Fledgling virtual MVPD Vidgo, the only remaining  nationally distributed pay TV service still carrying the highly controversial One America News Network (OANN), is doubling down on right-wing content, giving former Fox News firebrand Bill O'Reilly  his own weekly show. 

O'Reilly, who was forced to end his high-profile 16-year tenure as a lynchpin commentator for Fox News back in April 2017 amid sexual harassment claims from six women, actually kicked off his new weekly Vidgo show, the hamfistedly titled Shock and Awe, last Friday, with an installment featuring former NFL stars Joe Namath and Rob Gronkowski discussing the physical toll caused by the game of football on its players. 

It's an interesting first topic, given that Vidgo pays the just re-retired Gronkowski to ply his well-worn knucklehead TV commercial persona to shill for the vMVPD in ads. Vidgo also markets itself as a key destination for college football live game coverage, with carriage of ESPN and Fox Sports 1&2, as well as regional sports channels The Longhorn Network and Pac-12 Network. 

As for this Friday's upcoming Shock and Awe installment, O'Reilly will look at "how the Biden Presidency stacks up against others." (Despite a landmark series of key legislative victories, you can probably guess where that's headed.) 

Vidgo, which had "over 25,000 subscribers" according to one published report last year, has committed to 40 installments of Shock and Awe, with Vidgo founder Shane Cannon touting on social media Tuesday, "the best package for Middle America just got better." 

"Vidgo is the future of information and entertainment. It will provide reasonable cost streaming with smart, unique content. Shock and Awe will deliver timely interviews and analysis with the most intelligent people in the world," O’Reilly said in a statement.

“Bill is an American icon. We couldn’t be more excited to have Vidgo serve as the exclusive home for Shock and Awe,” added Vidgo CEO Derek Mattsson. “We believe this is exactly the kind of programming that will resonate with our base and substantially grow our subscribers.”   

Notably, after building his fading media brand via the powerful platform of the notably far right Fox News, O'Reilly has criticized his former network for downplaying the significance of the January 6 insurrection. He's also dismissed former President Donald Trump's assertion that the 2020 election was "rigged." 

These beliefs are in direct conflict OANN, which was -- perhaps as a consequence -- recently dropped by DirecTV and Verizon. 

For its part, however, Vidgo continues to carry OANN, alongside Fox News and Newsmax. 

Fox News Channel personality Bill O’Reilly will not return to host his top rated show The O’Reilly Factor, network parent company 21st Century Fox said Wednesday.

In a statement released this afternoon, 21st Century Fox said that “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.” 

O’Reilly, who has been on vacation since April 12 and was set to return April 24, has been dogged recently by several sexual harassment claims, for which Fox News and O’Reilly have paid $13 million to settle, according to an April 1 New york Times article. Several advertisers have since pulled their commercials from The O’Reilly Factor, adding financial hardship to pressure from activists and women’s rights groups.

O’Reilly’s dismissal is a huge blow to Fox News, which has dominated cable network ratings since 2016. The network, bolstered by The O’Reilly Factor, has been the most watched cable network in primetime for the 12th time in the last 13 weeks and has consistently been the most watched cable show on a total day basis. 

21st Century Fox is getting closer to cutting ties with Bill O’Reilly, the biggest star on its high-rated, profit-generating Fox News Channel, according to published reports.

Following an April 1 article in The New York Times disclosing that Fox News and O’Reilly have paid $13 million to settle a number of sexual harassment claims, advertisers have pulled their commercials from The O’Reilly Factor, adding financial hardship to pressure from activists and women’s rights groups.

O’Reilly went on vacation last week. He had planned to return his show on April 24.

Related > Report: Fox Settled O’Reilly Sexual Harassment Claim Last Summer

Last year, Fox News’s powerful chairman Roger Ailes, who built the channel into a TV juggernaut and political powerhouse, was forced out amid sexual harassment charges.

21st Century Fox’s new CEO James Murdoch appears to be trying to run a more by the books organization than his swashbuckling father Rupert Murdoch, who remains executive chairman of 21st Century Fox and was put in charge of Fox News after Ailes’ departure.

Related > Fox News Channel, Ailes, Shine Named in New Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

The Wall Street Journal said Fox News is preparing to cut ties with O’Reilly, according to people close to the situation. The Journal, like Fox, is controlled by the Murdochs. A final decision on O’Reilly could come as early as the next several days, the paper said.

In New York magazine, Gabriel Sherman reported that the Murdochs are leaning toward announcing that O’Reilly will not return to the air.

One factor pushing the Murdochs is a pending ruling on 21st Century Fox’s $14 billion takeover of Sky TV in Europe, according to the magazine. The British Office of Communications is getting ready to rule on whether Fox is a “fit and proper” owner for Sky. Parting with O’Reilly would make Fox appear more squeaky clean to regulators by removing at least one potential objection.

According to The New York Times a new complaint from a former Fox News employee was registered on the 21st Century Fox sexual harassment hotline. The employee said that in 2008 that O’Reilly would leer at her, grunt like a “wild boar” and called her “hot chocolate.”

The Times said O’Reilly’s lawyer, Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz Benson Torres, said it was “outrageous that an allegation from an anonymous person about something that purportedly happened almost a decade ago is being treated as fact.”

Kasowitz also said O’Reilly “has been subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination that is unprecedented in post-McCarthyist America.”

“This law firm has uncovered evidence that the smear campaign is being orchestrated by far-left organizations bent on destroying O’Reilly for political and financial reasons. That evidence will be put forth shortly, and it is irrefutable,” Kasowitz said.

Ailes has also denied all of the charges made against him.

Fox News Channel continued to wear cable’s primetime ratings crown last week, according to Nielsen.

Fox News averaged 2.3 million viewers top all cable networks for the week of April 10 to April 16, according to Nielsen. Fox News topped the primetime ratings charts for the 12th time in the last 13 weeks even as Bill O'Reilly, host of the network's highest rated series The O’Reilly Factor, was on vacation for the majority of the week. Even without a full week of O’Reilly – who recently has been mired in controversy regarding several sexual harassment complaints – the series finshed the week with three of cable's top 10 most watched shows, according to Nielsen.

MSNBC finished second with 1.5 million viewers, followed by HGTV and TNT, both of which averaged 1.4 million viewers for the week. ESPN was fifth with 1.3 million viewers, followed by USA Network and Discovery Channel with 1.2 million viewers each, and History, TBS and Investigation Discovery -- all tied with 1.1 million watchers, according to Nielsen.

Fox News finished as the most watched network on a 24 hour basis for the 15th straight week, followed by Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, HGTV and MSNBC.

TNT was the top choice for adult 18-49 viewers in primetime for the week, while Adult Swim topped all networks on a 24-hour basis within the demo, said Nielsen.

Most Watched Shows On Cable During the Week of April 10 to April 16

DateShowNetworkTotal Viewers

4/16       NBA Playoffs—OKC/Houston                          TNT                                               5.1 million

4/16       NBA Playoffs—Chicago/Boston                        TNT                                              5.1 million

4/10       The O’Reilly Factor                                        Fox News                                       3.7 million

4/11       The O’Reilly Factor                                        Fox News                                       3.6 million

4/10       WWE Entertainment                                      USA                                             3.6 million

4/10       WWE Entertainment                                      USA                                             3.4 million

4/10       WWE Entertainment                                      USA                                             3.2 million

4/15       NBA Playoffs—Memphis/San Antonio               ESPN                                            3.1 million

4/13       The O’Reilly Factor                                         Fox News                                      3.1 million

4/11       WWE SmackDown                                          USA                                            3.1 million

Source: Nielsen

Fox News Channel stayed hot on the weekly ratings front, finishing last week as the most watched cable network, according to Nielsen.

FNC averaged 2.8 million viewers for the week of April 3 to April 9 to take the top spot for the 11th time in the past 12 weeks, according to Nielsen. MSNBC was second with 1.6 million viewers, followed by USA Network’s 1.5 million viewers and HGTV’s 1.4 million watchers.

Related: The News Keeps Making News

TBS, ESPN and CNN tied for fifth with 1.1 million viewers, followed by Investigation Discovery and History with 1 million viewers each and Discovery with 999,000 viewers, said Nielsen.

FNC was also the most watched cable network on a 24-hour basis for the 14th consecutive week, said Nielsen. USA Network was the choice among adults 18-49 during the week.

Related: Fox News Channel, Ailes, Shine Named in New Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Five episodes of The O'Reilly Factor starring Bill O'Reilly ranked in the top 10 most watched shows of the week, but advertisers began pulling commercials from the show following a New York Times article outlining several sexual harassment complaints against O'Reilly, who the network on Tuesday (April 11) said would be taking a vacation.

Most Watched Cable Shows April 3-9, 2017

DateTelecastNetworkTotal Viewers

 4/6        Hannity                                          Fox News                4.8 million

4/6         Shepard Smith Reporting                 Fox News                4.5 million

4/3         WWE Monday Night Raw                   USA                       3.9 million

4/3         WWE Monday Night Raw                   USA                       3.8 million

4/7         The O’Reilly Factor                          Fox News                 3.8 million

4/4         The O’Reilly Factor                          Fox News                 3.7 million

4/6         The O’Reilly Factor                          Fox News                 3.6 million

4/3         The O’Reilly Factor                          Fox News                 3.6 million

4/5         The O’Reilly Factor                          Fox News                 3.6 million

4/3         WWE Monday Night Raw                    USA                      3.5 million

Source: Nielsen

Fox News Channel was hit with another lawsuit by a woman claiming she was treated improperly by the network and its former chairman Roger Ailes.

The new suit was filed by Julie Roginsky, a paid on-air contributor to Fox News since 2011. It names Fox, Ailes and network co-president Bill Shine as defendants.

The suit comes nearly a year after Ailes was forced out of his powerful position because of a series of sexual harassment complaints, which the network has spent at least $30 million settling.

Related > Fox News Anchor Gretchen Carlson Files Suit Against Roger Ailes

Over the weekend, The New York Times published a story outlining a number of complaints that have also been made against Bill O’Reilly, the host of FNC’s top-rated shows. The Times said O’Reilly and the network have paid out $13 million in settlements.

Fox News and its parent, 21st Century Fox are being investigated to see if they properly disclosed to shareholders that these payments were made.

Related > Report: Fox Settled O’Reilly Sexual Harassment Claim Last Summer

In her suit, filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Roginsky alleges that FNC and Ailes discriminated against her “on the basis of her gender by making her deserved promotion to a regular spot hosting The Five contingent upon having a sexual relationship with Ailes."

“Fox News and Ailes thereafter retaliated against Plaintiff when she refused to have a sexual relationship with Ailes," the suit states. "Shine aided and abetted the discrimination and retaliation by Fox News and Ailes by failing to take reasonable measures to protect Roginsky from, and condoning, the unlawful conduct.”

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Bill O’Reilly’s recent comments on Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor regarding the “Black Lives Matter” movement have spurred a fierce Twitter reaction from Roland Martin, host of TV One’s News One Now. Martin wants to confront O’Reilly on-air regarding the protest movement involving mostly young African-Americans calling for change following several controversial police shootings of unarmed black men.

O’Reilly called the Black Lives Matter movement “a hate group” after a video emerged of some movement protesters in Minnesota chanting that police were “pigs in a blanket” in the aftermath of the shooting death of a Texas sheriff. O’Reilly also said he plans to put the movement “out of business,” and would publicly out any journalist who supports the Black Lives Matter movement.

Since then, Martin said he has unsuccessfully lobbied O’Reilly’s producers to appear on The O’Reilly Factor to debate the popular news/talk host about what he calls misconceptions about the movement. Martin also has made several Twitter posts calling out O’Reilly, as well as CNN’s Don Lemon and other TV news personalities, for “nonsense” they’ve stated regarding Black Lives Matter.

This past week (Sept. 9), Martin upped the ante on Twitter, saying “I Challenge @FoxNews, @oreillyfactor, @megynkelly @TheFive @ TheJuanWilliams to debate me about #Black-LivesMatter facts.”

“When somebody lies and distorts the truth they should be held accountable for it,” Martin told The Wire. “He opened the door by saying if there are any journalists out there who support Black Lives Matter, he’s going to put them on the network and call them out. And I said fine, I’ll raise my hand.

“I just want to correct the record. I don’t believe that people should go on and say things that are factually incorrect — if you disagree with a movement, fine, but you are going to be held accountable if you flat-out lie,” Martin said. “There are things that Bill O’Reilly has said that are simply not true, so we are certainly going to hold his feet to the fire and others as well.”

Fox News did not respond for comment. 

— R. Thomas Umstead

FCC Dish Decision Draws Praise From ‘Porker’ Patrol

Dish Network was featured in the most recent issue of the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) e-newsletter, but it probably would just as soon not have been.

CAGW gave the FCC a shout-out for unanimously denying Dish-affiliated designated entities Northstar Wireless, LLC and SNR Wireless — satellite-TV provider Dish owns 85% of both, through a joint venture — over $3 billion in bidding credits in the agency’s AWS-3 wireless spectrum auction. That means $3 billion more into the U.S. Treasury, which is getting a chunk of the auction proceeds after the funding of FirstNet and some research.

Calling it a victory for taxpayers, CAGW president Tom Schatz said: “The FCC auctions are a valuable method to increase the availability of spectrum, increase innovation, and raise money for taxpayers. The process must meet the highest standards of fairness and integrity.”

It’s no big surprise that the FCC’s decision would make news with CAGW, best known for its “porker” awards for its identification of what it says is government waste. (Dish memorably sent up cable companies as greedy pigs in ads about a decade ago, so turnabout might be fair play.) CAGW teamed up with other taxpayer groups to ask the FCC to deny the credits back in May, saying a grant would come “at the peril of [the FCC’s] already diminishing credibility.” Ouch.

Dish saw it quite differently, suggesting its participation was one of the big reasons the auction raked in so much dough in the first place.

“Our approach to the AWS-3 auction, which followed 20 years of FCC precedent and complied with all legal requirements, was intended to enhance competition — in the auction and in the marketplace long-term,” Dish senior vice president and deputy general counsel Jeff Blum told The Wire.

— John Eggerton

Fox News Channel and Bill O'Reilly will revisit the Old West with a series of hour-long specials, starting in April.

Legends & Lies: Into the West, executive-produced by the FNC anchor, who has written books about Abraham Lincoln, Jesus Christ, John F. Kennedy and George Patton, among others, will strip away the sagebrush on some of icons of America's Wild West, including, Jesse James, Billy the Kid and Doc Holliday.

The hour-long installments premiere with back-to-back episodes from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on April 12. From there, they will draw their regular Sunday time slot at 9 p.m. The docustyle show, from  Warm Springs Production, (History’s Mountain Men, Animal Planet’s American River Renegades), will encore Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Each week, Legends & Lies will feature a portrayal of the  moment that these figures are remembered for, supported by first-hand accounts from direct descendants and historians.Archival photographs and special effects will provide some of the forensic science and analysis that will enable viewers to separate the legend from the lie.

Produced by Scott Free Productions, National Geographic Channel has announced casting for the upcoming film, Killing Jesus.

Based on the best-selling book by Bill O’Reilly, the film will star Kelsey Grammer as King Herod, Haaz Sleiman as Jesus and Stephen Moyer as Pontius Pilot.

"The film Killing Jesus will break new ground in chronicling the life of the most famous human being who ever lived,” said executive producer O’Reilly. “The superb cast and script reflect much thought and research. Viewers are in for something very different and very special."

U.K.-based Chris Menaul is the director for the fall project, with the help of Oscar-and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Walon Green in his teleplay.

Killing Jesus will premiere in 171 countries in 45 languages in 2015, including Nat Geo Mundo in Spanish.

“The combined talent of this incredible cast is unparalleled, and we can't wait to see what this team of actors can do," said executive producer Moran. “With this stellar cast and breathtaking script by Walon based on Bill’s page-turner, we are going to explore the seismic political and historical events that surrounded the life and death of Jesus as never before.”

Casting is as follows:

Aneurin Barnard (“The White Queen”) as James

Emmanuelle Chriqui (“Entourage”) as Herodia

John Rhys Davies (“Indiana Jones”) as Annas

Vernon Dobtcheff (“Before Sunset”) as Isaiah

Joe Doyle (“Reign”) as Judas

Tamsin Egerton (“The Look of Love”) as Claudia

Abhin Galeya (“Cleanskin”) as John the Baptist

Stephanie Leonidas (“Defiance”) as Salome

John Lynch (“Sliding Doors”) as Nicodemus

Eoin Macken (“The Night Shift”) as Antipas

Alexis Rodney (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) as Simon (Peter)

Rufus Sewell (“Hercules”) as Caiaphas

With Haaz Sleiman (“The Visitor”) in the title role as Jesus

Stephen Moyer (“True Blood”) as Pontius Pilate

and Kelsey Grammer (“Partners,” “Boss”) as King Herod