The Fox News Channel announced its new line-up Wednesday — with Tucker Carlson replacing Bill O'Reilly, who was ousted amid sexual harassment allegations leveled against the host in recent years.
The new schedule begins on Monday.
Carlson, 47, host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" will replace "The O'Reilly Factor" at 8 p.m. His slot will be taken over by "The Five" — and Sean Hannity will continue in his 10 p.m. spot.
Leading into Carlson will be programs hosted by Eric Bolling at 5 p.m. — Bret Baier continues with "Special Report" at 6 — and Martha MacCallum at 7 p.m.
"Fox News has demonstrated again and again the strength of its talent bench," Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corporation, said in a statement published by Deadline.com. "We have full confidence that the network will continue to be a powerhouse in cable news."
News Corporation owns 21st Century Fox, whose holdings also include the Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.
O'Reilly, 67, was fired after The New York Times reported earlier this month that five women had received payouts totaling $13 million for agreeing to not pursue litigation or discuss any allegations regarding sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior.
A lynchpin of Fox News' prime-time schedule for more than two decades, O’Reilly denied the allegations — saying that he settled the cases to spare his family.
His attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said Tuesday that the host was the target of a "smear campaign" financed by left-wing advocacy groups.
Dozens of advertisers pulled their commercials from "Factor" in light of the Times report, insisting that they run elsewhere in Fox News' programming schedule.
Producers have had to prepare for eight to 10 minutes of additional content each night on the program to make up for the lost ad time.
O'Reilly has been off the air since last Wednesday, part of what was billed a planned vacation around the Easter holiday.
He had planned to return to his show on Monday.
"After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and Bill O'Reilly have agreed that Bill O'Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel," 21st Century Fox said in a statement earlier Wednesday.
O'Reilly's departure follows last year's resignation of Roger Ailes, the CEO who founded Fox News Channel in 1996.
He left in July 2016 in the wake of an internal investigation into sexual harassment allegations filed by former anchor Gretchen Carlson.
Ailes remains a Fox consultant through 2018.
The investigation was conducted by the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison — and it revealed other accusations, all of which Ailes has since denied.
Former anchor Megyn Kelly told investigators that Ailes had harassed her when she was a reporter at the network 10 years ago.
Kelly is now under contract to NBC.
Fox called in the firm again after a former female Fox contributor made a new allegation via a corporate hotline that was put in place to give employees a way to make intolerable workplace conditions known.
"We want to underscore our consistent commitment to fostering a work environment built on the values of trust and respect," Murdoch said in his statement.
Ailes hired O'Reilly at Fox News shortly after the former anchor received his master's degree from Harvard University. He had also worked for CBS News and ABC News and had once hosted the syndicated program "Inside Edition," succeeding David Frost.
His first Fox program was "The O'Reilly Report" in October 1996, which was later renamed "The O'Reilly Factor." The program has been a staple of the cable network's prime-time programming.
The decision by Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, to drop O’Reilly shocked many Fox employees, Gabriel Sherman reports for New York magazine.
As recently as last week, it was believed that Rupert Murdoch would prevail over James, who sought to fire O'Reilly, Sherman reports.
One source told the reporter that Lachlan Murdoch's wife helped convince her husband that O’Reilly should be let go — and that aligned the brothers on the issue.
In addition, senior executives at other Murdoch operations had argued that if any other staffer had faced similar allegations, "that person would be gone already," according to Sherman's report.
"I understand how difficult this has been for many of you," Rupert Murdoch said in his statement. "Thank you for your hard work, patience, and for the great job you all do delivering news and opinion to millions of Americans whose trust you earn every day.
"I look forward to even more success in the coming years."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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