Clear Channel moving Rush Limbaugh from KFI to revamped KTLK
Rush Limbaugh’s radio tirades will have a new home on Los Angeles airwaves next year.
KFI-AM (640) is losing the conservative host’s three-hour show, long a fixture on the station, to KTLK-AM (1150), which owner Clear Channel is hoping to pump up as an outlet exclusively dedicated to right-leaning chatter.
The company, which also owns KFI, 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.
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Clear Channel is making similar changes in San Francisco, where Limbaugh will leave its KKSF-AM (910), and move to KNEW-AM (960), which is also retooling its lineup as a destination for conservative audiences. The changes are set to take effect for the first broadcast of 2014.
“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.
KFI will switch to all-local programming, and the vacated Limbaugh block will be filled by hosts Bill Handel and Bill Carroll. Handel’s show will run from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., and Carroll’s from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“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.
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Limbaugh has already switched stations in other markets, including Houston, New Orleans and Minneapolis.
Limbaugh, who broadcasts from Florida, is also switching 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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