Rush Limbaugh’s untimely death from cancer early this year left a gaping hole in hundreds of radio stations across the country.
Limbaugh was a conservative icon and the undisputed king of political talk radio — not something easily replaced.
In the months since, distributor Premiere Networks has used a rotating cast of temporary hosts and a mix of Limbaugh’s old commentary to fill his 3-hour time slot in hundreds of radio stations across the country.
That changed Thursday. In an exclusive reveal to The Wall Street Journal, two co-hosts are set to take over Limbaugh’s radio time slot — and the news was immediately controversial.
Beginning June 21, radio stars Clay Travis and Buck Sexton will debut in “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show” during the noon to 3:00pm slot.
“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,” Premiere Networks president Julie Talbott said.
Critics said Travis and Sexton are an unusual duo to take over for Limbaugh. Sexton is a conservative commentator that has worked for Fox News in the past, but Travis is a self-described political moderate that is more familiar to sports fans from his “Outkick the Coverage with Clay Travis” show on Fox Sports Radio than for his takes on America and politics.
And both are significantly younger than the normal Limbaugh listening demographic — something the two say is an asset instead of a liability.
“Rush’s connection with his audience is one of the primary legacies of his show,” Travis told The Journal. “I also think Buck and I have the unique ability to offer a perspective that many people in their 20s and 30s are desperate to hear.”
“The most dominant talk radio hosts have been from one generation; Clay and I represent the next phase,” Sexton said. “We’re going to bring the perspective of two guys who see a country they’re deeply worried about, and a massive audience that needs people who will speak for them,” he said.
“Some of our movie references and pop culture sensibility will shift a little,” he admitted.
At the time of his death, Limbaugh was carried by over 650 radio stations across the country and had an estimated 20 million listeners.
Sexton and Travis won’t have quite that same reach. 122 radio stations — including stations in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angelos — opted to drop the Limbaugh reruns and now carry the new “Dan Bongino Show” that debuted in March.
On social media, reaction to the news was mixed. Some celebrated the new show. Others called it a mistake.
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The Horn editorial team