Final word on Stern replacement
The verdict is in. From the New York Times:
A little more than two months before Howard Stern takes his lucrative but polarizing morning show to satellite radio, his current employer, Infinity Broadcasting, announced plans today to replace him with a regional slate of hosts, including the former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth and the comedian Adam Carolla.
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Other hosts in Infinity’s strategy for replacing Stern include Rover, a radio personality who will add five more Infinity stations to the two in Cleveland and Columbus that he is currently heard on, and the Junkies, who will add Baltimore to their Washington base.
Infinity’s strategy is recognition of the long-time popularity of Mr. Stern and the foolhardiness of trying to find one big name to take his spot during morning drive time. The company is also using Mr. Stern’s departure to do more than overhaul its morning shows in 27 markets - it is flipping station formats across the country, including introducing a variation on the talk radio format called Free FM. The new talk format, billed as a hybrid of politics, sports and pop culture, will be heard on nine Infinity stations, including WXRK-FM in New York; some markets, like Philadelphia, will make the switch as early as today.
So there you have it. Infinity is playing it safe with multiple hosts for different regions and making a major format overhaul as well. Will it stem the leak of listeners? Only time will tell. And I can ring a bell. And get gas at Shell. And lock a cell. Well, well, well.
