"Diamond Dave" Out?

There are radio rumblings that the one-week vacation by CBS Radio syndicated star David Lee Roth could become a permanent vacation.

In the wake of absolutely anemic first-trend ratings for "Diamond Dave" at his CBS flagship, where he replaced long-time #1 host Howard Stern after Stern's departure for satellite radio, and Roth being off for a week just two months into his show, tongues are wagging about his future.

A lot of that could be speculation, but AllAccess jumps into the breach with this note today:

"(Is there) any truth to very strong, but unconfirmed, rumors that DAVID LEE ROTH is on the bubble? Is a decision on his fate being decided as you read this?

Word is attention is turning to WYSP/PHILLY's KIDD CHRIS who has been subbing for DLR all this week in the CITY OF BROTHERLY CHEESESTEAKS. Hmmmmmmmmmm!"

Very telling, aside from Roth's early vacation from a network of stations including Cleveland's WNCX/98.5, is how CBS handled this week. It made absolutely no effort to offer Roth tapes to his group of affiliates, and as far as we know, every station handled the fill this week locally with live bodies.

Here, WNCX has aired "Five Cleveland Mornings", a week's worth of shows talking with former local radio veterans (just about anyone who was on WNCX, WMMS or the old M105, for example) and music and talk from local musician Alex Bevan. WNCX PD Bill Louis has been aboard to host.

Photos and a list of the guests appear at WNCX's website. But what's NOT there may be more telling - as far as we can tell, aside from his contact information on the "Contact Us" page, there is no other mention or picture of David Lee Roth on WNCX's website at this time. He's certainly not mentioned on their front page, or in the "Jocks" listing. In fact, it reminds of us of what WNCX did when Howard Stern's departure was announced...they also purged Stern's bio and information.

But if that bubble bursts for Roth, what does WNCX do permanently? We heard one of the shows this week, and actually enjoyed it. But we're not sure if that could be held up over a daily show in the long-term. Does WNCX try to mount a local show for the first time since Howard Stern showed up years ago, or do they throw in with Kidd Chris or whoever WFNY/New York gets to replace Stern?

Kidd Chris may actually have some credibility with the former Stern audience, assuming they even remotely try to find his old stations again. He contributed some bits to Stern's show when he was a talk show host at Stern's Sacramento affiliate.

Though we've repeatedly stated that one trend does not a show's future make, it would appear that former Stern listeners are headed for the exits with body parts on fire, and we remind folks that DLR is a rock star...prone to wild behavior and unpredictability. Given the current situation, Roth himself may just be saying "hell with this, I'm going back on the road"...and CBS Radio may be more than happy to oblige him to stop the bleeding.