NYC Radio: Report..Craig Carton Returns To WFAN January

Barring a late contractual glitch, WFAN 660 AM /101.9 FM will likely rehire Craig Carton in the coming weeks and install him in afternoon drive time, by early January at the latest and perhaps sooner than that, reports Neil Best at Newsday citing sources.

The station has been working toward that since shortly after he was released from prison in June after serving a year on federal fraud charges, which resulted in his arrest and resignation from WFAN in September 2017.

The recent HBO documentary "Wild Card: The Downfall of a Radio Loudmouth" chronicles the rise and fall of Craig Carton, the former WFAN morning show radio host who was arrested by FBI agents and charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud on September 6, 2017. It debuts Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max.

Talks have been simmering for weeks and should come to a boil soon, according to three people familiar with the process.

Chris Oliviero, who oversees WFAN for Entercom, its parent company, is personally close to Carton. While he has not said anything publicly about him lately, shortly before Carton’s release in June he confirmed his potential interest to Newsday.

According to Best, Carton’s return would likely turn many people off, and given that it was a gambling addiction that led to his downfall, it will be awkward to return to an environment in which sports betting has become a huge driver of ad revenue.

In a post-Mike Francesa world, there is no livelier lightning rod in local sports talk than Carton, writes Best.

For example having him back would revive the ratings wars and trash talk that marked Francesa’s battles with ESPN New York’s Michael Kay, which have been missed during the kinder, gentler afternoon drive reign of Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts.

Speaking of which, Benigno is likely to retire soon from full-time work.