Courtside Entertainment Group and Dial Global offered O’Reilly’s national Radio Town Hall Election special to 169 affiliates nationwide back in November. Now Courtside announced that Bill O’Reilly’s Radio Talking Points will join the company’s’ roster effective 3/1. Courtside is Westwood One Founder and Chairman Norm Pattiz’s latest media venture.
Dial Global currently offers Talking Points daily on radio stations nationwide. It features an inside, first look at Bill O’Reilly’s talking points memo offering analysis and compelling commentary on national and world affairs, politics, lifestyle and current events.
Pattiz told us back in November there was a “Change of Control” provision in his contract with Westwood, which then applied to Dial Global after the merger. It allowed him to take his programming and consulting to another company within 90 days after the deal closed if things didn’t work out. We’ve checked to see if this means Dial Global and Courtside will still be working together going forward. Well, stay tuned, because there is a very interesting answer to this question coming soon.
Pattiz tells RBR-TVBR: “Anytime a startup company like Courtside can attract talent like Bill O’Reilly, it’s a no-brainer.”
“After our hugely successful association with Bill last November with his national Radio Town Hall Election special, we decided to join forces on Talking Points. We’re delighted to continue working with Bill and the hundreds of stations that currently carry his commentary. There’s only one Bill O’Reilly and he’s exactly the kind of superstar personality we want here at Courtside. We will of course continue to provide stations with Bill O’Reilly specials over the course of the year” Pattiz said in the release.
“My association with Norm Pattiz goes back many years. Norm is a champion of free speech and a patriot. Hopefully, our alliance on the radio will stir things up all across the country,” said O’Reilly.
