‘The Will Cain Show’ debuts with 3.5 million viewers, marking biggest daytime premiere in Fox News’ history

The premiere of Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show” marks the biggest daytime debut in the channel’s history. 

Tuesday’s launch of the program airing in the 4 p.m. ET timeslot averaged a strong 3.5 million total viewers with 451,000 in the advertiser-coveted demographic of viewers ages 25-54. 

That audience accounted for 68% of all cable news viewers and 73% of cable news viewers in the key demo. The debut already marks more than double Fox News’ average in the 4 p.m. ET timeslot in 2024. 

FOX NEWS HOST WILL CAIN SAYS NEW DAYTIME SHOW OFFERS HIM ‘EXCITING CHALLENGES’

Will Cain has generated an impressive following in recent years between his previous role as co-host of “FOX & Friends Weekend” as well as the host of “The Will Cain Show” podcast, which he continues to helm. 

“The Will Cain Show” is now the lead-in program of “The Five,” which reached nearly 6 million total viewers on Tuesday with 762,000 in the key demo. 

“The Will Cain Show” debuted to 3.5 million total viewers on Tuesday. (Fox News Media)

“I’m an incredibly curious person, and one of the exciting challenges of this new job is the balancing act of transition from news into opinion. I will be handling both at that time of the day,” Cain told Fox News Digital.

“I’ll be offering the audience my honest opinion, my unvarnished opinion on the news. But I will also be presenting reports and giving the audience the information they need at that time of the day to help make up their own mind,” Cain continued. “I will be very professional, but I’ll also be having fun.”

FOX NEWS HOST WILL CAIN TO TAKE OVER 4 PM ET WEEKDAY TIMESLOT WITH ‘THE WILL CAIN SHOW’

Cain said that his new program will be both “casual” and “immediate,” but he isn’t afraid to try new things in order to keep the audience engaged.    

“I will do deep dive analysis, and it’s going to be an evolution,” Cain said.  

“It will be an evolution over time, like every single television show has ever been. And I ask and look forward to the audience going with me along that ride,” Cain said. “You know, where we start may not be where we end up, but I think we all understand the spirit of the show that we want to launch.”

Fox News Channel’s “The Will Cain Show” debuts on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.  (Fox News)

Cain said he has heard words of encouragement from a variety of Fox News stars, and the most frequent advice he’s heard is to “simply be yourself.” 

“You have to lean into whatever it is that’s unique or a strength for you,” he said, adding that he’s not looking to emulate a specific program.

OVER 10 MILLION VIEWERS WATCHED FOX NEWS’ INAUGURATION COVERAGE, CRUSHING ALL OTHER NETWORKS

Cain has interviewed a broad range of guests each weekend since joining Fox News in 2020, including President Trump, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, among numerous other political and cultural newsmakers. He is expected to have conversations with figures from all walks of life on the new program. 

Trump took to social media over the weekend to declare Cain “will do a great job on his news show” because he’s “got what it takes for success.” 

Will Cain will continue hosting “The Will Cain Show” podcast.

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Cain said it was “incredibly flattering” to hear from the president only 48 hours before Inauguration Day. 

“It makes me feel grateful,” Cain said. 

“One of the privileges of hosting ‘FOX & Friends Weekend’ over the last five years has been knowing the President of the United States, or the former President of the United States, watches what you have to say on Saturdays and Sundays,” Cain added. “My suspicion is the president was watching on Saturday and saw me say goodbye to Rachel Campos-Duffy and my family at ‘Fox and Friends Weekend.’”

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.