Huckabee to Go After Rushbo

By Geov Parrish. KEXP, Eat the State

In the most direct challenge to the undisputed King of Talk Radio in a long time, last week, Cumulus Media - which operates radio stations in 68 market announced last week that it had signed a deal to syndicate a new show, hosted by Gov. Mike Huckabee, that would run in the 9 AM-noon (Pacific time) national slot long owned by Rush Limbaugh.

Huckabee, the former preacher and Arkansas governor who ran for president in 2008 and thought about it for this year, is a natural for this gig. He worked in radio as a youth and leveraged his presidential run into a cushy weekend sinecure with Fox News. He's also been syndicating a three-minute daily radio commentary, The Huckabee Report, heard locally three times a day on Christian outlet KCIS (630 AM) in Edmonds. Huckabee has said he will continue the Fox show.

What does this mean for talk radio? Limbaugh's syndicator, Premiere, is owned by Clear Channel Communications, a direct competitor of Cumulus, and Cumulus Media happens to own a number of Limbaugh's biggest market affiliates. It'll be fascinating to see if Cumulus has the stones to move or even replace the established (but much more expensive) Limbaugh show in those markets. 

In other markets, Cumulus is likely to have to settle for secondary conservative talk stations. But with the demise of KVI, Seattle doesn't have any of those except for Christian stations (like KCIS) with relatively miniscule audiences and budgets. Cumulus is aiming bigger than that. The closest Cumulus cluster is in Eugene, so it's not immediately clear whether any other Western Washington stations will pick up the Huckabee show ahead of its April 2 launch date. KGMI (790 AM) in Bellingham is the only other area station that airs the current three-minute Huckabee vignettes - but it also runs Rush. You can see the problem.

What does this mean for Huckabee? He's being coy about any political future: ìIf, a few years down the road, I see an opening, I dont rule it out, but Iím not plotting a political return either. (Translation: "This is a great way to keep my name out there, and we'll see if it works.")

What does it mean for listeners? Cumulus says Huckabee's show will be less ideological than Limbaugh's, with more cultural guests. But then, given that Huckabee's national following has been built largely on his evangelical cred in the culture wars, that may be picking nits: the culture wars are plenty political, and ripe fodder for whipping up the fury of a certain kind of talk radio listener.

Chances are most Limbaugh listeners aren't going to give Rush up - not after 20 years - but on the days when The Flatulent One is particularly drug-addled, or during those interminable commercial breaks, Huckabee will likely offer a fine second choice for those listeners. And there's still a lot of money to be made in that.

The question for Seattle: is there enough money in it that a station like Fisher's KOMO or KVI, or even Bonneville's KIRO-FM, would be willing to break format to add Huckabee's new show? Or would Bonneville, which now owns the sole conservative talk station in town, KTTH - a station built around the Limbaugh show - delay Huckabee and find another time slot for him on The Truth?

Comments

[Mary]

Not many thinkers here, Geov. However, I wonder if Rush's market isn't vulnerable to breaking apart at the Christian seam. Huckabee sells whether in politics or media to that market. Seems like positioning him next to Rush would be a win-win. On the other hand, Huckabee sounds like a fix for KVI if they want to return to hot talk. I can see a line-up around him. And some of Rush's escapades are growing a little weary as more and more people are finding themselves falling behind. Hasn't history shown us that when times are bad, more of us look to religion for the answer? Seems like Huckabee would appeal to the Santorum right.

God help us if KIRO picks him up. That could tip the scales in our so-called "blue" Seattle. I'm seeing it in education. We are not as blue as we think we are. And all our good liberals who listen to KUOW and think they're smarter than the rest of us are going to be in for a big surprise one of these days as find themselves more and more marginalized.

Is that too cynical?

[Mary]

Sorry. That was a rather smug way to open the discussion. Trying to put something on the table. Where is everybody?

[casual observer]

Cumulus dropped Rush from KSFO 560AM in San Francisco. Clear Channel promptly moved him over to their rehabbed KKSF 910AM.

[BR]

Come on Geov. You need to turn the dial around a bit. Here in Seattle Salem owns and operates several conservitive talk stations at 1590 khz, 1300 khz and the Burien station (no Burien programing, however) at 820 khz.

[Tony]

Indeed, there are many conservitive stations to listen to in the greater Seattle area.

You can't simply dismiss the aforementioned 1300 khz (the prestigious "business" station that literally broadcasted from a boat) and 1590 khz (the former full-service/adult-contemporary/alternative/SOFT adult-contemporary/KZOK-simulcasting/oldies/Christian/Russian-language and current TITAN of 5000 watt Seattle-based AM stations).

And then there's 1750 khz, which occasionally broadcasts promotional information in a 43 yard radius from the 4th Ave. Pep Boys (not 'technically' a conservitive station, but it is a broadcast that originates from a store with three gigantic heads for a logo - not a single minority head among them).

Something to think about…

[Mary]

Those are small stations directed at Christians. Huckabee would attract the Christians that like political talk. He wouldn't garner an audience from those stations. They are teeny in terms of numbers.

[sparky]

820 is the LOUD Christian station that blasts KGO off the airwaves at daybreak....

[AprilMayJune]

OT: Please help me Jesus - get David Bose off KIRO before my head explodes.

It feels like I have died and gone to hell; no more KGO and David flippin Bose on KIRO.

Where did I go wrong in life to deserve this punishment?

Thanks for listening ...

[KS]

Huckabee would appeal to more than Limbaugh, but there's also Dennis Prager on 1590 here. On the FM side there's Bob Rivers (6-10AM) - a good listen and probably more agreeable to the sensibilities of most over here.

I notice that KGO is now owned by Cumulus, but that is Ronn Owens time slot, so Huckabee won't be on there.
If any station here picks him up, it should be KVI, but that seems unlikely. No biggee...

[A Black man]

Sorry, Geov, but I think that you totally over-thinking this news. Huckabee will marketed to 2nd and 3rd rte AM conservative (and liberal0 talk radio stations who don;t have access to Rush. It all depends on just how Huckabee is dedicated to the 5-day/3-hour a week workload (which is very tough, don't get me wrong). Let's see how he does and I hope that a smalll station in the Puget Sound market picks him up so I can take a listen.