WHICH STATION IS BETTER? 94 WIP OR 97.5 THE FANATIC? READ TO FIND OUT.With the official launch of Sportsradio 94.1 WIP set for tuesday September 6th, I figured I would re-post this article that I posted a few weeks ago as it seemed to get a lot of attention. This article is basically a rundown of the new lineup for WIP and how it will look to compete with The Fanatic.
As a kid growing up, I listened to 610 non stop. I would fall asleep listening to Glen Macnow, and wake up to Angelo and the morning team. When I got home from school, I would do my homework and listen to Howard Eskin argue and debate callers for hours on end.
But in October of 2009, ESPN 950 AM, 610's lowly competitor, began broadcasting on 97.5 FM. Now known as 97.5 the Fanatic, I began listening to the FM sports radio station primarily because of it was clearer and didn't have any static like WIP which at the time still broadcasted on 610 AM. I was also drawn to the station because of their late afternoon show hosted by former WIP announcer Mike Missanelli.
Better known as Mikey Miss, he was fired from his position at WIP in 2006 for getting into an altercation with a producer. Mikey Miss returned to Philadelphia in 2008 and was hired by at the time ESPN 950 AM. When 950 began airing on 97.5 FM, the Mikey Miss show began to draw better ratings than WIP's late afternoon show hosted by Howard Eskin.
To this day 97.5 The Fanatic continues to grow and continues to compete with 610 for the Philadelphia sports audience. In response to the Fanatic's growth, WIP will now be broadcasted on 94.1 FM, and with the resignation of Howard Eskin, will offer a new lineup of shows. Here is lineup set to take affect on September 6.
5:30-10:00 AM
In the morning slot it will be Angelo Cataldi and the morning team as they continue their dominance of the morning drive audience. Accompanied by fellow hosts Al Morganti and Rhea Hughes the show also features guest announcers Ricky Botalico and Keith Jones.
10:00-1:00 PM
CSN's Michael Barkann and former Eagle Ike Reese will take over in the mid day slot. I love Barkann and can't wait to listen to him on the radio.
1:00-6:00 PM
Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano will attempt to compete with Mikey Miss for the drive home show. Macnow is great and Gargano is a guy all Philadelphians can relate to.
6:00-10:00 PM
Rob Ellis will remain in the night slot or this spot will be filled with sports broadcasting such as Flyers and Sixers games.
Big Daddy Graham handles the over night show.
Now that you have the new lineup for Sportsradio 94 WIP, here is 97.5 The Fanatic's current shows.
6:00-10:00 AM
Mike and Mike in the morning is a national show which features a wide variety of geusts from all major sports.
10:00-2:00 PM
From 10:00-12:00 it's Harry Mayes and Brian Balldinger. I love Baldy as he really knows his stuff not only in football but in baseball as well. And from 12:00-2:00 Mayes hosts the show with Dan Schwartzman. The show is great and very entertaining.
2:00-6:00 PM
It's the famous Mikey Miss show for the drive home. Mikey Miss calmly debates with callers as producer Jon Marks pipes in every now and then. Some people dislike Missanelli, but I love him and he is very knowledgeable and very entertaining.
6:00-7:00 PM
Talking Baseball With Dutch airs after the Mikey Miss show and John Marks co-hosts the show. I don't listen to this a whole lot because I'm not a huge fan of Darren Daulton.
7:00-10:00 PM
In the night slot is the Tom Byrne show. Bryne is another young voice on the Fanatic.
10:00-1:00 AM
Another former WIP announcer, Tony Bruno hosts the night show. Bruno's is funny and very entertaining.
The overnight is taken care of by a national show hosted by Jason Smith. And from 5:00 AM-6:00 AM, Sportscenter is broadcasted.
Starting September 6th, both stations will be broadcasting on FM, and as I'm too torn to completely choose one, I'm going to go through show by show as to who I am most likely to listen to.
In the morning slot, I will listen to 94 WIP hands down. Angelo is an iconic voice in Philadelphia sports, and as much as I like Mike and Mike, sometimes I get disinterested as they talk about national sports. The WIP morning show has a real Philadelphia feel, and all they talk all about the teams I love.
For the midday slot, this is going to be a close call. I love Michael Barkann and I'm extremely excited to see what he can do on the radio. But on The Fanatic you have Harry Mayes and Brian Balldinger and for now it's too close to call. In the beginning I will continue listening to The Fanatic in the midday slot, but I will keep an open ear out for Barkann and Ike Reese on WIP.
Mikey Miss vs Glenn Macnow and Anthony Gargano. This is going to be a battle. Once again I'm going to give the edge to Mikey Miss and The Fanatic, but I will definitely tune in to WIP to see what Macnow and Gargano can do.
I don't listen to the radio too much at night, but when I do I will most likely go with WIP because they broadcast games.
I think The Fanatic's ratings are taking a huge hit come September. With WIP offering an FM station and a new exciting lineup, current Fanatic listeners, like myself will definitely be intrigued to venture down the dial to see what WIP has to offer. Plus WIP broadcasts Eagles, Flyers, and Sixers games.
Overall WIP is the long standing giant in Philadelphia sportsradio. They have a lot of older iconic voices that have been in this city for a long time. But The Fanatic is on the rise with a lot of younger announcers and in turn appealing to a younger audience. With both stations now on FM, I think it's best to mix in both stations to your radio listening.
With the mix of talent on both stations, I know I will personally be listening to both to start out. And I will probably stay that way unless one station can fully win me over.
UPDATE:
It's been about 3 months since WIP and The Fanatic have been on the FM air waves together, and for me personally, I'm a split listener. Literally when either station goes to commercial I quickly reach to my dial and click the other station.
I'm a split listener basically because it's too hard to choose. The Fanatic is the young voice of Philly sports. They have sweet Rap and Hip-Hop intro songs, plus a ton of cool sound effects that always keep you guessing. And by young voice I mean that a lot of the hosts on the Fanatic are either in their 20's or 30's. Guys like Sean Brace, Tom Byrne, Johnny Marx, Harry Mayes, and Nick Kayal are some of the young voices featured on 97.5. Another thing the Fanatic does well is they get their listeners to be actively involved in the show. In addition to call-ins, the Fanatic also has a text board where you can text a message into the station. The guys on the show usually do a great job of reading texts through out the show. The Fanatic also has sports center updates and have a lot of national games. I also love the fact that 97.5 has Brian Baldinger. Baldi really knows his football and it's always awesome to listen to a guy who knows so much about the X's and O's of the game.
Some of the negative aspects about the Fanatic are they have too much of a national feel. Mike & Mike in the morning is a national show, and they broadcast a lot of MLB playoff games and NFL prime time games. Personally I'm a mild fan of Mike & Mike. They are pretty entertaining even if they are a national show. But I don't really like when they broadcast non-Philadelphia sports.
As for WIP, I love the morning show. From Angelo and Al, to featured guests like Joe Conkolin, the morning show is awesome and it has a real local feel. The Mike & Ike show is probably my favorite. Michael B and former Eagle Ike Reese goof off and talk sports. Reese has great knowledge on the Birds primarily because he played for Andy Reid so he knows how the Eagles tick. They also cover the other main sports as well.
I don't like the commercials with WIP. I feel that they are ridiculously long and their show segments are extremely short. Also sometimes they rely too much on callers. Sometimes I'd like to just hear from the hosts. Also WIP does an OK job with getting twitter comments, but it would be sweet if they got an active text board up and running.
Overall I would classify myself as a split listener leaning a little towards WIP. Their morning set up is so solid and that's when I primarily listen to the radio. But I also love listening to the Fanatic to get a much younger perspective on Philly sports.
Feel free to leave a comment on what station you like better!
UPDATE:
It's been about 3 months since WIP and The Fanatic have been on the FM air waves together, and for me personally, I'm a split listener. Literally when either station goes to commercial I quickly reach to my dial and click the other station.
I'm a split listener basically because it's too hard to choose. The Fanatic is the young voice of Philly sports. They have sweet Rap and Hip-Hop intro songs, plus a ton of cool sound effects that always keep you guessing. And by young voice I mean that a lot of the hosts on the Fanatic are either in their 20's or 30's. Guys like Sean Brace, Tom Byrne, Johnny Marx, Harry Mayes, and Nick Kayal are some of the young voices featured on 97.5. Another thing the Fanatic does well is they get their listeners to be actively involved in the show. In addition to call-ins, the Fanatic also has a text board where you can text a message into the station. The guys on the show usually do a great job of reading texts through out the show. The Fanatic also has sports center updates and have a lot of national games. I also love the fact that 97.5 has Brian Baldinger. Baldi really knows his football and it's always awesome to listen to a guy who knows so much about the X's and O's of the game.
Some of the negative aspects about the Fanatic are they have too much of a national feel. Mike & Mike in the morning is a national show, and they broadcast a lot of MLB playoff games and NFL prime time games. Personally I'm a mild fan of Mike & Mike. They are pretty entertaining even if they are a national show. But I don't really like when they broadcast non-Philadelphia sports.
As for WIP, I love the morning show. From Angelo and Al, to featured guests like Joe Conkolin, the morning show is awesome and it has a real local feel. The Mike & Ike show is probably my favorite. Michael B and former Eagle Ike Reese goof off and talk sports. Reese has great knowledge on the Birds primarily because he played for Andy Reid so he knows how the Eagles tick. They also cover the other main sports as well.
I don't like the commercials with WIP. I feel that they are ridiculously long and their show segments are extremely short. Also sometimes they rely too much on callers. Sometimes I'd like to just hear from the hosts. Also WIP does an OK job with getting twitter comments, but it would be sweet if they got an active text board up and running.
Overall I would classify myself as a split listener leaning a little towards WIP. Their morning set up is so solid and that's when I primarily listen to the radio. But I also love listening to the Fanatic to get a much younger perspective on Philly sports.
Feel free to leave a comment on what station you like better!
I like Mike and Mike, but I do agree that it'll be nice to go with a less national outlook in the am. But man, the rest of my day will be 97.5, 97.5, and more 97.5 for sure. I really think they have a lineup that can't be touched right now, and I won't be heading down a few twists of the wrist to break that up. Fanatic all day every day haha, but good article man.
ReplyDeleteMorning = 97.5 I would have to go with Mike and Mike, cannot stand Angelo.
ReplyDeleteMid Day, I love Ike Reese, and with Michael Barkann in the mix I'm excited.
but I'm also a fan of Brian Balldinger so 50/50.
After noon: 97.5, Mikey Miss.
Glenn Macnow and Anthony Gargano are great mid day but I just cannot stand the commercial breaks that WIP have during the after noon show.
Overal Note: WIP have way too many commercial break, I swear they talk for a good 5 min then commercial break for another 5 min. *Annoying*
97.5 Good continues action that keeps me interested.
Yea I think basically WIP is the older iconic voices while The Fanatic is more younger voices and appealing to the younger audience. I'm gonna be tuning into both but I think eventually I'll just stick with The Fanatic. And I totally agree with the Baldy vs Barkann. That's gonna be a close call
ReplyDeleteBoth morning shows blow. Good to see Howard Eskin go. See you later cock-a-roach. 97.5 is going to put WIP out of business because of their format. WIP still tied to the all caller no interview equation. I agree with the comment about the commercials. The same commercials over and over. Most of them scams.
ReplyDeleteYea I agree I think in the long run 97.5 is going to take over Philly sports radio
ReplyDeletei hope 97.5 wins, because then maybe, just maybe, CBS would be smart enough to bring back a classic rock station like wysp
ReplyDeleteRhea Hughes is really annoying. Al Morganti is a shill for the Flyers organization. Gargano is nothing but a cheerleader for the Philly sports teams. Thank God that somebody over at Fox 29 has a brain and fired him from his sports anchor gig. Gargano definitely has a face made for radio.
ReplyDelete97.5 The Fanatic all the way! Mike and Ike are pretty much the only show I'll listen to on WIP. The rest of the shows on WIP are just sensationalist cheerleaders with no real information.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Gargano would be great as a friend, but I can't really listen to him on the radio because he is the top sensationalist. Eagles are 0-15 Cowboys are 1-14. Last game of the season. This is Gargano: "Huge game right here! Go out with a win! Can you feel the excitement??!"
I go with 97.5 all the way. Ike Reese is lucky that he has a job. Just horrendous. I'm 56 years old and used to listen to WIP until 950 came on the air with Jody Mac. I haven't looked back except to see what they were up to. It never lasts too long. The Fanatic is just way more entertaining and has much better conversation and guests. I love Talkin Baseball with Dutch during baseball season. "Right on Mike".
ReplyDeleteI have been following WIP since the 70's because of The Eagles. Then they went all sports and of course that was fine with me. When 97.5 came along I stayed with WIP because I knew them. But after awhile I sampled The Fanatic and stayed. Now I spend less time on WIP. Angelo is a perv and the show is stale and boring. All on the host there are getting old and rigid in their ways, Mike and Ike are ok for a look see , but 97.5's shows beat them too. I can't stand Gargano and Macnow. Macnow is too cranky and complains too much and Gargano always bullies him and thinks that he is NEVER wrong!! Plus WIP got greedy by taking up all 4 of the sports teams broadcasts and sticking Flyers playoff games on the AM to put Phillies early season games on the FM. They will lose them next season and the Sixers left before the playoffs because of the same policy!! WIP was greedy and is getting old...97.5 is the way to go!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you Greg. It is good to see both the Sixers and Flyers move to 97.5. WIP was able to ignore the Fanatic in the past but they are definitely here to stay and compete with WIP. I realize that may people don't care for Mike and Mike, but by keeping their affiliation with ESPN they get a lot of good interviews like Sal Pal, Ron Jaworski and Jason Stark, to mention just a few.
ReplyDeletehave to admit I cannot stand either cataldi or hughes. his voice is like listening to Fred Flinstone on steroids, pathetic!! hughes is like listening to a naggy old girlfriend/wife. all she does is rag on cataldi all show. as far as sports knowledge she is bankrupt and, contrary to cataldi, not good looking at all! the show should be renamed "the skunk and the drunk". cause he stinks and she, well, ya know, is a ... gotta wonder why cataldi got millions from the station and i do hope hughes is fired soon, or at least paid what she is really worth, minimum wage.
ReplyDeleteI have been listening to Wip since its inception. Morning show is horrendous,and vulger. Anthony and Glenn are boring and 5 hours is way too long. Commercials are soooo long it is ridiculous. I now listen to 97.5 except for 10 to 1 on wip I love Michael Barkan. Go 97.5
ReplyDelete