Fox News announced Tuesday Greta Van Susteren would leave the network after 14 years. “We are grateful for Greta’s many contributions over the years and wish her continued success,” said Fox News co-presidents Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine, in a statement.
The network gave no reason for Van Susteren’s sudden departure. In August ratings, On the Record was up 2 percent in total viewers, marking the 35th consecutive month as the most-watched cable news show in the 7 p.m. timeslot.
The announcement Tuesday morning may have even been a surprise to the long-running host, who updated her GretaWire blog Monday night to welcome back colleague Neil Cavuto, and to post a viewer poll this morning:
A source close to the situation tells TVNewser the departure was “over a financial disagreement.”
Fox News’ Howard Kurtz cites “a source familiar with the process” who says “Van Susteren asked to renegotiate her contract after Roger Ailes resigned…when those negotiations deadlocked, Van Susteren chose to invoke the departure option, the sources said. Her last show was Thursday, and the swiftness of events did not allow her to deliver an on-air farewell.”
Van Susteren has not made any statement on her exit, but has thanked colleagues for their support—and expressions of surprise—on Twitter:
Geraldo, I will miss you https://t.co/hOMlVM1AHE
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) September 6, 2016
Brit Hume will take over as anchor of On the Record beginning tonight, and running through Election Day. “As one of the best political analysts in the industry, Brit is the ideal choice to host a nightly political program while the most dynamic and captivating election in recent history unfolds,” said Abernethy and Shine. “Having Brit at the helm of this show will enable Fox News to continue on track to have its highest-rated year ever as the network dominates the cable news landscape.”