NEW YORK (AP) - Conservative commentator Laura Ingraham is joining Fox News Channel’s prime-time lineup with a program that pushes Sean Hannity into a direct competition with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
Her show, “The Ingraham Angle,” will air weekdays at 10 p.m. ET starting Oct. 30. The radio talk show host is no stranger to Fox viewers since she’s been a commentator on the network for a decade, and her ascension to a regular show has been an open secret since earlier this summer.
Fox said her show would “focus on every day, hard-working Americans who serve as the backbone of the nation” and highlight the importance of faith. Ingraham did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Monday.
She’s also the founder of the political and cultural web site Lifezette. While she will continue to be listed as an editor there, she will have no daily role, Fox said.
Meanwhile, Hannity will return to the 9 p.m. time slot he occupied for several years starting next week. With the departures of Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly over the past year, the vociferous backer of President Donald Trump has become Fox’s most popular personality.
The panel show “The Five,” a weak link in the ratings for Fox, returns to the late afternoon time slot it occupied for several years.
Hannity takes on cable news’ hottest performer, Maddow, in a competition that is likely to have little overlap in viewers.
Ingraham had been rumored to be under consideration earlier this year for a role in President Donald Trump’s White House. But she’s not a “no questions asked” supporter, and was critical last week of Trump’s discussions with the Democrats about immigration reform.
She also said earlier this year that she was considering a 2018 challenge to Democrat Tim Kaine for a U.S. Senate seat representing Virginia, an avenue that would be cut off from her with a nightly program on Fox.
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This story has been corrected to show that “The Ingraham Angle” starts next month.
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