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Even if talk show host Don Imus survives the storm of protest swirling around him, his employers are already feeling the effects of his racially charged comments last week as advertisers pull out of his nationally distributed radio show.
General Motors Corp., a significant advertiser on the show, said on Wednesday that it was suspending its advertising but could resume it at a later date.
"This is a very fluid situation, and we'll just continue to monitor it as it goes forward when he returns to the air," GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney said, adding that GM would continue to support Imus' charitable efforts for children dealing with cancer and autism.
Imus' show originates on the New York radio station WFAN, owned by CBS Corp., and is distributed nationally on radio by the syndication company Westwood One. CBS owns an 18 percent stake in Westwood One and also manages the company.
The show had been simulcast on the MSNBC all-news cable channel, but late Wednesday MSNBC said it would no longer carry the show. MSNBC is a unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal.
On Wednesday other large companies confirmed that they would also pull their ads from Imus' show, including American Express Co. and Sprint Nextel Corp.
American Express spokeswoman Judy Tenzer said the company doesn't advertise on "controversial programming," while Sprint spokeswoman Sara Krueger said: "We do not want our advertising associated with content which we, our customers and the public find offensive."
Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline SPA said it was suspending ads on MSNBC's daytime schedule, where spots are rotated among different shows including Imus', until the company has had a chance to "clarify" Glaxo's advertising standards, spokeswoman Nancy Pekarek said. "We do not advertise on programs that could be viewed as offensive or inflammatory."
Procter & Gamble Co. and the office supply chain Staples Inc. said earlier said they would pull out, and Bigelow Tea said it was considering doing so. How many other advertisers follow suit could depend largely on how Imus handles the fallout from the controversy.
Kim Hillyer, a spokeswoman for TD Ameritrade, said the brokerage was "evaluating" its continued advertising plans in the program but did not have further comment.
Imus' program is worth a total of about $15 million in annual revenue to CBS Corp., through advertising on WFAN and syndication fees received from MSNBC and Westwood One. It wasn't clear how much of that total came from MSNBC.
A CBS Radio spokeswoman declined to comment on the advertiser actions or to identify other advertisers that may have pulled out of Imus' shows.
Following the news late Wednesday that MSNBC would no longer carry Imus' show, CBS Radio put out a statement saying that during Imus' two-week suspension without pay, which begins Monday, the company "will continue to speak with all concerned parties and monitor the situation closely."
Imus caused an uproar with remarks on an April 4 broadcast when he referred to members of the mostly black Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."
The comments have been widely denounced by civil rights and women's groups, and Bruce Gordon, former head of the NAACP who is also a board member of CBS, has told The Associated Press that he hopes that Imus is fired. A CBS spokesman declined to comment on Gordon's remarks, and other board members either didn't return calls or declined to comment.
Random House, a major book publisher, was also reconsidering its plans to continue buying advertising and having authors appear on Imus, said spokesman Stuart Applebaum. Random house is part of the privately held German media company Bertelsmann AG.
Imus has national reach and is known for mixing weighty topics with "barroom humor," something that many of his advertisers accept, said Tom Taylor, the editor of Inside Radio, an industry publication. "It's sort of like a Starbucks with grumpy old men."
But with Imus' remarks widely replayed on Internet sites such as YouTube, which is owned by the Internet search leader Google Inc., Taylor said there was a risk that advertisers as well as potential guests would become increasingly reluctant to be associated with him.
Much depends on how Imus handles himself in the coming days and weeks, Taylor said, noting that Imus will be hosting a charity event for his home station WFAN on Thursday and Friday.
Source: espn.com
General Motors Corp., a significant advertiser on the show, said on Wednesday that it was suspending its advertising but could resume it at a later date.
"This is a very fluid situation, and we'll just continue to monitor it as it goes forward when he returns to the air," GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney said, adding that GM would continue to support Imus' charitable efforts for children dealing with cancer and autism.
Imus' show originates on the New York radio station WFAN, owned by CBS Corp., and is distributed nationally on radio by the syndication company Westwood One. CBS owns an 18 percent stake in Westwood One and also manages the company.
The show had been simulcast on the MSNBC all-news cable channel, but late Wednesday MSNBC said it would no longer carry the show. MSNBC is a unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal.
On Wednesday other large companies confirmed that they would also pull their ads from Imus' show, including American Express Co. and Sprint Nextel Corp.
American Express spokeswoman Judy Tenzer said the company doesn't advertise on "controversial programming," while Sprint spokeswoman Sara Krueger said: "We do not want our advertising associated with content which we, our customers and the public find offensive."
Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline SPA said it was suspending ads on MSNBC's daytime schedule, where spots are rotated among different shows including Imus', until the company has had a chance to "clarify" Glaxo's advertising standards, spokeswoman Nancy Pekarek said. "We do not advertise on programs that could be viewed as offensive or inflammatory."
Procter & Gamble Co. and the office supply chain Staples Inc. said earlier said they would pull out, and Bigelow Tea said it was considering doing so. How many other advertisers follow suit could depend largely on how Imus handles the fallout from the controversy.
Kim Hillyer, a spokeswoman for TD Ameritrade, said the brokerage was "evaluating" its continued advertising plans in the program but did not have further comment.
Imus' program is worth a total of about $15 million in annual revenue to CBS Corp., through advertising on WFAN and syndication fees received from MSNBC and Westwood One. It wasn't clear how much of that total came from MSNBC.
A CBS Radio spokeswoman declined to comment on the advertiser actions or to identify other advertisers that may have pulled out of Imus' shows.
Following the news late Wednesday that MSNBC would no longer carry Imus' show, CBS Radio put out a statement saying that during Imus' two-week suspension without pay, which begins Monday, the company "will continue to speak with all concerned parties and monitor the situation closely."
Imus caused an uproar with remarks on an April 4 broadcast when he referred to members of the mostly black Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."
The comments have been widely denounced by civil rights and women's groups, and Bruce Gordon, former head of the NAACP who is also a board member of CBS, has told The Associated Press that he hopes that Imus is fired. A CBS spokesman declined to comment on Gordon's remarks, and other board members either didn't return calls or declined to comment.
Random House, a major book publisher, was also reconsidering its plans to continue buying advertising and having authors appear on Imus, said spokesman Stuart Applebaum. Random house is part of the privately held German media company Bertelsmann AG.
Imus has national reach and is known for mixing weighty topics with "barroom humor," something that many of his advertisers accept, said Tom Taylor, the editor of Inside Radio, an industry publication. "It's sort of like a Starbucks with grumpy old men."
But with Imus' remarks widely replayed on Internet sites such as YouTube, which is owned by the Internet search leader Google Inc., Taylor said there was a risk that advertisers as well as potential guests would become increasingly reluctant to be associated with him.
Much depends on how Imus handles himself in the coming days and weeks, Taylor said, noting that Imus will be hosting a charity event for his home station WFAN on Thursday and Friday.
Source: espn.com