Just a year after returning to Philadelphia’s premier sports talk station, Mike Missanelli has been dismissed once more.
According to multiple sources cited by Crossing Broad’s Kevin Kinkead, the veteran host was let go on Friday afternoon, despite having a contract slated to run through the end of the NFL season. Beasley Media Group, the station’s owner, will reportedly pay out the remainder of his deal.
This marks the second time in three years that Missanelli has parted ways with The Fanatic. His return in August 2024 coincided with a significant management shakeup and a revamped midday lineup, alongside Ray Dunne and Bill Colarulo. But the reunion was short-lived, and the decision to cut ties is understood to be a cost-cutting measure.
97.5 The Fanatic’s parent company is set to have an earnings call on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Apparently, Beasley still hasn’t paid out Spring book bonuses to its bonus-eligible employees.
Company’s 2nd quarter earnings call is set for 11am on Tuesday.
[Just speculating here but the delay could be due to Beasley family’s bigwigs currently on Alaskan cruise vacation.] pic.twitter.com/C6A98wVuTQ
— Boston Radio Watch®️ (@bostonradio) August 8, 2025
From a career standpoint, Missanelli’s trajectory at 97.5 The Fanatic has been marked by highs and lows. After nearly two decades as the station’s flagship afternoon host, where his show once dominated ratings, he was unceremoniously let go in May 2022.
Some billed Missanelli’s 2024 comeback as a homecoming, a shot at redemption under new management. Yet his swift, unceremonious second exit is indicative of a station constantly in flux. The Fanatic has been churning through radio hosts for years. Longtime host Tyrone Johnson left earlier this year, and Bob Cooney was shown the door not long before that.
Prior to Missanelli’s second act, the station shuffled its lineup, moving Andrew Salciunas to mornings and Cooney to middays, while Jen Scordo and Pat Egan were laid off. Cooney was informed that The Fanatic was moving in a different direction, and that direction turned out to be bringing back Missanelli.
But, only for a year, as we now know.
When Missanelli originally left 97.5 in May 2022, he pivoted to a BetRivers podcast, the same platform that carries Mike Francesa’s digital show. Where he goes from here remains unclear, but this sudden exit feels like it’s driven more by financial considerations than anything else.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.