Conservative radio host Sean Hannity is parting ways with Cumulus, his longtime network. Early rumors indicated that the network would drop both Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, but it now appears that Limbaugh will stay. Michael Savage, another conservative host, thinks he should be the one to take over for Hannity.
Sean Hannity is set to part ways with Cumulus, the second-biggest radio network in the United States, according to multiple reports on Thursday and Friday.
Hannity and Rush Limbaugh have been involved in tense negotiations with Cumulus, which has around 40 stations nationwide, over new syndication deals. The Limbaugh negotiations have been especially public and bitter. In July, reports surfaced that Cumulus was intending to drop both hosts. But, on Thursday, Mediaite wrote that Hannity is likely to go, while Politico wrote that Limbaugh is likely to stay in "virtually" every market he had been on.
Talkers magazine reported that it was Hannity's decision to leave Cumulus, rather than the other way around.
All of this intrigue was compounded by a very public intervention from Michael Savage, another right-wing radio host. Speaking on his show, Savage said that he thought he would take over from Hannity.
"I predict, right here, right now, that I, Michael Savage and the 'Savage Nation,' is going to take over 'The Sean Hannity Show' time slot by the end of the year," Savage said. "Look, his show is done, and it's sad...I am the heir apparent to afternoon drive on the East Coast and around America on Cumulus stations, which have the most powerful stations in the radio world."
Hannity's future remains uncertain, but his large audience virtually guarantees that he'll find a forum of some kind to air his views. Whatever he decides to do has important implications for the future of talk radio.