Jen Scordo, Pat Egan out at 97.5 The Fanatic amid cutbacks at Beasley

Layoffs have hit 97.5 The Fanatic again, part of nationwide cutbacks from parent-company Beasley Media Group.

Among those impacted by cuts imposed by parent-company Beasley Media was Jen Scordo, part of the Fanatic’s three-person Best Show Ever? team that already lost Hunter Brody in July 2023. Now all that remain are Tyrone Johnson and NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Ricky Bottalico.

Scordo had been with Beasley since 2016, starting at 92.5 WXTU. She took over full time at The Fanatic in 2022, after Mike Missanelli’s surprising and sudden departure.

“I’m not going to pretend I’m happy about it,” Johnson said on air Tuesday.

“We considered her part of everything. We were a three-way machine here, and one of our parts got taken over,” Bottalico said. “It’s hard to come up with words, because we’re fans of Jen, we love Jen, we loved her on our show with us. It’s disappointing.”

Also out as part of the layoffs is Pat Egan, who joined the station in 2012 and had been hosting evening shows from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“I had a good run, a lot longer than just about anyone probably thought,” Egan wrote on social media.

It’s unclear how many behind-the-scenes employees were swept out in the latest-round of budget cuts, though sources say employees at sister stations 93.3 WMMR and 95.7 BEN FM were impacted. Longtime WWMR producer Kevin Gunn retired last week after having spent more than three decades at the station. Fanatic production director Rhonda Hibbler, another radio veteran inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame last year, also retired, according to sources not authorized to speak publicly.

Overall, Beasley’s cutbacks impacted 7% of their workforce, and included popular hosts in Charlotte, Fort Myers, and Boston, according to media reports.

“We are realigning our core business operations to reflect the current economic conditions in order to best serve the needs of our valued audiences, advertisers, and shareholders into the future,” the company said in a statement.

The Best Show Ever? was the only show not changed after The Fanatic shifted its schedule to feature Andrew Salciunas and John Kincade in the mornings and former Daily News reporter Bob Cooney during middays. The station also made a few additions, with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Amy Fadool Kane making regular appearances and Bill Colarulo taking over on weekends.

The moves were necessitated in part after the station parted ways with longtime Philly sports talker Anthony Gargano over his role with start-up PHLY, where he now hosts a daily show.

The Fanatic has been unable to make much headway against 94.1 WIP, which once again dominated the most recent Nielsen ratings book. From roughly January through March, WIP finished second in the market among men ages 25 to 54 (the most-coveted demographic) weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to Nielsen. The Fanatic finished a distant eighth.

The Best Show Ever? has been the station’s most consistent show from a ratings perspective, up 33% compared to this time last year, good enough to move up from 11th in the market into a tie for eighth, according to Barrett Sports Media. The show also continues to be livestreamed on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Beasley, which is based in Naples, Fla., has been trading under $1 a share August, closing Tuesday at 0.73 cents. In addition to The Fanatic, Beasley owns six stations in Philadelphia — 92.5 WXTU, 93.3 WMMR, 95.7 BEN FM, 102.9 WMGK, 610 ESPN, and 860 WWDB-AM.