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Mike Missanelli Announces Exit From 97.5 The Fanatic Afternoon Show

BSM Staff
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There will be a new afternoon host on 97.5 The Fanatic very soon. On Tuesday, Mike Missanelli announced that it was his last day in that slot at the Philadelphia sports talk station.

“It’s difficult to get this out because it seems so surreal, but this is my last day as host of The Mike Missanelli Show. My current contract expires in a couple of weeks and the company and I decided to go in another direction,” he told his listeners. “This is like the guy who comes into Bull Durham and they go ‘the organization wants to make a change.’ Well that’s what’s going on. The station and I are talking about me remaining with the company in some kind of a role, but who knows. What I can tell you is they already have a replacement show under contract and I’m sure you’ll be hearing about that in the next few days.”

Missanelli was on a one-year contract last year. It expired in December. He agreed to a short-term extension at that time.

Kevin Kinkead of Crossing Broad wrote that he had been trying to find out what Missenelli’s fate would be before the announcement was made. He could not find anyone with concrete information.

“I tried to give my heart with every show I did here for 15 years. I had some missteps in my career, as you well know,” Missanelli added. “But in the end, I hope the good outweighed the bad, and that people think I’ve been a positive part of this radio station’s brand.”

Until a permanent replacement is named, co-host Tyrone Johnson and producer Jen Scordo will serve as the hosts of the show. Johnson told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he was not privy to the news of Missanelli’s exit and the announcement came as a surprise.

The Brooklyn Nets Are in the Podcast Space

BSM Staff
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The popularity of podcasts continues to mount. The percentage of U.S. population that have listened to an audio podcast in the last month is at 38% in 2022. That’s more than double what was reported in 2015. The Brooklyn Nets want to be a part of that growth.

The NBA team is coming to podcasting. In fact, it’s already here. The franchise has partnered with iHeartMedia to launch a slate of new podcasts. The plan is to create multiple podcasts with a variety of voices to serve their fans.

The Nets announced their first show will be hosted by Chris Carrino, the Nets’ radio play-by-play announcer. Their second will be hosted by Ally Love, the team’s in-arena host.

The first show is Voice of the Nets with Chris Carrino and debuted today (May 31) and will drop new episodes each Tuesday. The show will feature Carrino speaking to guests about the current state of the Nets and the NBA. The first episode features former Nets player Jason Collins, who helped lead the team to back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. Collins later broke barriers as the NBA’s first active openly gay player.

“For over two decades I’ve been telling the story of the Nets through radio play-by-play and Voice of the Nets podcast is a chance to tell that story in long form,” Carrino said in the announcement. “I’m looking forward to sharing these stories and insights in conversations with a variety of guests. In addition to my role with the Nets, I have a somewhat unique life experience and a natural curiosity and while the show will revolve around the team, we will cast a wide net in covering a myriad of topics. I’m so excited to connect with fans in this way and grow a new audience as well.”

The team’s second podcast which will debut in June is titled Courtside Conversation and is hosted by Love. In the show, she will talk to guests about the game of basketball and all things culture – whether fashion, music, food, art, or current events – highlighting important New York moments.

“Courtside Conversation is going to be the place for all our guests to get personal, get inspired, and be inspiring,” Love said. “I regularly say that conversation is the catalyst for change and I’m looking forward to connecting with athletes, artists, and all our favorite people on a platform where we can share strategies and tips for success – our winning game – with others.”

The Brooklyn Nets’ podcast partnership continues the NBA’s commitment to the medium that drove a league-wide deal with the NBA and iHeartMedia announced last July. All Nets shows will be part of the NBA Podcast Network.

FOX Makes Top NFL Broadcast Team Official

BSM Staff
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On Tuesday, FOX announced it’s number one broadcast team for NFL games this Fall.

Beginning on Sunday, September 11 in Minneapolis, FOX’s top booth will feature Kevin Burkhardt as the play-by-play announcer with three-time NFL Pro Bowler Greg Olsen as lead analyst. The network has also tabbed Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi as the team’s sideline reporters while Mike Pereira is on board as the rules analyst.

FOX will be home to the Super Bowl broadcast this season, the network’s tenth presentation of the big game.

“We’re thrilled to have this team steward our industry leading and award-winning coverage as we embark on our 29th NFL season, highlighted by our 10th Super Bowl,” said FOX Sports President of Production/Operations and Executive Producer Brad Zager said in a statement.

FOX Makes Top NFL Broadcast Team Official
@FOXSportsPR

Olsen embarks on his second season in the booth but he will have a familiar voice alongside him as Burkhardt was his partner on the network’s No. 2 game of the week last season.

Zager added, “Last season, Kevin and Greg showed viewers their undeniable chemistry and ability to call football at an elite level. We can’t wait for fans to see what they’re going to bring to AMERICA’S GAME OF THE WEEK, the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl LVII.”

Andrews will begin her 12th season with the network and in the prestigious spot. In February, Andrews won the Pat Summerall Award and is the first female recipient of the award.

Rinaldi, a 17-time Emmy Award winner, will begin his second season with the network.

The news confirms what was being reported previously about the state of FOX’s top broadcast team for this season. FOX is in an interesting position after losing Joe Buck and Troy Aikman this offseason to ESPN. In the future, FOX also announced the signing of Tom Brady to a long-term contract when Brady decided to retire.

Toucher and Rich Celebrate Cedric Maxwell by Ripping Jim Gray

BSM Staff
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Toucher and Rich are dominating morning drive ratings in Boston. So when they mentioned on this morning’s show they had a “master class in sports broadcasting,” one’s ears perk.

Co-host Rich Shertenlieb began the segment by saying that he is about to present a “how-to and how not-to handle certain things”. This all came from audio over the long holiday weekend. He started with a station favorite. “If you didn’t see it, Cedric Maxwell was just a rock star,” Rich continued.

Cedric Maxwell, a former Boston Celtic and current radio color commentator for the team, was asked to be a part of the trophy presentation to the winning Celtics. Lisa Salters, ESPN’s on-court began and introduced Maxwell for the first presentation, the Eastern Conference Championship. After a brief session interviewing Al Horford, Salters was back to introduce the inaugural Larry Bird trophy (presented to the Eastern Conference Finals MVP). Salters invited Maxwell back to introduce to recipient and he sounded even more comfortable.

“Girl, it is a pleasure to be on top. Now for me to give this MVP trophy out, let me see here, Jayson Tatum”.

The show also played the audio of Maxwell still on the court interrupting Stephen A. Smith’s live hit with Scott Van Pelt after the game.

“How about then damn Celtics,” boomed the voice of Maxwell. “Man, how about them damn Celtics!”

Toucher & Rich are huge fans of Cedric Maxwell. They’ve had him on the show many times (including this morning) and frequently play his wild, sometimes incomprehensible reactions to Celtics moments on the court.

The show then juxtaposed those moments with “another person working the postgame or should I say post-fight interview,” Rich began. “Fred, that would be your best buddy, Jim Gray”.

It is important to note that Toucher & Rich have a history with Jim Gray that dates back to a tense interview on radio row at the Super Bowl in 2019. Since then, the show has not minced words about Gray.

Gray was working the boxing event for Showtime on Saturday. The moment in question came after Gervonta “Tank” Davis knocked out Rolly Romero. Gray asked about Davis’ future and future opponents when Davis said this:

“I’m here baby. I’m here. Whatever they want to do I’m here, baby! Ain’t no safety on this glock, you know? Ain’t no safety on this glock and I got a lot of ammunition.”

Gray pulled the microphone back and added “let’s stay away from guns, this is an awful time in our nation. I know you’re just meaning this in terms of boxing.”

That’s when Toucher made the sad trombone sound with his mouth and Rich asked, “Are you kidding me with that?

Toucher then opined “when you start clarifying with ‘I know you didn’t mean it that way’ then maybe don’t say anything.”

It’s also worthy of noting that moments after the Davis fight, there was a false alarm at the Barclays Center when someone reported hearing gunshots.

Rich concluded the segment by expressing how happy he was for Maxwell. “I felt happy for him. I saw him on TV and I was like ‘Max! This is great!”

NBC Picks Peter Drury to Replace Arlo White On Premier League Broadcasts

BSM Staff
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NBC Picks Peter Drury to Replace Arlo White On Premier League Broadcasts

NBC is making a change in its Premier League broadcast booth. Arlo White is out. Peter Drury will exit CBS and take over the role when the league returns in August.

The Daily Mailˆwas the first to report the change. Richard Deitsch of The Athletic wrote on Tuesday that he had confirmed the report, but noted that the network declined to comment further.

NBC had made extensive use of Arlo White since he joined the network. In addition to being the lead voice of Premier League coverage, he also called soccer at the 2012, 2016, and 2021 Summer Olympics.

Peter Drury is best known to American fans for his work with CBS. The network used him in its coverage of the Champions League. He has also been around the Premier League in recent seasons, calling the action for Amazon Prime’s coverage in the UK.

Investing in the Premier Leagues turned out to be a wise move for NBC. The network won exclusive US media rights to England’s top soccer league ahead of the 2013-14 season. In November, the two sides agreed to a $2 billion extension that keeps the EPL on NBC through 2028.

Kentucky Hoops Broadcaster Seeks Help Paying For Cancer Treatment

BSM Staff
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Tom Leach, the play-by-play voice of the University of Kentucky, is asking for some help for his longtime partner Mike Pratt. The color commentator on Wildcats basketball games is fighting cancer and needs some help paying for his treatments.

On Twitter, Leach linked to a fundraising page and explained that the money will be used for travel and other expenses not covered by insurance.

Mike Pratt has been dealing with cancer for “a few years” according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. It has spread from his colon to his liver. He plans to seek treatment in California in mid-June.

Leach told the paper that rounds of chemotherapy have been hard on Pratt, leaving him with a painful nerve condition called neuropathy.

The fundraiser is being hosted by the site GiveSendGo.com.

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari is chipping in. He tweeted that he and his wife will match the first $50,000 donated to help Pratt.

“If you know Mike Pratt, you know what a special man he is. He’s a dear friend to many and a gentleman to all. And Mike needs our help,” the coach said.

Mike Pratt has been part of Kentucky’s radio broadcast since the 2001-2002 season. He turns 74 later this summer.

John Fricke: ‘9th Game Is Too Valuable To ESPN For SEC Not To Rush Expansion’

BSM Staff
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When Texas and Oklahoma finally join the SEC, it is expected that the conference’s football schedule will expand from each team playing eight games to each team playing nine. According to John Fricke, that expansion and the payoff that will come with it should be front and center during the league’s meetings in Destin, Florida this week.

“Whatever happens in Destin will change college football forever,” he said Tuesday morning on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta. “The question is at what level.”

Producer Abe Gordon objected to Fricke’s idea that the league could get the Longhorns and Sooners into the conference in time for the 2023 football season. The two schools would owe a significant buyout check to their current conference, the Big 12.

Fricke countered by saying that ESPN knows the value the two schools would bring to the league. A sixteen-team SEC would give each conference member a payout big enough to justify cutting a big one-time check to speed the process along.

Adding two more teams would force the SEC to rethink its current schedule and divisions. Fricke says ESPN, which will take over all of the television rights to SEC sports in 2024, is ready to pony up for anything that means one more in-conference football game each year.

“They don’t want to pay for Georgia versus, you know, pick a team, Liberty. They want to pay for Georgia versus Ole Miss. So ESPN is saying ‘you give us that extra week of conference games and the number we are going to pay you goes up exponentially because it’s an extra week of games, SEC games that get millions of people watching.”

John Fricke told his partner Hugh Douglas that he isn’t predicting when the conference will make the additions of Texas and Oklahoma official. He just doesn’t see the financial roadblocks that others have implied exist.

“The SEC is ready to move along,” he said. “Maybe the league just floats them the money because they could. They could say ‘You have a $30 million buyout? Fine, everybody will chip in because we’re all gonna make so much more money. We’ll help with the buyout to get you into the league.”

WBT Invests Further in Brett Jensen and Mark Garrison

BNM Staff
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WBT Invests Further in Brett Jensen and Mark Garrison

WBT Charlotte’s News Talk will add one more local show to its already packed lineup. The announcement made Tuesday involves senior reporter Brett Jensen who will now host a show called “Breaking with Brett Jensen.” The show debuts on June 6th at 7:00 p.m.

WBT also inked Jensen and veteran news reporter and host Mark Garrison to long-term deals. The station is additionally elevating Garrison to the role of news director. He will continue to host his nightly show, “Charlotte at Six with Mark Garrison.”

In a news release obtained by Barrett News Media, Jensen said his new show won’t take away from his reporting duties, “but, instead, will allow me to deliver more information than ever before. I’d like to thank Marsha Landess and (Program Director) Mike Schaefer for this new adventure in my career.” 

In the past two years, WBT has bolstered its live and local lineup from 5:00 AM to 8:00 PM with veteran Anchors Anna Erickson, Mark Mueller, and Tony Marino to work alongside Garrison, Jensen, Reporter Joe Gillespie, Traffic Reporters Pam Warner and Boomer Von Cannon, Sports Reporters Jim Szoke and Sharon Thorsland, and Anchors Jeff Atkinson and Mike Dohn. 

Last month, WBT, which is owned by Radio One, celebrated its 100th anniversary with an array of festivities at the Dale F. Halton Theater in Uptown Charlotte.

“Mark and Brett are among the elite News professionals in the country, period,” said Radio One, Regional Vice President and Market Manager, Marsha Landess. “We are thrilled that their new appointments will strengthen the best News department in Charlotte.”

Fox News Tops Primary Midterm Election Coverage

BNM Staff
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Fox News Tops Primary Midterm Election Coverage

Primary elections in this midterm year took place in several states on Tuesday, May 17, including Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia. Three races of note were a mixed bag for Trump-backed candidates: Doug Mastriano prevailed to become the GOP nominee for governor of Pennsylvania; state Sen. Chuck Edwards defeated one-term House Rep. Madison Cawthorn in North Carolina; and, former syndicated TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz is in a tight race with Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary — as of May 30, a vote recount was still in progress.

As expected, Fox News Channel topped the night in election coverage, averaging 2.34 million total viewers and 434,000 within the key 25-54 demographic from 8 PM to 1 AM. Eastern, according to Nielsen Media Research.

MSNBC drew less than half of FNC’s total viewers (1.09 million) and just 30 percent of FNC’s adults 25-54 delivery (134,000).

CNN’s “Election Night America” aired from 7 PM thru midnight, followed by a two-hour “Don Lemon Tonight” in late night. That all averaged 637,000 viewers and 169,000 adults 25-54.

FNC and MSNBC each peaked in time slots they normally would on a typical prime time; FNC at 8 PM, in the “Tucker Carlson Tonight” hour (3.201 million viewers/559,000 adults 25-54), and MSNBC at 9 PM, in the “Rachel Maddow Show” hour (1.339 million viewers/171,000 adults 25-54). CNN’s total audience peaked at 9–10 PM (819,000); their adults 25-54 rose to 199,000 from 10 p.m.-midnight.

With recent economic issues like inflation, rising gas prices, and stalled returns at the entertainment industry’s streaming leader Netflix, there has been increased attention to the business networks. Fox Business Network achieved their highest-rated week in business day audience (Mon.-Fri. 9 AM-5 PM) since the week of the 2020 Presidential election (Nov. 2-6, 2020), averaging 237,000 viewers, which topped CNBC (225,000) for May 16-20. Additionally, FBN secured 229,000 viewers during market hours (9 AM-4 PM ET), which was its best week since January 2021.

Cable news averages for May 16-22, 2022:

Total Day (May 16-22 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.475 million viewers; 222,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.603 million viewers; 66,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.466 million viewers; 95,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.193 million viewers; 62,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.144 million viewers; 33,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.127 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.119 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.113 million viewers; 24,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (May 15-21 @ 8-11 p.m.; May 22 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 2.292 million viewers; 350,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.910 million viewers; 90,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.597 million viewers; 123,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.215 million viewers; 55,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.196 million viewers; 59,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.155 million viewers; 20,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.133 million viewers; 24,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.068 million viewers; 10,000 adults 25-54
  • NewsNation: 0.053 million viewers; 9,000 adults 25-54

Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC and CNN programs with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:

1. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 5/16/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.306 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 5/18/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.305 million viewers

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 5/18/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.264 million viewers

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 5/17/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.201 million viewers

5. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 5/19/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.172 million viewers

6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 5/16/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.161 million viewers

7. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 5/17/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.138 million viewers

8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 5/19/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.118 million viewers

9. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 5/19/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.909 million viewers

10. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 5/18/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.882 million viewers

32. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 5/16/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.035 million viewers

158. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 601” (HBO, Fri. 5/20/2022 10:00 PM, 58 min.) 0.917 million viewers

168. Election Night In America “2022 Midterm Primaries” (CNN, Tue. 5/17/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.819 million viewers

342. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 5/22/2022 11:07 PM, 34 min.) 0.456 million viewers

378. Kudlow (FBN, Mon. 5/16/2022 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.369 million viewers

381. Forensic Files “A Squires Riches” (HLN, late Tue. 5/17/2022 12:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.365 million viewers

474. Squawk On The Street (CNBC, Mon. 5/16/2022 9:00 AM, 120 min.) 0.275 million viewers

498. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “Episode 7213” (TBS, Thu. 5/19/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.266 million viewers

522. Heavy Rescue: 401 “(608) A Hail Mary Move” (TWC, Sun. 5/22/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.252 million viewers

673. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Fri. 5/20/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.194 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top  CNN, MSNBC, and HLN programs with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54

1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 5/17/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.559 million adults 25-54

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 5/16/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.508 million adults 25-54

3. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 5/17/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.507 million adults 25-54

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 5/18/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.496 million adults 25-54

5. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Tue. 5/17/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.479 million adults 25-54

6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 5/19/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.456 million adults 25-54

7. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 5/19/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.455 million adults 25-54

8. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Wed. 5/18/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.454 million adults 25-54

9. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 5/19/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.446 million adults 25-54

10. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 5/18/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.420 million adults 25-54

62. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 5/16/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.228 million adults 25-54

89. Election Night In America “2022 Midterm Primaries” (CNN, Tue. 5/17/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.199 million adults 25-54

95. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 601” (HBO, Fri. 5/20/2022 10:00 PM, 58 min.) 0.197 million adults 25-54

111. Forensic Files “Cement The Case” (HLN, late Sat. 5/21/2022 1:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.183 million adults 25-54

132. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 5/22/2022 11:07 PM, 34 min.) 0.160 million adults 25-54

245. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “Episode 7213” (TBS, Thu. 5/19/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.112 million adults 25-54

303. Undercover Boss (CNBC, Sat. 5/21/2022 10:00 PM, 58 min.) 0.100 million adults 25-54

363. Heavy Rescue: 401 “(608) A Hail Mary Move” (TWC, Sun. 5/22/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.088 million adults 25-54

661. The Claman Countdown (FBN, Wed. 5/18/2022 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.040 million adults 25-54

790. Newsnation Prime (NWSN, Sun. 5/22/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.030 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

For Joe Benigno, There’s Nothing Painful About Doing A Podcast

Peter Schwartz
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As his 25-year run of hosting overnight, mid-day and afternoon drive shows on WFAN Radio in New York was winding down, Joe Benigno knew that what his future would include. It would include spending more time with his family, playing a lot of golf, watching his beloved sports teams and maybe, under the right circumstances, dipping his feet back into the sports radio waters from time to time.

But did he ever think about hosting a podcast?

“I never really did,” said Benigno who hosted his final show with sidekick Evan Roberts on November 6th, 2020.

But as Benigno settled into retirement, his daughter Erin put it in his brain that maybe he should do a podcast so that he could continue to share his thoughts and feelings about sports.

“My daughter told me that this was something I should do,” said Benigno. “Once football started, I said you know what maybe I should be doing this so at least I have my weekly say on the Jets.”

And that’s how the Oh The Pain podcast was born with the first episode dropping on Sunday September 12th, 2021, after the Jets’ season opening 19-14 loss in Carolina.

Like he always said on WFAN and the tradition carries on with his podcast…

“Oh the pain!!!”.

“I like doing it,” said Benigno. “It’s basically just giving me something to do and maybe make a little extra money and that’s pretty much what it’s all about. I like the fact that I’m not working for somebody. I like the fact that I don’t have to deal with any of the corporate garbage. You’re basically your own boss and you can say whatever you want.”

The podcast, which he does from home, drops every Monday and is available from Apple, Spotify and Amazon. So far, Benigno’s new venture has been a huge success recently surpassing 262,000 downloads. The Monday podcast is audio only and is all Joe with his thoughts and takes, but from time to time he’ll do a second podcast later in the week with an interview and that show is done with video via Zoom.

With the help of his wife Terry who handles a lot of the technical aspects of the podcast, Joe has spoken to a number of former Jets including Wesley Walker, Erik McMillan, Tony Richardson and Bruce Harper.

“I like the interviews,” said Benigno. “I’ve been able to do a lot of different people.”

Once in a while, Benigno takes the show on the road hosting “Oh The Pain” from local establishments like Hackensack Brewing Company and SideBar in Hackensack, New Jersey. There have been four remote podcasts so far with the episodes dropping either that night right after the show or the following morning. Benigno has hosted three of the podcasts with former WFAN host John Jastremski and one with current WFAN host Kim Jones.

For Benigno, it’s another way of staying connected with his fans.

“It’s been fun to do that,” said Benigno of the live shows. “It’s a great venue to do it. The turnout was good. People seem to be into and it’s a lot of fun.”

Life is good for Benigno these days.

He’s enjoying retirement and the podcast keeps him involved with sports. Schlepping from his New Jersey home into Lower Manhattan to go to work at WFAN every day became a bit tedious and tiresome for Benigno.

WFAN was a big part of his life for a long time, but now he certainly enjoys “working” from home or close to home.

“I don’t miss doing the (WFAN) show,” said Benigno. “I don’t miss working. I certainly don’t miss going into the city anymore and the commute after 25 years of that crap.”

Since his retirement, Benigno has popped up on WFAN a few times including some guest spots on Roberts’ Saturday solo show as well as on Tiki and Tierney. He’s also filled in a couple of days last summer for Craig Carton during afternoon drive creating a brief reunion of Joe and Evan. But aside from those few walks down memory lane, Benigno has kept his distance from WFAN.

Kind of like when he worked there.

“Do I listen to the station?” said Benigno. “I do not. Even when I was working there, I never listened. The only time I ever listened to the station was when they had the Mets. Occasionally, I’ll listen to a Yankees game, but I really don’t listen to it at all.”

But for 25 years, New York area sports fans tuned in every day (originally overnights) to hear what Benigno had to say about a game or a big story from local sports. An awful Jets loss made his solo monologues overnight and even his reaction when he moved to middays and afternoon drive must-listen radio.

So that begs the question…

Have there been days when something has happened and he wishes he had a radio show to do?

“Probably not,” admitted Benigno. “Maybe if the Jets ever got to a Super Bowl. I think that if that happened, there’s enough going on with me and I know enough people that I’m sure I would get my say.”

He may not be doing a weekday sports talk show anymore, but Benigno still has his thoughts and takes on his favorite teams.

Let’s start with the Mets who are in first place in the National League East…

“You gotta be thrilled,” said Benigno. “The fundamentals, running the bases, driving in runs with two out. Of all the moves they made, the number one move was hiring Buck Showalter as the manager.”

What about the Jets?

“I love what they did in the draft,” said Benigno. “All of the off-season moves have been terrific.”

Joe is thrilled about the Rangers getting to the Stanley Cup Playoffs…

“I like (Head Coach Gerard) Gallant,” said Benigno. “He’s a tough guy. (Goalie Igor Shesterkin may be the best goalie in the league. They got a lot of firepower.”

And finally…the Knicks…

“The Knicks are a disaster,” said Benigno. “How is it possible that Jim Dolan owns the Rangers and the Knicks and you got the Rangers who are run like a top-flight organization and you got the Knicks who are run like dog poop?”

While he’s enjoying retirement and not actually “working”, Benigno has not closed the door on a potential return to radio.

But if that should happen, it would have to be on his terms.

“I wouldn’t rule it completely out ever working again,” said Benigno. “I don’t see me ever working at the ‘FAN again but depending on the scenario, I guess it’s possible that I would do that again. If it was something where it was me and Evan doing something again and only if it involved Evan would I probably do something at the ‘FAN again.”

But right now, Oh The Pain is the focus for Benigno and that means connecting with his listeners in different ways like the podcast’s website (www.ohthepainpodcast.com) and social media accounts (Twitter @JoeBenigno_real and Instagram @the_real_JoeBenigno).

The industry is certainly changing and evolving.

“It seems that way,” said Benigno. “It’s not the same anymore.”

But Joe Benigno certainly hasn’t changed. He’s still the passionate sports fan who was a phone caller to WFAN as “Joe from Saddle River” who went to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting before getting hired at the ‘FAN. He had a long and amazing career at the first all-sports radio station in the country and now he’s having success with his very popular podcast.

One thing is for certain…if the Jets ever do get to a Super Bowl and dare, I say if they would actually win, the celebration wouldn’t be complete without a reaction from Joe Benigno!

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