Philly Radio: WPEN Gains Ground On WIP-FM

The latest sports radio ratings book is out, and at this point you can nearly predict the results: WIP 94.1 FM tops WPEN 97.5 The Fanatic, Angelo Cataldi remains dominant in the mornings, and the duo of Jon Marks and Ike Reese topped Mike Missanelli for the second straight quarter in what amounts to a virtual tie in the afternoon, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

But over the past year, ratings are up by more than a share among male listeners between the ages of 25 to 54 (the most important demographic for both stations) for The Fanatic’s two newest shows: Farzetta & Tra in the Morning and Gargano & Myrtetus Middays.

That’s a positive sign for Marc Farzetta, who left WIP last August to launch his own show at The Fanatic alongside former Eagles offensive lineman Tra Thomas and ex-Daily News reporter Bob Cooney. But despite Farzetta’s move up into third place in the market, Cataldi remains a sports radio juggernaut, and still leads his former colleague by more than three ratings share.

Missanelli once again lost by a slim margin to Marks and Reese, who finished first overall in the market for the second straight quarter. But once again, The Fanatic argues Missanelli would top WIP if Nielsen’s streaming ratings were included.

Regardless, Missanelli and co-hosts Tyrone Johnson and Natalie Egenolf are undoubtedly enjoying a wider audience than last year, thanks to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s simulcast, which has had no apparent impact on the show’s radio ratings.

As far as middays are concerned, WIP’s duo of Joe DeCamara and former Eagles fullback Jon Ritchie once again easily outpaced their Fanatic rivals, but Anthony Gargano and Jason Myrtetus have managed to narrow WIP’s lead slightly. The two shows finished in third and fourth place for their time slots, respectively.