Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox News host who was fired amid sexual harassment allegations, has been negotiating for a position with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, reports NBC News. The group is the nation’s largest television-station owner and is known for its conservative commentary.
NBC News reports that the talks are continuing, despite the sexual harassment cases. Last week, The New York Times reported that O’Reilly had settled a $32 million sexual harassment claim against him. The claim was by a former legal analyst, Lis Wiehl. This news does not appear to have had an effect on the talks either.
A source familiar with the talks told NBC News that the “they took a pause but it didn’t really change anything for them.”
O’Reilly has claimed that The Times article was published in order to hurt him and his job prospects. He has said the report was “politically and financially motivated.”
A source told NBC News that Dave Smith, executive chairman of Sinclair, met O’Reilly after the host left Fox in April. But a month later, Sinclair denied reports that it was pursuing O’Reilly. A spokesperson recently denied claims that Sinclair was in discussions with O’Reilly to NBC News. However, a source close to O’Reilly told NBC News that the two sides were “about midway” through negotiations, and another source said Sinclair is considering putting O’Reilly on its local stations.
Sinclair owns or operates 173 U.S. television stations. They recently reached a $3.9 billion deal for Tribune Media. If approved, the group would control more than 220 stations. Many of Tribune’s stations are Fox affiliates.
The source told NBC News that Sinclair is considering a two-hour block for O’Reilly, beginning at 6 or 7 p.m.
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