1-21-2013
Cumulus has confirmed to Radio Ink that its relationship with sports talker Paul Finebaum is over. Finebaum's contract with Cumulus (which started with Citadel) has come to an end and he has been scrubbed from the WJOX Birmingham website. Cox has been openly courting Finebaum for WZNN (97.3 The Zone), and although everyone was tight-lipped yesterday, that's where Finebaum may wind up when his short non-compete ends.
There's also a possibility that Finebaum does his own thing and avoids working for any radio company directly. He may decide to syndicate his show himself and offer it out to affiliates willing to pay top dollar. There are few other sports talkers in that region that know college football as well as Finebaum does.
If Finebaum lands with Cox, those headline-making comments from Cumulus co-COO John Dickey will fall by the wayside. Back in June, Dickey told Talkers that Finebam "will never work for Cox in Birmingham." However, technically, Dickey may turn out to be correct. If the Cox deal to sell its Birmingham cluster happens before Finebaum goes back on the air, Dickey would have predicted correctly. Cox has been shopping around several of its markets, including Birmingham. The corporate office is not saying where that situation stands even though Cox was hopeful to get a deal done in late 2012. A few people close to the situation are saying something might make news in February.
Finebaum quietly settled litigation with Cumulus in 2012 after alleging Citadel coerced him into signing an unfavorable contract.
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