Tom Leykis is on Farewell Tour

Although Tom Leykis insists his decision to end his show came early this year, after he got sick and some fans got snarky, he also insists that was very low on list of reasons and keeps saying his fans "tested" him by dragging their feet on (re)subscribing in 2017. They did reach 1,900 subscriptions like he demanded in order to return in 2018, but apparently it wasn't fast enough for him, despite it being before his deadline. So he's "back for 2018" but only as long as the show is generating enough revenue to break even or better. He'll no longer beg for subscriptions (which is entirely understandable given how much time and effort it took last year), other than mentioning that the show will end its run when the subscriptions fall to a level that won't cover expenses. He's also said the library of past shows will be available to subscribers after the end of the show's run as long as subscriptions cover those expenses.

He's admitted he thought he could be dying when he was sick. I think that has more to do with his decision to end the show than he's indicated. He knows he's got less life to live than he's already lived, at least chronologically, and the fact is, like anyone else, he could die tomorrow. I'm sure he wants to travel and party and relax and not be obligated (by his own word) to do 12+ hours of live shows every week (and all of the related work, which we don't hear)  when he can't be certain he's got many years of good health left. As I said before, even though he hasn't said so, he probably got a little bit excited last year at the thought of starting another chapter in his life if the subscriptions didn't reach 1,900, which would have meant January 2, 2018 would have been the end of his show.



Another factor in ending the show could be that audience habits are changing. There were a lot of times in 2017 that the show had the "intermission" music play while he waited for calls. He no longer does a live show on Fridays because the audience is smaller and there are fewer callers, and he's made good on his announcement that he'll wrap up the show for the day if callers don't fill the phone lines. There was a day he ended the show after just an hour, and the replays started. His show has long been targeted at young men. Unfortunately, young men make fewer and fewer phone calls these days. They text or tweet or send a direct message, often memes or emojis and rarely complete sentences of actual words. Leykis made a point of doing LIVE "appointment" call-in talk audio, like he did on the radio, only better. Repeated suggestions by this generation that is so used to YouTubers and Facebook Live and similar platforms, along with Skype, that Leykis do at least some of the show on video have always been met by Leykis emphatically insisting that it wouldn't work and/or it would be too expensive and complicated. In addition to Leykis' perfectionism (he says he'd need to hire more staff to make it work), it probably also has something to do with the convenience of Leykis and his staff being able to do things the audience doesn't see and Leykis' confidence in his speaking abilities (which are excellent all around) being much higher than his visual appeal.

So Leykis is now on a "farewell tour", setting up exclusive dinners in various cities where enough people willing to pay for them. On Facebook, people who haven't been listening all that closely are expressing surprise and disappointment that his show is ending and asking "Why???"

Listeners are witnessing another example of how Leykis' Internet-based, self-owned show is superior to bankrupt corporate terrestrial broadcast radio: He's doing a long goodbye, ending the show on his terms, talking with his listeners about what is going on and why. In contrast, how often over the decades have we turned on our radio to listen to our favorite music or radio personality only to find the host has been replaced or the entire station has flipped formats? So even in ending his show (sometime this year), he's demonstrating a significant difference from what radio has become.

On a bit of a side note, I have not heard or seen him mention his book, which maybe a year ago he was saying was on the way, as in with the editor, if I recall correctly. I would think it would be easier for him to promote his book as long as he has a daily talk show. I'm very curious as to why he's stopped talking about a book. Maybe he won't publish it unless a major publishing house will do it, and maybe none of them will without edits that are unacceptable to Leykis? That's entirely a guess on my part, not based on anything he's said. Because he hasn't said anything, as far as I can tell. I'm sure a book would generate interest in his show, too. It just seems strange to me that it appears to have evaporated.

UPDATE