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Rush Limbaugh Renews Contract Until 2016
2-Jul-2008
Written by: Ray Padgett
A $400 million deal keeps him with Clear Channel.
Renewing his contract with Clear Channel Communications, conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh signed a deal that will keep his broadcasts going until 2016.
Reportedly worth $400 million, the company announced the deal Wednesday with its syndication subsidiary, Premiere Radio Networks. Limbaugh will receive $38 million a year for the eight years, plus a $100 million signing bonus, he told the New York Times Magazine. The contract is the most lucrative since 2004, when Howard Stern was given $100 million for a five-year deal.
Clear Channel Radio President and CEO John Hogan said in a press release, “Broadcasters of Rush’s quality come along once in a lifetime. We’re privileged to continue our relationship which is unprecedented in the history of our industry.”
Hurting from competition from the Internet, podcasts, and other media outlets, traditional radio has to rely on its household names more than ever, according to Michael Harrison, the editor of the radio industry publication, Talkers Magazine.
In an interview Wednesday, he said. “The industry has to make sure it has the major league stars in broadcasting; therefore, it makes sense that the most money and the longest contract would go to the biggest star in radio today, and that’s Rush.”
As his Rush Limbaugh Show approaches its 20th anniversary, it has placed him as one of the leading political commentators in the country. Frequently controversial, the show draws 20 million listeners a week and is syndicated on over 600 stations.
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