In the next week, there is going to be an enormous amount of change, particularly in talk radio.
The purpose of this thread is to communicate the changes that I’m aware of and their status. Each reply to this main post will be a separate change and then anything we find related to it.
WordPress has a bug that sometimes when you click reply it doesn’t indent properly, so click reply a second time to be sure – this thread will likely get very big and confusing.
Topic: Hannity is dropped by Cumulus Radio
Well, will see what the local ‘Cumulost’ wuss station manager does locally. He thought Bill Bennett was to hard core in the morning and dropped him a few years ago. They switched to the morning news team, powered by the Washington times, I can’t remember their name. The went bankrupt or something, a while back, so now local cumulost in the morning is Imus.
parrott
Cumulus has already cleansed their web sites of Hannity – not a surprise since Hannity is not working this week
Topic: Michael Savage moves to 3-6 PM on Cumulus
Most stations say “starting 1/1/2014”- I’m curious if Savage is planning to work on the 1st
Savage says to tune in from 12-3 beginning on 01.02.2014
I got low hopes and figure I won’t make it to the first commercial break.
That would be a Pacific Time zone reference since the show will be 3-6 PM Eastern.
One thing I wonder about is how he is going to transition his own lifestyle. This is the earliest he has ever been on and he won’t be able to hang out on North Beach in the afternoons.
I fully expect some contrived controversy to get Media Matters and Mediaite’s knickers in a bunch. I really don’t think even his most loyal listeners give a damn about him not being able to visit England.
With Cumulus putting Savage head to head, will Clear Channel drop Savage from 9PM to midnight? My guess is “yes”, and Clyde Lewis will get new affiliates
I expect John Batchelor to get back the Cumukus affiliates he lost when Cumulus made room to hire Savage
My guess is right – many (but not all) affiliates are restoring carrying Batchelor
Todd Schnitt has taken over the Former Savage time slots on Clear Channel. It looks like Clear Channel will now be Savage free
WRKO in Boston (not a Cumulus station) has dropped Savage.
Topic: Dennis Miller moves to Noon-3PM ET
cRN is feeding an old Dennis Miller show today at the old time – maybe the new time starts tomorrow?
CRN and 3 terrestrial stations are still feeding the how at 9 AM – it’s a guest host and the show is live at the old time – , so I don’t yet know why. Might Dennis do the show at the old time or is this just temporary?
Oddly, despite me promoting the time, the listen counts for Miller are down. Usually a change like this drives up numbers because over the air listeners are frantic to find the show when it vanishes off their local station.
The “why” is pretty obvious now that I think about it. Miller just impaled himself on the Rush Limbaugh spear. Miller used to have two hours against Glenn Beck and Laura Ingraham and only the third hour competing with Rush. Miller will always be a niche audience since he targets people with an above average vocabulary and awareness of world events beyond politics.
Taking on Rush is a tall challenge for anyone. Seems like that was the slot that Bill O’Reilly had when he thought he was going to be God’s gift to radio, I think we all know how that worked out.
Maybe I should start listening to Miller through your site so I can ‘bump’ his numbers up. I usually hear at least parts of his show 3-5 days a week. Believe it or not, I usually hear him on terrestial radio (how Cro-Magnon of me).
Topic: progressive talk – Clear Channel shuts down progressive talk in LA and San Francisco and WWRL in New York City flips to Spanish
KTLK-AM is being renamed KEIB-AM to match the EIB branding of Rush Limbaugh with the KTLK call sign returned to Minnesota
Topic: Rush Limbaugh moves from WABC to WOR in New York City
WABC has Curtis & Kuby today.
It’s official – Cumulus has hired the mob lawyer and the man who can’t pay his spousal support.
If memory serves, Kuby defended the man that shot and tried to kill Curtis many years ago. Their public altercation led the big boys at WABC thinking it would be great to get them arguing for ratings.
Kuby also represented the masterminds behind the first attempt to destroy the World Trade Center in the 1990s
Craig Schwalb takes over as programming director at WABC-AM, as they opt to go with more local NYC hosts:
The new WABC lineup will feature:
5-6am: 5am News Hour
6-10am: Imus In The Morning
10am-12pm: Geraldo Rivera
12-3pm: Curtis Sliwa & Ron Kuby
3-5pm: Michael Savage
5-6pm: Pat Kiernan
6-9pm: Mark Levin
9pm-12am: John Batchelor
12-5am: Red Eye Radio
http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/87245/curtis-kuby-return-to-wabc/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/curtis-kuby-kiernan-wabc-gab-shows-article-1.1564310
Too bad Lynn Samuels didn’t live long enough to make a comeback. Could the “Joy Behar Show” ever see a return to WABC?
Joey Reynolds is probably available
Imus does his show from Arizona, Mark Levin was raised in Philadelphia and does his show from the DC area. Savage does his show from Marin County California. Red Eye is done from Texas. I’m not sure if Batchelor does his show from the WABC studios or from Princeton University in New Jersey.
On the other hand, Sean Hannity is a lifelong New Yorker who did his show from New York.
It is a good pairing actually. I had listened to them years ago when they were on WABC and they were always cordial and even talked about going to parties at each other’s homes.
I had listened to each of them separately when they had their own shows, and I found them both unalienable.
Together they are respectful and work well together at putting on an entertaining show. I think their trick is not trying or expecting to change each other’s opinions and giving each other ample time to explain their thoughts without interruption. I got the impression that they sincerely like and respect each other and enjoy working together.
oops- that was “unlistenable” rather than “unalienable”… pesky autocorrect
I believe Imus does most of his shows from the Fox TV studios in NYC as the broadcast them live on Fox Business Network (tv). Many shows he does remotely from his New Mexico ranch.
BTW- Hawn Sannity had worked in the south and got his break doing local Atlanta talk radio. That enabled him to come home to the NYC area… he had grown up on Long Island
Some might say that Long Island is not part of New York.
Topic: Bob & Tom leave Premiere (clear channel) to go to Cimulus
This is a bit curious
http://adsales.cumulusmedianetworks.com/shows/bob-tom-show
The Bob & Tom web site is owned by Premiere and not the show itself – Cumulus is pointing there for the web site. Unknown if the Clear Channel stations will be dropping the show
The Bob & Tom website is now controlled by Cumulus – it’s magic!
I didn’t find many stations dropping Bob & Tom – a lot of Cumulus stations added. I don’t know if they were new or I just found them.
Topic: Ben Shapiro of Breitbart starts a new show on KTTH January 4th
Topic: WRCN-FM on Long Island changes from Rock to News/Talk
Topic: Geraldo Rivera Leaves Radio
I still have no idea what Cumukus plans to do from 10AM-noon on their talk stations
One station (not WMAL) is carrying Chris Plante…
The pattern is clear – most of the Cumulus stations are carrying Chris Plante. He was pushed aside already on his prior attempt at syndication that got no traction.
Topic: Mike Huckabee ends his long form radio show on Cumulus
let’s hope he isn’t one of the potential nominees again.
He’s running.
Not surprisingly, Dennis Miller is replacing Huckabee on many affiliates
Huckadee
WOW!
Topic: Petros & Money leave Fox Sports to return to local sports on KLAC
What’s happening with Art Bell? Last I had heard here, he was about to quit again. Does he have another of his “end of the year predictions” shows lined up for this week somewhere?
Art Bell has a 2 year non-compete with SiriusXM, so he’ll be off the air until 2015
http://darkmatterradio.net/about.html
Thanks, Art. That was a fascinating read. I wonder it Art Bell like to broadcast, it seems that he like quitting more than he likes broadcasting. He had a great promo for this one saying he would be on “extraterrestrial radio”. Interesting situation as Levin, Hannity and others are on SiriusXM and obviously stream as well.
His daughter must be close to being a teenager by now. That means his wife is probably almost 30 years old. Time flies.
So does fruit.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Fruit+Flies&Form=IRTRRL
Rose (of Quinn & Rose) will be guest hosting for Hannity today. I don’t see any signs they plan to come back to radio.
Q&R have six-month non-compete, so soonest they can come back is mid-May. Rose was good subbing for Hannity ironic since she broadcast from NewsTalk 104.7 where she and Jim Quinn formerly broadcast. Not sure about Quinn since he’s at or near age 70, but here’s hoping. Bill Bennett too milquetoast for me.
I can’t stand Rose. Quinn, either.
January 1st is on Wednesday – it isn’t clear which changes will start on the 1st, 2nd or the 6th (Monday). So there may be reruns and the like. January 1st typically has football games most of the day.
WOIC-AM in Columbia SC drops news/talk for sports.
KYNS-AM in San Luis Obispo is dropping all news (the defunct TRN radio news) for soft rock and Delilah
how do you say ‘I give up’ ? besides Kmart .
Delilah.
terrible
parrott
In Denver, KOA and KHOW are revamping schedules to comply with a Premiere mandate that affiliates of Rush and Hannity WILL carry the entire show live.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/2013/12/19/koa-and-khow-radio-shuffle-the-program-lineups/17296/
Not clear if that’s just within Clear Channel or industry wide. Rush has that kind of clout, Hannity doesn’t.
For those of you with volunteer testing capabilities, please keep hands off for a few days. I’m deliberately removing things from the directory so I can fix them up quickly.
For example, Dennis Miller is moving from 10AM-1PM to Noon-3PM ET. If you hear Miller at 12:15 PM and click It Worked! You’re going to reinstate the show back in its original 3 hour time slot. Updating schedules correctly is complicated and trying to help will likely just create more work and slow down the process
Herman Cain is today’s winner – Cain (and Clark Howard) are produced by Cox Radio’s WSB in Atlanta – but syndicated by Dial Global, now owned by Cumulus Media – he is filling the gap created by Dennis Miller moving to Noon ET
Jeff Kuhner is on WABC today and several other stations – is he the Huckabee replacement or only for today?
Royal Oakes has taken over the Hannity time slot on KABC
Any word of Andrea Tantaros’s lawsuit? Is she done in radio?
Unlike the others, she initiated the legal action. TRN’s opinion is she was paid everything she was owed.
TRN continues to call the show the Andrea Tantaros Show – probably for legal reasons.
Roy Masters himself did the Rusty Humphries show this week. No idea if Charles Butler is doing the show. Based on the last show I heard, I think Mr Butler finally realized why this job fell ino his lap.
So, if Masters continues to host the Rusty Humphries show how is that not analogous to Alan Colmes permanently hosting the Sean Hannity show?
Roy Masters proudly announced he never has done show prep ever – so I guess it’s pretty close to the same thing.
Or more to the point, if JD Hayworth keeps doing the Mike Huckabee show…
I’m really liking Sam Sorbo (who’s been sitting in, since early October), she’s got possibilities- if a real network is seeking new talent. I’ve seen that people are praising Dana Loesch from Missouri, but I haven’t had the chance to listen to her yet.
The passing of Bob Grant makes me realize that we are at this moment in the Golden Age of conservative talk radio. Ten years from now, many of the hosts we have today, will either be retired or otherwise insignificant. From where will the new talent possibly come from?
I appreciate the depth of Sam Sorbo’s thought processes – like that atheists should just stop using money because it says “In God We Trust” on it. There is an idea whose time has come. She and her weekend co-host / frequent guest would fit in perfectly in the 1950s.
The confirmed list is down to CRN and 1 station
Chicago’s WIND-AM (Salem) is dropping Glenn Beck and adding Hannity, ruining my theory that Clear Channel was going to lease or buy WLS-AM.
Is Beck’s ratings in decline? Maybe people are tired of fluff and his boys, ‘Squirrel & Giggles’ (pat & stew) or his ‘moron football’.
He needs to get back on message.
parrott
I don’t know – but in the big scheme of things it doesn’t matter. Beck earns far more from subscriptions to TheBlaze and streaming his video to satellite and cable TV.
There was a curious precedent that over the holidays, at least one radio station was carrying TheBlaze programming other than just Beck’s show. It might just have been an accident. It would get real interesting really fast if The Blaze went into direct competition against Cumulus Media and Premiere. I don’t think Beck is on any Cumulus stations. The chasm between those two companies may be complete at this point, other than Rush. Still no clue what we’re going to hear Monday during the Huckabee time slot… Maybe they’ll just keep running JD Hayworth – perhaps cumulus is still negotiating with Huckabee – maybe they’ll offer him a larger % of the Sweetjack sales. That would be hard to turn down.
Weekend trends…
– Cumulus may have negotiated that they no longer have to carry Rush Week in Review
– Monica Crowley (TRN) has lost affiliates from both Cumulus and Clear Channel
– Clear Channel has dropped Bob Brinker from most (but not all) stations
– John Batchelor is pushing Coast to Coast off the remaining Cumulus affiliates
– Cumulus has added Watchdog on Wall Street (TRN) to many stations
Spencer Hughes, formerly of Fox News Radio has surfaced on KSFO as the Huckabee Replacement
Would that be Huckacee ?
Mancow seems to be toast
He is on KPRC-AM, but not live. No other affiliate I checked has the show, and it’s dubious if some ever carried the show.
Mancow was a joint TRN / Dial Global syndication. TRN filing a lawsuit against Dial Global surely didn’t help
Mancow moved out of Chicago in November. WJJG no longer exists
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-11-18/business/chi-mancow-leaves-city-elite-street_1_mancow-wjjg-am-muller
Wow… Mancow clearly needs to be sent to a re-education camp. Doesn’t he understand that those homeless beggars and those poor school kids just need more handouts and social programs? How dare he think of himself and try to protect his children from this great society we are building! (not)
Maybe Mancow can get a gig following Alex on , Infowars to PrisonPlanet TV ?
parrott
I think that’s a reasonable prediction.
I have to admit I get only maybe 10% of what Mancow says – between the heavy metal rock music, his choppy ADD short attention span and his cultural references to people in the entertainment business, I will never get it. I don’t know if young people enjoy it any more. The fact he hasn’t caught on suggests they don’t.
Mancow is now with Genesis Communication Network: http://www.gcnlive.com/CMS/index.php/showinfo?showCode=79
I know WMGG was actually carrying the show live (their stream is awful, BTW) and imagine they are still are with the switch over (they are owned by Genesis). KIKI is another affiliate I don’t see on your list.
Mancow is now with Genesis Communications Network: http://www.gcnlive.com/CMS/index.php/showinfo?showCode=79
I know WMGG was actually carrying the show live (their stream is awful, BTW) and imagine they are still are with the switch over (they are owned by Genesis). KIKI is another affiliate I don’t see on your list.
Correction: WMGG is actually owned by a different Genesis Communications and just flipped to Spanish language programming. Oh well.
Confirmed – Mancow is now on GCN channel 3 at 5-8 AM central time.
I doubt that GCN pays anything to the people on their network. The radio stations that carry their programs tend to be the really fringe antiestablishment types in tiny markets.
Mancow’s main backer was Joseph Gentile – the odd guy who ran WJJG-AM – but he died in 2011 and left his money to the Loyola basketball program. The station is now WCKG – it is a 760 watt daytime only AM station in Elmhurst that barely reaches downtown Chicago.
Yahoo Sports changed its entire lineup, but who the hell cares?
Marissa Mayer? Did I win? How many streamingaudioguide loyalty points is it worth? … and how can I exchange them for Bitcoins?
I doubt she even knows she owns a radio network. She’s blond.
The CEO of WestwoodOne/Dial Global is leaving. Now that is a shock!
http://www.radioinfo.com/
Now John Dickey can start wielding the cost cutting axe – no reason to employ both Jim Bohannon and Dirk Van!
I’ll bet hearing “Westwood won” confused a lot of listeners over the years.
They probably thought it was a Yul Brynner movie about a runaway robot
Parrott says Chris Plante is not to bad. Since beck went ‘soft_cell’ its a welcome change.
Beck was on a roll today.
If I had one suggestion for Beck, it would be to kick Pat and Stu out of the studio. I want Glenn to talk to me, not to Pat. I don’t want to listen to Pat at all.
THIS-> “If I had one suggestion for Beck, it would be to kick Pat and Stu out of the studio. I want Glenn to talk to me, not to Pat. I don’t want to listen to Pat at all. ”
YES !
parrott