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Rob Ellis out at 97.5 The Fanatic

The station has another hole in its lineup to fill.

Rob Ellis, seen here on ‘Breakfast on Broad’ prior to its cancellation, is leaving his show on 97.5 The Fanatic.
Rob Ellis, seen here on ‘Breakfast on Broad’ prior to its cancellation, is leaving his show on 97.5 The Fanatic.Read moreCSN Philly
    by Rob Tornoe
    Published 

97.5 The Fanatic has another hole in its lineup to fill.

Rob Ellis, the station's midday host who jumped over from SportsRadio 94.1 WIP just two years ago, is leaving his show. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the decision to depart was made mutually between Ellis and management at the station, timed with the end of his contract.

"I just felt like it was best for everyone involved to just walk away," Ellis said to end Friday's show, noting that the juggling act between hosting a full-time radio show and working full-time on-air at Comcast SportsNet Philly had gotten a bit out-of-hand.

"More than anything else, I needed a little balance in my life, and I haven't done the best job at that over the last couple of years," Ellis added.

There's no word on who will fill Ellis' spot alongside co-host Harry Mayes. The two go back to the days of Sports Radio 950 AM, where the pair hosted a nightly show together.

Ellis and Mayes have struggled to keep up with the ratings growth of their new competition at WIP, former Fanatic host Joe DeCamara and ex-Eagles fullback Jon Ritchie. In the spring ratings books, one of four quarterly measurements of a show's performance, Ellis and Mayes were slightly down compared to last year, and finished their time slot among men 25-45 in 11th place.

Before joining The Fanatic, Ellis was a host at WIP for eight years, but left the station after being demoted from the coveted afternoon time slot after just a year in favor of since-fired host Josh Innes. To make matters worse, Ellis found out about the station's decision by reading Crossing Broad.

Despite the cancellation of Breakfast on Broad, Ellis said he'll continue his on-air role on various shows at CSN Philly. His role at the network could be expanding in the wake of several high-profile departures aimed at moving away from original reporting to more opinion and debate, in hopes of attracting more millennial viewers.

The Fanatic has yet to replace former morning show co-host Jon Marks and evening host DeCamara, both of whom left the station for roles at WIP.