Throughout his time working in New York City on ESPN Radio, Mike Missanelli discerned the fandom embedded within the concrete jungle. Paired alongside Stephen A. Smith, the show became a national program in September 2007, appealing to listeners from around the United States tuning into affiliated radio stations.
Having worked in Philadelphia for his entire career up to that point, Missanelli perceived the New York fanbase to be diluted because of the amount of teams and various loyalties, a melting pot of sorts in this regard. When Missanelli returned to Philadelphia three years later as one of the earliest hosts on 97.5 The Fanatic, he knew where the audience had its loyalties and leaned into the regionalization that renders the sports talk format unique.
Missanelli began hosting in afternoon drive and assisted the station in developing an identity against the stalwart institution of SportsRadio 610 WIP. Despite having previously worked at the station with Howard Eskin, he entered the new entity with the objective to win in the ratings. He achieved that goal within one year under the direction of program director Matt Nahigian, triumphantly returning to the locale with a mindset to take no prisoners and facilitate the growth of the radio station. Working with producers such as Jon Marks and Tyrone Johnson, he conveyed unfiltered opinions with no qualms about how teams would feel towards his rhetoric.
Missanelli expeditiously became one of the hallmark on-air personalities, utilizing an approach predicated on candor and fanaticism. The show, which eventually moved to afternoon drive, became appointment listening for sports fans in the area. The ratings success, brand affinity and listener engagement Missanelli and his colleagues provided for 97.5 The Fanatic only made the eventual resolution all the more confounding with his abrupt departure in the second quarter of 2022.
“It left a bitter taste in my mouth – I’m not going to lie,” Missanelli said. “I think it was a misguided decision made by a misguided general manager, and so it really didn’t make any sense to me at all. It’s a business, it happens, and they decided to move on, and the station really, to be honest, took a downturn.”
Upon the departure of Missanelli, 97.5 The Fanatic introduced a new afternoon drive show and eventually revamped a majority of its weekday programming lineup. As a media free agent, Missanelli was offered an exclusive brand and content deal from Rush Street Interactive and subsequently joined its BetRivers Network. In working with the outlet, he started recording two weekly shows, including the eponymous program, The Mike Missanelli Podcast, and also performed other obligations for the sportsbook. Although Missanelli embraced the new endeavor, he yearned to interact with the callers, especially as the local teams realized success.
“It’s one thing to talk for 45 minutes, and I could do that because I was used to doing it, and having good guests and really interesting questions where I could really get into an interview, but I missed the caller involvement, and when I left, it was boomtown in Philly,” Missanelli said. “The Eagles had gone to the Super Bowl, [and] the Phillies [went] to the World Series, so while I was able to stay close to it through the podcast, I [missed] the day-to-day interaction with callers and what they were thinking.”
The podcast provided an outlet for Missanelli and a more disciplined route in that he could conduct longform interviews. At the same time, he continued conversations ranging from sports to everyday life, and he had a producer with whom he was able to interact. The show was able to resonate with the listeners; however, Missanelli was not necessarily aware as to who encompassed his audience.
“The thing about podcasting is you don’t know who’s listening [and] you don’t know who’s out there,” Missanelli said. “You get numbers at the end, but you’re just kind of putting a voice into the void and hoping it connects with people. Sports talk radio – you have that instant reaction. You know who’s listening because they’re reacting to what you say with a telephone call right after you said it, so it’s different, but it’s equally satisfying.”
Beasley Media Group announced in early January that Scott Masteller had been named the new program director of 97.5 The Fanatic. Two months after Masteller started the role, conversations began with Missanelli to bring him back to the radio station. According to Missanelli, Masteller informed him that he needed him on the air and thought midday was the slot that would work best. There was interest in commencing a new on-air stint, an outcome that became more imperceivable to Missanelli as the time passed.
“I really didn’t think it was going to happen ever, and the longer I was away from it, I said, ‘Well, that’s fine,’” Missanelli explained. “I got to an age where I accomplished a lot, and now I’m just in a different channel in my broadcasting life.”
The initial contract tendered to Missanelli contained several restrictions, and it was an arrangement with which he was disconcerted and did not sign. In fact, he had written off the opportunity and did not think he would make it back since the undertaking went beyond Masteller’s purview.
This past June, Beasley Media Group promoted Paul Blake to the cluster manager of its radio stations in Philadelphia, assuming several responsibilities previously held by market manager Joe Bell. Akin to his relationship with Masteller, Missanelli knew Blake from his time working on 93.3 WMMR during a brief respite from sports radio.
“I don’t want to go Godfather on you here, but they kind of made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and the more I thought about it, I said, ‘Okay, let’s see if we can build something else here,’” Missanelli articulated. “That was the appeal – to build a show – [because] when I first came to The Fanatic, I was in kind of the same mode where I had built something that was significant, and that’s how they convinced me that I could do that at this particular time and this particular time slot.”
In the two years Missanelli was away from the station, the outlet struggled to find its footing and attained diminished ratings. On top of that, SportsRadio 94WIP had reshuffled its lineup following the retirement of Angelo Cataldi, including moving Joe Giglio and Hugh Douglas to the midday show, and garnered double-digit share flourishes amid weekday prime hours.
Meanwhile at 97.5 The Fanatic, the station shifted its morning show to add Andrew Salciunas with John Kincade and moved Bob Cooney to middays. When Cooney exited the station at the end of July, the station revealed that Missanelli was coming back to host his program with Bill Colarulo and producer Ray Dunne.
“It’s amazing – I hadn’t done it for two-and-a-half years, and I was wondering whether it would be different [and] whether I would have the same energy,” Missanelli said. “But once you get into a booth – and I find this with me [that] I don’t even know how sometimes I create a show – but I think the people that have done it for a really long time find it really easy that once they get in that booth and that light turns on, ‘On air,’ that your mind starts to work and put a show together, and I think that just comes with experience.”
Although the program has the same name, Missanelli is looking to craft a new energy and appeal to the next generation of listeners. Even though he is a longtime voice of the Philadelphia airwaves, he still feels 25 years less mature than his age and is attuned to modern culture. Missanelli talks about a discursive array of topics including award-winning singer/songwriter Taylor Swift and the cost for a pound of grapes at the grocery store.
“I think that the previous regime did not realize that you need to preserve the foundation of a radio station, and I think that was the biggest mistake they made,” Missanelli said. “Not just saying that [was] the be-all end-all, but I was part of the foundation of that radio station, and you just can’t remove a foundation and think that you’re going to keep going on. So I think that this new management recognized that, and I’m happy to be back.”
Missanelli carries ambivalence towards the effectiveness of the traditional radio ratings; however, he reviews the data since it is something management values. Yet he perceives the system as being flawed and utilizes other platforms and methodologies to measure the overall success of the show. Part of that is the audience on YouTube, a quantifiable metric that is approximately double that of the other shows over its first four weeks. There is an element of competition involved in the enterprise, most notably with SportsRadio 94WIP, and he hopes that his program can surpass other offerings in short order.
“You just have to do the very best and hope that people come along with you, and it’s really all you can do,” Missanelli said. “It’s a helpless feeling, but I think that if you have confidence in your product and what you’re putting out there every day, then you have to have confidence that they’re going to listen to that.”
Sports talk radio is a format Missanelli feels has changed in that the hosts do not always enter with a journalism background or the knowledge of how to cover stories or interview pertinent subjects. Missanelli was able to demonstrate his reporting proficiency within the two-person hosting format while also providing his legitimate opinions, which expedited its appeal and distinctiveness.
“I owe it to the listener, who is my audience, to give them the most honest opinion possible without regard to whether a coach is going to dislike me or an organization is going to dislike me, and so I’ve always thought of myself that way,” Missanelli said. “And listen, I’ve gotten on the wrong side of organizations for opinions that I’ve said, but if I’m being honest with myself and the listener, I can put my head on the pillow at night.”
Missanelli feels he has always been a good multitasker, and he will rely on those skills as he continues his working with BetRivers on his podcast. Additionally, he is co-hosting a true crime show based on a murder that took place in his hometown that has been a cold case for 62 years. These three projects, however, are not the first time he has balanced multiple ventures at once, taking part in a cooking show, weekly sports video blog and writing a children’s book in recent years.
“I taught a university class on sports law for eight years while I was doing sports talk radio, so I’m pretty good at that,” Missanelli said. “I’m pretty good at parceling off time to do other different projects and keeping my day full. I don’t like to be bored.”
Even though Missanelli has other interests outside of sports media, including his part-ownership of a winery and desire to play golf on Hilton Head Island, he is committed to the city of Philadelphia and 97.5 The Fanatic. Missanelli is not complacent or transfixed on his previous triumphs, and he hopes that this new chapter with 97.5 The Fanatic will further cement his indelible legacy.
“I want to make this show a really good show,” Missanelli said. “I want it to get high ratings. Before I retire for good, I would love to go out where I made a big difference in a radio station and built the audience to a point where it’s back being a viable, competitive station. I don’t know how long that is – I take it a day at a time.”
Derek Futterman is a former associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. Find him on X @derekfutterman.
Never liked Pissanelli.Pompous Jackass to put it mildly.