Mike Missanelli remains absent from 97.5 the Fanatic, with sources telling Crossing Broad that he should be out for the remainder of the week, matching a report from my guy Matt Mullin over at Philly Voice.

As of right now, there’s no official word on Mike’s future. There are rumblings that he’s done for good, but nothing 100% concrete, despite all the chatter taking place behind the scenes.

That said, here’s my take:

Losing Mike Missanelli, if it does indeed happen, would be a huge blow for 97.5 the Fanatic. I know it’s fashionable to rip Mike right now, and criticize the headphone-throwing incident and mention his other past transgressions, but Missanelli has been the heart and soul of that station from the beginning and has always pulled solid and competitive ratings. Parting with Mike would be like WIP trying to replace Angelo Cataldi. There are big shoes to fill over there.

That’s not a diss to the rest of the crew, since I think there’s some solid young talent at 97.5 the Fanatic, but a lot of those folks are still relatively green and don’t have the experience of an Anthony Gargano or Marc Farzetta, who are currently anchoring middays and A.M. drive, respectively.

Theoretically, I could see 97.5 moving in any number of directions if they ultimately part ways with Mike, so I’ve laid them out here. Again, nothing has officially happened as of right now, but these are some scenarios to consider:

Option #1 – don’t do anything and leave the current trio in place

This seems unlikely to me.

I think Tyrone Johnson does a good job, but he hasn’t been with 97.5 very long, so management would have to feel confident about his chances against Jon Marks and Ike Reese in order to hand over the 2 to 6 reins. If you promote Tyrone straight up, management would be flying blind without a significant amount of ratings data to work with. I’d think you’d need at least a book or two to get a feeling for how Tyrone, Natalie Egenolf, and Andrew Salciunas would do from a portable people meter perspective, since we remain stuck with 30-year-old ratings technology that serves to set advertising rates for the sales department.

Also, it’s impossible to determine accurate PPM ratings right now since program participants are not going through their normal day-to-day routine during the COVID pandemic.

Option #2 – move The Cuz to afternoons

If I had to guess, this would be the most likely scenario.

Anthony Gargano is fantastic with sponsors and is a Philly radio veteran, having anchored both middays and P.M. drive over at 94 WIP. If the Fanatic wants to make the safest and most logical play here, they would move The Cuz to afternoons and let Jason Myrtetus come back to the midday show, likely alongside Salciunas or another young talent who can continue to grow.

Keep in mind that Myrtetus was dumped while former program director Eric Johnson was in charge, and then brought back a short time later after EJ was fired. He’s a solid vet who could slot right back in rather seamlessly.

Option #3 – throw a blank check at John Kincade

John has been asked at least 400 times about returning to Philadelphia, and he always politely responds by saying that he’s happy in Atlanta, but if 97.5 successfully lured him home, he would immediately be the best host at either station. No hot takes, no pound calls, no bull shit, just straightforward sports talk ala Glen and Ray on the weekends.

Crossing Streams episode 42, with John Kincade

Option #4 – make a big splash with Josh Innes

Josh has openly campaigned for this in the past, thinking he could do a good job if given a second chance in Philadelphia.

His first stint was an utter disaster on a lot of levels, but I’ll give him credit for coming in as an outsider and challenging our tired and stale radio format while providing a fresh and different perspective. If 97.5 really wanted to take a leap of faith, they could give Josh a try, but I get this feeling you’d ride a short term boost that would eventually peter out.

Option #5 – poach somebody from WIP

We can take Joe Giglio off the table because WIP management likes him and would likely promote him to one of the main day parts at some point in the future.

Joe DeCamara is comfortably slotted in on middays, but he’s the former assistant PD at 97.5 and a former nightside host, so maybe more money and a P.M. drive slot would be enticing.

Rob Ellis is currently doing weekends at WIP after leaving the Fanatic a few years ago. Again, with Eric Johnson out of the picture, maybe that opens the door for a midday return.

Otherwise, it’s hard to see anybody leaving the #1 station for the #2 station right now, especially with both Entercom and Beasley making a number of cuts and reductions during the COVID pandemic.

Option #6 – bring back a former host

Nick Kayal? Dan Schwartzman? A Gonzo and Vai redux? Eytan Shander?

Current interim boss Eric Camille has been with the Fanatic for a while now, so he may have good relationships with talent that previously left the station.

For what it’s worth, Tony Bruno and Harry Mayes are both with Sirius now, and just started that show, so I can’t imagine them returning to the Fanatic. The Schwartz is doing national NBC radio and Eytan is doing 25 shows for 25 different radio and media companies, including the Gambler, where Sean Brace is anchoring 3 to 6 p.m.

Option #7 – promote from within

I do think 97.5 has some good younger/youngish talent. I could very easily see Salciunas hosting his own show some day, and he did a nice job with the Phillies program last year. Jamie Lynch is an experienced producer and solid host who is ready to make the jump. Devon Givens’ Sixers post-game shows are a good listen and I’ll typically stick with Joe Tordy when he’s hosting.

They should keep trying to grow that group, for sure, but obviously they aren’t going straight to a significant day part right now.

Good morning.

 

EDIT –

I’m pretty sure Gargano and Innes hate each other, so I guess scenario #4 wouldn’t work.