This was posted on Friday, February 3, 2017 by Rodney Ho on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Kevin Ross of Radio Facts broke news Thursday that Steve Harvey is moving his syndicated radio morning show from Atlanta to Los Angeles.
Harvey has had his radio show based in Atlanta for several years. His cast includes Shirley Strawberry, Carla Ferrell and Thomas Miles. He is heard on more than 80 stations nationwide, mostly on the eastern half of the United States. If he plans to air live in Los Angeles, he will have to start really really early to accommodate the East Coast listeners. That could end up being a bit of a grind over time. (That's the reason why Ryan Seacrest chooses not to air his morning show live on the east coast and instead takes segments of that show to turn into a mid-day show in the East, including Power 96.1 in Atlanta.)
In November, Harvey announced he was ending his popular syndicated talk show in Chicago after five seasons this May and creating a new one in Los Angeles with a different production company. Given the new location, the revised show will likely be more celebrity driven. Deadline.com said he will have creative and ownership control.
"The Steve Harvey Show" is ranked No. 4 among day-time TV talkers in ratings, behind only "Live With Kelly," "Dr. Phil" and "Ellen."
This move fueled speculation at the time he would move his radio show as well.
Rodney Ho
Rodney Ho
Given his TV show obligations, Harvey hasn't been spending much time in Atlanta anyway except when he's shooting "Family Feud" in June and July. (I'm checking if "Feud" will continue to shoot in Atlanta this summer.)
Los Angeles is also where Harvey shoots NBC’s "Little Big Shots," the celebrity edition of "Family Feud" and the new show 'Funderdome.
Atlanta remains a big town for syndicated radio shows even without Harvey. Rickey Smiley (Hot 107.9) and Ed Lover (Boom 102.9) work out of Radio One's headquarters in downtown Atlanta. Michael Baisden just started his syndicated radio show based out of Cox Atlanta's Kiss 104.1 studios. Plus, both the Bert Show (Q100) and the newly syndicated Kevin & Taylor (Fish 104.7) are based out of Atlanta as well.
The New York Daily News reported that Harvey, who has taken some hits for insulting Asian Americans on his talk show host and visiting president Donald Trump, is considering hiring Judy Smith, the PR handler that inspired Kerry Washington's character on ABC's 'Scandal."
Smith has reportedly worked with Michael Vick, Clarence Thomas and Paula Deen, among others.
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