Neil Cavuto is leaving Fox News after 28 years at the network and will bid viewers farewell at the end of Your World Thursday afternoon, Mediaite has learned.
Thursday will be the anchor’s last day on the air as his contract is up at the end of the month.
Cavuto is one of the few remaining on-air talent still with the network after joining at its inception in the late 1990s. A beloved presence at Fox, his exit is not the consequence of any bad blood, but rather an increasingly common industry reality: Cavuto was offered a new contract, which he declined to accept his new deal. Fox wanted him to stay on board, but a source explained that he ultimately decided to leave.
The cable news industry has undergone a season of belt-tightening, resulting in similar departures of star journalists who have opted to quit their networks instead of taking a smaller salary. While Fox News is on much better footing than its competitors — thanks to continued ratings dominance and a successful multi-platform strategy — even Rupert Murdoch’s news behemoth is not immune to the new realities of the business.
Over the past few years, Cavuto has become an iconoclast on Fox’s dayside programming, a rare voice willing to call out President-elect Donald Trump and face his wrath in return. Outside of politics, Cavuto has been open about his decades-long battle with multiple sclerosis and became a vocal critic of Covid vaccine denialism after a second bout of the virus nearly took his life.
Despite Cavuto’s tussles with Trump, a source said Cavuto’s departure has nothing to do with Trump. If his occasional criticism of Trump had been an issue, his show would have likely been canceled years ago, certainly before the election.
Cavuto, who manned news and business coverage for Fox, earned a reputation for calling balls and strikes that gave him the standing to host 12 hours of programming on the network each week. That included Your World and Cavuto Live on Fox News and Cavuto: Coast to Coast on Fox Business.
New programming will be announced in the new year on Fox News and Fox Business, a source said. For now, Your World will be helmed by a rotating cast of anchors until a new show debuts. Coast to Coast on Fox Business will become FOX Business Live, anchored by rotating hosts, until new programming debuts.
“Neil Cavuto’s illustrious career has been a master class in journalism, and we’re extremely proud of his incredible 28-year run with FOX News Media,” Fox said in a statement to Mediaite. “His programs have defined business news and set the standard for the entire industry. We wish him a heartfelt farewell and all the best on his next chapter.”
