Philly Radio: Here's Why Spike Eskin Is Back At 94 WIP

When Rod Lakin first arrived from Phoenix to succeed Spike Eskin as SportsRadio 94 WIP's brand manager in 2021, he quickly realized that his predecessor had the gift of gab, according to the Philly Business Journal.

“I remember hearing him with some of the shows, including with [former morning show host Angelo Cataldi], coming on specifically to talk Sixers,” Lakin said of Eskin's on-air cameos. “And I remember just talking to him [and saying], 'You could be a host.'”

So when it became clear last year that Jon Marks would be departing his role as afternoon drive co-host at WIP, Lakin zeroed in on Eskin, who had moved on to become vice president of programming at New York sister sports talk station WFAN and CBS Sports Radio. On Wednesday, less than a month after Marks' final broadcast, parent company Audacy announced that Eskin will rejoin WIP to co-host the afternoon drive shift from 2 to 6 p.m. with Ike Reese and Jack Fritz.

Rod Lakin

Lakin said he couldn’t shake the idea of Eskin being a prominent host. He said even if you remove the fact that he is the son of Howard Eskin — who famously held down the afternoon drive shift for more than a quarter century — that he served as WIP brand manager and Audacy sports talk format captain nationally, the case for Eskin was extremely compelling.

“Here's somebody who's a multimedia star that runs the biggest Sixers podcast in the city — probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest, independent team-focused podcast in the country,” Lakin said of the "Rights to Ricky Sanchez" podcast that Eskin co-hosts with Los Angeles-based screenwriter Michael Levin. “And so by virtue you have somebody that's one of the biggest, if not the biggest Sixers voice in the city, which I thought was a real opportunity for WIP.”

Adding Eskin’s 76ers savvy to Reese’s expertise with the Eagles and Fritz’s background as a Phillies podcaster will give the show a well-rounded knowledge base, Lakin said.

Lakin also noted that Eskin has a “deep and special bond” with incumbent afternoon co-host Ike Reese and served as a mentor for Fritz, who will move from producer to co-host of the show. In addition, Lakin said Eskin is a cultural fit and understands WIP and the city’s fanbase, having grown up here and worked in the city for much of the past 25 years as both a host and manager.

Lakin confirmed it was his idea to pursue Eskin for the opening. As for why Eskin chose to leave his management role at WFAN to become a host in Philadelphia, Lakin deferred to Eskin, who was not made available for comment by Audacy. Eskin did make an appearance Wednesday on the afternoon show to express his excitement about teaming with Reese and Fritz.