IMUS TV DEAL

DON IMUS, whose cowboy hat and western wear looked out of place on MSNBC, may have found a more comfortable saddle. On DECEMBER. 3rd, when he returns not only to radio but also to television, it will be on RFD-TV, a cable and satellite channel that caters to farmers, ranchers and equestrians, as well as others who merely aspire to live a small-town life, writes THE NEW YORK TIMES.

PATRICK GOTTSCH, a former satellite-dish installer from NEBRASKA who founded RFD-TV in 1988, said in an interview yesterday that he had reached agreement with IMUS on a five-year contract to televise his program. While GOTTSCH would not discuss any financial terms, someone else briefed directly on the deal said it could be worth up to $5 million a year -- about what WABC-A and its parent company, CITADEL BROADCASTING, are paying for the radio program. IMUS declined comment, but one of his representatives, who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, said yesterday that the host expected to sign a contract with RFD (which stands for RURAL FREE DELIVERY) in the next day or so.

Even with a portion of the RFD payment going to CITADEL, IMUS’s annual compensation from his new radio and TV outlets could be within range of the roughly $10 million he was being paid annually by CBS RADIO before he was fired last spring over his racial and sexual aside about the RUTGERS women’s basketball team.

The deal could pave the way for RFD to be seen on large cable systems in cities like NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, where IMUS has traditionally drawn some of his biggest audiences.

IMUS CLOSE TO TV DEAL

Report: Imus-RFD-TV Deal Close

THE TENNESSEAN reports that an announcement of a deal between RFD-TV and DON IMUS for a TV simulcast of his new CITADEL radio show may come "possibly as soon as this week." The paper says that the deal is expected to boost RFD-TV from its present 30 million homes to 50 million homes by the end of 2008. RFD-TV President PATRICK GOTTSCH would not confirm that a deal is imminent but says that the network is in talks with the talk host and that verbal agreements to add the network to systems operated by COMCAST and TIME WARNER have beem reached with deals expected to be signed within the week.

"The biggest obstacle we've had in the last three years is convincing urban-based program directors in NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, D.C., and LOS ANGELES, and so on that they need to be carrying this 'rural' network," said GOTTSCH. "IMUS helps us cross those borders." RFD-TV will launch a high definition channel on DECEMBER 1st, carrying the proposed IMUS show, "RALPH EMERY LIVE," "CROOK AND CHASE," and a lineup that will be different from the analog network's programming.

IMUS TALKING TO FARM NETWORK

The NEW YORK TIMES is reporting that DON IMUS is talking with a cable network about relaunching a simulcast of his upcoming CITADEL/WABC-A/NEW YORK show, but it's not one of the major news channels -- it's RFD-TV.

The OMAHA-based network, reaching 30 million homes mostly through DISH NETWORK and DIRECTV, is known for farm and agricultural programming and polka shows. The TIMES notes that the channel aired a documentary about the IMUS RANCH on LABOR DAY weekend.