Red Eye (talk show)

Did You Know?

• While the show aired at 3 a.m. ET, it was actually taped at around 8 p.m. the previous night.
• Gutfeld once joked that the show would not survive three months if they had to stay up until 3 a.m. because they would all become raging alcoholics.

History

Andrew Levy first came across Greg Gutfeld's work on the Huffington Post, where he started leaving comments. As Levy’s replies expanded to include back-and-forth with other commenters, he began to suspect that the most outlandish remarks were actually written by Gutfeld himself. When Levy posted this theory on his own blog, Gutfeld emailed him to clarify that he wasn’t responsible, sparking a correspondence. Gutfeld later began tipping Levy off about upcoming posts and asking for feedback on his writing. Levy was eventually invited to join Gutfeld’s new blog, “The Daily Gut,” and later asked to participate in a new Fox News program. Bill Schulz had worked as an assistant editor at Stuff Magazine when Gutfeld became editor in chief. Rachel Marsden, a columnist for the Toronto Sun, joined the panel later; Gutfeld noted that producers likely saw her as a good “lightning rod.” The show was initially tested under the name Wasteland, with video clips of that version available on the Fox News website. The name was chosen because the program was meant to cover “a land of waste” and meaninglessness, but it was later changed to Red Eye, as Wasteland was considered too negative and likely to drive viewers away. The phrase “Red Eye” was selected because it seemed to capture the show’s essence and resonate with its audience. John Moody, Fox News’s Executive Vice President of News Editorial, explained they wanted a word that evoked what the show was. Senior producer Shelly Stevenson said the goal was to tip a hat to the people they were serving. Moody also listed the original target audience as “slackers and losers,” the “depressed, the dissatisfied, the depraved,” “bloggers,” and those aged 18 to 40. Shortly after the show launched, the Chicago Tribune sued News Corporation, Fox News’s parent company, claiming the title Red Eye could be confused with its own free commuter daily, RedEye, which had debuted in 2002. John Moody proposed to U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo that the show be blacked out for Chicago-area viewers to avoid confusion, and if Fox lost the case, he suggested canceling Red Eye and replacing it with reruns of Fox Report with Shepard Smith.

Episode structure

The program gathers a roundtable of panelists and satellite-linked guests. Tom Shillue, guided by input from Andy Levy, crafts the daily material. Each episode opens with Shillue introducing his guests using flattering, over-the-top comparisons; fans sometimes submit these introductions via Twitter. The show also employs unconventional visuals, such as obscure popular animal videos—especially cats—during certain segments. Levy, known as "TV's Andy Levy" or "TV's Very Own Andy Levy," serves as the show's ombudsman and appears in the segment "Halftime Report w/ Andy Levy."

Ratings

Red Eye's Nielsen ratings tell a story of a late-night show that often defied expectations for its time slot. In March 2007, while still airing at 2:00 a.m. Eastern, the program pulled in an average of 309,000 viewers. That was a drop of about 9 percent compared to March 2006, when a different show occupied that same hour. But the picture changed in the advertiser-coveted 25-to-54 age group, where viewership rose 15 percent year over year, from 134,000 to 154,000. The 18-to-34 demographic saw an even bigger jump, up 27 percent from 33,000 to 42,000.

When Red Eye moved to 3:00 a.m. Eastern in October 2007, its numbers took a hit. By its first anniversary, average total viewership had fallen 15 percent to 285,000, and the 25-to-54 demo dropped 24 percent to 123,000. The second anniversary episode on February 5, 2009, marked a turnaround: the show averaged 390,000 total viewers and 166,000 in the key demo. Nielsen also noted that in March 2008, about 6.1 percent of the audience watched via recording rather than live.

The rest of 2009 showed volatility. In July, Red Eye averaged 335,000 total viewers and 135,000 in the demo. By September, those numbers jumped to 433,000 total and 203,000 in the demo. For the full year, the show ranked 40th among all cable news programs, averaging 365,000 total viewers and 163,000 in the demo. The week of its third anniversary in early February 2010, it again hit 433,000 total viewers with 180,000 in the demo.

By the time Red Eye reached its 1,000th episode, it was averaging 365,000 total viewers and 185,000 in the 25-to-54 demographic, representing a 17 percent increase in total viewers and a 13 percent rise in the demo compared to 2010. October 2011 brought the largest audience in the show's history. In the key 25-to-54 demographic, it outperformed several higher-profile programs, including CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, Erin Burnett Outfront, and John King, USA; MSNBC's Morning Joe and Hardball With Chris Matthews; and HLN's Nancy Grace.