Limbaugh more popular during his commericals than his show
RAW STORY
Published: Monday April 7, 2008
A little-noted snippet from the New York Times' Alex Mindlin reveals that popular conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is more popular during his commercials than his show.
Rush Limbaugh's fans are at their most numerous when he is not even speaking. That is among the findings of a study by Coleman Insights, a radio consulting firm, that uses newly available minute-by-minute listener data from New York, Philadelphia and Houston to map the ebb and flow of Mr. Limbaugh's audience.
The study found that Mr. Limbaugh's share of radio listeners was greatest during commercials, beating his share during on-air segments by 0.18 percentage point.
Warren Kurtzman, the vice president of Coleman, said that Mr. Limbaugh’s audience tuned in during commercials so as not to miss the beginning of each segment. "His shares at the beginning of each hour are tremendous," Mr. Kurtzman said.
The study also found that Mr. Limbaugh did worst during minutes in which he was expressing approval, with a 5.43 percent average share of listeners. He had 5.71 percent of listeners when expressing negative opinions and 5.81 percent when he was neutral. "People are tuning in to hear his beefs with the world," Mr. Kurtzman said.
