Our friends at Media Matters passed along this latest tidbit about Rush Limbaugh: Turns out the right-wing blowhard has cost a radio networks that carries The Rush Limbaugh Show several million dollars in lost ad revenuein just the first two quarters since a boycott against his sponsors was called.
From Radio Ink:
Monday evening Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey said the advertiser boycott cost his company “a couple million” dollars in ad revenue in the first quarter and “a couple million” in the second quarter. He said things look like they will be back to normal in June.
Cumulus carries Rush Limbaugh 38 markets and blames 1% of the 3.5% drop in revenue for the quarter on the Rush boycott. Dickey said Cumulus was “hit pretty hard by this.”
As Media Matters’ Angelo Carusone points out, Limbaugh is broadcast on approximately 600 stations—if Cumulus is hurting, you can bet other carriers are as well.
Further, Cumulus (like some other affiliates) pays a hefty price to broadcast Limbaugh in certain markets. So, not only are affiliates directly losing money because they made the business decision to keep Limbaugh, but they’re also paying Premiere for the pleasure of losing money. This certainly helps mitigate some of Premiere’s losses, but I doubt it compensates for the overall damage that has been done to the business health and marketability of Limbaugh’s show.
So Cumulus’ CEO claims that everything will go back to normal in June, when the furor over Limbaugh’s sexist comments about Sandra Fluke will presumably be forgotten. And Limbaugh himself claims his audience has increased 10-60% at various stations since the Fluke fiasco, even though he has no hard numbers to back it up. (Current TV has a great piece tearing apart Limbaugh’s supposed massive surge in popularity.)
How about we take this to the next level?
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But it’s more realistic to think he’s tipped over from controversial to toxic (paging Glenn Beck) and those advertisers are gone for good. Remember, he hasn’t even officially apologized to Fluke yet.
And just in case his assholery is fading from memory, the National Organization for Women is launching an “Enough Rush” campaign this month.
This is all good news but, as we said before, Rush should’ve been flushed years ago.
Cave Man
Because this is what liberals do: Silence any dissenting opinion at all costs. How wonderfully all-inclusive of you guys.
ajax
@Cave Man:
Actually, I think this is what Republicans call “market forces”: The product (Limbaugh) is inappropriate for the purchaser’s (advertisers’) intended use (increased sales). The result is: too few buyers to support the sub-standard product.
davegun2
That’s right Cave Man. It is time to silence you.
Cave Man
@davegun2: So—you want me to shut up. Whatever happened to free speech? The first amendment? I suppose you only defend those philosophies when they serve your cause, which makes you a tool of the Democratic party. Congrats on that. Just remember: For every Dave that wants to suppress dissenting opinion, there’s a Me who fights to keep it alive and well. It’s called America.
wayne
“@Cave Man: So—you want me to shut up. Whatever happened to free speech? The first amendment?”
Idiot, the Constitution protects people from GOVERNMENT prosecution of protected speech. It doesn’t protect you from public backlash. Limbaugh still has the right to say whatever he wants. But he doesn’t have the right to say it on the public airways. Nobody has a Constitutionally protected right to a lucrative radio contract.
Dartagnon Puissant
Rush has lost control of his weight, his drug addictions, and his mouth. And his brain is is not far behind. But what can you expect from someone who is trying to paint a positive light on the GOP. Is that even possible? Now that the GOP is all confused and lost in what they want to achieve with the election in 2012 it’s anyone’s guess what will happen or who will win the nomination. Lots of fun for the viewing audience, but a death Nell for the Republican Party? At least Rush hasn’t gone Gay as yet … or maybe that would be a good thing for him to do at this point.
I find it hard to believe that Rush is still on the air and would LOVE it if he were to find another line of work. But everyone is entitled to their opinion, its just that some should remain silent and I believe that dear Rush is ONE of those people.
But it looks like Obama is dotting his I’s with his latest backing of gay marriage. Now he only has to kill off the “underwear bomb maker” and he’ll be a “shoe-in”. But actually, he has completed most of his promises… jobs are up and would be MORE up if the Republicans would get off their keisters and pass Obama’s Works Bill.
But for Rush, is looking like retirement time. He can go on circuit and speak if anyone will pay to listen to his right wing garble.
Mikel D McGrew
Dartagnon Puissant – I agree with everything you say! Rush is long overdue for retirment and perhaps there are small christian colleges that would pay him 1,000 to speak to a scantily filled auditorium of students.
The Pink Agendist
Could someone please stick their penis in Cave Man’s mouth? It’s the only way to get a republican to shut up.
Hyhybt
If I’m reading this right, it’s “costing” them only in the sense that they’re making less off him than before, not that they’re making less with him than they would without.
Tone
Gee he might have to stoop to buying generic narcotics now.
cdubois
I think @caveman is the perfect embodiment of whats wrong with our country and our level of discourse. Rather than responding to @ajax’s concise and well reasoned argument he chooses to conveniently ignore it and go after the low hanging fruit (no pun intended ) that doesn’t require him to think outside his comfortable frame of thought. It’s sad what passes for “debate” and “facts” these days …
Cave Man
@wayne: Um, you, my friend, are somewhat deluded. Ever hear the expression, “I may disagree with your opinion, but I’ll defend your right to it to the end”? That’s what free speech is about, not whether or not you can be persecuted by the government for your opinions. We all have a right to say anything we want, any where we want, at any time we want. You might not like it, but that’s the way America works, and it doesn’t mean you’re right and I’m wrong.
Merri Banks
It is amazing how the right wingnuts react to anyone who disagrees with them by claiming their “first amendment” rights are being violated. I have never listened to a Rush broadcast for more than a few seconds. Anyone has a right to express an opinion, and the owners of radio stations have the right to air what they want (although I do miss the old days when the FCC had teeth), and I have have a right to not listen and to boycott any sponsors who IMO are contributing to a coarsening of public discourse and dumbing down of the public. If I find out that a company of which I am a customer, like Lifelock, is spending money on activities I find distasteful, I have a right to tell them how I feel, and a right to stop using their service. They then have a right to make a business decision based on their customer feedback and a cost/benefit analysis. Isn’t Freedom wonderful?
Cave Man
@cdubois: FYI, Mr. (or Ms.) duBois, I never responded to Ajax’s comment, so your statement that I “choose to conveniently ignore it and go after the low hanging fruit (no pun intended) that doesn’t require [me] to think outside [my] comfortable frame of thought,” is irrelevant and misguided. I am always, always open for debate, but the problem is that most gays seem only to want to attack, rather than debate. If you’re of the type who would rather discuss than disembowel, I’m happy to have further conversation.
darkmoonman
Keep it up Cave Man – you’re showing everyone exactly the kind of illogic and misconceptions that folks like you resort to when they have no rebuttal to facts.
“I may disagree with your opinion, but I’ll defend your right to it to the end”
No one is stopping your free speech, just as no one is stopping that of those who call you out for being the ill-educated Rightwing nutter that you are.
DannyB
Nobody is being silenced. Rush can spew all the hate he wants. I just don’t have to advertise on it.
Jdubbs
@Cave Man: You do realize that you not responding to Ajax’s comment was exactly what cdubois was referring to, right? Ajax offered a reasonable response to your statement concerning free speech and you ignored it (i.e. did not respond), which would seem to indicate that you don’t value meaningful debate as much as you would have us believe.
James M. Martin
How on earth did that fat little turd set all of you off so!
Mark
You might be believable if your Rush Limbaugh story wasn’t from Media Matters.
Stories I’ve read say his ratings are higher than ever and advertisers are begging. Is this a news site or just wish-casting editorializing? 25 years. 25 years libs have been promising his demise.
Scott
Caveman-
You are “attacked” because most of us are done with this “debate/conversation”. It has been ongoing for a few decades now. We are not playing that game anymore. This is our lives- not some “conversation” we want to debate. The fact that you think you are superior to those in the LGBT community because you were born heterosexual nullifies any “debate” you may want to have. You are not going to convince any of us that we should be subservient to you and other heterosexuals. And really, would you bow down and humor someone who is attempting to oppress you?
We have played this debating game long enough. It upsets me that there are still individuals in our community who are still playing your game. The time for debate has long past. So- yeah- you are going to get shot down most of the time nowadays. We should be harnessing our anger and demanding our rights, not asking heterosexuals to grant us our rights. We are not going to change your mind, and you are not going to change any of ours. Straight people are not our superiors, even though some think they are. We should all be equal, and to say we should not is not only anti-gay, but un-American. I highly doubt you would want to debate any issue with someone who is attempting to oppress you. Also I highly doubt you came here for a “conversation”. You don’t want a debate. Your mind is already set. You are only here to try to solicit angry comments and take them back to your designated hate group(s).
What gets me though is you come to a website that is run by and for a minority group you are attempting to oppress, and you have the nerve to start playing victim once the oppressed become angry with you.
You may have the right to freedom of speech, but you are not free from the consequences of your words, nor are you free to express your views wherever you want. Private companies are under no obligation to allow you to speak using their channels. It is time for Queerty and other gay sites to start scrubbing away and blocking the trolls like you- just like the other side has been doing for years. I understand the desire to take the high road and allow them to post, but at the end of the day these individuals are only adding negativity.
Caveman- kindly stop trolling and leave this site- you are not adding anything beneficial to our website.
Dr. Dick
CaveMan has successully goaded some informed, logical responses from you fine people. Let us thank him/her for his/her masterful trolling. Truly a tour de force perfomance, brava!
bystander
Its a 3.5% drop from what i can only imagine is alot of money… stupid article.
J Stratford
I never used my Capital One credit card since this happened. Its sitting in a shelf. No way am I indirectly supporting Rush Limbaugh when all he wants is to disenfranchise me and people like me.
Not until Capital One apologizes for subsidizing Limbaugh all those years.
Alex
@Cave Man:
You’re being a hypocrite Rightwing organizations regularly organize boycotts against organizations that support gays. Just ask Home Depot, Ford Motor Company, and a whole lot of others.
tjr101
Aww, it’s always the libruls fault huh caveman? Lol, idiot.
Hiro
I can never forgive Cumulu$ corp for what they did to KGO-AM 810 in the SF Bay Area. Gutting my favorite local radio station does not earn brownie points, and I hope they are hurting from this Rush fiasco. Go forth and fail, Cumulus.
Larkin
Rush Limbaugh called gays a threat to real marriage. Please rush, tell us or have you first, second, third or fourth wife comment on who is the threat to marriage.
Ban divorce before you even think about banning gay marriage you dickweed.
Cave Man
There seems to be some implication in the above posts that I’m a straight guy who trolls sites like this to provoke angry responses. Well, you would all be wrong about that (as is usually the case).
Jon
Thankfully, someone photoshopped the image of Rush. Otherwise we’d see the remnants of the brown stuff that comes out of his mouth.
Chas
@Cave Man: So who/what the hell are you? Tell us. We know your a hater, we can tell that from your post.