Fox News Changes ‘The O’Reilly Factor’ to ‘The Factor’ Overnight — Oh Boy!

Credit: Fameflynet Pictures

News broke yesterday that Bill O’Reilly’s twenty-year long career at Fox News came to an undisputed head, when he was fired while on vacation in Italy.

Well, not to put salt on the wound, but it appears Fox News is making it very clear that he is out after changing the title sequence of his famous The O’Reilly Factor to simply The Factor over night…

The Factor’s substitute host, Dana Perino, began the show by saying:

“Before we get to the other big stories of the day, we want to address a situation many of you may already be aware of. Bill O’Reilly, who hosted this program for 20 years, is leaving the Fox News Channel. We know that you, his very loyal viewers, will have a lot of feelings about this and we will talk more about it later on in the program.”

Towards the end of the program, she finally did:

“It is the end of an era here at the Fox News Channel,” she stated. “As we mentioned earlier, Bill O’Reilly is leaving this chair and this network after more than 20 years. Bill has been the undisputed king of cable news — and for good reason. He is an incredibly talented broadcaster who raised the bar for interviewers everywhere. He has also held his staff to exacting standards in his quest to put the best possible program on the air, and they are great…

“And you, his audience, responded in record numbers, making The Factor the number one cable news show for more than 16 years,” she continued, again dropping O’Reilly’s name from the program’s title. “You have also been loyal, and we can’t tell you how much that means to everyone on The Factor.”

Additionally, The O’Reilly Factor’s promotional posters were apparently removed from the outside of the Fox News building in midtown Manhattan.

Starting Monday, newly hired host Tucker Carlson will be taking the 8 p.m. slot.

Bill O'Reilly The Factor