Bill O’Reilly’s Precious Metals
Bill O’Reilly is not your typical American journalist, he anchored programs for FOX, ABC, CBS, and launched the television program, The O’Reilly Factor in 1996. His on-air persona established a career for him as a news and media anchor, and is considered to be a conservative commentator, while currently independent, his reputation is known for sticking up for those in need.
Known for his unbiased news reports, the show quickly became the best rated cable news show during its tenure, until it was eventually canceled in 2017. Due to a New York Times report on the cover-up of to sexual assault settlements involving Fox News, O’Reilly was let go from the program. It is estimated 13 million in total was paid to conceal the allegations against him.
With #MeToo movement at the front of media then and today, many sponsors of the O’Reilly factor were quick to abandon their relationship with the commentator. The largest and least known sponsor, a precious metals company, Rosland Capital was not as concerned with the allegations against him. They were not worried about their reputation being diminished by the news against their host; the O’Reilly Factor on average pulled 4 million viewers a night, which research estimates ad revenue generated by Rosland’s to be close to 120 million in 2015.
Due to the programs conservative and older audience the partnership between Fox News and Rosland was valuable for both parties. During the O’Reilly Factor, they used ads to pitch gold and silver, as a way for investors to protect their investments, worried about the country’s rising debt levels, inflation, broader market volatility or higher interest rates.
Since Trump’s inauguration gold prices have risen nearly 4% and are up over 8% year to date. Still slightly lower over the two years period, we may soon see more rally within the precious metal market.
Bill O’Reilly quickly landed on his feet and created a new outlet for his commentary by launching the ‘No Spin News’ pod cast. Bringing real news to his viewers the pod cast found sponsorship from the Orion Metal Exchange, another precious metal company. It is not known if the O’Reilly reached out to Orion or if Orion approached the pod cast, but the outcome is not unexpected, and is viewed as a valuable relationship, to both sides.
With no available research we cannot quantify the number of viewers the new show has, but it would be safe to assume that many of the old viewers continue to listen today. With the global market volatility many investors are now looking for alternatives for their investment, the Orion-Metal-Exchange sponsorship has positioned them to help serve consumers looking to diversify their portfolios with gold investments. Later this year Bill O’reilly started endorsing The American Hartford Gold Group.
Bill’ O’Reilly has always found support in the precious metal industry. While his support came in the form of sponsors, they helped propel him forward in a time of turmoil. Similar to the market today, it is not certain how the market will perform as we move through the fourth quarter. Earnings across the broader indexes have been lack luster, and the China economy is hurting emerging markets.
We expect the US to raise interest rates again this year, which has been known to cause a scare about inflation. When investors worry of inflation and the depreciation of the dollar, many look at precious metals as alternatives. If you visit the website for Bill O’Reilly, you will now see advertisements for The American Hartford Gold Group, as well as the other sponsors of ‘No Spin News’ program.
While we do not have the figures of how much ad revenue is generated today, it is safe to assume that many viewers will be thinking about diversifying into precious metals. It is a natural transition and a way to diversify away from the broader equity and bond market. The ‘No Spin News’ is currently viewable on https://www.billoreilly.com if you wish to catch the Bill O’Reilly pod cast or subscribe to his website.
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