With O’Reilly gone Carlson rises to the top at Fox News
Bill O’Reilly the top rated personality in cable news has been let go by Fox News and Tucker Carlson will be getting his 8 p.m. time slot. Today, Fox News parent company 21st Century Fox made the announcement early this afternoon.
“After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the Company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Bill O’Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel,” 21st Century Fox said in a statement Wednesday.
“This decision follows an extensive review done in collaboration with outside counsel,” Rupert, Lachlan and James Murdoch wrote in a note to staff. “By ratings standards, Bill O’Reilly is one of the most accomplished TV personalities in the history of cable news. In fact, his success by any measure is indisputable. Fox News has demonstrated again and again the strength of its talent bench. We have full confidence that the network will continue to be a powerhouse in cable news.”
“Lastly, and most importantly, we want to underscore our consistent commitment to fostering a work environment built on the values of trust and respect.”
The O’Reilly Factor, had a 15 year run as the top rated and one of the top money generating shows in cable news. His coveted 8 p.m. time slot will go to Tucker Carlson, who has been doing well 9 p.m. with his own show. The Five, will now get the 9 p.m. position as Fox News makes some sweeping changes.
For almost two weeks since O’Reilly went on vacation there has been rumors that he was not coming back to Fox News. The vacation came not long after O’Reilly was the focus of a New York Times story, that said he and Fox News have paid $13 million in settlements against women who have accused him of sexual harassment or abusive behavior going back to 2002.
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It has been a tough year for Fox News, the top rated cable news operation on television. First there was the ouster of Roger Ailes, for sexual harassment charges, the man who built the network and served as its president was gone.
Then came the loss of Megyn Kelly, one of the network’smost visable female personalities, who left for a new job at NBC. Now comes the loss of O’Reilly and that puts the network in a rebuilding position. But Fox News remains the top rated cable news outlet in the country and now we will see if they have a deep enough bench to hold that spot.
But in the end 21st Century Fox needed to clean house and they did what they had to do. Now, at 67 years old what is next for O’Reilly?
His settlement with the network should take care of any retirement issues he might have. But for now it is not clear where the O’Reilly Factor will be spinning.
Full text of the Fox statement came from POLITICO.
