You also have to remember that due to the way HIS chosen syndicator decided to do production, the show wasn't sent out on the satellite until prime time was usually under way in many markets, leaving it to air minimally after the late news and often after either the Tonight Show and whatever CBS was showing. That left only ABC affiliates who had Nightline and usually a commitment to run a sitcom after the late news. Also, because his shows need to be topical (re same day news) when it went into reruns, that news cycle was long forgotten and most people weren't interested. Why they didn't do a fresh show EVERY day is beyond me.
Rush positioned the show for sucess and failure. He often spoke of his late hour showing. In the early days while the novelty was still on he bragged how well it was doing, even with the late showings. As it lost steam, he lamented the low audience due to his late night showing. What changed? In many markets the show still aired at the same time. Where did that earlier audience go that was there in the beginning. Why did the 4 share go to less than a 2 (which means getting yanked unless you pay for the time for the show to air.)Which brings another point, if it was so sucessful, why didn't they buy time on key selected markets that would begin a demand for it? Like his daily show in the early days. Some smaller stations paid ABC Talkradio (remember he replaced Owen Spann on that network) to air his show.
No, I'm not telling lies.......it's just a hard truth to deal with.