One year ago, Dan Bongino — fresh from a controversy over a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for anyone associated with Cumulus Media — told his audience that he had no interest in trying to fill the conservative Talk void left by the late Rush Limbaugh by moving into the noon-3pm time slot.
Bongino also said that he would not be signing a new contract with Cumulus once its current term ends in mid-2024.
So much for all of that chatter. Bongino just inked a new deal.
In a Wednesday announcement, Cumulus confirmed that the host extended his contract to host both his syndicated radio program, “The Dan Bongino Show,” on Westwood One and his podcasts on the Cumulus Podcast Network “for multiple years.”
“The Dan Bongino Show” launched in syndicated in May 2021, with 115 stations. Today, some 356 affiliates air the show — in Limbaugh’s one-time three-hour time slot.
The Dan Bongino Show podcast is a perennial Top 10 in Apple’s News category ranking and has seen well over 200 million downloads so far this year. In addition, the show has been downloaded more than 350 million times on Rumble and was one of the most requested podcasts on Alexa devices this year.
“It’s been a fascinating couple years of ups and downs both personally and in the political space,” said Bongino. “I love what I do, and I’m ecstatic that we’ve agreed to move forward with the show after changes were made. I want to thank all the shows’ supporters, the stations, and program directors for their continued support. I promise to keep my foot on the gas pedal.”
Speaking ahead of her departure from the role at year’s end, Westwood One President Suzanne Grimes said, “‘The Dan Bongino Show’ is one of the greatest growth stories in network syndication, with Dan delivering programming unlike anyone else. As we head into what will surely be an unpredictable election cycle, we know Dan will be always insightful, sometimes provocative, and never disappointing, which is why our listeners are wildly engaged, and our advertisers have flocked to the show.”
