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THE END OF IMUS?

D

DANRADIO

With a cloud of uncertainty as to whether or not he will return from a two week vacation after Labor Day, does anyone think he will sign a new deal and continue the program?

If he were to return after Labor Day with no deal, we could be watching the ticking time bomb of the Imus contract clock explode in the next three months.

Thoughts?
 
My sense is that Cumulus has secretly been counting the days for this contract to end, and already have something ready to launch the minute it ends. I have no actual knowledge...just a hunch.
 
Radio Info ran a story last week about independent contractors becoming the new way to do business in radio, some going in "kicking and screaming" about it, while others welcome the entrepreneurial opportunity. Whether Imus is back or not I do not know, but it appears that radio is entering a new era of contractual competitiveness.
 
Syndicated if that is independent contracting. The operative term might have been "contractual competitiveness".
 
My point is he's not a traditional employee who gets a salary and benefits from the company. He has a contract, and he provides a service. The other people on the show most likely work for Imus.

I didn't read the article you're refering to, but there's also something being done called "self syndication." That may be what you're talking about.

Whatever Cumulus does, they will want to control the syndication rights of the show so they can replace Imus on those stations.
 
I did hear him promo his 5th and perhaps last golf outing....is this just salemanship or a reflection on how he feels?
 
One can only hope... that show has been over the hill for a long time now. I can't see why anyone would enjoy it or tune in other than habit.

He's incoherent half the time, and plain grouchy the rest. The entertaining and funny part is gone.
 
That may be true, but I guess the bottom line is can Cumulus and or Fox make money from his show?
 
OC3 said:
That may be true, but I guess the bottom line is can Cumulus and or Fox make money from his show?
Click to expand...

My guess is that the cost of the show is higher than they'd like. One of the problems with contracts written before 2008 is they're based on a very different economy than the one we have now. So Cumulus would probably want to get the cost down to something more realistic. If that's not possible, then they go with Plan B, whatever that is.
 
Imus has gone past his sell date. He is not funny, he now does the Republican agenda and the show is awful. He has to have lost most of his past regular listeners.
I don't know why Charles McCord broke off contact with Imus, but it was a good thing to do.
 
Imus had already lost it by the time Cumulus hired him. Audiences are creatures of habit (which explains why music listeners put up with hearing the same songs over and over) and habits are hard to break. Unfortunately, stations no longer have Program Directors with the authority to make preemptive program changes so, as long as there's a relatively stable listener base, Imus will likely fumble on.
 
The real questioon is not whether Cumulus keeps him, given that he is the best and most reliable draw WABC has and arguably the most potentially lucrative show they have to syndicate...it's whether or not he WANTS to continue beyond the expiration of is current deal. He'll be 72 when it's all done...he's had health issues in the past, he's suffered losses (including his brother's death) and talks ongingly about life out West. He has nothing left to prove.

He could easily decide to leave New York, leave Cumulus and even leave fulltime radio work entirely. What will Cumulus do then, for WABC and other syndication clients? They had better come up with an answer in the next 12 months. Betwwwn Imus' possible retirement, Limbaugh's almost certain departure for WOR, and the possible loss of Hannity as well, WABC will need to be a very different station 12 to 18 months from now.
 
Bob1370 said:
What will Cumulus do then, for WABC and other syndication clients?
Click to expand...

To be honest, they could use a make-over. Things aren't going to improve. And the AM audience isn't getting any younger.
 
I went to tune in yesterday just to listen and apparently Imus had left early because he wasn't feeling well. I really don't see him continuing. It's definitely past time to hang up the saddle. I can see WABC going with all news in the morning with limited banter mixed in.
 
Maybe he's going for the "Jack Spector" and trying to die on the air.

He sure sounds damn close a lot of days...
 
TheBigA said:
wadio said:
Unfortunately, stations no longer have Program Directors with the authority to make preemptive program changes so
Click to expand...

Huh?
Click to expand...

Yeah, what's WABC's PD (if there even is one) supposed to do -- fire Rush, Hannity, Levin, Imus, etc.? Even if they see a trend on the horizon that calls for preemptive tweaks, they're powerless. Stations today are programmed in clusters out of wherever the parent company is headquartered.
 
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