Radio Talk is reporting that today will be Jimmy
Baron's last day on the air, until his contract negotiations are
resolved. From Rodney
Ho's blog, "'Why do a farewell?' [99X GM Mark] Renier said to [Ho]. 'We don’t know
that he’s going away. We’re still in negotiations with him.' Jimmy's contract is
set to expire on April 5, 2006.
If
99X management and Baron do not come to terms, then he will not be afforded
the same courtesy given to Steve Barnes and Fred Toucher, both of whom had the
opportunity to do farewell shows. Ironically, it stands to reason
that had 99X management no interest in re-signing Jimmy (as was the case
with Barnes and Toucher,) then they probably have given him the opportunity say his farewells.
While no one outside of Cumulus management can say for sure what their thoughts
are on this matter, one can certainly speculate that the following facts bear consideration:
- 99X is headed into spring
Arbitron sweeps. The financial cost of a drop in ratings would
certainly exceed any possible savings by letting Jimmy go or negotiating down his contract.
- The show came off of a strong winter phase 2 Arbitrend.
- In a city with precious few
celebrities, Jimmy is one of the big reasons that 99X has the heritage it enjoys. Stations invest millions of dollars in marketing to build up their talent to the level of fame that Jimmy enjoys.
While tight-lipped on the status of his negotiations with 99X, Jimmy does suggest that talks with 106.9 FreeFM in San Francisco are "moving as planned."
Developing...
