BIRMINGHAMThe popular “Rick & Bubba Show,” heard on 22 radio stations and seen on the Turner South cable TV network, has a new four-year, $6 million contract with Citadel Communications.
The Birmingham-based show is syndicated to radio stations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi.
Rick Burgess and Bill “Bubba” Bussey signed their first contract with what is now Citadel in 1999 for a reported $250,000 a year each. The two would not confirm the terms of the new deal, but sources with knowledge of the contract valued it at $6 million, with more money to come through separate syndication deals. The old deal had one more year to go.
Burgess said he and his partner decided to extend their relationship with Citadel because they have been happy with the way the company has treated them. He said they also had the advantage of being the only company that could negotiate with them while they were still under the old contract.
“The one thing Citadel could do that nobody else could do is give us a new deal now,” Burgess said. “When we’re talking about syndication, our television deal with Turner South and our merchandising, having a new deal now was important to us.”
Bussey said a new deal with Citadel made sense.
“We’ve really enjoyed our relationship with Citadel,” he said. “There was no reason not to continue with them.”
The contract was signed by Rick & Bubba Inc. rather than the individuals. The company now has producers Calvin “Speedracer” Wilburn and Don “Don Juan” Demarco as its employees rather than working for the radio station.
“I’m certain this is the largest radio contract in the history of this state,” said David Marsh, attorney for Rick & Bubba Inc. Marsh confirmed the contract was for four years and includes “a lucrative syndication deal.”
Officials at Citadel said an announcement about the future of the show would be made Thursday. Kerry Lambert, operations manager for Citadel’s Birmingham stations, said the company was withholding comment until the announcement.
