Eric Johnson, 97.5 the Fanatic’s new Program Director, spoke to Rob Tornoe over at Philly.com.

Johnson talked about the ratings gap with rival 94 WIP, explaining that he sees some “great statistics” that he can work with to become more competitive. He also touched on the idea of making the Fanatic’s shows “a little hotter, a little more fast moving,” so we’ll see how that goes.

On the topic of audience involvement, this passage is relevant:

Johnson has spent a large chunk of his career looking at audience research. When it comes to sports radio, he thinks hosts are just part of the equation.

“Listeners listen for the host’s personality and their opinions, but just as important is they love listening to the opinions of other fans,” Johnson said. “To me, The Fanatic putting more listener calls on the air than WIP is a strength because that’s what people listen for.

Is that what people listen for?

I don’t know if many folks are tuning in to hear Bernie from Broomall or “Ingy” or the idiot Dallas fan who always calls in. I think his name is Levi. Jose from Norristown is alright in my book.

“What up?”

It’s true that some hosts do a better job of getting callers one the air instead of leaving them on hold for 30 minutes, which is appreciated. And I think some of the more educated callers dial up the post-game shows that you find on both stations.

But let’s do more straightforward sports talk and less of Joe from Roxborough.