Bill O'Reilly Eyes Return To Television with Brand New Show
For more than a decade, Bill O’Reilly was a fixture in the 8 p.m. Eastern time slot on Fox News. He also dominated his competition among cable-news networks in terms of ratings.
O’Reilly has been absent from his traditional primetime spot for more than a year, but reports suggest that absence may not last much longer.
The New York Post reported Monday that O’Reilly has been in talks with Newsmax TV about developing a new show for the conservative network.
The Post’s Page Six website also reports Newsmax is also speaking with former Fox News hosts Greta Van Susteren and Eric Bolling about hosting primetime programs on the network.
Bill O’Reilly in talks to return to cable news https://t.co/Upv8718xWR pic.twitter.com/lru6X3Vqv5
— Page Six (@PageSix) May 15, 2018
As The Western Journal reported May 3, Bolling recently signed a deal with Conservative Review’s CRTV to host a digital show for the subscriber-based service.
Page Six reporter Emily Smith quoted a source as saying no deals have been signed, but that talks between Newsmax and the former Fox hosts “are in the advanced stages, certainly with O’Reilly.”
In addition to O’Reilly, Van Susteren and Bolling, Newsmax is also speaking with former White House press secretary Shawn Spicer about hosting a nightly show centered around panel discussions about politics.
“The thinking is, following a 6 p.m. news show, Greta would anchor the 7 p.m. hour, O’Reilly would be back at 8 p.m., and Bolling could smoothly continue on at 9 p.m. Spicer and his cohorts would go on at 10 p.m., with the later slot allowing the show to be looser,” the source told Smith.
Newsmax has a reach of approximately 50 million homes via DirecTV, Dish Network, various cable services and a handful of over-the-air channels across the country. Its programs also stream free online.
Despite having the highest-rated cable news show, O’Reilly was fired from Fox News on April 19, 2017 following an investigation into claims by multiple women over sexual harassment. Just weeks prior to O’Reilly’s dismissal, The New York Times ran a story claiming five women had been paid a total of $13 million to settle harassment claims against the anchor.
Since his firing, O’Reilly has kept a relatively low profile, but he has been the subject of a number of rumors about his possible return to television.
Last June, One America News Network said it had extended an offer to O’Reilly to host a show on its network, but pulled the offer after not getting a response from O’Reilly’s agent.
In October, O’Reilly was in talks with Sinclair Broadcast Group to host a two-hour daily show that would be syndicated via Sinclair’s network of U.S. broadcast stations. Sinclair owns more than 170 channels in 80 marks across the country. However, Sinclair announced in November it was not pursuing a deal with O’Reilly.
During an interview with radio host Glenn Beck in June of last year, O’Reilly said he would be interested in returning to TV if it was on a competitive network.
“It has to be the right vehicle. It has to be a vehicle that’s competitive, because I’m having fun,” O’Reilly told Beck. “I never wake up and say, ‘Gee, I wish I could commute to New York City today for an hour and a half and walk into a tension-packed cauldron.”
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