Rush goes to FM in Philadelphia leaves AM powerhouse

[MC]

Some changes are happening slowly.


http://www.latimes.com/news/politic...elphia-radio-station-20120410,0,6124510.story

 

[umfan]

Premiere likely was offered a better deal by the upstart station.

This continues the trend of talk radio content moving to the FM band.

 

[TimeIsTight]

Premiere likely was offered a better deal by the upstart station.

This continues the trend of talk radio content moving to the FM band.

Actually, it seems more likely that Premiere was put in a position where the best option it had was to go after the new FM station in Philly before it established its format.

It seems CBS had planned to drop Rush from its lineup at 50-kw AM Philly Talker WPHT as soon as the contract ran out. In the past couple of years PHT also dropped Premier's Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity and they haven't found another station in the Philly market since.

So, the best option Premiere had was to go after this new station and lock it in. From station owner Merlin's point of view, it is quick and easy money. Instead of hiring a full all-news staff and struggling to build a news brand, this is a quick and easy road to profitability. All they have to do is hire a minimal staff, probably morning drive, and hook a computer wire into a satellite receiver to program the station for the rest of the day. And Premiere had to offer them "non-confiscatory" numbers that would make it all work from the get-go, or face having its big national talk show hosts locked out of the Philly market longer term.

 

[imhomerjay]

WPHT a powerhouse? More like a run-down cabin.

 

[MC]

out building

 

[badjef]

Rush on a CBS station when CC had stations in the market is a radio equivalent - and about as uncomfortable - as TV's NBC o/o airing CBS and not its own NBC network on its station as happened before.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[Tommy Roberts Jr]

The Hannity1069 format is a stunt till the regular Talk Format starts on WWIQ 1069 and when Rush Limbaugh exits 1210 WPHT he will move to 106.9.

 

[Krazyjoe]

Actually, it seems more likely that Premiere was put in a position where the best option it had was to go after the new FM station in Philly before it established its format.

It seems CBS had planned to drop Rush from its lineup at 50-kw AM Philly Talker WPHT as soon as the contract ran out.

There is no way WPHT would have dropped Rush. He's their most listened to show! They have to be crapping themselves now, because WPHT is going to sink like the Titanic now.

 

[TimeIsTight]

There is no way WPHT would have dropped Rush. He's their most listened to show!

CBS sent a very strong signal to Premiere about its plans for WPHT last year when it dropped both Beck and Hannity, and this Rush contract negotiation was like waiting for the last shoe to fall, or the last strike to cross the plate.

Rush may have the biggest audience on PHT, but the "confiscatory fees" to carry his show may mean CBS is losing money on those three hours every day. And CBS has run the numbers and expects to make more money with a less costly alternative. Remember, what's most important is billing, and profit, not ratings.

Having gone through the situations with Beck and Hannity, Premier and CBS both knew a lot about the other's intentions and positions in any coming contract negotiations. It appears Premier saw the handwriting on the wall, saw the potential of getting two of its other top talkers, Beck and Hannity, back on the air elsewhere in Philly, and made its move first. We'll never know for sure if CBS would have dropped Limbaugh the way it did Hannity and Beck, but the possibility was far from "no way" and Premier may have had reasons to see it almost as certain.

 

[FLjack2]

WPHT will make more money with local hosts to contribute to CBS's bottom line. Ratings will end up being higher for 106.9, but Merlin will not turn a much of a profit on Rush and the rest of the Premiere gang