Over the last month, Bill O'Reilly and Fox News have been dealing with the scandal that the host reached a settlement with five women who accused him of sexual harassment. As the pressure mounts, O'Reilly's days at the network are expected to come to an end.
O'Reilly trouble
It all started at the beginning of April when the New York Times ran a bombshell story about Bill O'Reilly. The report claimed that the Fox News host had been accused of sexual harassment by at least five different women, with whom he reached a $13 million settlement with in the process.
The allegations couldn't have come at a worse time for the network, as Fox News is still rebounding and re-branding after founder and former CEO Roger Ailes was brought down over his own sexual assault allegations. Since the story broke, over 50 sponsors have pull their ads from "The O'Reilly Factor," leading to millions of dollars in lost revenue. Fox News has been on the fence as to how to handle the situation at hand, with O'Reilly being a high-rated mainstay for over 20 years, though the financial aspect appears to be pulling executives in one direction. According to New York Magazine on April 18, it appears that O'Reilly could soon be out of a job.
The Murdochs are leaning toward announcing Bill O’Reilly will not return to the air, sources tell @gabrielsherman https://t.co/biEiSdb7kQ
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) April 18, 2017
Bill O'Reilly is currently on vacation, as he is scheduled to return to the network next week.
However, O'Reilly might not see another broadcast at Fox News as the pressure from the aforementioned revenue drop could be too great to keep him on board. According to one source close to the network, New York Magazine reports that "it’s worse than Glenn Beck," which is in reference to the backlash that took down the former host.
Another issue that is carrying heavy weight is over the Murdoch family, who run the network, attempting to buy out Sky TV in Europe, which could fall through over the O'Reilly scandal. In addition, multiple sources have noted that while nothing is ever 100 percent certain, the Murdoch family is "leaning toward announcing that O’Reilly will not return to the air," and his expected departure could come at any moment.
Protest backlash
While Fox News is dealing with the financial aspect of the Bill O'Reilly fall-out, that's not their only concern. As reported by Media Matters on Tuesday, protests have not taken place outside the headquarters of Fox News calling on the network to fire the controversial host. The largest gathering outside the network's headquarters included survivors of sexual assault who were there to voice their opposition.
