What a year for RADIO WARS in 2022. We saw the departure of Mike Missanelli, Angelo Cataldi reduced his hours ahead of retirement, and 94 WIP shuffled 66% of their dayside lineup. Nobody called anyone a “pussy” or did a black face joke on Twitter, so it’s not the RADIO WARS of yesteryear, but a much less volatile landscape instead.

What’s on tap for 2023? Five stories we’re keeping an eye on here:

 

1. WIP’s reshuffled lineup

94 WIP has largely walloped 97.5 the Fanatic in recent years/months/ratings books, so it’s a little quirky to think that two of their three dayparts will feature different lineups in 2023.

Cataldi’s pending retirement created a cascade effect of internal promotions, with Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie moving to mornings. That left a gap from 10-2, which will be filled by Joe Giglio and Hugh Douglas. Giglio’s promotion then left an opening at 6 p.m., so ultimately Angelo moving on resulted in WIP changing three lineups instead of one.

On the surface, it feels a little weird that WIP, which has been out in front for a long time now, would have to change anything at all, but that was unavoidable due to Angelo finally deciding to call it quits and then the decision to elevate from within rather than going external.

 

2. same old in the morning, or something new?

It’s interesting to consider what a DeCamara and Ritchie morning show will look like. Cataldi continues to bloviate in an anachronistic morning zoo fashion, but is Joe going to follow that same approach, or do we get more measured and pragmatic sports talk? Will there be more shtick, or do they largely do what they’ve been doing during middays?

The other thing to consider is the morning show mainstays. Does Joe Conklin continue to get air time? What about the regular callers, like Eagles Shirley, (insert first name here) from the Dirty 30, and Butch from Manayunk. Will they finally put a muzzle on Marisa from Tokyo, or will we continue to be subjected to the smooth sound of nails on a chalkboard? Only time will tell!

There’s a real opportunity for WIP to turn a corner here and capture a portion of Philadelphia sports fans that have largely been uninterested in Cataldi’s Negadelphia shtick for the last however-many years it’s been. There’s also the consideration that Angelo was largely popular with an older demographic and continued to post stronger numbers, typically finishing behind only Preston and Steve.

 

3. Who does nights on WIP?

There are a couple of options here. They could certainly continue the promote-from-within strategy, and move up a guy like Jack Fritz or Tom Kelly. They could shift the lineup as well, and extend Fritz off the back of the afternoon show during Phillies season, doing the Leading Off broadcast then coming back with a different talent after the game. This is the only remaining hole to plug as we get 2023 underway, unless they pull a weekend broadcaster and then reshuffle Saturday and Sunday in the process.

 

4. Jon Marks’ contract and the future of WIP afternoons

After working for several weeks without a contract at the end of 2022, Jon Marks signed a one-year deal to keep intact WIP’s afternoon show. With Ike Reese and Fritz in the fold, P.M. drive has been a big success, overtaking Missanelli in the ratings and continuing to win against the still-nascent The Best Show Ever?.

Signing a one-year deal isn’t exactly a short term move, but it’s not a long term move either. Think of it as kicking the can down the road, but we’re not entirely sure what’s at the terminus of said road. Does Marks want to continue with WIP beyond 2023? Does Audacy offer a new deal, or perhaps look elsewhere? Questions abound!

 

5. Beasley goals and strategies for the new year

“Turbulent” might be a good way to describe Beasley’s 2022. There was the messy split with Mikey Miss in late May, followed then by a round of layoffs that saw Jamie Lynch, Paul Jaxon, Charlie Maxx, Dave Gibson, and others behind the microphone depart. The Lynch move was particularly unpopular, and resulted in John Kincade’s regular crew being reduced to Pat Egan and Bob Cooney, though Jamie did return later in a part-time fashion.

Replacing Missanelli was the group of Tyrone Johnson, Hunter Brody, Ricky Bottalico, and Jen Scordo, which seemed to surprise a number of regular Fanatic listeners. TBSE is only a few months old and has the tough distinction of having to take over for the most successful host that 97.5 ever had.

All of this does make you wonder where Beasley’s priorities lie. They’ve still got Preston and Steve and some powerhouse shows throughout the local portfolio, but the Fanatic isn’t getting the ratings that it used to. Still, do ratings even matter? You don’t necessarily need to post good Nielsen numbers to sell successfully and continue with strong sponsors, but only the executives at Bala Plaza know if things are going alright over there.