By Rob Dumke and Adam R Jacobson
It was offered as an exclusive to The Wall Street Journal early Thursday (5/27).
And, iHeartMedia-owned Premiere Networks confirmed all of the information in the story as true — ahead of an official announcement scheduled for release at 3pm Eastern.
That’s now happened, allowing all who cover the media industry to say for themselves that a successor offering to the deceased Rush Limbaugh‘s syndicated Talk radio program has been finalized.
Taking on the noon-3pm time slot that is presently the home of freshly produced episodes of The Rush Limbaugh Show that rely on archived commentary to reflect today’s headlines are Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.
“We couldn’t be happier to have Clay and Buck — two incredibly talented personalities from our Premiere family — at the helm of this new program,” said Julie Talbott, President of Premiere Networks. “Rush Limbaugh is irreplaceable, but we’re confident they will continue his legacy by delivering their own brand of intelligent, informed and entertaining talk radio, while providing our partners with a powerful platform to connect with their consumers.”
In an interview with WSJ, Talbott insisted that Travis and Sexton are not replacing Limbaugh. Rather, their arrival is “an evolution of the show with fresh voices—those that grew up on Rush an admired him.”
Travis is 42 and is a lawyer, TV analyst and sports journalist. He is the founder of the sports website Outkick.com and has been hosting Outkick the Coverage with Clay Travis and Wins & Losses With Clay Travis on Premiere-distributed Fox Sports Radio.
He will be paired with Sexton, who is 39 years old and a former CIA officer and a New York City Police Department Counter-terrorism expert. More importantly, he is the host of The Buck Sexton Show on Premiere Networks and was a frequent guest host on Limbaugh’s program.
Sexton currently holds the 6pm hour on iHeartMedia’s Talk WOR-AM 710 in New York.
This will change on June 21, when The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show debuts. Interestingly, the Fox Sports host gets top billing over the Talk host.
“I’ve loved spending the past six years building ‘Outkick The Coverage’ into one of the most-listened-to sports talk shows in the country, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to join Buck Sexton as we launch this new program in the most coveted timeslot in the talk format,” Travis said. “While no one will ever replace Rush Limbaugh, Buck and I are excited to continue advancing the causes he held dear, most importantly American exceptionalism, a fervent
embrace of capitalism, and a belief in a robust marketplace of ideas. At a time of rabid cancel culture and toxic identity politics, we will be the voice for many who feel scared to say what they
think for fear of the censorious online mob. We can’t wait to get started.”
Sexton added, “I could not be more thrilled – and am deeply humbled – by the opportunity to host this new program with my co-host. We think it’s important to carry on the
tradition of Rush Limbaugh and bring truth to the masses. One thing I can promise all EIB
listeners out there: we’re with them and we will always fight for them with the show Clay and I do every day.”
