Will an Imus Return Get Backers?

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Don Imus could be back on the airwaves by early next year, but his road to return could be treacherous.

According to published reports, Mr. Imus — publicly fired by CBS in April following racist remarks about the Rutgers’ women’s basketball team — is near a deal with Citadel Communications, which owns ABC Radio and WABC in New York, the station most likely to host his next show.

Should the deal go through, however, it’s not clear whether advertisers would follow.

MSNBC, which aired a TV simulcast of his CBS show, “Imus in the Morning,” was able to sell to big-ticket marketers such as Procter & Gamble, General Motors and American Express. After the initial Rutgers fracas, P&G was the first to bail on its spending, followed in quick succession by the bulk of Mr. Imus’ top 10 ad spenders.

Spokespeople for WABC and Citadel did not return calls or e-mails for comment about the reports of the negotiations.

GM hesitant
Before Mr. Imus was fired by CBS Radio, GM issued a statement saying it would “suspend our advertising while we continue to monitor the situation. It should be noted that GM has been and will continue to be a strong supporter of Mr. Imus’ extensive and on-going charitable efforts to assist children dealing with the challenges of cancer and autism.” Yet when approached last week about its desire to support Mr. Imus’ probable comeback, a GM spokeswoman said, “We won’t know what his program would be about,” and GM doesn’t buy media until it knows that, she added.

Matthew Warnecke, VP-local and national radio for MediaCom, said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Mr. Imus were to return in some capacity, and noted that WABC is one of New York’s big-ticket stations. Mr. Warnecke had clients who have bought Mr. Imus’ shows in the past, but was still uncertain as to their eagerness to follow this time around. “It’s up to the clients to decide what they think is right. We can guide them and will, but those who have been sensitive to an environment will continue to be sensitive.”

Natalie Swed Stone, OMD’s head of radio buying, was slightly more optimistic when she said she “couldn’t see why” advertisers would not want to back Mr. Imus’ next venture after initial rumors surfaced in August. Mr. Imus’ public apology and eventual reconciliation with the Rutgers basketball team was a sign to advertisers that he had been punished enough, she said.

Cross-country
Should Mr. Imus sign with WABC, there’s potential for him to go national again. Citadel owns ABC Radio, which syndicates shows with personalities such as Sean Hannity and Tom Joyner on a much broader basis. Mr. Hannity’s show, for example, reaches 515 stations, while Mr. Imus’ show was only syndicated to 61 stations through CBS Radio’s partnership with Westwood One.

WABC and its affiliates would likely get a large, if somewhat older, audience with an Imus morning show. Of the 1.6 million people who tuned in to his “Imus in the Morning” radio show across its 61 affiliate stations, the average age often was over 50. His ratings rank in New York’s morning-radio slot was 29, hardly making him a must-hear. Home station WFAN-AM added the sportscaster talk show “Boomer and Carton” in Mr. Imus’ old morning daypart Sept. 5, but it’s too soon for Arbitron to tell how the change has affected ratings.

Mr. Imus already scored $20 million from his settlement with CBS Radio after being forced to end his four-year contract early. Although he could take his money and run, it looks like at least one major New York station is willing to bank on his continued profitability.

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By Andrew Hampp
Contributing: Jean Halliday

Popularity: 2% [?]

I would LOVE to have Don back in the morning, preferrably on TV. His show was an excellent way to begin the day. His line-up of guests was always great, and so were his interviews. His no-nonsense approach to hot topics is something I miss a lot. Please bring Don back!

i believe imus has many loyal listeners, many very affluent.. willing to buy the products advertised on his program. anyone who had listened to imus for years knows the deal.. and all firmly believe this was a lynching. they and i believe many others will be with imus in full force. attention imus advertisers. get ready to make money.

Of course, smart advertisers will get on board because Imus’ listeners are extremely loyal and unlike the homeless Sharpton paraded around NYC in April, Imus’ audience has money to spend. I know I’ll be opening my wallet to Imus’ new advertisers (holidays are fast approaching!). I still don’t understand why Imus’ advertisers didn’t listen to their actual consumers back in April. I haven’t used my Amex card, bought any Proctor & Gamble products, shopped at Staples, etc. since April.

Hey, GM, next year I’ll probably be in the market for a new car. If I don’t see or hear one of your commercials on the new Imus in the Morning show, I’m not walking into one of your showrooms. Period.

Anyone who says advertisers will not flock to the new “Imus In the Morning” Show are telling a white lie.

Only a fool would not want to join the money train.

This is the week that Citadel will be announcing his return. And a great week it will be.

Millions of Hard Core Imus fans have boycotted the advertisers that pulled when MSNBC and CBS caved to Sharpton’s crazy shannanigans. The New and improved Imus on a Broadcast Company that backs their personalities will be the biggest Premier since “The Music Man” opened on Broadway.

I not only believe Mr. Imus belongs on the airwaves, I think every author who repeated those hideous words should be fired for repeating them as was Mr. Imus for saying them. That said, if an advertiser wants to reach me, for one, that advertiser better be on Imus because I don’t think I’ve turned a radio on in the morning since that horrible morning.
I wish Mr. Imus the best of luck and continue to appreciate him for what/who he is. Thank you.

I have a simple question to those who were outraged by Imus – are they as outraged by rappers and rap moguls such as Russell Simmons, Snoop Dog, etal., BET and music execs who have accumulated billions of dollars by denigrating the women of their own community? Perhaps a class action suit is in order. I am still waiting for Sharpton and Co. to call for their immediate firing. “Protests” and “marches” now and again will not suffice, nor will “recommendations” by Russell Simmons to refrain from such language. I am also still waiting for Sharpton to organize a boycott of the advertisers who sponsor misogynistic videos on BET and rap lyrics on the radio’s public airwaves. They are a disgrace to the legacy of Martin Luther King and the real struggle for civil rights!

I don’t want to live in a sanitized society in which every utterance is scrutinized and is “approved” or “disapproved”. I would rather be offended than have a self-appointed thought police determine what I can and cannot listen to or what should or should not offend me. Who appointed Sharpton and the NABJ as the thought police and arbiters of virtuous radio behavior? This is straight out of the former Soviet Union’s propaganda machine. Or, perhaps you are ignorant of the history of totalitarian governments – so-called “offensive” remarks, and off to the re-education camp you go!

And yes, I can’t wait for the return of the I-Man, hopefully with his entire crew intact, unchastened and unleashed, not a kinder, gentler, Imus lite. Yes, the commentary about the Rutgers team was insulting and misguided given the context of the show which has always been an eclectic unpredictable mix of satire, juvenile comedy and serious politics (which is why it was so entertaining to his listeners). But the humor was not malicious in its intent, and certainly not “reprehensible”,“despicable”,“ speech”, and other hyperbolic characterizations. The likes of Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Neil Boorz, and others spew racist content as serious ideology on a regular basis. I believe it was Neil Boorz and Glen Beck who described the victims of Katrina as thugs, thieves and hoodlums deserving of their fate – and they were not kidding. I don’t recall anyone clamoring for their immediate dismissal. And I would not support their dismissal from the air – I would rather argue against them
The “market” did not fire Don Imus since we, the listeners/consumers are the market, and Capus and Moonves did not consult with us. It is a mind-boggling disgrace that such craven “executives” caved into a group of employees when making a business decision, rather than considering the actual consumers/listeners who buy pay their salaries by tuning in and buying the advertised products.

I just hope that Imus will not be muzzled and will continue to speak truth to power!

Looking forward to shopping at Staples, the closest one to me is more convenient than the Office Depot. Just one spot on the new Imus show, and I boot this old computer for a new one at Staples.

We can all shop right now at Linens and Things, the Imus cleaning products have been there this whole time. I make a special point of looking for their flyers.

I also look for the Proctor and Gamble flyers, to look for things to avoid. Rats! I may have to replace my Gillette razor soon … unless the ads start up right quick.

I have no idea who sponsors shows on MSDNC as I gave up watching with the shoddy treatment of Donald J. Imus. I believe the free market should be decided by those who actually watched the show, not by some shakedown artists threatened boycott. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe the whole debacle had anything to do with comments, rather was politically driven by mediamatters, clinton lapdogs….PCedness is out of control & threatens to undermind freedom of choice, thought & speech. I too, am an ex-democrat as a result of the action & am still boycotting MSDNC/media hos

Get your “I Love Imus” shirts at

http://www.cafepress.com/SaveImus .

Show your support for the I-Man!!!!

We will buy whatever he sells. Can’t wait for his return.

I can’t wait until the “I” man returns. My morning drive into work will be fun again. I think we live in a country where people who admit to mistakes are forgiven. He apologized. He’s been punished. Now move on. I can’t wait. I hope Rob returns and all my old favorites. I miss his style and level of questioning.

I stumbled on this site looking for info re Imus’ return to the airwaves. And it looks like sometime in December on the radio - syndicated, I hope, so those of us out of the NYC area can also welcome him back w/open arms also.

Bravo those of you who are also boycotting P&G and Staples…

Bring Imus back to early morning television; his show was the only INTELLIGENT thing on in the mornings.

Gotta go milk the cows. Not really, runnig to the store for creamer. But, I really would love to sponsor “Imus in the morning”.

www.arthuritis.com

Thanks for sharing

I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well.