NYC Radio: Audacy's GM Says Search For New WFAN PD 'Going Well'

Chris Oliviero, 47, is market president for Audacy New York, whose roster features several iconic station brands, including WFAN, plus CBS Sports Radio. That makes him one of the area’s most powerful media executives. But he also is a radio lifer with deep local roots, starting as a production assistant for Howard Stern in 1996 and as an associate producer at WFAN in ’98.

Newsday's Neil Best recently sat down with him in his Manhattan office for a wide-ranging interview. Some answers were lightly edited for length and clarity.

Where does the search for a program director to succeed Spike Eskin stand?

Chris Oliviero

“It’s going well. The good news is because Spike’s staying in the company (at WIP in Philadelphia), he's here until he's not here, meaning there's no artificial deadline. He's here until we find the appropriate person.”

How do you view the trend toward more non-sports talk, or “guy talk,” at WFAN and elsewhere?

“How about (calling it) ‘entertaining talk’? That’s been our strategy and that will continue to be our strategy . . . The simple fact is, it's a winning strategy if you look at the station's performance.

“Despite the people that might send us hate mail that says, ‘You’re not debating the Yankees’ third reliever in the bullpen as much as you used to,’ the ratings are high, the revenue is strong.

“If you look at all the sports media across all platforms, it has evolved into this because that's what the audience demanded.”

You oversee many stations. Does WFAN take up the most of your time?

“I feel like a parent who has more than one child and I only get asked about the one child, in this case WFAN . . . But I have a lot of children. They're all very different. I guess FAN is the most rambunctious child that I have and requires the most attention.

“The joke I always used to make is the quote-unquote records you play on music stations don't talk back to you. Your talent here, our records, they talk back to me all the time. So they require a lot more human interaction."