Gabe Hobbs – keep your eye on this guy. He’s advising CBS on the KFWB switch and has roots going back to Premiere back before it became part of Clear Channel. He was kicked loose by Clear Channel during their budget cuts. He used to oversee the programming of the 275 CC News/Talk stations. Something is up. My guess is Premiere may not be part of Clear Channel for much longer.
Logging In
If you're logged in to Streaming Radio Guide, you can log in automatically by clicking the link below.Related Blogs
Recent Comments
- Big D on It is Finished.
- TOMDOX on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- klsitton on A typical weekday
- Art Stone on A typical weekday
- ricknelson213 on A typical weekday
- lkwallis58 on A typical weekday
- kicaza on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- kadamson on It is Finished.
- kadamson on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- kadamson on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- Art Stone on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- violet0117 on Open Thread
- Art Stone on Open Thread
- violet0117 on Open Thread
- violet0117 on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
-
Recent Posts
I doubt it. First off, if Premiere divorces Clear Channel, they’re on the hook for Rush Limbaugh’s $38M/year contract. Also note that none of the programming KFWB is carrying comes from Premiere. Finally, Clear Channel Radio and Premiere are now so intertwined that it’d be extremely hard to separate the two.
Now, what could happen is that this guy ends up heading a new company, much like Edward F. McLaughlin (EFM) did after he left ABC in the 80s. CC, in financial distress, terminates Rush’s contract and lets him walk free. Hobbs picks Limbaugh up, has the backing of CBS O&Os in every major city in America, and despite some affiliate changes, the show moves on without a hitch.
Also note that CBS spun off Westwood One a couple of years ago and is in position to start anew in the syndication department.
Dr Laura is on KFWB – she’s Premiere. Rush is of course on KABC (Citadel) so he’s not available. Beck has no affiliate in Los Angeles – I’m really curious why the ABC stations are allergic to Beck… did Walt Disney have some issue with Mormons?… but Beck is on too early for the West Coast – he would have to be carried non-live and probably CBS isn’t that brave to roll him out in a major market just now. Charlotte is where they can test the waters and see what happens with little risk.
The contract issues supposes that Limbaugh’s contract is a burden to CC and they paid too much. CC is not in financial problems because of poor earnings from operations – they’re in trouble because of the $20 billion in debt that was racked up acquiring all the stations at too high prices.
Howard Stern might also be wild card in this – there are rumblings that his deal with Sirius/XM might include some return to terrestrial radio. My sense is his “beef” with Clear Channel is the people in Texas. The Liberty Media people might be interested in making a deal to get Rush and/or Beck added to the lineup. Just from the polls here, it is clear people would sign up for Sirius/XM in large numbers, especially if the shows vanished from their local station. Subscription revenue breaks some of those old rules of thumb.
If Premiere was an independent entity, that would leave them free to negotiate to put their programs on non-CC stations, and CC stations to dump Premiere’s programming to carry something more appropriate for their market. Right now, it’s just the default position that if you’re a CC News/Talk station, you carry Beck/Limbaugh/Hannity/?/Noory. So far, Jason Lewis is a non-factor…
The whole westwood one/CBS deal has always been confusing to me. WW1 is at bankruptcy’s door. Their main asset at this point is their sports relationships with the NCAA and NFL. Bankruptcy (or the threat of it) might enable them to negotiate better terms on those contracts.