Audacy found itself in a difficult spot when trying to retain Jon Marks as co-host of afternoon drive on SportsRadio 94WIP in Philadelphia, Pa. Marks had been working in the daypart since 2017 with Ike Reese and ultimately could not reach a new contract with the company. Spike Eskin, who was serving as the vice president of programming for WFAN and Infinity Sports Network, was involved in trying to retain him on the airwaves.
When that endeavor proved fruitless, SportsRadio 94WIP program director Rod Lakin began discussing different options to fill the void in the daypart. Lakin eventually asked Eskin outright if he would be interested in the position, something that he was not sure was a genuine entreaty. While he laughed off the inquiry at first, it was a potential opportunity that he found impossible to ignore.
As a result, Eskin spent the ensuing weekend thinking about his future in the sports media industry, a task that he presumes has come around once every half decade. Eskin had been managing within the radio business in various different roles for two decades and discussed the possibility of getting back into hosting with his wife.
Asked if that was something he would want to do, he remembers explaining that getting to host with Reese and producer Jack Fritz would be an amazing opportunity. By the end of the weekend, Eskin had decided that he would follow up with Lakin to gauge his level of sincerity about selecting to take that path. Lakin confirmed that he was indeed serious about the possibility, which from there began the process of exploring if the move made sense for all parties involved.
“If everybody was in on that, then it was something I would want to do,” Eskin said. “And then it just became conversations with Chris Oliviero, who was incredibly supportive, even though I’ve caused a big pain in the ass for him.”
When Eskin initially took the job to program WFAN and Infinity Sports Network upon the retirement of Mark Chernoff in 2021, he did so to maximize the opportunity at that time. Thinking back on it, he is not sure if he had an expectation that he would finish his career there, although he did render it possible that he could be there 10 to 15 years.
Eskin had more of a tendency to plan things out in his early years within the industry after graduating from Syracuse University. Early on in his tenure, he was the assistant program director at Q101 Chicago and WYSP Radio while also hosting the midday show on the latter platform. Eskin eventually joined SportsRadio 94WIP in 2012 where he worked as the station’s social media manager and an on-air host before being promoted to the outlet’s program director two years later.
Returning to the outlet that he left to take a managerial job in New York, albeit with the same company, presented initial nerves and doubts about his capability to thrive as a full-time host again. The last time he moved for a job, he successfully grew into the role and the grind.
“I think the reason that I was able to adjust to the job so well is that the staff was really open to thinking about things the way that I wanted to think about them,” Eskin said. “We all worked very hard and [were] very creative, and that made the experience at the FAN and Infinity Sports Network really great.”
The benefit that Eskin had in becoming an on-air talent again, however, came from coaching his peers, along with having a comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of a radio station. Combined with Eskin’s early familiarity with sports media watching his father, Howard, succeed as a host and commentator on radio and television, he was entering the role with an unparalleled skillset. On top of that, Eskin created and has grown the popular Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast centered around the Philadelphia 76ers, a venture he continued to invest time in while working in New York City.
“I think the thing that I’m missing obviously as a sports talk host in Philadelphia, though I have done it, is the number of reps that a normal afternoon drive host would have had at that point,” Eskin said, “but I think managing and growing the Ricky over the last 11 years has given me reps doing it better, just sort of not on the radio.”
There were difficulties in staying up to watch the games and doing podcast episodes immediately thereafter when he would have to be awake at 4 a.m. the next morning. Most of his time spent in New York City came at the office building and commuting from New Jersey, but he was able to grasp the zealous fandom and passion fans have for their favorite sports teams within the role. Eskin does not have any regrets in taking the role, examining it as a valuable learning experience that has continued to position him for future success.
“As a program director, I think my goal is always to have the people there – the hosts and producers and digital people who work for me and with me – to say that after I left, they’re in a better position than when I got there,” Eskin said. “…I think if you were to go to a lot of the people there and ask them if they are, they would say ‘Yes.’”
Eskin was involved in programming decisions borne out of the departure of Craig Carton from afternoon drive, including the new pairing of Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber. Moreover, he was also at WFAN when Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata were slotted into middays and Keith McPherson was added to host at night. Infinity Sports Network moved Maggie Gray and Andrew Perloff to morning drive under Eskin as well, along with adding Zach Gelb into afternoon drive and JR Jackson into evenings.
Former ESPN New York program director Ryan Hurley is currently overseeing both outlets in his new role as brand manager, a process that took several months to finalize. Eskin remained in his role at the company until a new hire was made in April, upon which he transitioned to hosting afternoon drive on SportsRadio 94WIP. Eskin knew that Audacy New York market president Chris Oliviero was capable of making a strong decision and was available to answer questions or speak with potential candidates when asked.
“I tried to not allow my sort of like what I would do influence Chris all that much because it doesn’t matter what I would do,” Eskin said. “I wouldn’t be the person working with him, so it mattered more what Chris did.”
Eskin officially made his debut as a full-time co-host with SportsRadio 94WIP in mid-April to begin his new partnership with Ike Reese and Jack Fritz. Although he used to serve as program director of the station, he recognizes that Lakin is the manager of the station but also can leverage his expertise to make sound decisions with the show and guide it for success. Over his first month back at the station, he has not noticed any sentiments of disquiet or peril among his colleagues, some of whom he hired and/or promoted several years prior.
“To be quite clear, I have no desire to be the program director of WIP,” Eskin said. “I had that job, and I could have kept it and I didn’t, so I have respect for that job and I’m glad I did that job, but that’s not why I came to WIP [and] it’s not why I stopped being program director at [W]FAN.”
In reality, Eskin wanted the things that served as pressure to be motivating aspects within his career, such as hosting a daily sports talk radio program. Conversely, when he would be waking up to 120 unread emails that required his attention, he did not find himself enjoying the job as much. While Eskin does not consider himself a de facto manager in the new role, the afternoon show has utilized his prior stops and experiences to its advantage.
On the second edition of the new show, he introduced the “Bill of Spike,” rules for callers looking to express their opinions on the air. Some of these mandates pertained to callers getting to their point immediately, along with not asking the hosts how they are doing and not talking on speakerphone. Fritz came up with the idea after Eskin had mentioned the protracted, loquacious nature of some of the listener interactions. Although Eskin respects the audience and Philadelphia sports fans as a whole, he said there would be a new sheriff in town upon his arrival.
“I’m sure we’ll argue a bunch about a bunch of different things, but I do not take this all that seriously,” Eskin said. “I take my job seriously, but I’m not taking what we’re doing [in that way]. It’s not rocket science, so a lot of the time things like the caller rules are, like I want people to obey them, but the way we presented them was pretty tongue in cheek.”
The new trio is in its first full quarterly ratings book and aiming to make an imprint on the media landscape. Eskin has never hosted in any other daypart but still understands the inherent differences that exist in afternoon drive related to topic selection and how to best appeal to the listening audience.
“We’re trying to have fun and talk about sports and bust each other’s balls, and that is, I think, would be the same no matter what daypart we’re doing it in,” Eskin said. “I think you sort of attack the topics a little bit differently depending on when you’re on, but as far as what the show is, I don’t think about it too much differently than if we were in mornings.”
Since he has been hosting in afternoon drive, Eskin has yet to look at the ratings for his program but told Lakin to provide him with feedback and criticism if necessary. During his tenure at WFAN, he informed the staff that the ratings are what they are, but that they do not provide a basis for contextualization as to the rationale behind such computations. Eskin judges his own performance and that of the show from the on-air rapport and collaboration with his colleagues.
“A chef doesn’t think about making a popular meal – they think about making a great meal, and a great meal will end up being popular because it’s great,” Eskin said. “I want us to be the most important and most well-liked radio show in Philadelphia.”
As the show continues to move forward on SportsRadio 94WIP, Eskin aspires for it to remain on the air for years to come. When he officially joined the program, he promised Reese that he would be on the air for at least the next decade, although he realizes that the choices are not always made for the talent and that it is incumbent on a variety of different factors. For now though, he is concentrating on the next edition of the show and exuding his penchant for and proficiency of Philadelphia sports.
“We have to be successful, so I can’t predict the future there,” Eskin said. “I also can’t predict the future as to what I would want to manage or not manage…. I don’t really plan out that far, [but] I can tell you I am loving doing this. It feels natural, it feels like what I’m supposed to do, and I would love if this is what I did until the end of my career.”
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.
