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If the Preston and Steve Show is No Longer Immune to Cost Cutting, then No One in Philadelphia Terrestrial Radio is Safe
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The big story of Thursday was Kathy Romano’s 93.3 WMMR departure. It wasn’t her choice, so as expected, most of the replies to the various stories out there are some form of “fuck Beasley Media/I hate you” –
You always figure that most of what’s posted in response to this type of news is going to be negative. Someone is upset, they log on and use their platform, big or small, to express their disappointment. If you support the decision, or don’t care one way or another, then you’re probably not replying to anything at all. In this case, the significant volume and pissed off tenor of the replies across Twitter, IG, Facebook, etc was telling.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize two things here:
1) Beasley Media is struggling big time and this is not new. We’ve documented numerous recent cuts across WMMR, WMGK, the Fanatic, and the entire cluster. The writing is on the wall, it was put there years ago, and the block letters are size 200 font, bold and italicized.
Right on cue, Beasley reported on Wednesday that first quarter revenue amounted to $48.9 million, a decrease of 10.1% –
Beasley reported an operating loss of $2.0 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared to an operating loss of $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2024. Operating loss increased as the $5.5 million year-over-year reduction in net revenue exceeded the $4.6 million decrease in total operating expenses, corporate expenses and depreciation and amortization. Although core operating and corporate expenses declined due to continued cost management efforts, these savings were insufficient to fully offset the impact of lower agency revenue.
Beasley reported a net loss of approximately $2.7 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, in the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to a net income of $8 thousand, or $0.01 per diluted share, in the three months ended March 31, 2024. The year-over-year decline was primarily attributable to a $6.0 million gain on the sale of an investment in Broadcast Music, Inc. in the first quarter of 2024 and to the macroeconomic softness that impacted agency revenue performance.
Going back about five years now, Beasley stock is down from a high of $77 dollars per share to $5.35, as of Friday afternoon.
2) That fact that they had to cut into Preston and Steve speaks volumes about how serious the situation actually is. A symbolic moment in a bad way. Preston and Steve is the most popular and highest-rated show in Philadelphia. That crew has been together for more than 20 years, a level of continuity unprecedented in any industry, be it radio, television, dishwashing, or writing crappy sports blogs. It was always thought that shows like Preston and Steve, Pierre Robert, the real heavyweights of terrestrial Philadelphia radio would be impenetrable and immune to cuts, but now we see that’s not the case. First Pierre lost his producer, Pancake, then Romano was let go.
I did see some comments asking why Preston and Steve need a traffic reporter. Fair point. We do not need to know that 95 South is backed up between Cottman and Girard. Why? Because 95 South is always backed up between Cottman and Girard during morning rush hour. It’s a concrete hellscape. We also have phone apps that tell us where the traffic is, and those apps have existed for a long time now.
But looking at Kathy Romano as a “traffic reporter” is half sighted because it’s not about updates, it’s about removing a co-host and contributor who was part of the daily conversation for two full decades. It’s the chemistry built by a half-dozen people over the course of several thousand broadcasts. It’s the removal of a female voice on a show that both men and women listen to. That’s what Beasley is losing here. Ask anyone in a position of media management, be it radio or whatever, and they’ll tell you that the hardest thing to find is chemistry between hosts, roles that fit and personas that vibe. Think, as a sports example, of Tony Bruno 10 years ago. Paired with Harry Mayes? Beautiful, man. Paired with Josh Innes? Less effective because you had two strong lead personalities in the chairs. In the case of Preston and Steve, you’ve always had a strong 1A and 1B with the supporting cast that fit really nicely, like Tetris pieces. Now you have to remove one of the foundational blocks and people are justifiably pissed off.
Not to mention, Philly remains a parochial and change-resistant place. We like what we like and when we’ve known something for 20, 30, even 40 years, messing with that is always going to be received negatively.
Regardless, terrestrial radio just isn’t what it used to be. We all know this. This isn’t some revelation. Advertisers just don’t spend the same amount of money they used to spend in this space. There is robust competition from podcasts and music and satellite radio and unexpected threats, too, like the work-from-home pivot that took place after the pandemic. There just aren’t as many people commuting to work during AM drive and PM drive.
So it is what it is. Does it suck? Yeah, of course, it does, but I don’t think anyone still working in terrestrial radio would say they’re surprised.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com