O’Reilly Faces off with Fox over Watters

Ronn Torossian, CEO, 5WPR

For people wondering if Bill O’Reilly would have a public life after being booted from Fox amid massive payouts over sexual harassment scandals, that question has been answered. In addition to a web-based podcast, O’Reilly has embarked on a national speaking tour. He planned to bring his former cohort at Fox, Jesse Watters, with him. Fox is trying to shut him down.

This is hardly the first time O’Reilly has been out on tour. He’s been doing a national tour, paired with comedian Dennis Miller for the past several years. This year, O’Reilly wanted to add Watters to the tour, so he just did. Not an issue back in March, when Watters made his first appearance on the tour. But now that Watters is still contractually obligated to Fox, where O’Reilly is persona non-grata at the moment, things have become complicated.

Fox is currently in the process of using its resources to pull Watters off the tour. O’Reilly remains defiant: “The tour stays, we’re doing the tour … Miller and Watters and me.”

That was the last quote O’Reilly has offered on the matter, and, at least at this point, Watters’ people are not talking. But more may be coming. According to CNN, in a recent podcast, O’Reilly promoted the tour by only mentioning Miller and himself. Which may mean that the Fox execs have convinced Watters to pull out, or that O’Reilly has backed down. So far, nobody is saying.

At this point though, for Watters, it’s a tough call. O’Reilly’s show made him relevant and popular, definitely amping up his brand value. That said, O’Reilly’s fall from grace could be an anchor for Watters, who has suffered his own brush with PR trouble in the recent past.

After a trip through China Town, in which many thought Watters played racism for laughs, the comedian was roasted online and on social media. O’Reilly quickly came to his defense, turning his legion of fans out in support of Watters … the racist allegations vanished practically overnight. That’s thePR power O’Reilly brings to bear after 16 years as one of Fox News’ top anchors.

So, now the question has become “will he or won’t he?” Does Watters stay on the tour, or will he stick with Fox and tie his future to the network and not his TV mentor? That question remains up in the air at this point, but it should be answered very soon … and that’s when the consumer viewing public will have the final say.

About the Author: Ronn Torossian is CEO of New York based 5wpr.