Tony Bruno returning to sports-talk radio: ‘It’s really not that big of a deal’

In 2015, Tony Bruno said the format and industry of sports talk radio no longer provided him “joy and satisfaction.” But now he’s back, albeit with a smaller profile.

Longtime Philadelphia and national sports talker Tony Bruno is joining 97.3 ESPN during football season to host NFL pre-game shows.Read moreCourtesy Tony Bruno

by Rob Tornoe

Published Aug. 27, 2019, 6:46 a.m. ET

Tony Bruno is returning to terrestrial radio, but according to the longtime sports talker, it’s not really a big deal.

Bruno will be joining ESPN 97.3 WENJ in South Jersey during football season to act as the station’s de-facto NFL pre-game host. Not only will Bruno host a two-hour show ahead of every Eagles game (which the station airs), he’ll also provide two hours of coverage each week prior to Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football. Crossing Broad was first to report about Bruno’s involvement with the station.

“I’m not really coming out of retirement to take a full-time radio job,” Bruno told the Inquirer. “It’s really not that big of a deal to do two hours.”

Bruno, 67, a veteran of ESPN Radio, FOX Sports Radio, 97.5 The Fanatic, and 94.1 WIP, hasn’t had his own show on radio since 2015, when he walked away from the top-rated afternoon program he hosted with Josh Innes and announced his retirement from terrestrial radio.

“The format and industry in general no longer provide me joy and satisfaction, even after reaching number one in p.m. drive in record time in my hometown,” Bruno said at the time.

After leaving WIP, Bruno shifted his focus to podcasting and eventually moved his show to Twitch, the popular live streaming video platform owned by Amazon and most associated with eGaming. His show airs live Monday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and he’ll be live-streaming his three weekly football shows for 97.3 ESPN on his Twitch channel as well.

“Twitch is the perfect platform for me,” Bruno said. "I love audience and listener interaction … [and] the best part about Twitch is the live stream of engaged listeners who react in real time.”

Bruno’s involvement is the latest addition to 97.3 ESPN, which also added former 97.5 The Fanatic talkers Harry Mayes (Bruno’s former co-host) and Eytan Shander to its lineup in April. The station broadcasts out of Northfield, Atlantic County, with a signal that blankets southern New Jersey and Delaware, but isn’t strong enough to reach radios in Philadelphia, where listeners have to tune in using the station’s app.

“Because we’re so close on the dial to 97.5 people sometimes get confused,” said 97.3 ESPN program director and host Mike Gill. “Some people aren’t even sure that we’re a different station, but I think people are starting to find out now.”