Smerconish To Unseat Limbaugh On WPHT?

[DToTheJ]

http://www.talkers.com

"A very hot rumor out of Philadelphia has WYD Media-produced Michael Smerconish’s nationally syndicated program airing live 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm on CBS Radio’s news/talk WPHT– where Premiere Networks’ Rush Limbaugh does right now.  Smerconish is currently delayed to PM drive on WPHT..."

[imhomerjay]

Which should push WPHT further into obscurity.

[jhguthlac]

So you replace the number one talk show with Smerconish. Where do people come up with these wild rumors?

[PhillyWatch]

This was brought up before in a thread that mysteriously disappeared shortly after it was posted.

I'd like to see it tick the ratings upward but don't imagine it making any big dent. Their entire daytime lineup is cookie-cutter AM political talk (read: snoozefest). Their rotating evening hosts do break up the monotony and broaden the topics, and I'd like to see that expand into the rest of the day. That, or an embrace of Boston's WBZ-AM nighttime talk format (broader topics, less hardline politics). I'm excited to see what Merlin brings to the table on 106.9. With the performance of "FM News" in NY and CHI, I'd be very surprised if they were to launch a carbon copy here. With rumblings of Larry Mendte having some kind of role in the new station, hopefully we'll see the launch of a talker that embraces hosts with varying viewpoints out of the right-wing realm that will give WPHT (and not so much KYW) a run for it's money.

[Bill_W]

So if 106.9 does local in the morning and clears all the Premiere peograms, Beck, Rush, and Sean and also adds Mark Levin 6-9pm, they'd have a good lineup.  CBS could just take the Phillies 24/7 off the WOGL subchannel and just put it on 1210.  1210 would go the way of WWDB-FM after they lost Rush to 1210.

[imhomerjay]

I suppose they could wrest Levin away from tape-delay on WNTP without much problem. 

What's not so clear is that varying from the "right wing cookie cutter" approach would be the least bit beneficial. The list of exceptions to conservative talk that are currently doing well is pretty small (and "well" in this case is a relative term, to be sure). At the very least, 1210 is able to put a local spin on it with Giordano in lieu of Beck.

Many a time we hear that someone should be doing "New Jersey 101.5" locally...but is there any substantial evidence that it's an exportable format? Or does it succeed precisely by playing off the "Not New York...Not Philadelphia" thing? (And even then, is the erosion it's been seeing a reflection on the format...or the fossilized hosts in some slots?) 

[raccoonradio]

More, direct link to article

http://www.talkers.com/2012/04/09/monday-april-9-2012/

[Joeyjboy]

confirmed, WPHT will be dropping the Rush Limbaugh Show to replace by the michael smerconish show more rumors that rush is moving to WKDN

[Theater of My Mind]

Wow, so Merlin and its investors spent all that money on a Philadelphia radio station just to put the same old conservative talk shows on it? So much for bringing new ideas to the market or the industry.

Guess it just goes to show that just because you have money doesn't mean you have vision.

[Bill_W]

And if Rush moves to 106.9, they'll have more listeners on day one than Merlin has on either of their news stations in NYC and Chicago.