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http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=34496The End of Rush Limbaugh? His Radio Syndicator is on the Brink of Bankruptcy
Posted by Mark NC on April 25, 2017 at 2:37 pm.
snip//
With Trump still driving the public angst, the carnage is far from over. The talk radio empire of Rush Limbaugh is now said to teetering on collapse. Salons Matthew Sheffield is reporting that:
In a statement filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal agency charged with regulating companies that offer investments to the public, iHeartCommunications parent company, iHeartMedia Inc., said that it had substantial doubt that it would be in business by the middle of next year.
Sheffield noted that the radio industry in general has been under pressure from other advertising platforms including new media. But the problems facing Limbaughs syndicator went deeper than that:
The ad challenge is made worse for iHeartCommunications since many of its stations feature a conservative talk format whose audience is literally dying off. According to industry figures, the age of a talk show listener is about 67. Further complicating things for the company has been that its top host, Limbaugh, has immersed himself in several controversies in recent years, such as the time he called a liberal activist {Sandra Fluke} a slut on the air.
Indeed. Limbaughs repulsive and misogynistic insults cost him dearly. A leaked memo from his distributor, Premiere Networks, revealed that he lost more than 140 advertisers as a result of his rancid ranting. And the exodus didnt end with Limbaugh. The same advertisers also requested that their ads be removed from other right-wing programs including Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage.
Exacerbating these problems, Limbaugh has also lost favor with some of the top affiliates in the country. His show has been dropped from WABC in New York, WRKO in Boston and KFI in Los Angeles. In desperation, he switched to some weaker stations in those and other markets just to have a presence on air.
It remains to be seen whether iHeartCommunications will manage to stay afloat. But even if it does, they will have to make severe cuts in order to service their crushing debt. That means that Limbaugh, Hannity, et al, will either have to agree to renegotiate their contracts downward or say goodbye to their audience. They may still survive online, but they should ask Glenn Beck whether thats a viable option. Since losing his Fox News megaphone he has been bleeding cash and his public awareness has shrunk to near irrelevance. So thats good news all around. And maybe we should send Donald Trump a thank you note.
shenmue
(38,506 posts)FarPoint
(12,409 posts)A one way Propaganda Machine was doomed.... Just took much longer than I expected.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)which is so ironically ironic.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-03/iheart-said-to-weigh-bond-exchange-before-wall-of-debt-comes-due
Too bad Limpy himself won't go busted - he's been paid millions a year.
bagelsforbreakfast
(1,427 posts)dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)which explains that wall of debt, most likely.
Yeah, running on debt has been a favorite Republican trick for ever, and no one who does it seems to remember that eventually debt will eat you alive when you can't re-finance at some point, usually when the market downturns significantly, which is an other Republican trick.
hedda_foil
(16,375 posts)FakeNoose
(32,645 posts)He'll just put all his junk on the internet, probably a web-blog, and he won't miss a beat.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)He is much too valuable to the oligarchs to lose. I suppose they can substitute one of his imitators at lower cost. They have a station here in Savannah that is pure RW hate all afternoon and evening long.
cannabis_flower
(3,764 posts)He dies. He's 66 and clearly overweight. He couldn't be that healthy.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)Or Trump. Seems like the evil ones last forever.
LakeArenal
(28,820 posts)Orrex
(63,215 posts)Or take over as the head of the FCC.
rusty fender
(3,428 posts)that he can buy several of his own stations. In any case, we've been trying to put a fork in him for years--haven't found one big enough yet that can fell him
certainot
(9,090 posts)and he's been leading them and us off a cliff
they'll find a way to keep subsidizing most of his 600 stations unless the Rcons decide they want to lose a few elections and join the human race again.
but talk radio got them all three branches and it's going to be crucial to save trump and keep power...
if only democrats didn't continue to ignore rw radio
lastlib
(23,244 posts)that'd stink beyond stink--just let it out a little at a time so it can be washed out without polluting too much sewage.
rusty fender
(3,428 posts)yuk
safeinOhio
(32,688 posts)The invisible Hand.
QED
(2,747 posts)Oh the possibilities for a new media venture. Wasn't Jared trying to start a new network?
Initech
(100,080 posts)If iHeartRadio's bridge is burned, some other billionaire will build a new bridge for them to hide under.
certainot
(9,090 posts)to put their propaganda operation out of business once and for all- it's been a major advantage for them for 30 years
especially the 88 universities that broadcast sports on and endorse 257 limbaugh stations
dems need to make it poisonous for any advertiser to support those radio stations and make a comeback impossible
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Protests in front of their stations is a feel good activity that has the potential to backfire more likely than to fatally damage those assholes businesses.
certainot
(9,090 posts)if one or two of those unis merely begin discussing the prospect of looking for apolitical alternatives, advertisers will flee.
other unis will be shamed into doing the same - they have no excuse.
the discussion will cause many advertisers to flee
that would be better than protesting stations, which are often not in appropriate locations. protests at a few unis could spread and effect all advertisers on all rw stations.
Orrex
(63,215 posts)Where oh where will I go to find the same five songs being played simultaneously again and again on six locally airing stations?
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,005 posts)https://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/08/02/why-reports-about-rush-limbaughs-contract-renewal-dont-mention-price/212114
August 2016
Consider this:
Clear Channel stock value, April 2007: $39.
iHeartMedia stock price, July 2011: Approximately $8
iHeartMedia stock price at close of Tuesday: $1.30.
panader0
(25,816 posts)My SO has worked for CCR for years and when a Bain subsidiary bought it,
they eliminated the right wing radio--Rush, Hannity and more. Listeners
were outraged that their hero was gone and flooded the station with threats.
The advertisers determine who is on, not the listeners.
benld74
(9,904 posts)If they drop his sorry behind, they would MAKE $$$$
George II
(67,782 posts)And the Waltons, the Mercers, the Coors, and all the other reichwing oligarchs that have been doing it for decades. They need the propaganda to keep the torches and pitchfork carriers from finding who is really making everyone's lives miserable.
kimbutgar
(21,161 posts)We used to have a progressive station in San Francisco. Had great ratings, advertisers and loyal listeners. In 2009 clear channel changed the format and it went to right wing talkers. The ratings went to zero. All because they did not like the progressive bias. Terrible management decision for partisan purposes. I say good riddance.
cstanleytech
(26,293 posts)iHeart served them well as part of their long term plan of gaining majority control in the government.
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)As much as Limbaugh is at fault for inciting hate and getting Hillary defeated, Bob Pittman is the root cause. He could boot Limbaugh at any time. Pittman prefers keeping him to see how much money they can squeeze out.
Edit: plus Pittman is worth around $100 million, so he is in the 0.01% - he benefits from GOP hatemongering aimed to destroy government and cut taxes that mostly benefit ... the 0.01%.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)I LOVE that Romney killed that guy's goose.
AllaN01Bear
(18,253 posts)the house of cards just keep falling
nikibatts
(2,198 posts)Sigh. No GOP supporting group is really on the brink of bankruptcy. It's just a neat way to keep from paying your debts. Conservatives use it all the time. Ask Trump.
Ccarmona
(1,180 posts)It deregulated the radio industry allowing Bain Capital (Mitt Romney) (amoung others) to go ballistic and gobble up radio stations throughout the Country. As was always the case with Bain, they drained the viable assets of their properties for the benefit of the owners, and saddled the Corporation with $Billions in debt. This is also why right wing radio dominates the airwaves by putting the same "talent" on multiple stations that they own in the same market.
duncang
(1,907 posts)trumpistas on it. If it's in a email or dipshit says something about progressives they will be repeating it. I would love to see them go, but hate to see the station go.
Leith
(7,809 posts)Just look at Greta, Megan, Joe, and now Hugh.
milestogo
(16,829 posts)dchill
(38,503 posts)They need to work harder at it.
edbermac
(15,941 posts)As the old saying goes, nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.
Especially Republicans.
pintobean
(18,101 posts)here on DU since I got here in '04. I guess, eventually, it will have to come true.
samnsara
(17,622 posts)Zambero
(8,964 posts)Rush, Hannity, and the recently dematerialized Bill-O need to pack it in, cleverly re-invent themselves, and hit the road as a 3-man song & dance act. They can bill themselves as the "Dancing Deplorables", and Ann Coulter could serve as a rude MC.
Warpy
(111,273 posts)since I've heard some moron proudly proclaiming himself a dittohead. He's gotten stale and his shtik is formulaic and rote. He's become a habit with angry white men at work but that's pretty much his listening base. Old guys are watching jiggly bottle blondes over at Pox News and the young have realized conservatives are largely full of shit.
I suppose we'll have to look at Alex Jones for that purple faced flameout on the air, Lardbutt is just not going to do it for us.
I do love that these guys are finally desperate for cash. I just wish it had happened before they did so much damage to this country.
DangerousRhythm
(2,916 posts)What are the chances that FOX News would put him on the air in O'Reilly's place? I know he used to have an incredibly stupid TV show in the early 90s, but maybe the obnoxious faces he'd pull during it (not to mention that his audience is declining) might prevent this disaster from happening?
I just want these old sexist bastards to go away entirely. No more right wing media, dammit. It's already ruined our country in countless ways, starting with #45 at the top.
JudyM
(29,251 posts)He damaged my relationship with my dad, in his later years especially, by demonizing liberals (like me). And I'm probably not the only one whose life has been personally, negatively impacted. Heart breaking.
Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)pressbox69
(2,252 posts)Let me count the ways. Using a pimple on his bum to duck serving his country. Being pro NAFTA but now pretending he was always anti NAFTA. Vacationing in a country where young boys are a sport. Calling Jerry Garcia a druggie on the day he died but trying to cover up his own drug abuse. His calling young Chelsea Clinton a dog. His dopey Fox sketch with him as the president and Tran Coulter as his VP. Paying Elton John $1,000,000 to perform at his wedding. His endless lies and rants against the Clinton's and Obama's.
Gothmog
(145,313 posts)Abu Pepe
(637 posts)sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)wryter2000
(46,051 posts)I hope I don't lose her.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)older but they are still whipped up in his lies and hate and could be a danger
they are that hateful and f'n nutty
democratisphere
(17,235 posts)Can't wait till he is living under a bridge.