Bill O’Reilly debuts new webcast

Bill O’Reilly debuted a 30-minute webcast on Wednesday, marking his return to an on-camera role after being ousted from Fox News earlier this year.

The webcast, posted on his website, was only made available to paid subscribers and will be released to non-paying viewers on Thursday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The purpose of the on-camera show, O’Reilly said, is to “bring everybody into the annual Premium Membership fold and spread the word.”

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The first webcast centered on President Trump’s latest remarks on North Korea, the FBI’s raid of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s home late last month and the media’s coverage of the president, according to the Reporter.

It also featured appearances by Sirius XM Radio host Michael Smerconish and syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette.

“When Bill was also hosting a syndicated radio show, I was his guest host for 5 years,” Smerconish told the Reporter after the appearance. “He asked and I was happy to be his podcast guest. I didn’t realize until we did it that it was his first in a TV-like format.”

O’Reilly, who long held the No. 1 spot among cable news shows, was fired from Fox News in April after about 90 advertisers backed out of his program following a New York Times reported that the network or O’Reilly paid some $13 million to settle sexual harassment claims by five women.