Preston and Steve Continue Morning Philadelphia Radio Hegemony with Huge Extension
Beasley Media Group announces legendary WMMR-FM Morning Personalities Preston and Steve have signed a multiyear extension to their contract that will keep them on the air in Philadelphia through 2030, enabling them to celebrate their 25th anniversary with the station!
A ratings powerhouse, Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison have maintained the top morning show position in Philadelphia since they joined the station back in May of 2005. In addition, the pair produce daily full show and highlight episode podcasts, daily/weekly video programs and maintain a remarkable world-wide social media audience.
Key words there, “ratings powerhouse.”
Preston and Steve obliterate everything in the morning. They seriously put up Howard Stern-like numbers and have been #1 in this market for as long as I can remember. Angelo Cataldi at WIP then pulls second place, which is the Philly morning theme and always has been.
The interesting thing is that Beasley owns 97.5 and 102.9 MGK in addition to WMMR, so they are putting multiple morning shows of different formats on the air. You’ve got Preston and Steve, John Kincade, and John DeBella, for instance, but despite there only being one radio pie in the Delaware Valley, each of those programs does well and hits a specific audience. You would think it might be counterintuitive to have some of your best programming clumped into the morning but they’ve been able to carve out several solid brands and create steady footholds across the board. People even listen to Beasley’s country music station for some reason.
Anyway, Preston and Steve isn’t really something we’d talk about on CB, but imagine if they didn’t sign this extension. What if they decided to call it quits at some point? Where do their listeners go? Do some of those younger men (a coveted sports radio demo) turn to WIP or 97.5 the Fanatic? Do they go to podcasts? Do they reach for the Stone Temple Pilots CD laying on the front passenger seat? Preston and Steve really shape the local morning radio landscape, and with them remaining in this spot through 2030, it ensures that sports is going to remain in second place, at best.
