An Obama victory could boost conservative talk show hosts according to CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on election day. The show was more skeptical over the future of left-wing talk.
“Who is going to win in terms of the cable wars?” asked co-host Joe Kernan. “Are we going to become totally non-partisan now? Do you think that we will be able to bury all of our divisions and there won’t be any incendiary cable shows anymore? Who wins if Obama wins? What happens to Olbermann? What’s Olbermann going to do, or Maddow?”
Co-host Carl Quintanilla suggested “television feeds on conflict” and co-host Rebecca Quick followed up by adding that syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh “has done better” when there are Democrats in power.
Kernan said that Limbaugh and Fox News Channel and syndicated radio host Sean Hannity both signed new deals and an Obama win would be “great for them.”
The Hollywood Reporter had the same idea Oct. 30.
“An election that lifts either the left or right to power will provide a boost to the network imbued with the ideology of the other side. Given Obama's lead at the polls, an MSNBC comeback – Olbermann's ratings continue to be strong and Maddow's upstart show is an unlikely second-place challenger to CNN's Larry King – could stall if the
The Reporter gave the examples of Bill O’Reilly, Limbaugh and Matt Drudge, who all rose to power during the eight years of the
“Over the past eight years of Republican rule, such entertainers as Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert and Al Franken were able to make the jump to the big time on the backs of White House blunders. That means if Obama converts his lead in the polls to a victory, the next four years could bring these stars back to earth and vault others into the stratosphere.”
Reported Oct. 8 by the Reporter, Hannity signed on with Fox News Channel again to continue co-hosting “Hannity and Colmes” and hosting “Hannity’s
Hannity also signed a deal to continue hosting his number two radio program on ABC Radio Networks, for a reported $100 million over five years.
Rush Limbaugh signed a deal July 2 to stay on for at least eight more years, a deal worth more than $400 million, including a $100 million signing bonus, as reported by the Washington Post.
“The lucrative agreement between Limbaugh and Clear Channel-owned Premiere Radio Networks of Los Angeles is the second-largest ever for a radio personality,” behind radio host Howard Stern, said the Post.
