Philly Radio: Spike Eskin Is Replacing Jon Marks At 94 WIP

Spike Eskin, the former program director at 94 WIP, left in 2021 to run sister-station WFAN in New York City, is returning and will replace Jon Marks as the cohost of .WIP’s afternoon show. Eskin will join former Eagles linebacker Ike Reese and Jack Fritz.

No start date has been announced, the Philly Inquirer reports.

“I am thrilled to be able to work with Ike and Jack in afternoons at 94WIP,” Eskin said in a statement “Leaving WFAN and CBS Sports Radio is an incredibly difficult decision. I’m surrounded by talented, great people, and it’s been an amazing experience.”

Eskin will leave his job as WFAN’s program director. Parent-company Audacy said a nationwide search is currently underway.

It’s not Eskin’s first go at hosting WIP’s drive-time show. In 2015, he was part of a short-lived show that featured Josh Innes and former Eagles defensive tackle Hollis Thomas.

Eskin is taking over for Jon Marks, who left last month after he and the station couldn’t come to terms on a new contract. Marks told Crossing Broad that during contract negotiations, WIP made it clear it wasn’t going to offer him a contract that paid as much as retired morning show host Angelo Cataldi or longtime sports talker Howard Eskin.

Spike Eskin

Marks cohosted the show with Reese since 2017, when he replaced Chris Carlin, who left to return to New York City. Together, Reese and Marks grew the show’s ratings and easily outpaced 97.5 The Fanatic’s Best Show Ever following Mike Missanelli’s departure from the station.

Marks has yet to announce a new gig, but he did reemerge on Tuesday on his own YouTube channel to talk about Birds’ collapse with a regular caller to WIP’s afternoon show — Herb from the Northeast.

In a statement announcing the move on Wednesday, Audacy Senior Vice President and Philadelphia Market Manager David Yadgaroff called the hire of Eskin “a unique opportunity to add a great talent with a long history in our marketplace to one of our most popular dayparts, and we’re looking forward to having Spike reunite with his longtime friend and colleague Ike Reese and Jack Fritz to shape the future of afternoon drive at WIP.”

Eskin called the new afternoon drive role “the third job of a lifetime I've had the opportunity to do. Leaving WFAN and CBS Sports Radio is an incredibly difficult decision. I'm surrounded by talented, great people, and it's been an amazing experience.”

Eskin has worked in a variety of roles in the radio industry over his 25-year career. A 1998 Syracuse University graduate who decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, he returned home to Philadelphia in 2008 after spending two years as midday host and assistant program director at Q101 in Chicago to take on a similar role at local rock station WYSP.