Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, the two leading conservative voices on talk radio, may both have new homes by the end of the year. Cumulus Media, the second-largest broadcaster in the U.S., is reportedly not planning on renewing their contracts.
A source for Politico said Sunday that Cumulus is not planning on re-signing both Hannity, who is also an anchor on Fox News, and Limbaugh. The source noted that negotiations between Cumulus and Clear Channel distributor Premiere Networks had broken down, as Cumulus tried to keep costs down and Clear Channel tries to get the biggest paydays for its talent.
Other insiders told Politico that these talks could resume at any time, but the source claimed that Clear Channel was not budging from its demands.
“Cumulus is not in a position to comment about negotiations with talent under contract, no matter what the rumor of the day might be,” a Cumulus spokesperson told Politico.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that rumors about Limbaugh leaving Cumulus have popped up. In May, the New York Daily News claimed that Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey had continued to claim that Limbaugh was solely responsible for a drop in sponsors and Limbaugh was threatening to leave if Dickey continued to say this.
Politico’s report on Sunday claims that Cumulus has already started reaching out to local talent to fill the spots Hannity and Limbaugh are leaving behind. Its other talent, including Mike Huckabee, Mark Levin, and Michael Savage, could also replace one of their slots.
Hannity and Limbaugh did not comment on the report.
image: WikiMedia Commons
