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Fox News Channel will celebrate New Year’s Eve with Donald Trump

Donald Trump addresses supporters at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Dec. 21.

Donald Trump addresses supporters at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Dec. 21.

(Carlos Osorio / Associated Press)
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Fox News Channel plans to start off 2016 by tapping into Donald’s Trump’s power to lift cable news ratings.

The Republican presidential front-runner is to be a featured attraction on Fox News’ “All-American New Year” coverage hosted by Eric Bolling and Kimberly Guilfoyle, regulars on the network’s daily talk show “The Five.”

A Fox News spokesperson confirmed that Trump is set to appear via satellite “closer to midnight to ring in the new year.”

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Though Fox News Channel is the overall leader in cable news ratings, CNN has built a viewer habit on New Year’s Eve, thanks to the pairing of comedian Kathy Griffin and anchor Anderson Cooper for its live coverage from Times Square in New York.

Last year, CNN drew 1.6 million viewers with its “New Year’s Eve Live,” topping 1.2 million for Fox News Channel, and it has been the perennial winner in the 25-to-54 age group that advertisers seek to reach with news. (Fox News’ coverage was off Dish Network last year due to a contract dispute with the satellite video provider).

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Other contenders for the Republican nomination are also set to appear on “All-American New Year,” which is scheduled to air live from the Knickerbocker Hotel in Times Square from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. EST.

Twitter: @SteveBattaglio

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