Philly Radio: January Strong For WIP, WPEN Sports Wars

Philadelphia sports talk radio might have hated Chip Kelly, but his firing turned out to be the best gift both stations could have hoped for.

According to philly.com, both WIP 94.1 FM and WPEN 97.5 FM The Fanatic benefited greatly from the uptick in interest after Kelly was booted. WIP ended the January ratings period (Dec. 31 - Jan. 27) with a 7.9 share and second place in the key men’s 25-54 demographic from 6 a.m - 6 p.m., while The Fanatic finished just behind in third place with a 7.8 share. Both trailed first-place WMMR's 10.2 share.

However, It’s WPEN's Mike Missanelli who has the best reason to be happy. The Fanatic’s afternoon host saw his ratings climb to an 8.9 share, enough to top both WIP’s Innes and WMMR for first in his time slot. It’s the third straight month (including the unimportant holiday period) Missanelli has bested Innes, who ended the period in third place with a 7.6 share.

“The numbers indicate that Philly fans know what they want: good sports talk radio,” Missanelli said about the ratings win

In morning drive, WIP’s Angelo Cataldi remained in the lead in the morning with an impressive 9.6 share (men 25-54), but The Fanatic’s Anthony Gargano posted an equally impressive 8.7 share, keeping things close with the reigning ratings champ. Gargano's ratings are impressive, considering his show has been on air less than a year. Interestingly, his ratings gains aren't coming at Cataldi's expense - both seem to be benefiting from the increased morning competition.