Red Eye Radio is cutting back. The show — hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara — is dropping from five hours down to three.
The show revealed that beginning on October 1st, it decreased from its usual five-hour length as part of a new contract extension for the hosts.
“When we started negotiations, it was something that was in the back of my mind, to shorten it,” McNamara said. “I didn’t think it was a possibility. We were the ones that pushed for this. It wasn’t the company. It wasn’t because the show was failing or anything like that.”
Harley added that it was something the duo had been considering “for years.”
McNamara continued by noting that he’s now 70 years old and hosting a five-hour, overnight radio show has become increasingly difficult.
“I have no time to do anything in my life. People know of my family issues that I have with my father, and how much I visit him and everything going on, I don’t have time to do anything doing a five-hour show overnight anymore,” he admitted. “This gives me more sleep. My sleep has been better, and it makes it so I have extra time in the day to do things.”
Despite the decline in hours of live programming, both Red Eye Radio hosts reiterated that they “love our audience, love our radio stations, love the legendary real estate that we’re on, and we love being radio hosts.”
McNamara concluded by noting that the decision to drop two hours from the program “wasn’t even a compromise that we made with the company. I got everything that I wanted out of this.”
Harley admitted that it is a long show, and that when he originally joined the show, it was a six-hour program.
“There’s a lot that it requires of you physically. So after decades of doing that, I think it was a good time to pull back so that we could remain healthy while also presenting the best show we can every night,” Harley shared.
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3 hrs is pretty much the norm nowadays for a radio talk show. The main competitor for them
Is Coast to Coast which is 4 hrs. Hard to believe that at one time its was a 6 hr show. That’s crazy!
I enjoy their show and perspectives and will listen to them whether they are on the air for 5 hours, 3 hours, or less. I have been listening and learning from them for many years and I hope they are on the air for many more.
Weird observation about Red Eye. The hosts never disagree with each other anything. It’s usually Gary’s take and Eric reacting with “Uh, huh. Uh, huh.” Also, they rarely take calls.