iHeartMedia ReUps with Rush Limbaugh

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

http://news.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n33112

Well Good luck with that.

 

[TheBigA]

They really have no other choice. They need content for their talk stations, and he at least has a built-in audience. They've figured out how to pay for him, and so they might as well milk the cow until it's dry.

 

[gr8oldies]

With all of the disadvantages, Rush leaving would leave a huge hole in a lot of stations' schedules, and though there would be no shortage of startup shows, it would take quite a while to build them up.

 

[TheBigA]

though there would be no shortage of startup shows, it would take quite a while to build them up.

Exactly. The audience for this format is not tuning in for something new or different.

 

[umfan]

It's an indication that he still draws ratings and revenue. Not many make it 30 years on national radio, especially with a three hour program. Paul Harvey made it for years, but that was with a digest style midday news program and 'The Rest of the Story'. Good for him. Looking forward to him crossing the 30 year mark in two years.

 

[NewsStud]

Good for him. Looking forward to him crossing the 30 year mark in two years.

Agreed. Rush is a survivor and gets my salute.

The format is not what it once was. Nobody denies this. I bet Rush would admit to it as well. But despite these downturns, Rush still outperforms the rest That is really saying something. He may be a big cost center for Premiere and iHeart, but he's also a huge revenue center. and iHeart can't survive a loss of those revenues right now.

People also need to remember that performers with such stature really aren't paid a salary. That "$400 Million" everybody talked about in his last deal was not Limbaugh's gross pay. Rush's corporate entity is compensated to that amount (and it may not have been all in cash) to produce the program. Rush probably was/is responsible for paying for facilities and for staff (in terms of both salaries and benefits).

And despite his political expressions, you can't deny Rush is a master of the spoken word medium. This comes from Rush being a "radio guy" through and through. He's not a professor, or a former TV newscaster, or the offspring of a once-loved politician capitalizing on the family name. He's a guy who understands how to do radio, how the radio audience works, and how to engender loyalty from them. Rush is proof that not everybody can do radio, that it really requires talent and honed skills.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

It's an indication that he still draws ratings and revenue. Not many make it 30 years on national radio, especially with a three hour program. Paul Harvey made it for years, but that was with a digest style midday news program and 'The Rest of the Story'. Good for him. Looking forward to him crossing the 30 year mark in two years.

Rush already crossed the 30 year mark though if you count Rush Limbaugh stint on KFBK in Sacramento as a Local host back in 1983-1984 replacing yes Morton Downey Jr.

 

[umfan]

I was very specific that I was referring to his national show. He crossed 30 years (non-consecutive on the air) quite some time ago if you count the radio work he did in his 20s.