment at least, the moves remain unconfirmed. The role for Ms. Kelly is considered plausible, because it is consistent with versions of Fox’s plans for prime-time adjustments that have emerged in the last several weeks.
Fox responded to the online speculation with a statement: “We will neither confirm nor deny any programming schedule changes. As previously stated, the network has signed long-term deals with Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier, Shepard Smith, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren.”
Mr. Ailes also appeared at a business conference with Neil Cavuto, an anchor on the Fox Business Network, on Thursday and told him that Mr. Hannity was someone that viewers “want to see.” The shift most widely predicted is for Mr. Hannity to move up to 7 p.m., with Mr. Smith moving to anchor a midday newscast, perhaps at 1 p.m.
Fox News continues to dominate the ratings among the news networks, but of late its audience has aged upward, losing ground among the viewers most news advertisers seek to reach, those between the ages of 25 and 54.
All the anchors involved in the rumored switches are well within that age range themselves. Ms. Kelly is 42. Mr. Hannity is 51. And Mr. Smith is 49.
Mr. Baldwin is just over the line at 55, but he has just come off a multi-award-winning tenure on NBC’s comedy “30 Rock.” He has also attracted praise for his Internet podcast, where he interviews both celebrities and newsmakers.
Mr. Baldwin has been outspoken in his support of many liberal political issues, so he would presumably fit the profile of most hosts on MSNBC.
The network declined to comment publicly on the potential show, but one senior executive, who asked not to be identified, said, “We’re fans of Alec, but we don’t have anything to say regarding the unconfirmed reports.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: August 9, 2013
A previous version of this article misidentified the network associated with the anchor Neil Cavuto. It is the Fox Business Network, not the Fox Business Channel.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/10/business/media/reports-see-new-roles-for-megyn-kelly-and-alec-baldwin.html?partner=rss&emc=rss