The First, also called The First TV and stylized as The F1rst, is a conservative opinion and commentary network in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
started in October 2019. It has five hosts, including
Bill O'Reilly.
History
The First was launched in October 2019 on
Pluto TV, a streaming platform owned by
Paramount Global
Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...
.
It was started in partnership with Red Seat Ventures.
It offers about 45 hours of original programming a week.
In January 2023, The First was added to
DirecTV
DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...
, after it concurrently dropped
Newsmax TV due to demands for carriage fees.
Hosts
The First launched with two hosts in October 2019, combat veteran
Jesse Kelly and former CIA analyst
Buck Sexton. In January 2020, the network added California-based talk radio host Mike Slater and
Dana Loesch
Dana Lynn Loesch ( ; ; born September 28, 1978) is an American radio and television host, TV host. She is a former spokesperson for the National Rifle Association and a former writer and editor for ''Breitbart News''. Loesch was the television ho ...
. On June 1, 2020, the network announced that
Bill O'Reilly was joining the network with his show ''No Spin News''. He began the online show in 2017 after being fired from
Fox News Channel, in the wake of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' publishing details of six sexual misconduct lawsuits O'Reilly had settled.
Former
OANN host,
CPAC speaker, and conservative podcaster
Liz Wheeler was added to the network in January 2023.
Josh Hammer hosts ''America on Trial with Josh Hammer'', a legal podcast primarily focused on the
2024 United States presidential election.
Mike Baker hosts a podcast called ''The President's Daily Brief''.
Reception
Tyler Hersko of ''
IndieWire'' 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.
A petition by ViacomCBS employees urged the company to remove The First for similar reasons.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:First TV, The
Conservative television in the United States
2019 establishments in the United States
Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)
Streaming media systems