NEW YORK >> Fox News addressed the departure of Bill O’Reilly tonight, as the show that used to bear his name debuted as simply “The Factor.”

Dana Perino, who has been filling in for O’Reilly since he announced an extended break earlier this month, announced that he was no longer with the network.

Perino said at the top of the show that, “We know you, his loyal viewers, will have a lot of feelings about it.”

Both Fox and O’Reilly confirmed O’Reilly’s departure from the network earlier Wednesday.

His ouster came after reports that five women had been paid millions of dollars to keep quiet about harassment allegations. O’Reilly has maintained his innocence.

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The National Geographic channel says it has made no decision about its development of Bill O’Reilly’s book “Killing Patton” following O’Reilly’s exit from Fox News.

In a statement today, the channel confirmed that the TV adaptation is in early development for 2019. The channel said it was focusing on presenting its 2018 programming to advertisers and wasn’t making decisions beyond that for now.

The National Geographic channel has aired a series of adaptations of O’Reilly books, including “Killing Reagan” and “Killing Kennedy.” The channel’s majority owner is Fox News Channel parent company 21st Century Fox.

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In the wake of his firing today, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly maintained that sexual harassment claims against him were not true, calling his dismissal over the allegations “tremendously disheartening.”

O’Reilly, who was with the network for 20 years, said he was proud of his time at Fox. He thanked his viewers and noted the success Fox had achieved.