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What is the current status of Bill O'Reilly's career after leaving Fox News in 2017?
Executive summary
Bill O’Reilly was ousted from Fox News in 2017 amid revelations about multiple settlements over sexual-harassment claims; since then he has remained active as an independent media figure, producing a regular podcast and newsletters under “No Spin News” and appearing on other platforms including recent TV and town-hall-style appearances [1] [2] [3]. Major outlets and archives show his ongoing output includes daily/weekly podcast episodes, a maintained website with commentary, and periodic television or network appearances through 2025 [1] [2] [3].
1. Ousted from prime-time but still producing content — what changed after 2017
Bill O’Reilly’s high-profile run at Fox News ended in 2017 after reporting about multiple settlements and sexual-harassment claims; that departure removed him from a long-running cable-news platform but did not end his public commentary career, which shifted to independent channels and direct-to-audience products such as No Spin News and The O’Reilly Update podcast (available sources do not detail the 2017 settlements explicitly in these search results but list the Fox exit and his subsequent independent operations) [1] [2].
2. A digital pivot: podcasts, website and newsletters
O’Reilly has built an output model centered on his website and audio shows: BillOReilly.com hosts his writing and “No Spin News,” and his podcast The O’Reilly Update and related feeds (Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Megaphone) publish frequent episodes — listings show hundreds of episodes and updates into 2025, demonstrating consistent production rather than retirement [1] [2] [4] [3].
3. Platform appearances and claims of large audiences
Beyond podcasts, O’Reilly has made televised or networked appearances and town-hall-style events; press coverage of a recent exchange with Bill Maher notes O’Reilly citing a NewsNation town hall he claimed drew “23 million” viewers — that is his stated viewership figure in the encounter reported by TV Insider, but independent verification of that specific number is not provided in the available sources [5]. The presence of such appearances signals efforts to re-enter or engage broadcast audiences as well as podcast listeners [5].
4. Revenue and public profile: diversified but disputed metrics
Third-party write-ups and speaker listings portray O’Reilly as monetizing books, podcasts, subscriptions, and speaking engagements; a net-worth-style article and speaker-agency profile describe ongoing income streams from book sales, speaking, and online content, but these pages are not investigative financial reporting and should be read as secondary sources rather than audited accounting [6] [7]. The sources offer claims of financial resilience but do not provide verifiable settlement amounts or full financial disclosure [6].
5. Media reception and competing perspectives
Mainstream and cultural outlets show mixed reactions: some coverage treats him as a still-influential conservative commentator able to reach audiences via new platforms, while other commentators and hosts (for example Bill Maher) use his post-Fox status to argue his mainstream prominence has declined; O’Reilly pushes back by citing audience numbers and continued content production [5]. Readers should note these are competing narratives: one sees reinvention and direct monetization; the other sees diminished institutional stature after 2017.
6. What the available reporting does not cover
Available sources in this search set do not provide a full accounting of the 2017 settlements’ totals, any legal documents, nor independent auditing of O’Reilly’s current audience metrics or income. They also do not include direct, comprehensive timelines tying every post-2017 activity to specific dates beyond podcast episode archives and individual coverage (not found in current reporting) [1] [2] [3].
7. Bottom line — active, independent, controversial
Bill O’Reilly remains an active media figure who transitioned from a Fox News primetime anchor to running his own content operation — podcasts, a paid website, speaking engagements and occasional TV appearances — and continues to court a national audience through those channels as of 2025 [1] [2] [3]. Coverage reflects two competing framings: he’s reconstructed a direct-to-audience platform with measurable output, while critics point to the loss of his Fox platform and ongoing controversy as limiting factors [5] [6].
Limitations: this summary relies on the provided search results and their descriptions; detailed financials, independent audience-measure verification, and full legal records from 2017 are not included in these sources and therefore not asserted here [1] [2] [6].