From the outside, the future of afternoon drive on SportsRadio 94WIP in Philadelphia was not a topic that seemed to need addressing. Ike Reese and Jon Marks were thriving in the daypart, and the program demonstrated no signs of slowing down. Over the summer, the show was attributed to Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner emerging from perceived underperformance after it compelled fans to give him a standing ovation before a plate appearance. The show finished the most recent Nielsen fall ratings book with a 12.8 share among Men 25-54, contributing to the 14.1 share in weekday prime hours (M-F, 6 a.m. – 7 p.m.) in the demographic.
Yet Reese could perceive its evanescence because of conversations he had with Marks indicating a change in his priorities. Marks inked a one-year contract with the station last year as he continued to partake in negotiations with Audacy management. In the meantime, Reese and other colleagues tried to convince him to stay at WIP. The effort ultimately proved unsuccessful when Marks announced that he was leaving the station last December. While it caught the listeners by surprise, it was a disconcerting reality to which Reese had succumbed nearly a year earlier.
“It’s almost like, ‘I don’t know why you would ever want to leave this,’ and so we’ve had those conversations, but I think when a man has conviction about something [and] he believes in something, you’ve got to let him follow what his heart is telling him,” Reese articulated. “I could only say so much and do so much.”
The resolution is disappointing for Reese, who had been working with Marks since 2017 when Chris Carlin relocated to join the afternoon program at WFAN. Reflecting back to the start of the program, Reese feels that Marks came in without an ego or self-centered plans.
As they continued to learn each other’s tendencies, the sports world came to a halt due to the global pandemic. The show abandoned its adversarial nature and instead adopted a congenial, cohesive approach that engendered subsequent success.
“I think if you [debate] over and over and over again, you can start to build up animosity and you don’t even know you’re building up animosity because you’re anticipating every day, ‘Okay, how am I going to win this argument? How do I get the last word in? How do I make my point to counter his point?,’” Reese expressed. “I don’t know if that was all that healthy for us in our beginning stages because we didn’t have any working history with each other.”
The absence of sports to discuss in the early stages of the global pandemic essentially transformed the environment and forced the show to adapt to the new conditions. Hosting remotely outside of the studio strengthened the overall chemistry, and it ultimately fostered a setting that felt less contrived and more natural overall.
“We all became reliant on each other and we started incorporating the callers a little bit more, and we found a formula,” Reese said. “Once we found the formula, it was like, ‘Okay, this is it. We just need to continue to perfect this,’ and eventually I think the show became a fun show for people to listen to and want to be a part of.”
Reese was able to cultivate his own hosting style when he received his first repetitions at WIP, which was primarily on 610 AM at the time. The evening program, Ike at Night, was a full-time solo hosting endeavor that proved to be learning by doing. Although the formative outings presented various challenges, the nine-year NFL veteran took solace in implementing callers and engaging in pertinent conversation surrounding the show. In essence, the program was utilized as a frame of reference to determine if he would sink or swim.
In the near future, Reese will be part of a remodeled afternoon show equipping a three-host format. Afternoon show producer Jack Fritz has been named a co-host of the program, along with Audacy vice president of programming and former SportsRadio 94WIP brand manager Spike Eskin. Marks had predicted Fritz’s elevation, a sentiment Reese corroborated because of his precipitous growth over the last several years. As a collegiate baseball player and shrewd, insightful fan, Reese called him the strongest baseball personality at the outlet.
“When Jon made his decision on what he was going to do, one of the things that I talked to Rod about and I wanted to make clear to them is that, ‘Whatever we do, I want Jack to remain a major part of what we do next,’” Reese affirmed. “That’s how much I depend on him and how much he means to what I do in my psyche and when and where I want to be at coming into a show.”
Even though Eskin was most recently responsible for the programming on WFAN and CBS Sports Radio, he continued hosting his Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast in the process, centered around the Philadelphia 76ers. He is responsible for hiring many of the existing on-air personalities at WIP today and brings a deft knowledge of the corporate world. When the idea was first presented as a hypothetical to Reese by current brand manager Rod Lakin, he felt nonplussed and asked for time to process the possibility.
“I think I wound up either calling him that night or the next morning and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s the move. That’s the move; that’s a brilliant idea,’” Reese said. “I needed time to digest it and think about all the great possibilities that could happen, as well as I thought about how it could backfire and things of that nature, but when I thought about those things, the positives just far outweighed what could possibly go wrong.”
Reese hosted alongside Eskin’s father, Howard, in his first stint on afternoon drive, a period in which he gained more confidence in his broadcasting abilities. While he was playing for the Eagles, Reese would listen to Eskin in afternoon drive and enjoyed the program. Eskin extrapolated added passion from him upon joining the show, replete with his genuine personality and cogent analysis on the air.
“If you have conviction in your opinions or your thoughts, you better stick to them,” Reese said. “Working with Howard wasn’t necessarily the easiest as it pertains to just having somebody help you along, but I kind of learned as we had our banter back and forth, and almost on a daily basis – and some of them got heated on air – my skin got thicker working with Howard.”
Co-hosting the afternoon program with Spike Eskin will be a unique opportunity that Reese is not going to take for granted, especially since he did not foresee it as plausible. By approaching the show with the background he fostered from his youth and recent managerial work, Eskin could serve as an X-factor of sorts. There exists the possibility that Eskin could bring part of the digitally-based audience for his podcast to the new show, which may lead to bolstered radio ratings. Additionally, he has experience and proficiency in other audio-based formats, augmenting the versatility of conversation.
“I think we just got stronger as an overall unit by adding that type of knowledge and structure and discipline to the show,” Reese said. “He’s our former brand manager, and so now he gets to be our co-worker but he still has sort of those executive tendencies that can only help you. When things get off-kilter a little bit or we want to do something a little wacky, I think Spike is there to dot the Is and cross the Ts for everything.”
One thing that Reese knows the program will not have to worry about is dead air since all three hosts are candid, opinionated and steadfast to sports radio. Finding a way to divide the time and bring out each other’s strengths could take time, but it is something Reese is excited to sort out. In the end, he wants to ensure Fritz and Eskin thrive while providing what he can and executing his responsibilities with aplomb.
“I think there’s a healthy amount of ego in all of us and then there’s even more of a healthy amount of humility in all three of us,” Reese said. “The fact that we have relationships prior to working with each other – we’re all friends – I think it’s going to at least allow us, at times, to be able to suppress our own egos [and] egotistical ways. I’m talking to myself too by the way.”
Prognosticating on the layout of the show, Reese foresees Eskin serving as its driver while he and Fritz remain ready to give their opinions. He is intrigued to hear how Eskin goes about hosting the four-hour program and assimilates into the daily grind of covering and discussing Philadelphia sports. Based on his previous experiences and triumphs in the industry, Reese is cognizant that Eskin can evince ideas that ultimately have considerable impact. By taking this kind of approach, he is confident the show can build off its previous success and appeal to more listeners in the city.
Reese has trust in brand manager Rod Lakin, who has made decisions pertaining to the on-air lineup with turnover at the outlet following various successful years. The station remains a vigorous force in the marketplace despite introducing new morning and midday programs last year. In fact when Angelo Cataldi retired from the station, Reese was asked about his interest in joining the morning show, a daypart he had moderate interest in but ultimately decided against.
Even though the exact date on which the new show will begin has yet to be determined based on Eskin’s responsibilities in his existing role, there is palpable excitement for his impending return to Philadelphia. Bringing back someone with an earnest familiarity and veneration for the history of the station, along with a keen awareness on the transformation of the medium, is a transaction that he expects to enhance the show. Furthermore, he postulates that the revamped lineup in its entirety could pay dividends over the next 15 to 20 years.
“He did a great job in New York working with the FAN, and I think he would have continued to do that because that’s just Spike,” Reese said. “He’s great at whatever he does, but ultimately I know Spike well enough and we talk enough that I know in his heart, this is home, and so he’s back home and I know this is adding something to an already-great roster.”
When Eskin was at the helm of SportsRadio 94WIP, the station was posting stellar quarterly performances, and the transition to Lakin did not have an effect on its momentum. Reese noticed how Lakin did not rush to make sweeping changes, instead observing the structure in place while getting to know his colleagues. During the last calendar year, Lakin, along with Audacy senior vice president and market manager David Yadgaroff, made prominent lineup decisions that have maintained and amplified the impact of the outlet.
“I think he has the right temperament to be able to understand people and really get his point across in a manner in which it allows you to at least accept it and think on it, and more likely once you do, you usually come around to what he’s advising, or if not, what’s even better is that he’s willing to listen,” Reese said. “It’s not his way or the highway – he’s certainly willing to listen to things – and so as far as he and I go, we’ve been fine.”
With Eskin returning to the station, Reese presumes it will be an interesting dynamic and divulged that it has been a question among people involved. In considering the manner, Reese does not think Eskin would have returned if the dynamic between him and his successor would be an issue. Even with Eskin in New York over the last two years, numerous on-air talent extol him and his decisions in meetings with Lakin. Reese emphasizes it is not intended to be a slight towards Lakin, but more out of appreciation for what Eskin did for their careers.
“I think Rod can respect that and I think Spike can respect where Rod is at right now, and I expect both of those guys to be able to work together and respect each other’s roles,” Reese said. “I don’t really see it being an issue just because I think both guys have the same goal, which is to make WIP the best sports talk radio station in America.”
With Eskin coming back and Fritz’s rise as a producer, Reese will aim to coincide and cultivate synergies between the hosts and the listening audience. Utilizing the preponderance of distribution platforms, he will proffer his viewpoints and opinions based on previous experience as an athlete and apropos commentaries. Reese intends to bring his perspectives and remain prepared to shift roles if warranted.
“I’m more of almost a problem-solver versus putting the problem out there,” Reese said. “I feel like I’m the guy who sort of feels like I can talk or work my way through answers and have sort of logical reasoning and explanations as to why I feel the way that I do.”
Reese is in the midst of enduring the second hosting iteration outside of his own addition to the show since moving to the daypart, and he hopes it is the last. He aspires for Eskin and Fritz to be harbingers of long-term commitment and prosperity, conveying the indispensable nature of dedication and his own disdain for having to learn the personalities of even more full-time compatriots. Just as he displayed on the gridiron, Reese yearns to be a good teammate and is actively focused on raising the bar to maximize the potential not only of the afternoon show, but of SportsRadio 94WIP in its entirety.
“Quite frankly to be selfish, I [feel] like this is what’s going to take me to that level that I ultimately envision being and us being in this town,” Reese said. “I think with the three guys that we have, I don’t see why we can’t become the No. 1 show in the city completely.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
