JUST IN: Rush Limbaugh’s Timeslot Will Reportedly Be Taken Over by Conservative Duo Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Conservative pundits Clay Travis and Buck Sexton will soon take over Rush Limbaugh’s radio timeslot, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
“The duo will serve up similar right-wing fare, tackling news stories of the day, politics and current events, peppered with call-ins from listeners and humor,” the Journal reported.
“We’re not going to replace Rush Limbaugh, we’re going to have an evolution of the show with fresh voices – those that grew up on Rush and admired him,” president of iHeart Media’s Premiere Networks Julie Talbott said, according to the Journal.
Travis is the founder of conservative sports website Outkick, which was recently acquired by Fox News.
“No one ever replaces a legend, and Rush Limbaugh is the most influential and listened to radio voice across multiple generations,” Travis said in a post on OutKick. “But the battles Rush fought aren’t ending. If anything, they’re just becoming more intense. And I think intense and rigorous and intelligent debate has never been more important in this country than it is right now.”
Sexton is a former CIA intelligence officer-turned-conservative commentator, podcaster, and radio host. He also hosts a nightly show on conservative digital platform The First.
“Needless to say, I could not be more excited, @ClayTravis and I are going to do a great show together. Get ready for it,” Sexton posted on Twitter, along with an American flag emoji.
Since Limbaugh’s death in February, Premiere Networks has been airing reruns of segments of Limbaugh’s show in the noon to 3 p.m. timeslot, with guest host commentary between clips.
“No one can replace Rush Limbaugh, and Premiere Networks will continue to provide millions of loyal listeners with the voice of Rush for the long term,” a Premiere Networks spokesperson told Mediaite in March.
The re-cut Limbaugh shows were pulling in about 75% to 80% of its regular audience, the Journal reported.
In March, around one month after Limbaugh’s death, Westwood One, the syndication arm of Cumulus Media, confirmed that conservative commentator Dan Bongino would have a new three-hour radio show, airing weekdays during Limbaugh’s timeslot. The show launched earlier this week.
Some local markets chose not to air old Limbaugh segments, instead offering the timeslot to other conservative personalities. Atlanta station WSB added conservative radio host Erick Erickson to its noon to 3 p.m. time slot in the local market. In Jacksonville, conservative host Mark Kaye took the time slot on WOKV, and in Danbury, Connecticut, WLAD 800 AM/94.1 FM assigned the noon to 3 p.m. time slot to the syndicated Markley, van Camp, and Robbins show.
This story is developing.
