The "Red Eye" Ratings Formula

Fans of the late night (late night: 3:00 a.m. EST/12:00a.m. PST) Fox News Channel show "Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld" (commonly referred to only as "Red Eye") are hardly in shortage. According to its network, Red Eye garnered better ratings than CNN prime-time programming in the first week of February - the second time the show has pulled this off (the first in September2009).

The three year-old news/opinion/humor show snagged the coveted 25-54 demographic during both months, when it beat out Campbell Brown at 8 p.m. and Larry King at 9 p.m., only to tie with Anderson Cooper at 10 p.m. For any program that airs during what is traditionally recognized as way past bedtime in all North American time zones, that's quite a feat. But what is the formula that makes Red Eye so successful? I have a few guesses:

Atmosphere: Host Greg Gutfeld, "repulsive" sidekick Bill Schulz, "ombudsman" Andy Levy and the rotating panel of regulars keep the mood lighthearted - essentially, no matter the topic. There's not much to elaborate on in that department; it just works. But speaking of topics...

Relevance: Topics on Red Eye are inspired by a mix of politically and culturally relevant stories, and range anywhere from policy development headline of the day to obscure human interest blurb of the week on the newsworthiness scale. Back-handed inferences are made throughout each broadcast; but in terms of predictability, one constant occurs during the "Gregalogue" segment, an opinion monologue Gutfeld reads that is generally based on a hard news angle. The daily segment always ends with "And if you disagree with me, then you're _____," and Gutfeld fills the end of the statement with a rotation of ironic spoofs (for example, "worse than Hitler" or "a racist homophobe"), references to the unsubstantiated, outrageous allegations that the liberal left routinely throws at the conservative right.

Familiarity: Every similarly formatted news/opinion/humor show on air today has succeeded at creating its own language to earn the loyalty of a fan base, and this one is no different. Red Eye vernacular includes an artillery of recurring inside jokes, including those related to the personae of Schulz, Levy and Gutfeld himself. Gutfeld often makes references to his supposedly genuine feelings about mythical creatures, primarily unicorns and griffins; and, his feigned ignorance regarding geography, as he often refers to Hawaii as a country.

In terms of segments, many of the show's earlier daily segments are now retired; but the fairly recent "Robot Theatre" addition has become increasingly popular, as it involves two virtually created robots taking on the unflattering personae of those who publicly criticize Fox News (normally, liberal outlet Media Matters operatives Eric Burns and Andrew Sullivan). The computer-generated voices of the robots spend the segment blaming the problems of their personal lives on Fox News, Sarah Palin or George Bush; the mockery of the segment is usually enhanced by the robots' references to an affinity for applying lotion.

Those are the characteristics that I believe to be the fuel behind Red Eye's ratings success; but noticeably absent from these elaborations are reasons why these elements of the show work. That's because it's really up to each viewer to decide why these characteristics appeal to them (yes, it's a cop-out; I really can't articulate why each of them work. But it sounded good in my head, and I'd rather hear why they work for others anyways).

I also realize that for fans of the show, this is hardly a comprehensive list of its components; but it's a start, and others are welcome to add more in the comments. What do you like about Red Eye? Or, what do you hate? (I realize that not everyone is a fan. I dislike elements of the show from time to time; for example, I could do without the frequent illicit drug references. In 2009, some mild controversy brewed by way of disgruntled Canadian viewers. It certainly seems possible to have a love-hate relationship with the show). Red Eye viewers, I look forward to hearing from you!

Ratings source: http://www.thefoxnation.com/fox-news-channel/2010/02/08/red-eye-ratings-top-cnn-prime-time