Jesse Watters to replace Tucker Carlson in Fox News' prime-time lineup

Jesse Watters is moving into a new hosting role during the 8pm hour that was formerly hosted by Tucker Carlson, Fox News said Monday.

Why it matters: Fox News' 8pm ratings have lagged in recent weeks without Carlson. The former Fox News host regularly averaged more than 3 million viewers on his "Tucker Carlson Tonight" program.

• Several Fox News hosts filled Carlson's spot temporarily for the past two months while the network searched for a permanent replacement.

Details: The new prime-time lineup, which will debut July 17, will see prime-time anchor Laura Ingraham shifting from her 10pm shift to the 7pm hour.

• Greg Gutfeld, who currently hosts a late-night show at 11pm, will move to Ingraham's old slot.
• Sean Hannity will remain in his spot at 9pm.
• The network's midnight nightly newscast, "FOX News @ Night" with Trace Gallagher, will air an hour earlier at 11pm.

Between the lines: Watters is one of Fox News' most popular hosts. In a statement, Fox News noted that his 7pm ET show, "Jesse Watters Primetime" has averaged 2.6 million viewers nightly to date this year.

• In addition to his own show, Watters also co-hosts Fox News' popular 5pm ET show, "The Five," with four other hosts.
• "The Five" was the most-watched show in cable news last year.

Go deeper: Tucker Carlson out at Fox News

Editor's note: This piece was corrected to remove a reference that Jesse Watters had temporarily filled Tucker Carlson's 8pm spot, before Watters was selected as the new host.