We told you about this already, but here’s the audio, and a full transcription, of Rob Ellis’ open Monday night in which he blasted WIP management over learning about his demotion on Crossing Broad:
“A lot of confusion. Welcome in, everybody. Yes, Rob Ellis with you. And yes, you’re looking at your clock and you say it’s six-o-clock, and I’m watching… it’s funny… because the monitor right in front of me has Groundhog’s Day on. And I’m thinking: What happened? Did the past year not really happen? Did I just wake up and it’s the same day over and over again? Is that what’s happening right now? Amazing.
No. Actually what happened was, we’ve had a little shakeup in the lineup and some of you may have found out about this Wednesday. You may have read about it on Crossing Broad. That’s exactly how I found out, too. So, stay classy, WIP. That’s exactly how I found out, I read it on Crossing Broad. But, look, this is the business. And sometimes it’s not about your performance, it’s about a lot of other things that go on. So, here’s the deal: I’ve appreciated all the texts, all the Tweets, all the Facebooks — whether it’s good or bad I appreciate people taking the time. And the people who know, know. For the time being, I’m here, and I’ll give you what I’ve always given you here on this station— everything I have. I’ll prepare. I’ll give you a fun show, I’ll give you a good show, I’ll give you an entertaining show, and I’ll let you get your voice out there. Because it’s an interaction. If it’s not for you guys, we don’t exist. So it’s all about you. I’m not gonna sit here all night and me, me, me and I, I, I. Never been my style. Other people’s style here. Not my style. Taking the high road the whole time, and I have my dignity, I have my class, I am a pro and I will continue to do the same thing.
So, if you’re tuning in and hearing me now, that’s the way it is for right now. If you have any questions regarding it, I just work here. So I’m here, and I’m gonna give you everything that I have.”
I actually think he handled that really well– forceful, succinct, to the point, and then moved on.
Ellis doesn’t sound like he’s long for WIP, and don’t be shocked if he winds up on 97.5 at some point later this year.
The move – Tony Bruno and Josh Innes taking over the Afternoon show starting Wednesday – couldn’t have been that much of a surprise, however, as it was pretty much the worst kept secret in local media over the past few weeks. But, finding out about an impending demotion from some asshole who plays the air violin in his spare bedroom is just about as bad as it gets, and perhaps only a hair better than finding out live on-air that you’re being fired, which is what happened to Chicago sports talk radio hosts in November. So it could be worse, Rob. Could be worse. GET ME THE MAESTRO:
78 Responses
Finally Rob is back in the timeslot he belongs.
I think it’s a blessing in disguise for Rob Eliis and I guarantee you the Tony Bruno Josh Innes show will be a disaster not because of Bruno but because of you know who.
Thanks 94wip you’ve made my evening commute more tolerable since I no longer have to put with Innes and his shock jock Howard Stern ripoff shtick.
When I hear someone make the comment “Howard Stern schtick”, I immediately know that the person saying that is of low intelligence.
Ummmm…..you sure about that, Chief?
Innes is very much in the Stern mold, just more contrived and less funny.
What do you present to support your statement?
Yeah, we’re sure about that, Chief. Innes is not like Stern. Do you even know who Howard Stern is and what he does? Is Bruno encased in glass? Do strippers from Cheerleaders come in to ride the Sybian? Is Jason Martinez wearing a dread wig cackling and reading pop news? C’mon, bo. Get a clue.
I’ve been in radio for 30 years, and have heard ALL of the Stern wannabes, and Innes is nothing more than that. Throwing in a little sports knowledge while insulting your callers is just the Sports version…
Bruno couldn’t get enough ratings to keep a midday job, how the hell is he a drive time draw?
he’s there to be the lukewarm water to innes’ fire.
Rob Ellis is a good host and a very decent guy. He has always impressed me with his preparation and his even handed treatment of his callers. I hope things work out for him. Taking the high road is a lesson Josh Innes should learn. Trashing the competition as opposed to raising the level of your own product is bad business. He will find that out over time.
I wish you good luck, Rob. And you too, Tony. Something tells me you will be needing it more than Rob.
One of the reasons I couldn’t stand listening to Innes was his constant whining about what he didn’t have at the station, blah, blah, blah , being low man on the pole, like he had been there for decades. The whole Missanelli “war” was manufactured by Innes and Bloom and does anyone really care? Rob is a class act and, got his point across (good for him) and that will be the end of it. Good luck Rob.
How is he “taking the high road” and not being a hypocrite by then going on to take a shot at Innes by saying “I’m not gonna sit here all night and me, me, me and I, I, I. Never been my style. Other people’s style here. Not my style.”
I like both Rob and Josh, but Josh is much more entertaining.
Innes really isn’t that entertaining
I said he got what he needed to say out and vented and that will be the end of it – Innes will be whining with his “nobody likes me” BS ad nauseum. I don’t find Innes entertaining in the least; I have funnier people in my family.
Innis is a Stern wannnbe who is not entertaining nor funny.
Find it funny that Rob Ellis changed his Twitter handle from @robellis94 to @robellissports. He must know the end is near.
94 is a very obvious parody account
I liked it. Got in a veiled shot at Fatty Innes, who is always talking about himself and never talking about, you know, sports.
Anyway that overrated washed up hack Bruno is going to be in for a treat dealing with that obese circus act for the next few months until 1 of the 2 flame out. There is just no way this thing works. The first time ratings come in and Missanelli is still winning, Innes goes to Andy Bloom and whines that Bruno is bringing the show down. Eventually Bloom fires Bruno and it’s just Innes.
Bloom has ruined WIP.
I really don’t understand Bloom’s hard on for Innes. I mean, Innes isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever heard but he’s pretty awful now. I honestly liked him a lot more when he first came on and talked sports and had a different point of view. But now, all he talks about is himself and whines about people not liking him. He lost me when he started that “woe is me” shtick when he started getting a shit load of complaints about his show and started joking about getting moved to New Orleans or something. As if anyone gives a shit about his trials and tribulations.
WIP has tried what, at least 4 different drive-time combos since Missanelli took over the ratings?
Eskin
Eskin/Reese
Cuz/Macnow
Cuz/Ellis
and Innes/Bruno makes 5.
Innes is KING. Rob is a bore dudes
Hi Josh.
Rob seems liks a good guy, but change was needed. How many times can we hear the same crap over no over. Innes will keep me tuned in. At least it is something different. Sports talk in this town is getting stale. I look forward to entertainment and am glad the tired old heads are moving on. Ellis is good for nights. Gargano sucked. Cataldi is worse.
97.5 isn’t even on my pre-sets anymore. Every show sucks.
When Innes actually talks about sports, I agree. But he spends way too much time these days talking either himself or how much Miss sucks. He also has an inexplicable hated of Nick Foles. I get not thinking he’s a franchise QB or any good for that matter but Innes seems to hate him for some reason.
over the holidays when Innes had the 1-6 show on probably 10 or so occasions, he made an obvious conscious effort to talk more about sports and tone down the hilarious shenanigans.
Hopefully the show is good. I never understood why people want it to suck…i personally prefer good radio over bad radio, but that’s just me. Everyone who just wants the show to suck must really enjoy shitty radio.
Who the fuck is rob Ellis?
You’re wearing this out faster than that little fake pussy you used to hide in your sock drawer son.
It’s called a fleshlight, ma.
I’ve read enough to know that a lot of people hate Innes (I think he’s great). Just wondering why his co-workers at WIP can’t stand him. Has he stabbed people in the back? Are they just jealous because Bloom loves him? Anyone have info on that?
I loved Innes at night, he’s going to have to tone it down in the afternoon, and make room for Bruno (who is borderline unlistenable). Innes wont be nearly as entertaining 1-6.
It could be the whole getting Gargano fired and Ellis demoted thing.
I thought Gargano turned down a 1 year offer. I don’t see how that’s Innes’s fault. Unless he did something to sabotage da Cuzzzz. Which I never heard.
Gak? Is that Dutch?
was Dustin Hoffman in Star Wars?
He did turn it down, that’s why everyone saying otherwise are insanely stupid.
So everyone hates Ken Giles because he got Papelbon demoted this season??
That logic is idiotic. Gargano could of been on the air for all of 2015, boosted ratings, and got a big contract. He knew that he couldn’t do anything to get more ratings, so he wouldn’t take the contract.
Maclin took the one year deal, and now is getting paid big. Gargano didn’t.
Here’s an example.
A caller said him and Bruno (or might be another host) should be in the 1-6PM slot. Innes response, was, ” I KNOW, RIGHT???”. Then proceeded to was poetry about his combination with the other host not Rob Ellis AND (paraphrasing here) will they do against Missanelli. The caller then agreed and added Rob Ellis sucks or something to the affect. Innes then, in his trademark “I don’t agree but I really do” voice said, “No no no, I don’t talk bad against other host”.
Glad you were able to get the audio from last night as I missed it. You know if this was a Jim article, he wouldn’t have made an effort to find it.
Jim would never post this article.
Why would Deadspin cover Philadelphia sports radio?
Gargano brought down Rob Ellis anyways. Same with Macnow. This is better for Rob Ellis in the end.
Im up for hearing the new show. I was tired of Gargano blabbing on and making any co-host become some vanilla version of themselves. I don’t know about everyone else, but I was tired of this buddy buddy host caller relationships. The average WIP caller is a moron on whatever the topic is for the day and I would rather have the hosts educate and discuss meaningful points with callers and not between each other. Not some “topic” about the greatest philly sports players to wear odd numbered jerseys during the even years.
I would love to have seen Macnow and Ellis as a pair on the 2-6 slot but that radio would have been way above the average WIP’s intelligence. At least this way I can hear Innes yell at idiotic callers.
Yeah but rob Ellis just isn’t that good ya know? Nice guy and all but
Unfortunately this is it for Ellis. He will resign or they will agree to “part ways.” There is no way he can recover from this at WIP. They should have kept him at night. Should have tried to extend Macnow for one more year so He and Gargano could have been up at the same time and then could have started fresh.
I can’t see both Gargano and Ellis going to 97.5. They have been trying to keep it on the cheap outside PM drive.
When does the Taney Dragons spring training start?
After they are conferred their 1000th award for finishing 3rd in USA.
Bruno and Innes are both loud , unstable, insecure, megalomaniacs.This should be pure hell to listen to. Personally I dont see how it works. You never know though I figured they gave Dippy and Lippy enough rope to hang themselves 2 – 3 years ago and they are still yapping away at 97.5 .
Can someone explain Missanellis success? If Rob Ellis is deemed a 2nd rate boring host(which he may or may not be) what does Missanelli do that is any different.? What is Missanellis speciality that he is king of the ratings? Because i dont see it. Missanelli comes off to me as a boring, dopey slug who admittedly likes to “Mail it In Today”.
General Knowledge Wednesday and Seinfeld, Godfather, and Wire references. Plus alt music lead ins. That’s good work by him!!!
Missinelli knows how to get ratings.
He takes the opposition’s point of view for every subject and the phone lines light up. Same thing that worked for Eskin for years. Missinelli is just better at it.
Mike’s sports acumen, witty pop-cultural references and overall fun persona are just a few of the many factors that draw listeners to the show and helped him ascend to #1.
YO BROS
HOW ABOUT A SHOUT OUT TO MY MAN BRO, ROBBY E
GOODGUY LIKE MY CHILD HOOD FRIEND ANT
COME SEE ME FOR MY GREAT LOW RATES
THEN JOIN ME AND THE CUZ FOR A PRIMO HOAGIE
WE WILL TALK ABOUT CHASE AND HARTSY AND 5
What about us Bob? Will you guys talk about us?
haaaaa haaaaa HAAAAAAAAA
haha thats great… how ’bout years ago around new years, they use to let Gargano bring in his so philly friend “Tucci” to frigging talk about the mummers !!!! OMG.. “it’s great Mo, its awesome, agregious… ” .. Caller: Hi, my name is Mike Im goin to so philly this week end… Gargano: “ugghhhh thats great, thats beautiful, thats awesome”
Not all those who don’t like Inness, but a good portion keep saying “he only talks about this, doesn’t talk about that”…..but how do you know? Oh that’s right, because you’re still fuckin listening to him!! You might hate him, but ya still tune in to hear what he’s saying. Ellis and gargano were awful. Same repetitive bs every single day. Innes might not know sports as much, but at least the fat fuck isn’t boring. Hopefully Ellis hangs in that 6 pm spot. Gargano the name dropper brought Ellis down in a big way.
I tried to listen to him for a week when he first came to town. He was cracking himself up with how many times he could say poop. If I wanted to hear a bad imitation of Howard Stern I would listen to current Howard Stern.
Both stations ratings leave alot to be desired. A few years ago I remember comparing the ratings to Bostons 2 sports talk stations. Non football season so ratings were less than what they are from Sept-Jan.
WIP 2.6 rating
97.5 1.6 rating
The 2 Boston stations had a 5.4 rating and a 3.4 rating respectively.So there is catastrophic dysfunction in the running of these 2 stations because Philadelphia is a bigger market and every bit as good of a sports city as Boston. Yet the radio stations here bring in 1/2 the listeners that Boston generates.
i love all this talk about ratings and shit. its a 2 station markets. someones the winner, someones the loser every time. who the fuck cares in the end. all the shows spew the same shit over and over.
on anothe note, i love how eagles fans are still bitter about the superbowl in 05. let it go! let it go!
cataldi has been doing his lame act for 25 years in the same time slot! that’s all you need to know about this market.
@BrianJHaddad: Sludgegramming note: I’ll be on 6-10p Wed, and 10p-2a Thurs.
So Robbie is already not doing shows?
Rob is on Thursday and Friday 6-10 according to the schedule online.
BTW: Brian Haddad: must miss radio
You remember them, Wittman, Price and Haddad, there they are, and at this very moment they’re basking in the beautiful Maui sun, their debt to society paid in full.
HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa
Even I’d rather listen to Rob Ellis on my drive home, than have to listen to myself talk about myself. Give me a break. You don’t know what it’s like to have to listen to myself every hour of every day.
Cant wait for me, Sammy Sags, Violations Greg, Karate Mark and Cuz’s merry band of assholes to take down Angelo. I think Primo Bowl has a great sound to it!
I could not stand Innes even slightly when we started at WIP – mainly because he would wine about everything. Finally he got over that and I became a fan.
I am really not sure how his show will do during the afternoons. He is now exposed to a whole new audience, and I would imagine a different demographic. Innes does not have your prototypical sports talk radio show, as sports are only part of the conversation 25% of the time, max. How will this do during afternoons? There is no doubt he will have to alter his show because of this, but I really did not find Innes interesting when he was paired with Ellis and forced to talk strictly sports. His show was perfect for nights in my opinion.
And then there is Bruno. Bruno and Mayes was a great combination yet his ratings were underwhelming. A large part of his audience overlaps with Missanelli, so a big question is whether this large group will tune into WIP or go with Mike Miss, who they have been listening to for years.
Kyle, thanks for the coverage of this and I hope you are able to stay on top of the ratings from these two shows.
-Lini
“I’m a pro”
Dude get over yourself, you talk sports with the dumbest, most illiterate fan base on the planet. If you got fired, you’d have exactly one other company that may want to hire you. And if that was the case, you’d be replacing two of the dumbest people on the planet in the gay duo marks and brace. Yea, a real pro!
Someone just hit the nail on the head. Especially the bit about the fan base.
From October to June the Sixers and Flyers occupy the 7-10pm when they play in the Eastern Time Zone. Those months coincide with the Eagles season and the greatest number of listeners to the sports talk station. Which shift is available to Ellis. The 10am-2pm shift replacing the Mayes, Westbrook, Baldinger combo along with Jon and Sean. The 10pm-2am shift on 97.5. This might work. Other than Jody Mac I h a t e the 10pm-2am shift on WIP. It’s a big step down for Ellis. The pay is reduced significantly. What I would do is give Ellis the 10am-2pm shift on The Fanatic. Rob will b u r y Mike and Ike and should hold his own in the fourth hour against Bruno and Ellis. You could still have Westbrook and Baldinger pair up with Rob during the football season. Jon and Sean would fit perfectly from 10pm-2am. Isn’t that the hipsters shift. It would ruin their social life but who cares.
Josh is moving up, because he gets ratings. People can hate on him all they want, but they project him to bring better ratings than Anthony Gargano and/or Rob Ellis. Big Josh Innes came into town as a stranger, people didn’t like him, but earned his way into a prime radio slot. Doing it his way. He didn’t have to try to be the “4 for 4” guy to get promoted. He didn’t have to cut to a straight sports talk style show. I respect him for persevering and coming out on top. Pretty good for a guy who isn’t even 30. Good for Josh. He was handed nothing, earned everything he has.
Bloom has been slurping Innes balls since he got here. Isn’t one Cataldi enough on WIP.
Yes, it is true. If he didn’t bring ratings, he wouldn’t have been promoted. Bloom may like him, but WIP is still a business just like any other business. At the end of the day, the bottom line is what matters most. Plain and simple.
This seems like a cutthroat business, how much $$ are any of these insignificant douchebags actually making?? If any of them make over $100K I’m gonna jump out my window….marks and brace should be making minimum wage jizz-mopper money…..
97.5 could really take over if they spend some money and clean house of their D level hosts who should be doing overnights in a low level market at best.
Skippy and Lippy should be put out of their misery. They get more brutal by the day. Joe Dacamara? How is this guy on the radio? His voice alone is shit brutal. Get him off now!! I would do:
6-10 Mike and Mike
10-2 Harry Mays and Rob Ellis back together
2-6 Mike Miss.
6-10 Aton Shander or Steve Trevelese
No Gargano and his traveling pack ass turkeys like Avalon Brian/Karate Mark//Violations Greg/Ball Sack Gary/Anal Wart Frank etc
Should be relegated to doing updates only.
Here is the deal. I brought Josh Innis into WIP to eventually take over Cataldi when his contract expires in 3 yrs. It’s pretty simple…we groom Josh in afternoons, partner him w/ TB so that Bruno’s legions of trolls eventually tag onto Innis.
Follow the money dudes…Cataldi is costing us bank. So when his contract is up –> BLOOM! bye bye Angelo, help Josh Innis!
Whether you like Innes and Bruno or not, Rob Ellis is a snoozefest. That’s why his rating sucked. Face it, he’s not entertaining enough for radio.
thank god they finally moved the other half of the “same ole $hit pair”… Now that Gargano – t he mayor of south philly is out and his side-kick, i can listen again in the afternoon. I was sooo tired of hearing the same ole so philly schtick from Gargano and all Ellis is is a whiner !!!
Josh and Tony have it all over Gargano/MacNow (who should have retired to eat hamburgers years ago)… and Ellis and the Mayor of So Philly who never got out of the city lines in his life… hence, why they were sooo boring and people moved to Bitchanelli !
how ’bout years ago around new years, they use to let Gargano bring in his so philly friend “Tucci” to frigging talk about the mummers !!!! OMG.. “it’s great Mo, its awesome, egregious… ” .. Caller: Hi, my name is Mike Im goin to so philly this week end… Gargano: “ugghhhh thats great, thats beautiful, thats awesome”
I’m a woman and more of a real man than these infantile losers wanting more radio host “excitement” (then they should really get their weird juvenile jollies from something besides sports talk) -they don’t really want to hear anyone worth listening to like Ray, Glen or Rob. Interesting , intelligent people who are engaged, invested and have a lot of knowledge are just” too boring” for you, but they’re very much appreciated by those of us grown-up fans with brain cells & little patience for bullshit. Miss you, Rob, all the best. Miss hearing Glen,too. It’s them, not you- but you guys already know that.
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