"Earth shattering" change in the radio industry in the aftermath of the Rush Limbaugh Effect

[richardmyers]

"Earth shattering" change in the radio industry in the aftermath of the Rush Limbaugh Effect

Limbaugh's parent radio network in deep financial trouble

Largest competitors also in disarray

On Monday, November 26, radio industry analyst Jerry Del Colliano predicted "earth shattering" changes in the radio industry. In spite of the downward spiral of three of the largest radio networks, I thought it might be hyperbole — Del Colliano sells industry news, and I took this for headline buzz. Del Colliano asserts that "the moon and planets are in alignment for some terrible things to happen in the months and year ahead." News this week suggests Del Colliano may be prescient.

Del Colliano hasn't recently mentioned the Rush Limbaugh Effect, and his last brief mention of the Stop Rush effort was October 18, under an article entitled "Panic In Talk Radio". But the industry appears to be in a deepening crisis, with or without Rush.

And the radio industry itself is still talking about the Rush Limbaugh Effect.

More Rush and Rush Limbaugh Effect at the link.

[1StrongBlackMan]

1. I wonder ...

How much of this implosion is rush-related, as opposed to I-pod and streaming? Why would I pay top dollar to advertise to a decreasing audience?

[Bucky]

2. There's a thought: getting Rush Limbaugh on your iPod.

[richardmyers]

8. There are no easy answers to that question

The industry generally doesn't want to draw attention to the Rush Limbaugh fiasco. There are some who have argued that the impact was zero. That seems utterly absurd, in hindsight. But it would also be wrong to attribute too much to Limbaugh's depredations when the industry was already seen to be in decline.

I think it is safe to say that in a 16 billion dollar industry, advertisers boycotting Rush account for many tens, and possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. But that's just an estimate based upon mostly anecdotal information.

Consider, there are activists contacting Limbaugh sponsors every day of the week, around the clock. Many advertisers dropped Rush spontaneously, but many hundreds more have dropped Rush after discovering that Limbaugh's obscene tirade against Sandra Fluke is still fresh in the memories of a lot of consumers. So the impact is cumulative over time.

[freshwest]

3. All I want to know is when the BFI goes off armed forces radio and the rest of them.

[Squinch]

4. Why does their debt obligation go up ten fold in 2016? Smells like Bain-type leveraging to me.

Rush is a turd, but he's not the cause for a tenfold increase in debt obligations. Only a really stupid debt structuring could do that. Mitt? Is that you, Mitt?

[Bandit]

6. When you suddenly lose 60% of your advertising dollars, your debt is bound to sky rocket.

Because of the Rush effect many talk radio programs, both Liberal and Conservative are losing ad revenues to the point of causing many to be dropped in favor of music.. what a shame..

[Squinch]

9. But they project that between 2013 and 2015 there will be 1.9 billion debt for those two years.

Then all of a sudden in 2016 it multiplies by a factor of 10. If it were due to the Rush effect, it would happen this year or next.

I'm sure Rush is contributive, but for this kind of balloon, there has to be a debt instrument that has been in place for a while.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Cool- should be some radio licenses real cheap soon...

and whole stations for anyone who can come up with the electric bill.

[SoCalDem]

7. When right wing radio morphs into sports/music/traffic-weather, I'll believe them

As long as they continue to pay money to hate-speakers, I'll reserve judgment.

Unanswered propaganda works on enough people for it to be a valuable tool for the right wingers, even if the effect ebbs from time to time. When the "hosts" go away or onto the web, we may be onto something.. Didn't Beck recently emerge onto Sirius?

[Earth_First]

10. Terrestrial radio is a dying media

If it happens to take down Limbaugh in the process, forgive me if I happen to add an extra step in my grave-side shuffle...