"the o'reilly factor" was generally pre-recorded, though on occasion it aired live if breaking news or special events were being covered (e.g., presidential addresses that occurred during prime-time and debate coverage). it was usually taped between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. eastern time and aired weekdays at 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. the show was recorded "live to tape", meaning that the recording broke for commercials as if the show was actually on the air while being recorded. some guests were interviewed before the "live to tape" period and were slotted in the program as appropriate. he began every show with the catch phrase from february 28, 2005 to april 11, 2017, "caution! you are about to enter the no spin zone. the factor begins right now!" followed by the theme song, and then saying "hi, i'm bill o'reilly, thanks for watching us tonight," introducing the topic of the first segment, followed by "and that is the subject of this evening's talking points memo", a monologue which was often followed with an interview on the same topic.