It’s not clear how the conservative talk show host affected Dial Global — the radio programming company that merged last year with Westwood One. (Limbaugh is syndicated by Clear Channel.) But Dial says in an SEC filing that “advertisers’ response to controversial statements by a certain nationally syndicated talk radio personality in March 2012″ contributed to financial woes that raise “substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” The March date coincides with an advertiser boycott of Limbaugh following his attacks on Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, who urged Congress to require employer health insurance plans to cover contraception.
But Limbaugh appears to be the least of Dial’s problems: Its stock is down nearly 77% today, to about 47 cents, after it said that it may not be able to meet its debt covenants and will voluntarily leave NASDAQ to just trade over the counter. The company reported a Q3 net loss of $71.2M, up from a $5.2M loss in the period last year, on revenues of $58.2M, +132.7%. In addition to the Limbaugh controversy, Dial attributes its losses to late cancellations of ad buys (which it says were due to “the election and renewed economic uncertainty”), and growing competition from digital ad platforms and major radio companies.
Private equity firms Oaktree Capital Management and The Gores Group own about 90% of Dial’s stock. It syndicates music, news, sports, events (including the Grammys and the Academy of Country Music Awards), and talk shows featuring Charles Osgood, Dennis Miller, Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller and Clark Howard.

I am reading this rubbish–not the reporting here, but I mean the idea that Rush somehow is hurting Dial Global? As perhaps the only person in Hollywood with firsthand knowledge and experience with ALL of these players (I not only fill in for Rush, but was also at one time under contract to Dial Global), my view of Dial Global was that it is one of the worst run companies I have ever seen. Every dimension of their so called “strategy” was not strategic. In my observation, at every chance when they had the opportunity to make decisions that would have better positioned the company to succeed in today’s competitive radio marketplace, these geniuses made the exact opposite decision. I could write a book about my direct experience with this bunch: blind, ignorant, foolish, lacking in judgement, etc etc. When Gores bought the old Westwood One Radio Network, they looked for a way out almost immediately instead of making the smart moves to use current market forces to their advantage. When the company was finally reconfigured with the Dial Global geniuses, it didn’t stand a chance. Blaming their colossal missteps on Rush, it like ABC blaming a poor year on NBC because NBC had Friends and Seinfeld! OR Disney blaming the failure of Carter on Warner’s for The Dark Knight Rises. Radio, like television and film and books and music, is a content driven business: give the audience what they want and they will come. Well, the fact that Dial Global (and indeed also Cumulus–you can expect, unless they too figure out the content/talent/profit connection, they too will hit rough waters) have developed no “bench” is no one’s fault but their own. A glance at the lineup of “talent” shows that the people who pick the talent and content are barely functioning at cesspool levels; if any network or studio exec made decisions like these people, their companies would also go the same way. Like making good films and TV shows, this is a talent, a skill, and a science, however it is nothing like rocket science.
Yeah, poor Rush. It must suck to be called out and humiliated in a public forum. He’s never been part of anything like that before!
Mr. Urbanski, you certainly have issues with Dial Global. But if all that you say is true about the talented Mr. Limbaugh, then there is probably someone out there just waiting to sign on Mr. Limbaugh, probably somebody like the owners of Fox News, they all think alike anyyhow.
@gray haired old lady: Fox News Radio is distributed by Premiere Networks, the Clear Channel division that already handles Rush, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck among others…and Fox’s talk hosts are live at different times than Rush is. That would be an unnecessary move.
Now if only we could do this to Fox News.
@Freedom Fries – If only you could LOL…but you can continue to dream on since Fox stomps the living crap out of your probable favs like MSNBC, CNN combined. People are beginning to trust FOX to give them ALL THE NEWS, not just the cherry picked stories like the main stream media does.
For example, have you seen ANY reporting on the Hurricane Sandy victims that to this very day STILL have no power, no water, living in tents (no FEMA trailers or anything). We see no reporting on these victims like we did the victims of Katrina in New Orleans (only), but these victims of Sandy have been totally ignored, and the treatment of these victims are far worse than what Bush’s FEMA group did, mainly because the media wouldn’t shut up about it, but we don’t hear how Obama’s administration has totally screwed up the Sandy recovery, but we won’t ever hear it from the MSM, you favorite news sources (most likely).
I am sorry Fox News upsets you…oh wait, No I aint HA HA HA HA. Loser.
Thanks Douglas you are a great American. Enjoy it when you fill in for The Great Rush Limbaugh!
As an Australian holidaying in the U.S recently I was shocked and horrified by what I saw on Fox News. The bias, the discrimination, the half-truths, hate talk, and the selfish dog eat dogma literally scared me! I know that there are compassionate, rational and intelligent Americans out there. I only hope that there are enough to stand up for decency and serious political debate.
That lead should read “It’s not clear how the right-wing radio demagogue …” Yes, Limbaugh is a right-wing demagogue and his anti-woman comments set everyone off. The only people who don’t get it are the fanboys and the media.
Clear Channel may syndicate Limbaugh, yet the entire radio industry is feeling the backlash.
Sorta sad to see though not unexpected. The decent and nice guys who created and run Dial and ultimately took control of the former gold standard in radio syndication, (what WAS Westwood One) were dandy salesmen yet have no biz playing in programming. Radio, like all media is programming driven. Procter Gamble, Pepsi, Warner Lambert et al will pay you if you have quality programming and thus ratings. Dial, created off money they earned from the sale of Dr. Laura’s show was always about bottom feeder programming. (These guys were former WW1 sales dudes and wanted to show “daddy” they could succeed as well) 30-40k DJ’s and hosts broadcasting to tons of secondary markets was the Dial formula. It was bulk radio and bundled income. Not bad is that’s where you want to stay and play. Yet if you decide to go for quality public cash and large urban markets…ya need programming. You need talent. Norm Pattiz, the WW1 creator was often a putz, but he knew radio spectacle. He invested in talent and programming and made WW1 a powerhouse. He spend money to make money and surrounded himself with talented programmers and salespeople. National radio like everything has changed. Station groups are taking their major market talent and putting them in smaller markets…thus eliminating local staffing. Good plan if you have talent. If you don’t, you can’t just Dial it in. Sales guys need good programmers and programmers need good sales folk. It is academic who is on top as long as there is rhythm and insertion. If the partners fumble like virgins the goods end up on the carpet. It still works, but nothing will grow from it. (Lord where have I gone with this thread?!
Dial and Westwood on a pure radio level can still succeed. It just needs some new talent across the board.
Radio Pirate obviously knows his stuff big time. You are spot on. Excellent, thoughtful, informed comments.
They are losing Neal Boortz soon, that won’t help any.
…and Clear Channel is owned by Bain Capital.
It’s funny how now that Ive reach the ripe age of 47, and I’ve been in radio for 24 years, I can clearly see thru the paper thin comments of the far right hate-mongers. First off let’s get the pecking order correct. Advertising feeds radio, which in turn takes those profits and feeds staff, programming, rent, motgage, station promos………well by now u get my point. If you give a personality the power to speak hate, racism, sexism, and any other ” dividing-the-world comments” to suspecting, and unsuspecting viewers. Advertisers (paychecks), sponsors and eventually even Quality Artist,and shows will run in the other direction. Once that process is under way, you can keep expecting to lose dividends, income, viewers, listeners, and most of all ELECTIONS!!! Wake up guys it’s not that complicated to figure out.