(INSIDE RADIO) -- Two days after making his first mea culpa, media coverage of Rush Limbaugh continued yesterday while a social media-stoked advertiser backlash gained momentum. More than 30 advertisers have now come forward to say they’ll either no longer buy time on Limbaugh’s radio show, or they’ve instructed their agencies to make sure run-of-schedule spots don’t end up on his program.
Despite written and on-air apologies to a Georgetown University grad student for comments he made about her, marketers are still being flooded with complaints via social media. New additions to the no-Limbaugh list include big radio users such as Sears, Capital One and JC Penney. Limbaugh Monday played down the losses, saying he sees the pullouts as a “business decision” and that there are other clients waiting in the wings to take their place.
The no-buy dictates are causing some other network to remind affiliate to be careful where they place their spots. In a note to stations, Dial Global says none of its advertisers “are to air in or adjacent to Rush Limbaugh’s program.”