One of — if not the — most popular sports radio shows in America is ending. Toucher & Rich co-host Rich Shertenlieb has departed 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Shertenlieb had been paired with Toucher for the past 17 years, and had been on 98.5 The Sports Hub since 2009. The tandem were consistently voted one of sports radio’s top morning shows by industry executives every year in the BSM Top 20 series. The show’s ratings success since 2009 has been a key reason for The Sports Hub’s dominance.
“Rich is not coming back,” co-host Fred Toucher said while announcing the move Friday. Toucher added that the company wanted to note Shertenlieb was offered a multi-year contract extension that he chose not to accept. “I don’t have any idea what the issues between them were,” Toucher continued.
Late last month, it was announced that Toucher had signed an extension with the Beasley Media Group station. However, Shertenlieb’s name was conspicuously absent from the press release.
“His agent told my agent ‘Hey, maybe it’s better if the guys negotiate separately’. We had always negotiated as a team. Now I said ‘Ok, fine. We’ll negotiate separately’. Now, the prevailing wisdom in radio is if you’re a team, you negotiate together, because you have more value together than you do if you’re apart,” Toucher revealed.
“When I was out with (a throat issue), I got into a problem with Rich that became public. He went to management. We had a meeting that was very, very bizarre. But after the meeting, I did what management wanted me to do. They asked if I would do something, and I agreed. I thought the problem would go away if I bit the bullet.”
Toucher pointed out that despite working together for as long as they did, he didn’t know a lot about his partner because they didn’t talk a lot outside of work. With business and personal issues developing and not being addressed, it led to the end of their partnership.
Fred added that he had no idea what Rich has planned next, and shared that he had no idea yesterday was Rich’s last show. He found out after their post-show meeting. He said it wasn’t likely that he would speak with his former partner again in the near future, but wished him well.
“I begrudge Rich nothing. I’m very happy about the 17-plus years we spent together. I couldn’t have done it without him.”
Fred Toucher concluded by saying a new show would launch after the turn of the calendar, and the current iteration will continue as if Rich is on vacation until the end of the year.
Following the announcement on the air by Toucher, Beasley Media passed along a statement regarding the situation.
“We value Rich’s contributions to the show over the years. Beasley offered to renew his contract for multiple years on terms better than his existing contract. He never accepted. We wish him the best.”
