CBS owns WPHT.
As it says in article:
>>Premiere recently notified WPHT they will be syndicating Rush Limbaugh on a new station in Philadelphia,” CBS Radio said in a statement emailed to the Daily News. “As a result, we are pleased to be able to now showcase Michael, who is a well-known and acclaimed broadcaster in Philadelphia, in this new time period.
So maybe Premiere pulled to have WKDN run him (Merlin) and/or
CBS wants to have Smerconish in that slot. Right now
he’s 3-7 pm, though he does a national edition at noon
I think (WTKK in Boston runs him)
Also from the philly.com article:
>>Smerconish will be a major change in tone from the bombastic and unfailingly conservative Limbaugh. Although he was once a local GOP official and has conservative views on some issues like racial profiling, Smerconish backed Obama in 2008 and has become a registered independent.