WOW! The Rush Limbaugh Show” is leaving the dominant conservative talk radio station in Philadelphia, one of the biggest radio markets in the country.
Rush Limbaugh -- the dominant force in conservative talk radio in America for more than two decades -- is leaving his long-time Philadelphia perch on 50,000-watt AM station WPHT, apparently for an "unknown" rival.
The dramatic move shakes up the Philly radio market -- and arguably the local political scene as well.
WPHT confirmed the move just hours after a leading radio industry trade publication, Talkers magazine, reported that "the very hot rumor" out of Philly is that Limbaugh wa about to be yanked from his slot at 1210 on the AM dial -- to be replaced by Michael Smerconish, who now airs in the afternoon drive slot.
“The Rush Limbaugh Show” is leaving the dominant conservative talk radio station in Philadelphia, one of the biggest radio markets in the country.The NYT states that the Limbaugh's exit "does not appear to be directly related to the recent ad boycott against Mr. Limbaugh"...right...why move the Limbaugh show if it has nothing to do with the boycott? Why move a successful show to a completely new outlet, one that is based on "Christian" issues, if not for the hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost advertising revenue from the mother station? How obtuse is the NYT for making such asinine excuses?In its place on the station, WPHT, will go “The Michael Smerconish Show,” hosted by Mr. Smerconish, a native of the city.
The move does not appear to be directly related to the recent ad boycott against Mr. Limbaugh, which was started after he repeatedly attacked Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University law school student, on his three-hour show. Two of his roughly 600 affiliates dropped the show in the wake of those attacks.
Nonetheless, the move is likely to gain attention because Mr. Limbaugh’s show has been under scrutiny lately. On Monday, a new competitor, “The Mike Huckabee Show,” started broadcasting nationally in Mr. Limbaugh’s noon-to-3 p.m. time slot.
It is unclear when the change will take place in Philadelphia. The company that syndicates Mr. Limbaugh’s show, Premiere Radio Networks, declined to comment.
But Premiere has indicated that it will be moving Mr. Limbaugh to a new station in Philadelphia. Radio-Info.com reported on Monday that it might be WKDN, a Christian programming station that is expected to be turned into a news-talk station soon.
To the untrained eye, it would appear to be a step down for “The Rush Limbaugh Show.” WKDN, with a 38,000-watt signal, is a smaller station than WPHT, which has a 50,000-watt signal. But WKDN is an FM station, while WPHT is an AM station, and Premiere has shown interest in moving its talk radio shows over to FM stations lately.
The one and only reason for the move is that the station is losing mass amounts of advertising revenue. It's always, always a matter of a bottom line, and nothing else. Lose the dollars, lose the slot.
Decent people all over the country can celebrate this. If not for the American people who still have integrity, morals and compassion for their fellow human beings, Rush Limbaugh would still be spouting his disdain of women, minorities and other people who find it hard to defend themselves against the onslaught of hate that he has become associated with.
Job well done, but not over!