The First TV

The First, also called The First TV is a conservative opinion and commentary network in the United States started in October 2019. It has five hosts, including news personality Bill O'Reilly. It offers about 45 hours of original programming a week.[1]

For early television technology, see History of television.

History

The First was launched in October 2019 on Pluto TV, the free streaming platform owned by ViacomCBS.[2] It started as a "soft launch" but is now featured on DistroTV, Stirr, Glewed TV, Vizio,[3] and the channel's own IOS, Android, Amazon Fire, and Roku apps.[4][5] It was started in partnership with Red Seat Ventures.[6]

Hosts

The First launched with two hosts in October 2019, former combat veteran Jesse Kelly[7][8] and former CIA analyst Buck Sexton.[9] In January 2020, the network added California-based talk radio host Mike Slater[10] and conservative female talk radio host Dana Loesch.[11][12] On June 1, 2020, the network announced that Bill O'Reilly was joining the network with his show No Spin News.[13][14] He began the online show in 2017 after being fired from Fox News Channel, in the wake of The New York Times publishing details of six sexual misconduct lawsuits O'Reilly had settled.[1][15][4]

Reception

Tyler Hersko of Yahoo Sports criticized ViacomCBS for their involvement in O'Reilly's show, commenting that its Pluto TV debut coincided with the date that its entertainment and youth channels were made unavailable for eight minutes 46 seconds in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Hersko found this hypocritical in light of comments made by O'Reilly about African-Americans.[6] A petition by ViacomCBS employees urged the company to remove The First for similar reasons.[2]

References
  1. Fischer, Sara. "Bill O'Reilly's show to air on conservative streaming network The First". Axios. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  2. "ViacomCBS employees pressure Pluto TV to stop streaming new Bill O'Reilly show". Los Angeles Times. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  3. "How to watch The First TV". The First TV. 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  4. Schwartz, Brian (2020-09-11). "Former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly gets new show on radio station owned by Trump ally". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  5. Clark, Travis. "Viacom's Pluto TV has launched a new conservative channel, but Shari Redstone says she's not planning a Fox News TV rival". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  6. "ViacomCBS Put 'I Can't Breathe' on Its Networks, Still Gives New Bill O'Reilly Show a Platform". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  7. "'The Jesse Kelly Show' Enters Syndication Via Key Networks". Insideradio.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  8. "Key Networks to Bring". news.radio-online.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  9. "Viacom's Pluto TV Adds New Conservative Channel | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  10. "True Story with Mike Slater". ART19. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  11. ""The Dana Show" on The First and PlutoTV". Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  12. Cooperman, Jeannette (2018-09-13). "The making of the NRA's Dana Loesch". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  13. Pedersen, Erik; Pedersen, Erik (2020-06-01). "Bill O'Reilly Returns To TV As 'No Spin News' On OTT's The First". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  14. Pm, 2020 3:34. "Bill O'Reilly to host talk show on WABC radio". Newsday. Retrieved 2020-11-09.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. Nam, Rafael (2020-06-01). "O'Reilly's 'No Spin News' to air on conservative digital network The First". TheHill. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
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