That's funny...I heard the EXACT opposite from a small group owner when Hannity started making more requirements (daily one minute feature required and additional spot per hour as well as extra outside inventory)...he complained saying that they are slowly killing the people that brought them to this level.
That seems to be job one in radio syndication. Dump the ones who brought you to the dance once you make it.
And until they push back, there's no stopping the syndicators. The one that did cave to affiliates was Talk Radio Network, who got rid of their Michael Savage ROS inventory. Remember the giant thread from a year or two ago about WDEL dropping Hannity because ABC wanted the station to carry Mark Levin? Another station came in and bent over for the new requirements. I wonder how that cluster is doing.
I too hate those stale weekend cramdowns. I don't know who listens to them either. WIOD in Miami has their weekend schedule crowded with Rush, Hannity, and Beck reruns, and the rest of the weekend is mostly infomercials. They used to carry other syndicated shows, but all got cut, including 13 year staple Cigar Dave. WIOD was his first affiliated station. If the syndicator wants weekend time too, I would rather they have the station carry one of the network's live weekend shows. Maybe Hannity affiliates could have the option to carry Gary Sullivan or Ron Wilson instead. Every time I listen to them, they don't appear to have all their inventory sold.
An Erie, PA station recently dropped Rush because his fees were too high. I'm sure Rush landed elsewhere on the dial.
Nope. Still off the air in Erie. Rush fans are listening to out of market stations. It took him more than a year to land a new affiliate when he was dumped in Fargo.
Unfortunately, stations won't have much pushback ability until they start biting the bullet and hiring people instead of leaving those talk studios empty for most or all of the day.
Still? Guess even the competitors don't want to cough up the money.
At this point I think Rush is being silly by refusing to allow his show to simulcast on satellite radio. He claims it's a loyalty issue, but Sean Hannity is on XM and Sirius, and he is still #2. I haven't heard his loyalty questioned either. It's Limbaugh's playground though, and he can do as he wishes. No one's going to tell him how to run his show.
