Dan Bongino extends deal to host radio show despite announcing show’s end last year

Conservative radio talk show host Dan Bongino has extended his contract to host his show on Westwood One, despite a previous fallout with the media company last year.

Bongino stated in December 2022 that he would be ending his show once his contract with Westwood One ended, which would have been June 2024. However, the known conservative will now host his show, which started in May 2021 following Rush Limbaugh’s death, for several more years.

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“It’s been a fascinating couple years of ups and downs, both personally and in the political space,” Bongino said in a statement. “I love what I do, and I’m ecstatic that we’ve agreed to move forward with the show after changes were made. I want to thank all the shows’ supporters, the stations and program directors for their continued support. I promise to keep my foot on the gas pedal.”

The initial fallout between Bongino and Westwood One began after the host publicly battled with Cumulus Media, which owns Westwood One. The feud was over Cumulus’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which many employers enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic. In protest of the policy, Bongino took a brief hiatus from hosting his show.

The renewed contract was praised by Westwood One President Suzanne Grimes, who described The Dan Bongino Show as “one of the greatest growth stories in network syndication.”

“As we head into what will surely be an unpredictable election cycle, we know Dan will be always insightful, sometimes provocative, and never disappointing, which is why our listeners are wildly engaged, and our advertisers have flocked to the show,” Grimes said.

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The new deal includes Bongino’s podcast being aired on the Cumulus Podcast Network. The Dan Bongino Podcast has over 200 million downloads in 2023, according to Cumulus, as well as 350 million downloads on video platform Rumble, an alternative to YouTube.

Bongino was originally recruited by Westwood One to fill in the spot previously held by Limbaugh, who died in February 2021 following a battle with lung cancer.