RFD Is Movin' On Up, Thanks To Imus Show

Don Imus

RFD-TV's $25 million bet on simulcasting DON IMUS' morning radio show looks like it's paying off, writes DAVID HINKLEY in THE DAILY NEWS. RFD Founder/Pres. PATRICK GOTTSCH says the independent cable network, created to serve rural AMERICA and largely devoted to subjects like farming, horses, tractor pulls, quilting and country music, is "very close" to being picked up by major urban and suburban systems, including TIME WARNER CABLE and VERIZON'S FIOS.

"We are constantly being asked about carriage by various networks," said a TIME WARNER spokesman. "We make those decisions on a case-by-case basis."

RFD is currently only available on satellite TV in most urban areas like NEW YORK, so being picked up by cable or FiOS would be a huge coup for the network, expanding its potential audience well beyond its current 30 million and thus making it much more attractive to advertisers.

RFD began simulcasting IMUS when he started on CITADEL Talk WABC/NEW YORK in DECEMBER. GOTTSCH said at the time that RFD hoped IMUS would raise its profile, and now he says that has happened.

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