Bill O’Reilly’s ratings are on the rise as his feud with Keith Olbermann continues. On Monday, “The O’Reilly Factor” had 1 million-plus viewers in the 25-54 demographic, the first time ratings have been that high this year. In prime-time Total Viewers, FNC averaged 3.107M with none of its programs dipping below 1 million viewers between 5pm and midnight, and even the 11pm rebroadcast of O’Reilly had 1.657M Total.
Little has changed since the controversial truce brokered last month by the networks’ parent company CEOs, GE’s Jeffrey Immelt, and News Corporation’s Rupert Murdoch. Olbermann has denied the mere existence of the deal, and any participation in it, and nominated O’Reilly, Murdoch, and Brian Stelter (who reported the peace deal in the NYTimes) for his “Worst Person in the World” segment.
Though O’Reilly refuses to utter his opponent’s name, he continues to suggest that MSNBC’s parent, GE, is in cahoots with Iran, and has supplied materials eventually used for roadside bombs. In a conversation with Glenn Beck on Tuesday’s show, he said, “I don’t like how they handle themselves. I don’t like NBC News. They are polluters. They have distorted their news agency to promote a presidential candidate.”
As TVNewser noted, “If there’s actually a cease-fire, it’s the worst one in the history of armistices.” More…