Philly Radio: Mike Missanelli The Linchpin to The Fanatic's Branding

Program Director Scott Masteller said he's been envisioning Mike Missanelli as the midday host at 97.5 The Fanatic (WPEN-FM) since becoming the station's program director at the start of the year.

In March, Masteller decided to move Andrew Salciunas to work with morning show host John Kincade. Then, earlier this week, the station signed former Phillies closer Ricky Bottalico to a multiyear contract extension to continue co-hosting with Tyrone Johnson in Missanelli's old afternoon drive slot.

That left middays as the final piece of the puzzle, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

After months of negotiations, which sometimes became public, parent company Beasley Media Group announced Friday that Missanelli, the Fanatic's biggest star for more than a decade, is back on board two years after an acrimonious split. And Masteller believes the move can help the station better compete with rival SportsRadio 94 WIP.

“Tyrone and Ricky have grown their own following, and it's improving,” Masteller said. “With John and Andrew, we've seen already a pretty good response to their presentation. We've done some research, which validates all of that. So the opportunity was when [previous midday host] Anthony Gargano left, we had an opening in middays and we played it out. We did our strategy, we were smart about it, and now we have Mike Missanelli.”

Mike Missanelli

Masteller had been a consultant to the station since last August and became program director in January. He said conversations between Beasley and Missanelli and his representatives were ongoing for months. He ultimately had some talks of his own with Missanelli, whom he has known since his time as program director for ESPN Radio and senior director of content at the ESPN Radio Network more than a decade ago.

“I had a lot of respect for him as on-air talent,” Masteller said. “So, like many of these things, it comes down to timing and the timing appeared to be right.”

While Missanelli will be the focal point of the show, he will be joined by relative newcomer Bill Colarulo, who has been working part-time in the midday time slot for the past several months with Bob Cooney. Cooney had been hosting there for several months after a shakeup in the station’s lineup but was let go earlier this week to make way for Missanelli's return.

Like Missanelli, Colarulo is a lawyer-turned-sports-talker. They will be joined by producer Ray Dunne, who is also a part-time host at the station.