Meghan McCain Leaving ‘The View’: A Look at Show’s Ratings During Her Controversial 4 Seasons

Meghan McCain is saying goodbye to The View. On Thursday, McCain officially announced her departure from the ABC morning talk show, with her four-year presence at the discussion table set to end at the end of the month. While her time on the show was shrouded in controversy and plenty of on-air drama, she will exit The View following a record-breaking season.

According to ratings and audience numbers compiled by The Wrap, when McCain joined The View in 2017, she was coming after two seasons that averaged 2.72 million viewers. In the three subsequent seasons with McCain at the discussion table, the talk show saw a slight dip year-over-year that averaged just 2.7 million viewers. The 2017-2018 season averaged 2.79 million viewers, falling to 2.64 million for the 2018-2019 season and again dropping during the 2019-2020 season to an average of 2.58 million viewers. That slight dip, however, rebounded throughout the most recent season (the current season data is through June 27), which has averaged 2.79 million viewers. That audience size is The View‘s best since the 2018-2019 season and means the talk show is leading daytime television. It also marks the first time in The View‘s 24-year history that it has led among households in daytime.

While the outlet notes that this year’s ratings can’t solely be contributed to McCain, and rather are likely due to the 2020 election, McCain’s presence on the show was reportedly large enough for ABC to beg her to stay. A source told Page Six that after learning McCain wished to leave the talk show, “ABC begged for her to stay” and even “offered a contributor role on ABC News.” McCain turned that offer down, announced at the top of the show on Thursday that she would be exiting The View after the current season ends.

“I am just going to rip the Band-Aid off. I am here to tell all of you, my wonderful co-hosts and viewers at home, that this is going to be my last season here at The View,” she said. “This was not an easy decision. It took a lot of thought and counsel and prayer, and talking to my family and my close friends, and, you know, look — COVID has changed the world for all of us and it changed the way, at least for me, the way I am looking at life, the way I’m living my life, the way I want my life to look like.”

McCain, who previously worked as a columnist for The Daily Beast and an MSNBC contributor and served as host on Fox News’ Outnumbered, joined The View in October 2017 following former co-host Jedediah Bila’s exit. She made her debut at the discussion table on Oct. 9, 2017. Announcing her departure on Thursday, McCain told viewers she will “be here through the end of July to finish out the season.” An exact date for her final appearance has not yet been confirmed.