NYC Radio: Skip Eskin Talks About Move To WFAN

Skip Eskin To Success Mark Chernoff At WFAN, NYC

When Audacy's WFAN had approached Skip Eskin after Mark Chernoff, the longtime program director at the New York sports talk radio station, announced he would be stepping down. Eskin, the brand manager at SportsRadio 94 WIP in Philadelphia, seemed like a logical replacement after experiencing success in a neighboring northeast city with a similar fanbase.

But he admits to The Philadelphia Business-Journal he didn’t immediately jump at the chance when it came few months ago. Leaving Philadelphia and the team he assembled at WIP was not something he relished.

“It was less about leaving Philly and more about leaving the people,” Eskin said.

He came to believe, though, that New York, and specifically WFAN, was a natural fit. Not only is it the largest media market in the country, but it’s also not far from Philadelphia and has the same type of passionate northeast sports fans. Plus, he would get to work again with New York Market Manager Chris Oliviero, who he had known when Oliviero was chief content officer at Audacy predecessor CBS 
Radio.

“I thought about it and I was excited about the platform of WFAN, the challenge and privilege of working with the hosts and staff there, making them the best they can be and taking the station to its next chapter like we did here at WIP,” Eskin said. “I probably could have been very happy at WIP for the next 10 years but I thought this was a great opportunity.”

Eskin, who starts his role as vice president of programming for WFAN and CBS Sports Radio on July 1, said while northeast cities like Boston, New York and Philadelphia have similarly passionate sports fans, each city and station have their own culture. Eskin said he will start out by getting a feel for the New York audience and the WFAN hosts.

Eskin, who lives in Delaware County with his wife, said the couple plan to look for a home in North Jersey, where he will commute daily to Manhattan. Despite becoming a New Yorker, Eskin does not plan to give up his popular 76ers-centric podcast "The Rights to Ricky Sanchez," which he co-hosts with Los Angeles-based screenwriter Michael Levin.

This is not the first time Eskin has left Philadelphia for a job opportunity. He spent three years as assistant program director at Q101 in Chicago before returning home to take a similar role at rock station WYSP.

When then parent company CBS Radio decided to simulcast WIP, it took WYSP’s place on the FM dial in 2011 and Eskin switched over from music to sports. He worked behind the scenes on WIP's website and social media presence with occasional on-air appearances until he was named the station’s program director in 2014 and briefly served as midday host with Josh Innes and Hollis Thomas. The station parted ways with operations manager Andy Bloom in December 2015 and Eskin's responsibilities only increased.