Conservative radio is getting a shakeup, with talk-show icon Rush Limbaugh moving from KFI-AM in Los Angeles to liberal sister station KTLK-AM, it was reported Thursday.
Owner Clear Channel will use Limbaugh's audience to anchor the new lineup for KTLK, which is being dubbed "The Patriot," and will also feature national shows by Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, the
Los Angeles Times reported.
Clear Channel is making similar changes in San Francisco, where Limbaugh will leave its KKSF-AM, and move to KNEW-AM, which is also retooling its lineup to attract conservative listeners.
The changes are set to take effect for the first broadcast of 2014, the Times said.
Clear Channel has repeatedly used Limbaugh’s monster program to tentpole relaunches of particular underdeveloped stations,
Breitbart reported.
Over the past several years, Clear Channel has moved Limbaugh from higher-rated stations to lower-rated stations in an attempt to give those stations a shot in the arm in markets including Houston, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Boston, Portland, Raleigh, Greensboro, Fresno, and others, Breitbart reported.
"Rush Limbaugh has built the ratings and revenue of hundreds of America's most successful radio stations and is looking forward to doing the same at these new Clear Channel homes," said Brian Glicklich, a spokesman for the radio personality.
Clear Channel’s signing of conservative talker Sean Hannity sets up a leap-ahead ratings potential for the underdeveloped signals by placing Limbaugh and Hannity back-to-back,
Breitbart noted.
KFI will switch to all-local programming, and the three-hour vacated Limbaugh block will be filled by hosts Bill Handel and Bill Carroll, Clear Channel announced.
“The Patriot will be home to well-known hosts sharing the same conservative philosophical views and values, while KFI will be live and local all day long focusing mainly on the issues that affect Southern Californians,” Greg Ashlock, Clear Channel's market president for Los Angeles, said in a statement.
In another big market switch, Limbaugh, who broadcasts from Florida, will take his show in New York from Cumulus station WABC to Clear Channel's WOR.
That change was announced in August when Clear Channel's Premiere Networks, which distributes "The Rush Limbaugh Show," and
Cumulus reached a three-year syndication deal.
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