One of the hardest things to do in radio is replace a truly impactful host without losing listeners or brand loyalty. Listeners bond with popular hosts in a way that is unique to each talent and not easily duplicated.
The biggest example of this may have come when Howard Stern left terrestrial radio for satellite. He was on stations across the country and commanded large audiences. Infinity Broadcasting, which owned several Stern stations at the time, installed different solutions to replace him across the country. All of which ultimately failed to generate ratings because a talent like Stern is nearly impossible to replace.
While Stern is clearly an outlier, the same issue occurs at stations all the time across the country. Although many replacements eventually fail to reach the level of their predecessor, one host has successfully followed not just one but three legendary talents. I’m speaking of Matt Cord of 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia.
When Debbie Calton retired after twenty-six years on WMMR’s sister station 102.9 WMGK, Cord took over her midday show. At the time, Cord said he was honored to follow in the footsteps of the Philadelphia radio icon.
However, that was just the beginning. Three years later, WMGK morning host John DeBella retired. Thus, Cord was elevated from middays to mornings taking over for yet another Philadelphia radio icon.
Then, last year, the unthinkable occurred with the unexpected passing of WMMR’s legendary midday host Pierre Robert. Once again, Beasley Media Group management turned to Cord to step in.
His approach to succeeding in these situations lies in Cord’s fandom of other hosts and the opportunity to work with them. When you talk to him, you quickly learn he also possesses something many talents struggle with: humility.
When asked about being the guy who has followed three beloved hosts, he credits first the two program directors, Bill Weston and Chuck Damico — who once interned for Cord — for affording him these opportunities.
“I’ve had a lot of great things happen in my career, but 90% of it is because of those two guys,” explained Cord.
In each case, when Cord took over a new daypart his approach involved maintaining some of the features the previous host was known for. This instantly creates a sense of continuity, despite not being the original creator.
For example, after taking over for Robert last year, Cord maintained the Workforce Blocks and daily vinyl cut, which he renamed Pierre’s Vinyl Cut to honor the former host.
“I used to do that shift when Pierre would take vacations. I already knew the format, the blocks, and the vinyl cut. In fact, I was so familiar that months later I was on the air and almost said ‘Matt Cord in for Pierre Robert,’ because I was so used to saying that,” Cord says.
While many hosts would struggle with being told to maintain someone else’s show and features, Cord sometimes takes the homage a step further.
“I recently played a block of Jackson Browne and used the Pierre Robert’s specific Jackson Browne I.D.,” said Cord. “There’s so much history between him and all the artists that we play. You’ve got to honor that forever.”
Cord’s decision to keep certain benchmarks isn’t just about honoring the hosts who came before him; it also reflects how well he understands Philadelphia. The city has been his home market for more than forty years.
“You don’t want to be that much different than what it was before,” said Cord. “I know this city and the listeners. They are extremely loyal and they don’t like change.”
That’s not to say Cord doesn’t bring his own unique elements and personality to the show. For example, he has an archive of voicemail messages his father left for him even a decade following his passing. At the end of each show, he plays one back for the listening audience.
“My dad would say things like ‘let me tell you about the Barenaked Ladies, they are not bare naked and they’re not ladies.’ Listeners love it,” noted Cord. “Wherever I go people tell me how much they love hearing my dad on the show.”
In addition to his on-air career, Cord also credits another opportunity to his time at Beasley in Philadelphia. He has served as the in-house announcer for the Philadelphia 76ers for twenty-eight years. It began when he was hosting middays on WMMR during a period when Robert handled mornings.
Team President Jim Croce came in as a guest on Robert’s show and then stopped to offer Cord the opportunity. That role also led to Cord becoming the voice of the wildly popular NBA 2K video game series.
“I go out to California once a year for a few days and record stuff for NBA 2K. We announced all the different players and all the new players, and now we’re voicing WNBA players. It’s fun,” explains Cord.
Being the voice of the game does not mean he excels at playing it.
“I tried once when my nephew set me up to play and I didn’t hit one basket. Believe I lost like forty to nothing,” joked Cord. “I wanted to hear it when I made a basket because that’s when it’s me saying the guy’s name. It was frustrating.”
Across Cord’s career, he has maintained a long association with newer music. He worked at one of the original alternative stations, WDRE/Long Island, hosted an Alternative Rock show called Planet M on WMMR, and worked across town in Philadelphia at Y100 when it was Alternative. He also worked in gold-based formats such as WBEN-FM and WMGK-FM.
If he had to choose between the two, Cord prefers being involved with new music.
“I love to credit myself as a good salesperson, and that’s basically what you’re doing. Plus, it’s constantly changing. The bands are making new music, going on tour, doing newsworthy stuff, you don’t get as much of that in Classic Rock,” explained Cord.
Most importantly, he is back at WMMR, which feels like home. In fact, during his show, the studio door is always open in honor of the late Pierre Robert.
“One of Pierre’s things, when he did his show, was that he always kept the door open,” said Cord. “I decided when I took over in December, that door will always stay open.”
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Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.
