Mike Valenti, long Detroit's top-rated sports-radio host, has signed a multi-year extension to remain the voice of WXYT 97.1 FM The Ticket, the station's parent company, Entercom, announced Monday.
According to The Detroit News, the extension is not unexpected, as Valenti has repeatedly rebuffed overtures to take his popular show to a larger market. He was considered a possible replacement for Mike Francesa at WFAN in New York in 2016, even doing fill-in shows ahead of Francesca's much-publicized retirement. Valenti, though, always expressed a desire to stay in Detroit, and Francesa unretired this spring.
“Mike is an extraordinary talent who has a great rapport with Detroit sports fans,” said Debbie Kenyon, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Detroit. “He has built a dedicated listener base and we’re thrilled to have him on the 97.1 team for years to come.”
“I value the opportunity to continue my career at The Ticket in Detroit, one of the great sports towns in the country,” Valenti added.
Valenti joined 97.1 The Ticket’s afternoon drive in 2007. Before joining The Ticket, Mike co-hosted “The Sports Inferno” on Sports Radio 1270 (WXYT-AM) in Detroit.Valenti has been 97.1's afternoon drive-time host since 2007, and has worked the last year-plus solo, since Terry Foster's retirement in April 2017. There are no known plans to add a co-host. Producer Mike Sullivan has emerged as a sounding board for Valenti in the broadcast booth.
Known for his intense Michigan State fandom, brash attitude and an entertaining rapport with listeners, fans and haters alike, Valenti is 97.1's meal ticket, so much so that when the Lions wanted him out a couple years back in order to continue having 97.1 as the team's flagship station, 97.1 chose Valenti. The Lions then moved to WJR 760 AM.
Terms of Valenti's contract were not disclosed.
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