Bill O'Reilly might soon be back on TV with a syndicated show


Bill O'Reilly, fired from Fox News after it emerged that several women accused him of sexual harassment and he paid out millions in settlements, might be getting a second chance.
O'Reilly is in negotiations with Sinclair Broadcast Group, which earned some notice for telling local news channel managers they have to run segments featuring conservative commentary, two people familiar with the talks told NBC News. The recent revelation that O'Reilly paid $32 million to settle sexual harassment claims by former Fox News legal analyst Lis Wiehl didn't appear to scare off Sinclair. "They took a pause but it didn't really change anything for them," one person told NBC News.
Sinclair denies being in negotiations with O'Reilly, but a person close to him says they are "about midway" through talks. Sinclair owns or operates 173 television stations in the United States, and if a deal to purchase Tribune Media is approved by regulators, that number would rise to 220. As for O'Reilly, one person told NBC News that Sinclair is thinking about giving him a two-hour syndicated show, maybe starting at 6 or 7 p.m: "They want to do something anti-CNN, anti-MSNBC."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How does the EPA plan to invalidate a core scientific finding?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Administrator Lee Zeldin says he's 'driving a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion.' But is his plan to undermine a key Obama-era greenhouse gas emissions policy scientifically sound — or politically feasible?
-
The countries that have recognized Palestinian statehood
The Explainer The United Kingdom has become the latest country to weigh in on the issue
-
9 grab-and-go toiletry sets that make packing a breeze
The Week Recommends All the essentials in one place
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement