 It was made clear by the hosts and TimeOnline that decision was not based on the show's repeated satirisation of News Corp and the Murdoch family, something that had been a feature as early as in the never-broadcast pilot approved by News Corp executives in 2007.The first episode of the newly independent "Bugle" was published on 20 January 2012 and the podcast was funded by donations and merchandise purchases by listeners from October 2012 to mid-2016.In the summer of 2014 "The Bugle" was put on hiatus so that Oliver could focus on his then-forthcoming television show "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" with weekly "Bugle" publication having resumed in October.