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WLS to drop Rush

raccoonradio

raccoonradio

http://www.robertfeder.com/2015/03/05/wls-plans-to-drop-rush-limbaugh/
>>If all goes as planned, Limbaugh’s syndicated talk show, which airs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, will be dropped by the end of March, according to insiders at WLS.
A Cumulus Media spokeswoman declined immediate comment. But a source familiar with the decision said it was based on the show’s diminished ratings and failure to generate advertising revenue for the station, adding: “It’s impossible to sell.”
 
I just read the news.

It's the beginning of the end for Limbaugh.

Hopefully it becomes a national trend.
 
Heavens he's gone from 600 to about 597 in the past few years. Surely things like Air America are doing better, eh? :) But yeah, 'LS is a big one.

"In five years we'll have 600 stations"--Jon Sinton, Air America, 2004
 
Limbaugh to be dumped by WLS

...per Robert Feder. Cumulus is finding he's become poison in the Windy City, they can't sell spots in or around Uncle Flush's show. WLS will partially replace Limbaugh with their new Jonathon Brandmeier syndicated item...
 
raccoonradio said:
Heavens he's gone from 600 to about 597 in the past few years. Surely things like Air America are doing better, eh? :) But yeah, 'LS is a big one.

"In five years we'll have 600 stations"--Jon Sinton, Air America, 2004
Click to expand...

Wow, you actually dug up Air America for this? LOL!

Fact is, this isn't about a political ideology, this is about Limbaugh and his ilk becoming the sole flavor on the majority of talk stations around the country. For quite some time talkradio has been nothing but a repetitive and predictable bore-fest--that's not even factoring in the irresponsible misinformation they've become so fond of propagating. How you can defend the way it stands is beyond me. Finally the ratings are reflecting what many of us already felt and predicted for the format. The chickens have come home to roost.

Sadly, the braintrusts who decided that wall-to-wall conservative ideology was all that talkradio should be, have likely driven away any normal people from the format---and in this day and age, you're not getting them back. Nobody under 60 is sampling AM stations looking for format changes/adjustments.
 
Cumulus is denying Feder's story. They just recently renewed Rush on several of their news/talk AMs. I imagine they'll delay him or only air part of the show. Whatever their contract allows.

As I've said, sales orders continue to come in with "do not buy" for Rush or any controversial programming. This hasn't changed, contrary to what some say.

I don't see where Cumulus is blaming Rush specifically any more. WLS has almost completely cleaned house of hosts, management, and sales in an attempt to fix things. This station was in trouble a few years ago, and the changes haven't helped.
 
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Just having fun w the old Sinton quote. Agreed re poli talk radio.Maybe instead of making $50M or more per year,talent on loan from Oxys will have to squeeze by on only $40M :)
 
Quickie questions: Chicago is market #3 right? We all know WLS' ratings are in the toilet, right? Can anyone name an example of a station in the top five markets where either Rush or his station is in the top ten in ratings? (Neilsen PPM)? And where are those ratings versus five years ago? If Rush has retained almost all of his markets, how many big signals and/or choice time slots has he lost?
 
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cyberdad said:
Can anyone name an example of a station in the top five markets where either Rush or his station is in the top ten in ratings?
Click to expand...

This is courtesy of Gregg who posted these on the News/Talk board:


1. New York ... WABC (Cumulus) #19 ... WOR (iHeart) #20 tie ... WKXW(FM) (Townsquare) #20 tie
2. Los Angeles ... KFI (iHeart) #10 ... KEIB (iHeart) #38* tie ... KABC (Cumulus) #40* tie
3. Chicago ... WGN (Tribune) #7 ... WLS (Cumulus) #25 tie
4. San Francisco ... KSFO (Cumulus) #20 ... KGO (Cumulus) #21 ... KKSF (iHeart) #27
5. Dallas ... WBAP (Cumulus) #24 tie
6. Houston ... KTRH (iHeart) #9
7. Washington ... WMAL-AM-FM (Cumulus) #8
8. Philadelphia ... WPHT (CBS) #20
9. Atlanta ... WSB/WSBB(FM) (Cox) #1 ... WYAY(FM) (Cumulus) #19 tie
10. Boston ... WRKO (Entercom) #17
 
Ultimajock said:
WLS will partially replace Limbaugh with their new Jonathon Brandmeier syndicated item...
Click to expand...

That certainly seems 99.99% likely, King, since Brandmeier will originate his syndicated program from WLS.
 
JayR said:
I just read the news.

It's the beginning of the end for Limbaugh.

Hopefully it becomes a national trend.
Click to expand...

People have been saying that for 20 years. I'm sure if you keep saying it enough, one of these days it'll come true. After all, he can't live forever.

Why is anyone surprised? This is Chicago we're talking about. Wait, no one who actually knows anything about the business is a bit surprised.
 
In January of 2015, Clear Channel in Los Angeles moved Rush Limbaugh's show from 640 KFI to 1150 KTLK, a low-rated liberal talk station. KTLK immediately switched to syndicated conservative talk as The Patriot AM 1150. To placate Rush, who didn't like being moved to a failing station, the call letters were changed to KEIB, for his so-called "Excellence In Broadcasting" network. I can't speak for anyone besides myself---and sometimes not even myself---but I think the daily anti-Obama rhetoric was starting to get tiresome years ago. That could be a large part of Rush's declining popularity.
 
LARadioRewind said:
That could be a large part of Rush's declining popularity.
Click to expand...

But, as I said, it's not just Rush. I think people in talk radio have realized there's a lot more to TALK about than the President. They HAVE to be entertaining, and for some, that's hard to do. Local talk hosts have known this for years. The real challenge is for syndicated talkers to come up with a style and a character that is unique, compelling, and can attract & keep a mass audience.
 
Hey, when do I get my chance at hosting a talk show?

As BigA noted, Cumulus was quick to deny Robert Feder's speculation that WLS was planning to drop Limbaugh's program. John Dickey, a Cumulus vice president, told NTS Media Online, "Rush Limbaugh will be on WLS until Rush tells us he doesn’t want to be on WLS." I guess now we have to determine if Rush has said such a thing. My guess is "no."
 
TheBigA said:
But, as I said, it's not just Rush. I think people in talk radio have realized there's a lot more to TALK about than the President. They HAVE to be entertaining, and for some, that's hard to do. Local talk hosts have known this for years. The real challenge is for syndicated talkers to come up with a style and a character that is unique, compelling, and can attract & keep a mass audience.
Click to expand...

And that is proven by Rush himself. Remember, I had the "privilege" of carrying him in Los Angeles for several weeks in 1989 before KFI fired Geoff Edwards and replaced him with the satellite feed.

I did a live interview by phone with him the first week we carried him as part of our new Talk format and he stressed the fact that he intended to conduct a "very entertaining" two hours of radio each day. I remember him saying at least once during the interview that "a good act is everything" in this business.

I thought his show was very entertaining for its first few years. It was only when the usual political tensions between the Republicans and the Democrats extended to the White House during the Clinton administration that Rush began to take himself seriously and proceeded over time to become a caricature of himself.

Now, the act has worn thin and he simply sounds like an angry old man.
 
K.M. Richards said:
Now, the act has worn thin and he simply sounds like an angry old man.
Click to expand...

The thing about it is once you get into a routine, it's really hard to change. And the fact is he DOES have a fan base that loves what he's doing now.

The real art, and musicians will understand what I mean, is to evolve that character into someone new, to attract new fans, while finding a way to keep the old ones.

I sense he's slowly doing that...I really believe he loves what he does and doesn't want to stop. I mean, what else would he do? Run for office? This is more fun.
 
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