One of Fox News’ top anchors is leaving the network.
On Thursday, Dan Bongino told listeners on his radio show that he would be leaving the conservative TV network. He has had a TV show there weekly since back in 2021.
The 48-year-old Bongino, who is a former police officer in New York City and agent for the Secret Service, said that his departure from the network is amicable. The split comes after Fox and Bongino weren’t able to agree on an extension to his current contract.
Nielsen reports that Bongino’s show on Fox News, “Unfiltered,” brought in an average of 1.3 million viewers on a weekly basis when it aired Saturday nights.
In speaking to his radio listeners this week, Bongino said:
“I want you to know it’s not some big conspiracy, I promise you. There’s no acrimony. This wasn’t some, like, WWE brawl that happened. We just couldn’t come to terms on an extension, and that’s really it.”
Bongino was speaking on his radio program that he hosts daily, and that is syndicated by radio production company Westwood One. The radio show was simulcast as video on the Fox Nation streaming service, though that arrangement will also end now that he is leaving the network.
The host will continue to be on the radio program every day. It airs on more than 300 different radio stations around the U.S.
Many people initially surmised that Bongino’s departure might have something to do with the recent settlement agreement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems that is seeing Fox pay them $787.5 million. Fox News was being sued for defamation over the false statements many of its anchors said on air about Dominion and its involvement in fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
Bongino becomes the first Fox News personality who is leaving the network in the wake of that agreement. However, according to the host, his departure has nothing to do with the lawsuit at all.
Sources close to the matter also said that Bongino’s departure from the network has nothing to do with the lawsuit. That being said, there are some personnel changes that are expected to be made at Fox News.
Bongino has long been a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump. While he consistently questioned whether the 2020 presidential election was legitimate, he wasn’t named in the Dominion lawsuit, nor was his name a part of any of the evidence that was discovered during the case.
In fact, his “Unfiltered” show didn’t even start on Fox News until a few months after the false statements in question were aired on Fox News.
On his radio show this week, Bongino further stressed that his departure isn’t related to larger issues that Fox News is facing. As he explained to his listeners:
“You’re going to read 1,000 left-wing articles about some nonsense, and I’m guaranteeing you on my reputation, it’s all made up. It’s a simple contract thing, and that’s it. It is no more complicated than that. Unfortunately, timing is not great. I get that.”
