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Let's see ... doing some research today, I'm seeing that outside of religious and educational AM stations and not counting Part 15 or LPAM stations, there are just over 4800 stations, including daytimers.

There are over 5000 FM stations, not counting educational or religous, and not counting LPFM. That's almost 10,000 radio stations operating "commercially" in the U.S. The other 4600 stations belong to religious, non-com, Part 15, TIS, etc. ... not counting FM translators or "HD" channels of either band.

So, let's us play with 10,000 viable AM & FM stations. We know that McDonalds has more stores, Starbucks about 6500 and the list just keeps growing.

Rush Limbaugh is on 630 radio stations, mostly AM. That means that he is, effectively on, roughly, 13% of all AM radio stations in the country ... not counting, say, 100 FM stations.

Now, maybe 13% doesn't sound like a "big" number in the scheme of things. But when you consider the "reach" of radio signals, is it any wonder why you can hear Rush in most areas of the country on at least 5 stations in any given market? Expand that by another three hours for Hannity who's coming in at probably a bit more than a fourth to half of what Rush makes on 550 stations. That's six hours a day. Add to that $4 million a year for Ingraham. Now, 9 hours a day. Six hours a day at $2-million a year for George Norry, you have 15 hours a day on another 400 stations. Add Mark Levin to 150 of these stations and you have 17 hours a day. Add an hour for Dr. Dean Edell on over a hundred stations, now you have 18 hours. Add 3 hours a day to Imus, on 47 or Glenn Beck on 50, and you have 21 hours a day. Add a 3 hour local morning show ... and your day is done.

Add to that, barter for some shows and cash/barter on others and for $1000 a month, you get 20 hours a day of instant programming ... from two sources (possibly one if Ingraham moves to Premiere or ABC.)

Now, tell me ... with automation and no need for board ops, what chance radio if already this is 13 percent of AM before the Ryan Seacrest "On Air" and the already regionalized shows make the same dent in FM?

This doesn't count the hundreds of stations already full time satellite / automated. HUNDREDS from Dial Global/Jones/Triton and ABC Music Radio Services. Make that closer to over a thousand, easily.

Radio ...

By the end of this year (six months,) fully 1/4th of radio as we know it will have gone away to syndication. By the end of 2009, fully 1/3 of the medium ... one out of three stations ... will be gone to syndication. And by the end of 2011 ... look for half of radio, as we know it ... one out of two stations on the dial ... to go the way of Scott Shannon "True Oldies," "Platinum", "Jones Networks," "Dial Global," "ABC Music Radio" and others. A lousy three and a half years from now ... if not three years.

Half of radio as we know it.

And we've brought it on ourselves through consolidation.