The Politico is reporting that Cumulus Media is planning on dropping both Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from its stations.
That doesn’t sound like a very good idea.
The Politico reported:
In a major shakeup for the radio industry, Cumulus Media, the second-biggest broadcaster in the country, is planning to drop both Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from its stations at the end of the year, an industry source told POLITICO on Sunday.
Cumulus has decided that it will not renew its contracts with either host, the source said, a move that would remove the two most highly rated conservative talk personalities from more than 40 Cumulus channels in major markets.
The decision comes after negotiations between Cumulus and Premiere Networks, the division of Clear Channel that distributes Limbaugh and Hannity’s shows, broke down due to disagreements over the cost of the distribution rights, the source said. Cumulus is known to drive a hard bargain on costs, and Clear Channel is known to seek top dollar for big names.
As industry insiders caution, Cumulus and Clear Channel have come to the brink before during contract negotiations only to resume talks. But the source told POLITICO that Clear Channel was unlikely to reduce the cost for distribution rights to a level that would satisfy Cumulus.
Eric Bohlert from Media Matters is pretty excited about this news.
it appears Limbaugh may learn the same painful $$$ lesson Glen Beck did: hate programming doesn't pay. #mmfa
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) July 29, 2013
