Several Beasley Philly Staff Out

[DToTheJ]

97.5 The Fanatic's Jennifer Scordo who produced and did updates is gone as is Pat Egan, longtime producer who just got his own show a couple of months ago. "I figured it was coming when I heard there were cuts, & the writing was on the wall when I got moved to nights.”

97.5 The Fanatic Producer Jennifer Scordo, ESPN SWFL PD Tom Calococci Out as Part of Beasley Media Group Layoffs

Longtime 97.5 The Fanatic host/producer Pat Egan has also been let go. Egan had been with the station for 13 years.

barrettsportsmedia.com

WMMR also loses a few as P&S producer Kyle McCarty and producer for Pierre Robert's show Chris Ashcraft are let go. Promotions Director Todd DiFeo who worked at both WMMR and the Fanatic is shown the door, as well.

WMGK's morning show co-host and producer Steve Vassalotti also exits.

And production directors Rhonda Hibbler and Kevin Gunn have retired.

Names From The Beasley Cuts Continue To Come Forward

The list of those affected by last week's Beasley Media layoffs continues to grow with cuts made at the company's

radioinsight.com

 

[Jstnpspck]

What are the odds Beasley throws in the towel on the 6-10 Fanatic slot and just starts piping in ESPN Radio 4 hours earlier?

 

[AdamfromPhilly]

What are the odds Beasley throws in the towel on the 6-10 Fanatic slot and just starts piping in ESPN Radio 4 hours earlier

likely.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

What are the odds Beasley throws in the towel on the 6-10 Fanatic slot and just starts piping in ESPN Radio 4 hours earlier?

A lock?

 

[andygradel]

I had always assumed Chris Ashcraft ("Pancake" on WMMR) was somehow paid by Pierre out of his salary, as I couldn't imagine how a radio company justified footing the bill for a midday music show producer.

 

[AdamfromPhilly]

I imagine Pierre may get special treatment, but that's just a guess.

I did think that the Preston and Steve Show has inclusive from the rest of WMMR. That is to say, all of the salaries were paid by Preston and Steve's contract. Again, I could be wrong.

WMMR is shell of it's former self, still better than anything out there....miss 24/7

 

[atthestars]

I imagine Pierre may get special treatment, but that's just a guess.

I did think that the Preston and Steve Show has inclusive from the rest of WMMR. That is to say, all of the salaries were paid by Preston and Steve's contract. Again, I could be wrong.

WMMR is shell of it's former self, still better than anything out there....miss 24/7

I believe I heard that too about P&S. Basically Beasley pays (just for number's sake) $1 Million to "Preston and Steve Inc." for the show, and the members of the show are paid out of that sum.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

That sounds familiar as the way the show is handled. IIRC, that was also framed as a way both Preston and Steve treat each other as equals—neither is the star above the other, and it’s one contract for the two.

Well the two and thus the crew, but the point stands.

Nothing can stay the same forever, and belt tightening happens everywhere. Just because “we did it this way” for however long worked doesn’t mean it will continue to be that way.

 

[anwar]

I've noticed WPEN carrying some live sporting events from ESPN like Sunday Night Baseball and tonight they are carrying the Knicks-Pacers NBA Playoff game. Don't know if it is related to the budget cuts or not.

 

[wibgradio99]

WPEN will never come close to toppling WIP, and are expensive to run, why don't they finally throw in the towel and go after one of the top music stations, granted they do have the poorest signal of the bunch but does Philly really need two sports outlets. Just breezing along on a summers day.....

 

[TheBigA]

does Philly really need two sports outlets.

One could say the same thing about Boston. There, the companies are reversed. Beasley is top rated, and Audacy is struggling.

 

[lanceventa]

WPEN will never come close to toppling WIP, and are expensive to run, why don't they finally throw in the towel and go after one of the top music stations, granted they do have the poorest signal of the bunch but does Philly really need two sports outlets. Just breezing along on a summers day.....

Not every station exists to be #1. The Fanatic exists to flank WMMR/WMGK and to chip away listeners away from WIP so that the trio can hold a larger share of male demographics.

What other options are there that can serve the same purpose? None that would be as successful. And where do you put the Flyers and Sixers games that they are contractually obligated to carry?

 

[Jstnpspck]

I've noticed WPEN carrying some live sporting events from ESPN like Sunday Night Baseball and tonight they are carrying the Knicks-Pacers NBA Playoff game. Don't know if it is related to the budget cuts or not.

On one hand, it makes sense to tap into top-tier national content available through their ESPN Radio affiliation. On the other hand, how far above hash marks are those broadcasts’ ratings likely to be? (I for one would appreciate being able to hear a big national game live if I’m stuck driving around, but that’s just me). If Beasley is in a cost-cutting mood, tapping into that ESPN Radio affiliation just makes sense (and saves cents for Beasley!)

 

[TheBigA]

On one hand, it makes sense to tap into top-tier national content available through their ESPN Radio affiliation. On the other hand, how far above hash marks are those broadcasts’ ratings likely to be?

Keep in mind that the sports world has changed dramatically thanks to fantasy leagues and betting. People have secondary teams to root for based on certain players or leagues. So it's not as provincial as it used to be. Those national games are usually on at times when there are no local teams playing anyway. And they're on at times (evenings mostly) when ratings are typically low regardless of what's on. So there's really no risk.

 

[CassChopper96]

WTDY took the AC option away from 97.5 so there is really nothing to replace with it

 

[Jstnpspck]

It's been over 15 years since NOW and I think the ship has sailed on Beasley veering away from their "wall of men" format lineup. I think you're more likely to see them tweak the talk format than blow it up entirely. There's the paywalled RI article on Beasley potentially expanding their "Podcast Radio" format, so I'm curious to see if they plug evenings with some (possibly sports related?) podcasts, but I still think it'd be more likely to just hear more ESPN Radio content on 97.5.