Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Tampa Radio: Sports Babe Shifts To P/T Weekends

The Fabuluous Sports Babe
Nanci Donnellan, better known to local sports talk fans as the pioneering radio personality the Fabulous Sports Babe, said Monday she was let go by CBS Radio, just before she was to start her 7 p.m. shift at the Tampa Bay area's first FM sports talk station.

But, according to Tampa Bay Times’ Eric Deggans, a CBS Radio official said Donnellan instead will work part-time on the weekends, freeing up the time slot for an effort to get better ratings. She's expected to take this weekend off and start the following weekend.

Donnellan was part of the inaugural lineup of Sportsradio WHFS-FM98.7 the Fan, when it debuted on Aug. 2, 2012. Starting on the 1-6 a.m. weekday shift, Donnellan was later moved to 7 p.m.

Known as the first woman ever to host a nationally syndicated sports talk radio show, Donnellan seemed to believe she was out of a job Monday. "Whether or not I had any good ratings or bad ratings, they'll always blame the talent," she said, noting that her show competed against radio broadcasts of Rays games.

Gabe Hobbs, a former Clear Channel Radio executive who now represents Donnellan, said he was surprised by the move, because the station had offered her a contract extension that they hadn't finished negotiating.

Brian Thomas, the vice president of programming for CBS Radio in Tampa, said part time hosts will work in the time slot until they pick a successor.

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