Press release:
Beasley Media Group’s 97.5 the Fanatic in Philadelphia Announces New Morning and Midday Show
Marc Farzetta and Tra Thomas named as new morning show
Anthony Gargano to take over middays with Jason Myrtetus
Philadelphia, PA (10/1/18): Beasley Media Group announces an exciting new chapter with the announcement of 97.5 The Fanatic/WPEN-FM lineup in Philadelphia. “Farzetta and Tra In the Morning” will officially kick-off weekday mornings from 6:00am – 10:00am, followed by Anthony Gargano and Jason Myrtetus from 10:00am -2:00pm. The on-air changes will officially take place beginning on October 8, 2018.
Marc Farzetta has been a Philadelphia Sports media personality since 2005. He currently serves as the Co-host of NBC Sports Philadelphia’s “Philly Sports Talk” and hosted the Emmy award winning show, “The 700 Level Show.”
Outside of his work in front of the camera or behind the microphone, Marc was an Associate Producer (AP) for NBC’s Sunday Night Football where he received Emmy recognition. While there, he worked as part of the production teams that produced the big game, as well as three Winter Classics and various Triple Crown events.
William “Tra” Thomas was the 11th overall pick in the draft from Florida State University and is recognized for his 12 year NFL career as an All Star Left Tackle. During his eleven years with the Philadelphia Eagles, he was a 3X Pro Bowler and selected as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles All-Time Team. After retiring from the league, he remained connected to football as a Sports Broadcaster, Philadelphia Eagles Assistant Line Coach and Technique Coach.
The duo will be joined by respected long time Philadelphia sports journalist and current morning show Co-host Bob Cooney and Producer Jamie Lynch.
Anthony Gargano, who has been on the air for the past 19 years talking about Philadelphia sports, will remain so from 10am-2pm with current Midday Host Jason Myrtetus.
“I’m thrilled to remain with my Fanatic Family,” said Gargano. I’m blessed to live my passion in life- talking 4 for 4 Philly sports and working on my writing projects.”
The Fanatic’s #1 rated Mike Missanelli Show will remain in afternoon drive.
“These moves for 97.5 The Fanatic put the brand in an even stronger position for our listeners and customers moving forward,” said Vice President of Programming Buzz Knight. “They also demonstrate that Beasley Media Group is committed to great talent and content acquisition.”
“We are very excited to be adding Marc Farzetta and Tra Thomas to The Fanatic line up,” said Content Manager Eric Johnson. “I’ve been a fan of Marc’s since he started on the air in Philly in the mid 2000’s. He’s evolved into a major talent in town, growing from Update Anchor and Time Out Entertainer at Temple basketball games to Radio Talk Show Anchor and NBC Sports Philadelphia Host. Tra has a natural gift of compelling story telling!”
He added, “With Anthony Gargano leading our midday show with Jason Myrtetus, these moves will put the station in a much stronger competitive position. This really ushers in a new era for a great brand…97.5 The Fanatic!”
I would describe Gargano as something less than “thrilled” to be demoted from mornings to mid-days and to find out about the news from this site. But it is a better alternative to accepting a buyout, I suppose.
No mention of Harry Mayes, who is out. WAR RAGES ON:
27 Responses
Dumpster Fire of a station that has been used to specifically get WIP to go FM and now it has served its purpose. It has fired everyone worth listening to and put Mikey Miss and the PC Revolution on Television.
Pull a Zalinsky the King of Auto-Parts King and just take the station out back, tie it to a tree, and bash it with a shovel.
“All Star Left Tackle”. Great, so people who don’t even know the basics of sports are running a sports radio station.
Ugh, Tra Thomas? Literally moving laterally here, so much for adding them to my morning drive.
Remember when tra thomas insinuated that chip kelly was a raci$t, then chip kelly went on to be the only nfl head coach to coach the unemployed dude with the fro during his kneeling? tra thomas is garbage he does not need a microphone and a larger platform to spew his idiocy
That was Hollis Thomas … hehehehe
This station is a Trainwreck ….mayes and myrt was the only show worth anything and they ruin it with the fat dego ape
Jason better watch his back.
Why do you say that?
“said Vice President of Programming Buzz Knight”. Is that his real name?
I missed the part about my new show, anything?
Just worry about staying sober bro.
I thought I was hiding it well, do I look that bad?
Yes.
Got to love the Fanatic. Always staying ahead of the competition. Farzetta will be awesome. And the Cuz will continue to dominate in his new time a lot.
Amazing how Crossing Broadcast’s stratospheric rise has completely upended traditional media in this city. Who knew that Kyle and Russ would become so dominant?!?!?!?
Hearing that Kyle is currently embroiled in a bidding war for Crossing Broad properties, fielding offers from the likes of Disney, 21st Century Fox, and more.
According to reports, Kyle will have to commit to a MINIMUM of two podcasts per week. It’s unclear if he’s got the grit required to meet the demands of such a time consuming schedule.
My English soccer pods were what put us over the top.
Cuz pulled off his best hit ever. Can’t believe he pulled it off.
Station is complete trash.
Wait, they dump Mayes and they leave Myrtetus on the air? I fuckign hate Myrtetus. He thinks he’s Missenelli, but he has no talent and zero knowledge. if I have to hear another god damn commercial with him and his retarded kids I’m going to smash my radio
can see the cuz stromg arming 97.5 to move the bro to afternoons
Nothing on my DUI arrest video?
Mike Miss not only ignores the news of the day in his opener, but he tweets back at someone asking why the were doing what they’re doing. His response was Radio is about ratings. What a d-bag. If that was the case, then his fat POS fellow Italian would’ve been out of a job months ago, let alone given yet another opportunity. I bet Mike hated Harry for his involvement with Tony and pushed for Gargano to replace him.
Mayes’ decision to resign is interesting. Philly is a tough market to break into and being a morning co-host with a paid salary and benefits is a solid fallback for a “demotion.” Mayes would be an idiot to turn that down unless — he or his agent reached out to WIP and secured a deal. My guess is that he joins WIP in the next few months and is “parked” either on the weekends or from 10 PM – 2 AM during the week.
The Farzetta decision is all about Angelo’s impending retirement within the next 1-2 years. Farzetta wanted an assurance he would be Angelo’s replacement and WIP told him no. Angelo campaigns for Jon Kincaid but Kincaid is likely to stay in Atlanta, where his family has settled.
Farzetta’s decision to move was made months ago. It is why Tra Thomas left WIP to go back to 97.5 for what at the time appeared to be a lateral move. When he left IP, he did so with a deal to join Farzetta full-time in the morning.
Farzetta will get crushed by Angelo. 97.5 knows this. The move is all about jockeying for position and going for as big of a chunk as the estimated $15-20 million the Angelo’s show generates annually in ad and sponsor revenue. Gargano was removed not just because the ratings were bad but because the show was bad. The idea is to give Farzetta a running start to curate a good show that will be in a position to garner big ratings when Angelo retires.
Inside word is that Joe DeCamera is a leading contender to get the ‘IP morning slot when Angelo retires. My guess is Hayes hangs around WIP until Angelo retires and a mid-day slot opens up for him when DeCamera shifts to mornings.
I think it will be Marks. That was always the plan. Marks left the morning show on 97.5 in a strange move only to end up with the 6-10 shift which 1/2 the year baseball took most of the hours. He had no way in knowing that Josh would do everything in his power to get terminated. The big picture was that Marks would get the mornings at some point. He knew it could be several years before it happened. Joe can’t carry a morning show. He’s really good in sports knowledge but the morning show is more than that.
No way Marks gets the morning gig. Not a chance
They ax the most versatile guy who did everything that was asked of him, then the most humble one, then they pair the two biggest talkers with no mute button for the afternoon? They F’d up! The ratings will tell.
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