NYC Radio: Lawyer Says WABC Giving Michael Savage The Boot

As of January 7, Michael Savage may no longer be heard on Cumulus Media's 77 WABC.

That’s because WABC is poised to boot Michael Savage, according to his attorney, Daniel Horowitz.

WABC isn’t saying such; in fact, a recent news release last week from the station indicates Savage will be moving into a new, fresher format designed to take advantage of emerging media, one that will see him do one hour of radio alongside one hour of podcast.

But, according to The Washington Times, the behind-the-scenes story is a bit different.

According to Horowitz, who said he’s seen “the emails back and forth” between his client, Savage, and the radio powers-who-be, “The Savage Nation” is actually poised to go dark on WABC on Jan. 7.

And not just on WABC: Horowitz said media powerhouses in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., are all giving the boot to Savage, as well.

So, what’s going on?

Well, it’s not ratings, Horowitz said. The Nielsen numbers bear the truth of Savage’s years-long radio dominance.

Take a look: “Michael Savage Proves a Ratings Tour-de-Force on Bay Area’s KSFO,” Newsmax blared in a headline in June of 2016, in a story on Savage’s domination in that West Coast market.

Then there’s this: In late 2017, Talk Stream Live listed Savage, with 14.8 million listeners, as the second most-listened to top talk radio voice in the nation, behind only Rush Limbaugh’s 16.5 million listeners — but far ahead of third place Laura Ingraham’s 6.8 million.

So if not ratings — what then?

Westwood One’s Bart Tessler, the man Savage said was responsible for syndicating his show, replied to an email seeking an explanation by saying, “that’s a WABC item, not Westwood One.” Cumulus Media's corporate spox, Lisa Dollinger, didn’t immediately respond.

Meanwhile, there were reports in September that Westwood One was “shaking up its weekday afternoon Conservative Talk block” and that “Ben Shapiro To Go National As Michael Savage Cuts Back To One Hour.” The release went on to note that Cumulus just “launched Ben Shapiro on six stations in April including a live clearance on 770 WABC New York and delayed clearances on WMAL Washington DC, WLS Chicago, WYAY Atlanta and KABC Los Angeles.”