If you have listened to Phil Hendrie at all in the last year (not likely!), it will come as no shock that he and Bud and Ted Bell are packing up and leaving Terrestrial Radio (again). March 14th is the final show. Syndication contracts usually have a 30 day notice provision if the syndication ends – so the affiliates can plan their transition (like renegotiating local advertising that has already been sold in advance for the show).
No sooner had Phil finally escaped his contract with TRN and signed up with Dial Global to handle distribution, Westwood One and Dial Global imploded and wound up as a fire sale to Cumulus Media and the Dickey brothers in Atlanta.
Without calling names, he has been complaining for months about the short sighted stupid bastards running radio. Phil has been doing radio a long time and knows who is who and what is what (unlike Andrea Tantaros, for example). He knew there was no future for him working for Lew & John Dickey. The biggest sticking point is that it is non-negotiable that Phil IS going to own his content and be able to have a revenue stream from his archives.
The Dickeys don’t like talent who demand they do things. So Phil follows Sean Hannity, Geraldo and Scott Shannon out the Cumulus Media syndication door. The Progressive Jones Radio alumni people are next – unless the DNC arranges financing to justify the ROI. It’s all about spreadsheets and metrics – what does people have to do with it?
(Yes, I know Geraldo is still on WABC)
When Tammy Bruce lost syndication years ago she started streaming alone…. I tried to listen but she would shift her time around with out notice, decide she only had 35 min of material and only do a 35 min show. There have to be some production values and some consistency. As a listener I agree to show up, consider purchase a spatula from Spatula City and the book. Tammy – with or without the .45 ya gotta show up on time for a serious commitment. I just couldn’t waste my time anymore. I hope Phil finds success no matter what he tries: he is as unique as Paul Harvey. A creature of radio.
As unique as Phil Silvers too
It’s disheartening, as Phil is very moody. He seems to take more time off than most radio hosts, but there is always some excuse when he does. Sometimes it’s easy to forget he probably works harder than any of those other guys in that he literally does *everything* on the show, including the voices of his guests.
In the past year he has generated a ton of content for his paid subscribers, and it’s hard to beat the $5 option for audio-only access to his archives and podcasts. He did say that there’s no way he’d keep doing a three-hour daily show when the syndication deal went away, and he’s convinced that he can make a living this way, so good on him. He’s got my $5…it’s not like anyone else is doing a show that is like his. I’ll stay with him as long as he keeps doing it, as I did my radio heroes Rick Emerson and Tommy Mischke, who finally gave up and left the business within the past couple of years.
Phil announced his new “show” will be live at 9 AM Pacific (Noon ET), putting the how on at the same time as Rush Limbaugh
Phil says the reason his show has no callers any more is his affiliates have no listeners
http://philhendrieshow.com/about/press