Sources: Don Imus Radio Show May Be Headed To Fox Business Network
'Imus in the Morning' could begin on FBN as early as September
By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/10/2009 2:44:15 PM
Don Imus is in negotiations to bring his Citadel Broadcasting radio show to Fox Business Network, according to sources.
If the deal is finalized the irascible radio personality could begin appearing on FBN as early as September.
An FBN spokeswoman would only say: “We are always talking to interesting talent.”
Representatives for Imus declined to comment.
Imus in the Morning is broadcast weekdays from 6 – 10 a.m. ET. If he moves to FBN, Imus would displace Fox Business Morning, which is hosted by Connell McShane and Jenna Less, and Alexis Glick and Eric Bolling’s Money for Breakfast.
Since returning to radio in December 2007, Imus’ show has been seen on the Omaha-based cable and satellite channel RFD-TV, which programs for the U.S. agricultural community. The network signed a five-year deal with Imus worth a reported $25 million. And while RFD announced a distribution deal with Time Warner Cable last May, the network is still hovering around 30 million households and can only be seen in many big markets on satellite television.
Calls and e-mails to RFD were not returned.
Imus would give FBN, which launched nearly two years ago, a bit of star power in the morning. His Citadel show, which is produced at flagship station WABC in New York most of the year, can be heard on more than 40 stations nationally.
It has been more than two years since Imus was at the eye of a media storm for employing an incendiary slur to describe the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. MSNBC, which had simulcast Imus in the Morning for 11 years, dumped his show. And when advertisers began to flee, CBS Radio also took him off the air. After a financial settlement with CBS Radio, Imus re-emerged on ABC Radio (now part of Citadel) in December 2007. He added two African Americans including sidekick Karith Foster and comedian Tony Powell. But much of the rest of his staff (both on the radio and behind the scenes) remains intact.
Imus was recently diagnosed with Stage 2 prostate cancer, which has become a regular topic of discussion on his radio program. Last week, Imus and his wife Deirdre appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program where they discussed their charity work on behalf of children diagnosed with cancer at their New Mexico ranch as well as Imus' cancer diagnosis.
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