WFAN has made its changes official, adding Sal Licata to middays and Tiki Barber to afternoon drive as a result of the departure of Craig Carton for Fox Sports 1 on a full-time basis. Shaun Morash will be added as a producer of Evan & Tiki, and he will work closely alongside executive producer Tommy Lugauer. Additionally, Chris McMonigle, who had served as the associate producer of Carton & Roberts, will serve as the station’s new overnight host. The announcements were made on Tuesday’s edition of Carton & Roberts, and is effectively the start of a new era on the station. Keith McPherson, who joined the station in Nov. 2021 as its nighttime host, will have the longest-tenured program following mornings when the new lineup takes effect on July 24.
These moves mean that Tiki and Tierney, who had worked together since 2013 when they teamed up at CBS Sports Radio, will officially be split up.
“I thank you, Brandon; I really do,” Barber said. “My career would not have had any chance of being real if I had been with someone who didn’t care to make me better at what I do. That’s the most important thing I can say.”
Tierney and Licata will be on the air from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST, and they will immediately be followed by Roberts and Barber from 2 to 6:30 p.m. The shift in the lineup represents the first significant programming change made under program director Spike Eskin.
“We went through a long period of time without any change at all to the lineup, and obviously over the last five years…. there’s been more changes to the lineup than any other five-year period in FAN’s history.
Licata, a Long Island native, began his radio career interning at WFAN in 2003. In addition to his radio work – which included stints as a producer, update anchor and overnight host – he appears on SNY’s Baseball Night in NY and Honda SportsNite. Licata is expected to retain those roles, but will move out of overnights for McMonigle. Last year, Licata famously went viral for declaring the National League East division was “over” when the New York Mets had a sizable lead on the Atlanta Braves. The Mets proceeded to cough up the division lead in the final two weeks of the season.
WFAN is moving Barber to afternoons with the hope that he and Roberts will form an electric and entertaining drive time duo. From the onset of his return to WFAN, Carton prioritized helping Roberts cultivate his voice in the radio market. Over the last three years hosting the show with Carton, his popularity has steadily grown.
“The new lineup card of WFAN continues to exemplify the station’s extraordinary depth of talent with all-star veterans and next-generation voices,” Chris Oliviero, Audacy New York market president, said in a press release. “This roster, with the additions of Tiki to afternoons and Sal to middays, and including the market-leading Boomer & Gio morning show, will continue WFAN’s now nearly 40-year dominance of the sports conversation in New York.”
Barber joined WFAN when he and Tierney’s show was transitioned to a local program last January after a nine-year stint with CBS Sports Radio, replacing Marc Malusis and Maggie Gray. Malusis ultimately ended up signing with PIX11 as a sports anchor and reporter, while Gray moved over to national radio to host a program with Andrew Perloff. New York sports fans remember Barber from his days as a player, granting him a cache with the audience through his unparalleled insight into the world of professional football.
“It is biter-sweet for me because Brandon became a brother over those years,” Barber said. “I hate that we’re not going together, but opportunities present themselves and they’re very rarely perfect. I also know that you’ve got to be ready for them, and you’ve got to be willing to take them — even if it’s painful sometimes.”
The motivating factor for Carton to leaving WFAN was being able to spend more time with his family. Though he will no longer be heard daily on the New York sports radio airwaves, he won’t won’t step away from WFAN and Audacy completely. Carton will be in the building on Thursdays to record his podcast, Hello, My Name Is Craig, about the risks of sports gambling and addiction. Throughout the announcement of his departure, he has expressed his gratitude to Audacy and WFAN for giving him a second chance and aims to maintain “an active, amazing relationship with the radio station.”
Listeners can tune into the station using the free Audacy app, on the station’s website or over the air on the outlet’s AM (66) and FM (101.9) frequencies.
