Posted on 07/29/2013 3:51:53 AM PDT by raccoonradio
In a major shakeup for the radio industry, Cumulus Media, the second-biggest broadcaster in the country, is planning to drop both Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from its stations at the end of the year, an industry source told POLITICO on Sunday.
Cumulus has decided that it will not renew its contracts with either host, the source said, a move that would remove the two most highly rated conservative talk personalities from more than 40 Cumulus channels in major markets.
The decision comes after negotiations between Cumulus and Premiere Networks, the division of Clear Channel that distributes Limbaugh and Hannity's shows, broke down due to disagreements over the cost of the distribution rights, the source said. Cumulus is known to drive a hard bargain on costs, and Clear Channel is known to seek top dollar for big names.
As industry insiders caution, Cumulus and Clear Channel have come to the brink before during contract negotiations only to resume talks. But the source told POLITICO that Clear Channel was unlikely to reduce the cost for distribution rights to a level that would satisfy Cumulus.
Cumulus declined to comment for this story: "Cumulus is not in a position to comment about negotiations with talent under contract, no matter what the rumor of the day might be," a spokesperson told POLITICO.
But in recent weeks, Cumulus has been quietly reaching out to radio talent agents and political insiders about new local and regional station hosts to fill some of the airtime that will be left vacant by Limbaugh and Hannity, industry sources said. Cumulus is also expected to move some of its existing talent -- which includes Mike Huckabee, Mark Levin, and Michael Savage -- into one of the slots.
Premiere, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday night, is expected to carry Limbaugh and Hannity on stations in many of the markets where they are currently signed with Cumulus, should the negotiations not go through. A spokesperson for Limbaugh was not immediately available for comment; Hannity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Back in May, a source close to Limbaugh told POLITICO that the host was considering ending his affiliation agreement with Cumulus because CEO Lew Dickey was blaming the company's advertising losses on Limbaugh's controversial remarks about Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student. On an earnings call two days later, Dickey reported a $2.4 million first-quarter decline in revenue related to talk programming, which he attributed, indirectly, to Limbaugh's remarks about Fluke.
Dickey is expected to hold another earnings call this week, though it is unclear if he will address the contract negotiations.
Like it or not, there is not much out there. Rush and the others are it.
Nobody has destroyed Palin.
She’s ready to go.
I’m from Virginia.
Blacksburg is a HUGE media market—NOT!!
Have you ever listened to Jerry Doyle? I find him to be rather educational in the vein of people you mentioned.
I’ll miss Rush. The others, not so much. Levin is to shrill, Hannity a lapdog.
Rush and Hannity will figure this one out...
anthony weiner offered to get his sexting partner, the leathers broad, a job @ politico, so she could live in Chicago....politico must be a venue of great honesty.
Rush does not need the money. He has enough already.
But he really does not need Cumulus or Clear Channel.
Yes, Rush will figure this out. He is perceptive and will do fine.
Perhaps. But even he uses capital letters and punctuation.
Big deal. My car radio preset will change from WABC (a Cumulus station) to WOR or wherever Rush and Sean end up. WABC will lose hundreds of thousands of listeners and be impoverished as ad money follows them to the other station.
HANNITY IS AN IDIOT!
I don’t think Sean is an “idiot” at all. He makes good sense for the most part until he falls for Karl Rove, Jebbie et a al. I just don’t listen to him that much; can’t listen to all of them. Levin is very good; but if one listened to them all, it would take the whole day nearly.
In some ways this is nothing more than the #1 and #2 largest station ownership groups slugging it out over content. This would likely be happening if the show in question featured Disco Polka records.
Hannity is not an idiot. But frankly his show is bad radio.
Unless he has a particularly strong guest there is no “there” there (unlike Limbaugh who, when he is on his game, can effortless carry the full 3 hours all by himself)
Caller: You’re a great American.
Hannity: You’re a great American
When I hear this, i often turn to another station.
The whole future of AM radio without these guys is very bleak.
In this area at least 3 stations have gone dark in the past year (not worth the cost to operate or the land their towers sat on was far more valuable than the station). Another was sold for around $15,000 and now plays old Motown records. And yet another is about to be “donated” to a church.
Several years ago, Rush Limbaugh spent the entire three hours of his show fawning over the golfer Eldrick T. Woods. I don’t think he’ll be doing that again.
Like calling every slime bag liberal “your goof friend”...? The first time I heard him call Serpenthead that I quit him.
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