Meet the new kid on the 4 p.m. block. On Jan. 21, The Will Cain Show replaced Your World with Neil Cavuto on weekday afternoons and the Fox News ratings machine barely missed a beat.
The newscast’s premiere episode attracted 3.5 million total viewers and 451,000 viewers among the Adults 25-54 set. That gives the former sports correspondent and prolific podcaster bragging rights for scoring FNC’s highest-rated daytime launch ever. Despite dipping below the three million mark on subsequent days, it still leads its time slot rivals.
Cain’s new perch also comes with some new perks. After five years as a frequent Dallas to New York flyer for his Fox & Friends Weekend co-hosting gig, he’s skipping the 1500-mile commute and anchoring his weekday show from Texas.

He’s also keeping his trusty mic from The Will Cain Podcast close at hand. As podcasters like Joe Rogan and Theo Von pivot to video courtesy of platforms like YouTube, Cain is bringing some of that still-emerging form’s visual language—and attitude—to legacy media.
In the latest edition of TVNewser’s “5 Questions For…” series, Cain reveals his game plan for winning the 4 p.m. hour and which five Dallas athletes belong in a local hall of fame.

1. Thanks to YouTube, podcasting has become the equivalent of TV news for younger viewers. What are three lessons that legacy media outlets can learn from podcasters?
There is only one lesson. Be real. Be authentic. I guess I could break that down into three lessons.
-Be curious. There is no way we can all be subject matter experts every day on everything. But we can honestly try to be right and seek the truth.
-Own your mistakes. That’s how you earn trust.
-Take what you say seriously but don’t take yourself seriously.
2. You got your start on the sports beat before moving into politics and news. How is covering Washington like covering a football game?
Ha! Well I’ve seen some people I really like in sports say they’re the same. Cowboys/Eagles, Republican/Democrat. But it’s not that way for me. I love sports because it’s an outlet for irrational tribalism. It’s a healthy outlet. But my only team in news and politics is America.
I’ll tell you how I think we’ve learned politics and sports are the same and we’ve learned it from Trump. Always play offense.
3. You’re inheriting the 4 p.m. hour previously occupied by Neil Cavuto. That’s an interesting timeslot since you’re coming off the morning and afternoon news cycles and teeing up primetime. What’s your strategy for building an audience in that hour?
I love the opportunity to serve as a transition from news to opinion. Here’s why. I think much of journalism starts with a lie. That the person sharing information with you is “objective.” I’ve been in this business long enough to promise you they are not. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has bias. I am honest with the audience about my opinion.
Objectivity isn’t a magic suit, tie and microphone you out on. It’s about being open minded, honest about your opinion, hearing rebuttal, weighing the facts, and seeking the truth. And I hope the audience will respect that approach which is naturally a blend between afternoon and primetime.
4. You hosted your first episode of The Will Cain Show on Tuesday. Which TV show gets your pick for having the greatest series premiere of all time?
Man I don’t know. I remember thinking the first episode of True Detective was incredible. Lost was big time coming out of the gate. I just had to google this to jog my memory. Game of Thrones.
5. Your hometown is building a Dallas-specific Sports Hall of Fame and you’re tasked with picking the first five honorees. Whose portraits are being hung in the hall and why?
1. Roger Staubach. Easy. Captain America.
2. Dirk Nowitski. He is beloved.
3. Troy Aikman/Emmitt Smith/Michael Irvin. Sorry, that’s three-in-one but they’re inseparable.
4. Tom Landry
5. Nolan Ryan. We’ll fight with Houston over who gets to claim him.
On deck circle: Bob Lilly, Mike Modano, Doak Walker, Bobby Layne, Pudge Rodriguez, Scottie Scheffler (it’s coming).
News
THAT WAS THE MOMENT I REALIZED SOMETHING FAR WORSE THAN BETRAYAL HAD BEEN HAPPENING UNDER MY ROOF
The Flinch For one terrible second, it felt like the entire world stopped turning. I stood in the wide archway of my own living room in Greenwich, Connecticut, with a bouquet of white roses in one hand and a boutique…
My Parents Paid For My Sister’s College But Not Mine—Untill The Dean Called My Name As Valedictorian
Episode 1: BAD INVESTMENT My name is Francis Townsend, and I’m twenty-two years old. Two weeks ago, I stood behind a podium on a graduation stage in front of three thousand people while my parents sat in the front…
My Dad Mocked Me As ‘Uneducated And Worthless’—Then I Told Him Who I Really Was
Episode 1: FREELOADER My name is Heather Evans. I’m thirty-two years old. Three weeks ago, at my father’s retirement party, he did something so cruel, so public, and so perfectly on brand for the man he had always been…
My Parents Refused To Care For My Twins During My Surgery—Their Faces When Grandpa Spoke Priceless
Episode 1: BURDEN My name is Myra Whitmore. I’m thirty-four years old, a cardiology resident, and a single mother to three-year-old twins. Two months ago, I was lying in the back of an ambulance with blood on my hands,…
My Parents Disowned Me In 10th Grade, Pregnant—Years Later, They Begged For My Son. He Didn’t Exist.
Episode 1: DEAD TO THEM My name is Grace Meyers. I’m thirty-six years old. Twenty years ago, my parents threw me out of the house for getting pregnant in tenth grade. I was sixteen. It was raining. I had…
“Don’t Come Home, Your Sister Doesn’t Want You There”, My Parents Said—Years Later, At My Wedding…
Episode 1: DON’T COME HOME My name is Tori Thatcher, and I’m thirty-two years old. Five years ago, my mother called me three days before Thanksgiving and said seven words that split my life clean in two. “Don’t come home…
End of content
No more pages to load