Posted on 04/10/2012 12:55:01 AM PDT by raccoonradio
The Rush Limbaugh Show is leaving the dominant conservative talk radio station in Philadelphia, one of the biggest radio markets in the country.
In its place on the station, WPHT, will go The Michael Smerconish Show, hosted by Mr. Smerconish, a native of the city.
snip
It is unclear when the change will take place in Philadelphia. The company that syndicates Mr. Limbaughs show, Premiere Radio Networks, declined to comment.
But Premiere has indicated that it will be moving Mr. Limbaugh to a new station in Philadelphia. Radio-Info.com reported on Monday that it might be WKDN, a Christian programming station that is expected to be turned into a news-talk station soon.
To the untrained eye, it would appear to be a step down for The Rush Limbaugh Show. WKDN, with a 38,000-watt signal, is a smaller station than WPHT, which has a 50,000-watt signal. But WKDN is an FM station, while WPHT is an AM station, and Premiere has shown interest in moving its talk radio shows over to FM stations lately.
The owner of WPHT, CBS Radio, said in a statement on Monday afternoon, Premiere recently notified WPHT they will be syndicating Rush Limbaugh on a new station in Philadelphia. As a result, we are pleased to be able to now showcase Michael, who is a well-known and acclaimed broadcaster in the market, in this new time period.
Mr. Smerconish is a relative rarity on radio: a moderate.
(Excerpt) Read more at mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com ...
>>Michael Smerconish will replace Limbaugh on WPHT, Philadelphias midday schedule.
Did CBS initiate the move? TRI hears CBS considered the Premiere contract renewal, with its inventory requirements and cash payments, and decided to let Rush go. That frees up the early afternoon Rush slot for hometown son Michael Smerconish. His Dial Global-syndicated show can now air live, starting at noon. Remember last weeks TRI speculation that Merlin Media would go talk on its newly-acquired WKDN, Camden (106.9), not all-news? And that Limbaughs deal was up very soon on WPHT (1210)? The pieces appear to be fitting into place on the chessboard. Last night, the New York Times mentioned the story from Radio-Info.com, about Rush leaving WPHT and potentially relocating to Merlin. >>The Times quoted a CBS release saying that Premiere recently notified WPHT they will be syndicating Rush Limbaugh on a new station in Philadelphia. (Probably both sides, CBS and Premiere/Merlin, are going to feel they made the first move with Rush.) It appears Merlin will present an Al Gardner-hosted morning show on WKDN, followed by Glenn Beck (previously dropped by WPHT), Limbaugh, then Sean Hannity (also not currently in the market). Plenty of yakking about talk radio on the Philadelphia Board of Radio-Info.com.
Smerconish went from Conservative to Liberal in one year. I turned him off when I told him to stop taking vactions because every time he did, he came back more liberal.
He’s a token on MSNBCDNC, hate TV. Good for Rush. I still have him in Wilmington, DE on AM.
New York Slimes tries to make like Rush got dumped by the station, When it is the opposite, Rush dumped the sation for a better venue.
We get Rush on FM here and it is much better and clearer reception than another one that carries him on AM.
Notice Rush is packing up, not being TOLD to go...
Maybe Premiere is choosing to go to some of the stations it may hold an interest in someday...to withstand the liberal Nazis when they go ballistic again.
Having voted for Republican candidates for president all his life, Smerconish endorsed Barack Obama for president on October 17, 2008.
He has urged the Republican Party to pursue “moderation on social issues in order to advance a suburban agenda for the GOP.”
On February 21, 2010, he announced that he had left the Republican Party
******
On August 20, 2009, Smerconish became the first talk radio host to broadcast live from the Obama White House, a show which included an interview with the President himself. The interview was held in the Diplomatic Reception Room, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats were held. The President took questions from Smerconish and his listeners on a variety of subjects including the recent debates on the pending Healthcare Reform Bill.
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Just getting ready to post the WPGB Q&R thread. KDKA dropping Rush and WPBG picking up his show was one of the best moves!
Quinn and Rose are on FM 104.7 WPGB in Pittsburgh.
Mr. Smerconish is a relative rarity on radio: a moderate....Ahhh! Nothing to say, nothing to illucidate on.
"In its place on the station, WPHT, will go The Michael Smerconish Show, hosted by Mr. Smerconish"
You sure as hell don't go with Michael Smerconish. His show is a real sleeper. Not to mention, he's just barely more conservative than Chrissy Mathews, if that tells one anything....
You don't lose an audience by switching stations.....his loyal listeners will simply reprogram their radio dial. (of course I'd have to break out the owners manual to figure how to do it)
Congratulations to WKDN if this comes to pass. They`ll have an exponential increase in audience. WPHT.. well... enjoy your drop-off. Smurky is an 0bama worshipper who still stands by his “man.”
LLS
Why is ANYONE suggesting this is a bad thing? Rush will now be on live instead of tape delay. The liberal blogs are claiming this is a step down, actually, it’s a step UP to be heard live instead of delay.
The NYT suggests bad things in a piece, you have to read to the very end to find out that now Rush will be heard live in a major market, hardly a step down. Typical liberal BS, everyone here is smarter than that.
LLS
Ditto Knoxville Tennessee except he has moved to a second FM station. I think it might have a slightly shorter range toward the east. There is mow about a five or ten mile range on I 40/I81 where the overlapping signals are poor
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