Jon Marks, who left Audacy station Sports Radio 94 WIP-FM Philadelphia where he co-hosted afternoons, claims he lost his weekend job at CBS Sports Radio after he commented about Audacy’s financial situation on the podcast Crossing Broadcast. Audacy manages the network for parent company Paramount.
During his YouTube show on Thursday, Marks had Kevin Kinkead from CrossingBroad.com on with him and referred back to his appearance on the show.
“After I went on Crossing Broadcast…and I talked candidly about leaing WIP,” Marks said. “In an effort to explain the financials of the currrent radio business, I had said that Audacy was $1.9 billion in debt and they’re not paying people like they once did and they’re losing money on a quarterly basis, so it’s a mattter of if, not when, they’re going to declare for bankruptcy.”
Marks said he “almost immediately heard from Audacy that they were very unhappy, at the corporate level, regarding that line and the interview that I did.”
Marks said he received a call from Audacy EVP/Head of Programming Jeff Sottolano letting him know he was being terminated. “At the time I was doing CBS Sprots Radio, I was doing the national shifts on the weekend,” he said. “I am no longer doing CBS Sports Radio because I was terminated by the company following the interview.”
Marks seemed prepared to be let go and when asked how he felt about it said, “I deserved it. I wanted to be honest and candid about it. I didn’t rip the company…I was very fair, I spoke very highly of everybody who worked at WIP…I was just talking about the financials of being in the radio business today.”
