...however, I suspect a certain....agenda....may be driving this public admission.
Radio Ink:
It's the first time anyone actually gave a dollar amount regarding the Rush Limbaugh Sandra Fluke incident. 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.
Remember, though, two things.
Rush is a Clear Channel horse, although Cumulus has him on 38 sticks.
Also, Cumulus is looking to compete with Rush, with a....more civil.....kinda guy. Or at least, that's the sales pitch.
Talkers goes a little farther:
Dickey also addressed the debut of the Mike Huckabee show which airs live in the 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm ET slot and is seen by some observers as a direct competitor to Limbaugh. He says they are very close to having Huckabee on 200 affiliates and he’s viewing the show as a long-term project.
Good to have a tangible admission that the boycott has done some pocketbook bruising, but it seems to me that it's in Cumulus' interest to show that Rush damaged their bottom line, seeing as how they now offer a competitor.
I'll be interested to see if Clear Channel releases any figues showing how their first-stringer hurt THEIR bottom line.
If Rush cost Cumulus four or five million in two quarters, and Limbaugh is on only 38 stations, how much has Premiere likely lost?Rush is on about 600 stations altogether.
Remember how Rush characterized this? He said business was up as much as 60 percent on his stations as a result of his attacks on Sandra Fluke!
But I'll not hold my breath.
In the meantime, keep the heat on.