By 2009, Roberts's KFMB show was among six local conservative talk radio shows in California measured by Arbitron to have a weekly audience of more than 100,000. As the Great Recession forced radio stations to make budget cuts, by 2010, Roberts was among only two local hosts of daily talk radio shows in San Diego. That changed in January 2011 as KFMB hired Mike Slater from WTJS in Jackson, Tennessee, as the new morning drive host. Roberts returned to his former afternoon drive slot that long had a syndicated show, "The Savage Nation".