Former Opie & Anthony host Anthony Cumia is making a radio comeback with 77 WABC. He told the station’s morning host — Sid Rosenberg — that the show could have teamed with Howard Stern to have a big impact in the radio world but personalities got in the way.
The 77 WABC morning host told Cumia that, at its peak, Opie & Anthony rivaled iconic programs like The Howard Stern Show and the morning show helmed by Don Imus in popularity.
“It’s right up there. Right there,” agreed Cumia. “Numbers-wise, obviously, Stern dominated. He had the mornings. We were afternoon drive for much of our career. We had a shared audience. A lot of Howard’s audience in the morning listened to us in the afternoon. It was a perfect combination.”
Anthony Cumia then revealed that he felt as if afternoon drive program paired with Stern’s morning show could have led to a dominant position for a single radio station should the two programs had been able to co-exist.
However, it didn’t work out that way. And it’s something Cumia appeared to regret, in retrospect.
“If there wasn’t such egomaniacal idiots, we probably could have worked something out very nicely with a morning and afternoon show,” he said. “But egos kind of got in the way.”
When Sid Rosenberg asked which side of the coin had the “egomaniacal idiots”, Cumia had a blunt answer.
“Both,” he concluded.
The Anthony Cumia Show was added to 77 WABC last month. After one show, the program was launched into national syndication with Red Apple Audio Networks. The show is currently broadcast live and originates from the New York news/talk station from 8-10 PM ET on Sunday evenings.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
