Broadcasters Clay Travis and Buck Sexton will take over the timeslot of the late talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh effective June 21, according to Premiere Networks, the program’s distributor.

The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show will air weekdays from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on hundreds of radio stations around the country. Travis, 42, and Sexton, 39, are decades younger than the 70-year-old Limbaugh, who died in February. The hosts both told the Wall Street Journal that they are hoping to reach a younger audience, which tends to tune out talk radio.

Travis and Sexton will find it challenging to attract listeners in an increasingly competitive and fractured media environment. Radio audiences plummeted during the pandemic, and winning them back won’t be easy. Limbaugh also is a tough act to follow.

A fixture on AM radio for decades, Limbaugh boosted the fortunes of stations that lost music listeners to rivals on the FM band. He attracted a weekly audience of more than 15 million, according to published reports. His critics were also legion.

“Rush Limbaugh’s place in American broadcasting history will remain unique for years to come,” writes Talkers Magazine Publisher  Michael Harrison in an email. “There will be no ‘new Limbaugh.’  However, that doesn’t mean that there necessarily has to be a ‘next Rush’ for talk radio to continue its place of importance and continue to evolve.  Nor does anyone have to be the next Rush to be successful.”

Both Travis and Sexton appealed directly to Limbaugh’s fans.

“I have loved spending the past six years building ‘Outkick The Coverage’ into one of the most-listened-to sports talk shows in the country, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to join Buck Sexton as we launch this new program in the most coveted timeslot in the talk format,” Travis said in a press release. “While no one will ever replace Rush Limbaugh, Buck and I are excited to continue advancing the causes he held dear, most importantly=American exceptionalism, a fervent embrace of capitalism, and a belief in a robust marketplace of ideas. At a time of rabid cancel culture and toxic identity politics, we will be the voice for many who feel scared to say what they think for fear of the censorious.”

Added Sexton:

“I could not be more thrilled – and am deeply humbled – by the opportunity to host this new program with Clay Travis,” said Sexton. “We think it’s important to carry on the tradition of Rush Limbaugh and bring truth to the masses.  One thing I can promise all (Limbaugh)  listeners out there: we’re with them, and we will always fight for them with the show Clay, and I do every day.” 

Like Limbaugh, Travis and Sexton have generated their share of controversy.

Liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America accused Travis of being “a racist conspiracy theorist and a misogynist.”  Critics have also faulted Outkick for repeatedly downplayed the importance of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sexton, a frequent guest on Fox News,  has been critical of Black Lives Matter protests and accused Democrats of  “ballot-counting shenanigans” during last year’s presidential election. Courts have repeatedly found no proof of the claims of election fraud made by former President Donald Trump and his supporters.