Chris Oliviero is one of the brightest minds in the sports radio industry. He is highly respected, and the success of his career backs that up. His words carry significant weight, particularly given his leadership of one of the format’s most influential brands, WFAN.
When Oliviero sat down for a lengthy interview with Andrew Marchand of The Athletic this week, his comments on Craig Carton’s return to WFAN caught my attention. I have also had separate conversations with people involved. My interest sharpened once I saw Oliviero address the situation publicly.
After hearing the Audacy executive discuss several changes at WFAN, a subtle inconsistency emerged in some of his responses. That leads to a simple but important question: which is it? Is WFAN positioning itself for the future, or is it continuing to lean on the past?
Carton’s return to the station for a third time was headline-worthy. Every chapter of his WFAN run has produced strong ratings results. There has also always been a revenue upside attached. Since his debut in 2007, Carton has ranked among WFAN’s most impactful personalities since its launch nearly 40 years ago.
Carton is a throwback. He’s a hit record that sold millions of copies and one that fans still remember and enjoy. The key word, however, is throwback. His voice helped guide a generation of New York sports fans to make WFAN their home.
That was then, this is now.
The challenge for any sports radio station today is evolving for a younger audience. Not necessarily convincing that audience to listen to the traditional radio, but inviting them to engage with the brand wherever the content lives. That is why Oliviero’s explanation for moving away from sports updates makes sense.
“WFAN may be the last broadcast sports radio station still doing the typical updates,” explained Oliviero to Marchand. “We recognized technology had changed. Information and scores could be readily available on other platforms, and people were coming to us for the opinions, etc. So we did stop doing them.”
While Oliviero pushed back on the idea that the station “eliminated” updates, choosing instead to frame the move as an ending, the reality is clear. The content no longer exists in the form it once did. Several employees tied to that role are also no longer with the station, including Erica Herskowitz and Rich Ackerman, who announced their departures last month.
In that quote, Oliviero acknowledged a shift in audience behavior. He’s 100% right. Fans now turn to their phones for scores and breaking information, while tuning in more for perspective and opinion. That logic is sound and mirrors decisions many sports media brands made more than a decade ago.
“We reinvested those dollars in off-air staff that’s driving our video, video producers, social producers. So to me, that’s what any smart business has to do. You have to start to shift your resources. So we thought it was better to do that,” Oliviero said, describing how funds once used for updates were redirected toward digital growth.
Once again, Oliviero demonstrated forward thinking by reallocating resources to meet the audience where it already exists. The objective is clear: expand reach, strengthen the WFAN brand, and accept that radio alone is no longer the primary destination. Many stations across the country continue to chase that same balance.
“WFAN is going to be 40 in 2027. That’s a long, solid, four-decade run of success,” he said. “You’re not going to have success over multiple decades if you just keep doing the same thing and you’re not confident enough to evolve.”
Which brings us back to Craig Carton.
If the focus is truly on evolving WFAN for the future, why return to Carton instead of continuing to build around the lineup announced in 2023?
“The new lineup card of WFAN continues to exemplify the station’s extraordinary depth of talent with all-star veterans and next-generation voices,” Oliviero said in June of 2023. “This roster, with the additions of Tiki [Barber] to afternoons and Sal [Licata] to middays and including the market-leading Boomer & Gio morning show, will continue WFAN’s now nearly 40-year dominance of the sports conversation in New York.”
The past can be a valuable teacher, but it is not a place to live. How does another reboot of Craig Carton, paired with yet another co-host in the same time slot, represent the evolution Oliviero described?
In his comments to Marchand, Oliviero made it clear there was immediate interest once Carton’s FS1 program was canceled. That reaction is understandable given Carton’s long history with the brand. Still, it raises a critical question: did Oliviero truly believe the lineup he praised two years ago represented the future he envisioned?
Or was this decision driven by the fear of Carton landing with a competitor, even one that no longer competes in the ratings the way it once did?
What was said by Oliviero in his interview with Marchand and what ultimately happened do not fully align. You can’t preach moving into tomorrow while in the next breath welcoming back yesterday. Programming a top-tier brand in a major market is never easy, but mission statements matter.
If evolution is the goal, sports radio brands must fully invest in the future rather than repeatedly rebooting the past in search of a different outcome.
Some personalities have already chosen that path. Brandon Tierney seized his opportunity to evolve, building a YouTube channel that now exceeds 13,000 subscribers and continues to grow. He is producing content independently for the same platforms WFAN is reinvesting in. Sal Licata has now launched his own channel as well, producing similar digital-first content.
This is not just a WFAN story. It is a sports radio story. Legacy brands across the country are navigating the same tension between proven voices and future growth. Chris Oliviero understands those stakes and the changing landscape, but the challenge is what matters most and can brands be brave enough to invest in it.
True evolution does not come from recycling familiar voices. It comes from empowering the next generation to carry the brand forward. WFAN’s next chapter will not be defined by what it is remembered for. It will be defined by what the station chooses to build. That future depends on intentional investment moving forward.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
