FOX News Media Extends Bret Baier’s Multi-year Deal

FOX News Media has extended Bret Baier’s current multi-year deal where he will remain as anchor and executive editor of Special Report (weekdays, 6-7 PM/ET) on FOX News Channel (FNC), announced Suzanne Scott, CEO of FOX News Media. Baier, who signed a new multi-year deal in 2019, will also continue as the network’s chief political anchor.

In making the announcement, Scott said, “Bret has masterfully covered some of the most consequential news stories of our time and we’re thrilled to have him continue his extraordinary journalism career at FOX News for many years to come.”

Baier added, “I am thrilled to continue working with FOX News Channel for the next five years. It has been my home away from home for almost a quarter century. Suzanne Scott, Jay Wallace, and the Murdoch’s have been terrific leaders and bosses. I look forward to working closely with my incredibly talented team to cover the Important stories of our time in the fair and honest way our viewers expect.”

Since taking over Special Report in January 2009, Baier has increased the show’s audience by double-digits, up 53% overall in total viewers and up 21% in the coveted 25-54 demographic. The show has ranked number one in cable news in its timeslot for more than a decade with Baier at its helm. Most recently, Special Report experienced a record-breaking year in 2020 as the top-rated 6 PM/ET program in all of cable, averaging 3.1 million viewers and 550,000 in the 25-54 demo, according to Nielsen Media Research. Additionally, in April 2020 the program ranked number one among all cable news offerings, providing full coverage of the White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefings.

Baier has played a critical role in every major political event and election since joining the network in 1998 as the first reporter in the Atlanta bureau. Most recently, he co-anchored FNC’s Democracy 2020 election coverage alongside Martha MacCallum, which garnered the highest ratings for election night in cable news history with 14.1 million viewers. Throughout the 2020 cycle, Baier co-anchored the network’s special coverage of the presidential debates as well as the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. He also co-moderated a series of presidential election town halls with then-candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Amy Klobuchar as well as former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former President Donald Trump. The network’s town hall with candidate Sen. Sanders continues to hold the record for the most-watched town hall featuring a 2020 candidate in the Democratic presidential primary race.