Bill Cunningham’s flagship station has benched his national Sunday night talk show for NFL football.
“Live On Sunday Night, It’s Bill Cunningham” airs on nearly 350 stations – but not on Cunningham’s hometown WLW-AM, his long-time employer, this fall. Both WLW-AM and his national syndicator, Premiere Networks, are owned by iHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel).
“It’s a contract issue with iHeartMedia,” Cunningham says.
The station “must carry football till January, then it’s back on. It is what it is.”
Scott Reinhart, WLW-AM program director, did not respond to emails asking about the change. The Westwood One Sunday night NFL games also are simulcast on sister station Fox Sports 1360 WSAI-AM.
This is not the first time Cunningham, who has two national Marconi Awards for broadcast excellence, has been snubbed by the station.
Since he took over Premiere’s Sunday night slot from Matt Drudge in 2007, WLW-AM has only aired the first two hours (10 p.m.-midnight) of the three-hour show. WLW-AM switched at midnight to its long-time overnight show, “America’s Trucking Network.”
From 9-10 p.m. Sunday, WLW-AM had been broadcasting repeats from Cunningham’s weekday show leading up to his live national show.
