Rush Limbaugh renews radio contract

LOS ANGELES, July 2 (UPI) -- U.S. radio personality Rush Limbaugh has renewed his long-term contract with Premiere Radio Networks and Clear Channel Radio, the networks announced.

Limbaugh, who is heard weekly by nearly 20 million listeners on about 600 radio stations nationwide, renewed his contract, continuing syndication of "The Rush Limbaugh Show" many years into the future, the networks said.

The deal also includes continued syndication of "The Rush Limbaugh Morning Update," a 90-second commentary that airs Monday through Friday.

In addition, Premiere Radio, in partnership with Limbaugh, said it will continue to oversee "The Limbaugh Letter," a monthly newsletter with a subscriber base in the hundreds of thousands, and RushLimbaugh.com, a popular broadcast media Web site that incorporates Rush247.com, a subscription service.

"This is exactly where I want to be, doing what I was born to do, with an amazing audience and phenomenal support from affiliate stations and sponsors," Limbaugh said in a statement Wednesday. "I'm having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have. There's a relationship between the audience and the host here that is second to none. We're going to continue to provide broadcast excellence and have a lot of fun along the way."