Chicago Radio: Cumulus Sez WLS-AM Is Not Dropping Rush

Rush Limbaugh

UPDATE 3/5/15 10:20AM: A spokesperson for Cumulus Media tells Media Confidential that the sory is "complete false".  Feder has been requested to retract the story.


Original Posting...

Rush Limbaugh, who’s been a fixture on WLS 890 AM for more than 25 years, is about to get the bum’s rush from the Cumulus Media news/talk station, according to Chicago Media writer Robert Feder.

If all goes as planned, Limbaugh’s syndicated talk show, which airs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, will be dropped by the end of March.   Media Confidential has reached out the Cumulus spox for comment or statement.

A source familiar with the decision said it was based on the show’s diminished ratings and failure to generate advertising revenue for the station, adding: “It’s impossible to sell.”

The latest Nielsen Audio survey shows WLS ranked 24th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays with a 1.5 percent share and cumulative weekly audience of 121,300. Among listeners between 25 and 54 — the group most sought by advertisers — WLS tied for 31st with a 0.8 share and 47,300 weekly cume. For the full year 2014, 62 percent of Limbaugh’s audience was over 55, and 34 percent was over 65, according to Nielsen Audio.

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