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The end of an error: Geraldo's awful talk show to end December 20th

From today's TALKERS:

Geraldo to Remain with Cumulus Media.

Any rumors circulating the internet that Geraldo Rivera’s days with Cumulus Media are numbered are untrue says company COO John Dickey. Geraldo – who is based at the company’s WABC, New York and is also heard on its Los Angeles news/talker KABC as well as 45 other news/talk outlets – airs live from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon ET. Dickey tells TALKERS, “Geraldo is going to be working even more closely with us next year – still anchoring 10:00 am to 12:00 noon on WABC – as well as spearheading our Putting America Back to Work (PABTW) initiative.” Geraldo began his program on WABC, New York in January 2012.
 
I think it's more likely that this entire thread is based on false information, given by a jealous competitor, trying to make a sale.
 
That Talkers item represents the only trade coverage that I've seen; if there were indeed cancellation notices going out (especially if competing distributors had gotten a hold of them), then someone else most definitely would've reported about it by now.

Also, if Cumulus were planning on dropping the show, it wouldn't make sense for it to announce a cancellation (even internally) without having the supposed replacement lined up--and there's no way that I could see Cumulus fully getting out of that daypart. Even if the supposed replacement were to come via WestwoodOne, Cumulus wouldn't have pulled the metaphorical trigger until after the deal had essentially closed (as there's still the potential for it to get mucked up over antitrust concerns).
 
I still think it's likely that the rumor started because the unique show for the West Coast is going away and will be replaced with a delayed feed of the East Coast show. That's been the speculation all along.

Reading between the lines, the Talkers quote from Dickey saying only that the show is "heard" in LA and that it will "still" be broadcast from 10 to noon in NY makes that pretty clear.

A single syndicated show would mean that the show we hear in NY will become less NY-centric, which will be an improvement according to the OP. ;-)
 
That wasn't the speculation. Never was.

The speculation was the show is ending national syndication, it is.

http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/86781/geraldo-to-go-local-on-wabc-depart-syndication/

770 WABC 77 New York Geraldo Rivera Cumulus Media Networks SyndicationCumulus Media Networks has announced that Geraldo Rivera will end his daily syndicated talk show at the end of the year.

Rivera has been distributed live in the 9am to 12pm daypart since August 2012. Before entering national syndication he hosted two unique local shows for 770 WABC New York and 790 KABC Los Angeles. Cumulus has not revealed its plans if any for replacement programming for the daypart.
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By "speculation all along" I was referring to when the NY/LA shows began. The belief was that before long it would become a single syndicated show. I guess that happened but KABC's website still indicates it's a live/local show.

And, of course, the radioinsight.com quote above isn't the whole story. It continues:

Geraldo will not be leaving Cumulus as he will shift his program back to a New York only focus airing from 10am-12pm on WABC beginning January 1, 2014. WABC
Click to expand...

And how long do you suppose it will be before it becomes a syndicated show again? My guess is just long enough for WABC to promote their new "live and local" lineup. Then they'll quietly feed it to affiliates hoping that the NY audience won't notice.
 
Here's another confirmation from Al Peterson's email:

Beginning January 1, 2014, award winning journalist Geraldo Rivera will cease production of his current Cumulus Media Networks nationally syndicated show and will air exclusively on his hometown radio station, WABC/New York. Geraldo will air weekdays from 10a-12p (ET) and will focus on the most talked about topics involving the nation’s largest city — everything from social issues to politics. Rivera will also continue his fight against unemployment by broadcasting live from upcoming Put Americans Back to Work job expos and events hosted by Cumulus Media. “For the last four decades, in war and peace I’ve been chasing the news around the world,” said Geraldo. “But there’s a universe of stories right here in my hometown. Energized and excited by this opportunity, I’m taking our show to the four corners of the five boroughs. I’ll be on the streets and in the face of lawbreakers and newsmakers, ready with a hot mike and a helping hand.” Born and raised in New York City, Rivera started his broadcast career on WABC-TV’s Eyewitness News in 1970.
 
John Dickey's sneaky quote did a good job of throwing me off and making me think that Geraldo would stay syndicated.

Thanks for the heads-up on this one, RadioTalker101. I know what I'll be doing in the morning - calling Geraldo affils.
 
TheBigA said:
If I were a betting man, I'd say that Dennis Miller will take his place on all the Cumulus stations once the merger with Dial Global takes place.
Click to expand...

I guess Cumulus is a lot more confident about the deal closing within the next few weeks than I am.
 
wadio said:
And how long do you suppose it will be before it becomes a syndicated show again? My guess is just long enough for WABC to promote their new "live and local" lineup. Then they'll quietly feed it to affiliates hoping that the NY audience won't notice.
Click to expand...
Never happens, you are not very good at understanding this business.
 
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