Anthony Gargano’s Morning Show Is Closing the Gap on Angelo Cataldi and Co.

It’s taken a few months, but it looks like we may have a sports-centric morning radio feud now in the works. Anthony Gargano’s morning show on 97.5 The Fanatic has closed the gap between his station and SportsRadio 94WIP’s Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team. Gargano and co. have actually grown their audience from the show’s beginning in late April from a 4.9 share to a 6.0, and they’ve done so during a terrible sports period in Philadelphia. More from Philly.com:

According to numbers obtained by Philly.com, ESPN 97.5 The Fanatic’s Anthony Gargano has pulled close to Cataldi, ending the August ratings period (7/16-8/12) in fourth place among men between the ages of 25 and 54 with a 6.0 share. Cataldi still beat Gargano, nabbing third place with a 6.8 share, but the close finish could be the first time Cataldi has faced a serious challenger during his long radio career.

Gargano and co-host Jon Marks have slowly been building an audience since their show launched at the end of April, growing from the 4.9 share the pair earned during the May ratings period. The growth isn’t unexpected, considering the station replaced the nationally-syndicated “Mike and Mike” show with a local broadcast. Last year, “Mike and Mike” brought in a 4.2 share during the August 2014 ratings period, so Gargano and Marks have been able to bring that up by nearly two points in the span of four ratings periods.

Nielsen defines shares as the measure of the percentage of listeners tuned into a radio station. For example, a 4.2 share means 4.2 percent of listeners are tuned into a particular station or program.

Sure, I’d probably be more willing to listen to a local show vs. Mike and Mike, but the ratings increase, while expected, shouldn’t be written off, either. Cataldi’s ratings have slid considerably in comparison to last year, where he held a 9.8 share in the city. This year, while still above Gargano’s numbers, Cataldi only held a 6.8 share. The report goes on to state Cataldi was off four days during the ratings period in the month of August, which also shouldn’t be forgotten.

Football season is about to go full throttle, and that’s going to mean everything in the ratings wars between both stations.

On BleedPhilly.com, I posted the May numbers before any other outlet had their hands [or eyes] on them. I said this regarding Gargano’s show vs. Cataldi’s:

As for Angelo Cataldi vs. Anthony Gargano? Did you expect anything different? Cataldi is killing him in the 6-10am slot, 7.0 to 4.9. Gargano’s morning show on 97.5 began on April 20th, and the dates on the ratings are from April 23rd to May 20th. WMMR leads by a huge margin overall with a 14.6 share with nobody even a close second.

Cataldi killed Mike and Mike regularly anyway, as March’s share for WPEN was a 5.3, so that’s not all that shocking. And, whether legally 97.5 could or couldn’t, they didn’t have virtually any promotion at all leading up to Gargano’s new morning show. It’s quite possible a lot of listeners who tuned out 97.5’s Mike and Mike simulcast permanently don’t know Gargano is back. But I’m sure by now, they have an idea. June’s numbers could tell a better story.

Of course, I should have mentioned the fact that nobody ever assumed Gargano would challenge Cataldi right out of the gate. But Gargano and co. have had a few months now to build an audience and summer was a perfect storm because sports was literally dead before the Eagles began preseason games. Even training camp was pretty boring around here.

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In related news, Josh Innes still holds a lead over Mike Missanelli during their time slot with a 8.0 share, with Missanelli coming in close with a 7.5 share. Innes was second in the market among men between 25-54 and Missanelli third, though like Tornoe states, both hosts missed considerable time.

To add on to this, Crossing Broad reported late last night that Innes and Missanelli have traded wins week-to-week.

Innes did indeed beat Missanelli for the month… but only thanks to a monster Week 1, when Mike was on vacation. Mike missed two of the five days in Week 2 – Hamels no-hitter – and lost 7.5 to 6.6. But in Weeks 3 and 4 – Eagles training camp in full swing – Mike beat Innes 9.5 to 8.5 and 8.4 to 7.6, respectively. Keep in mind, all of this is before the addition of Spike Eskin and Hollis Thomas on Innes’ show. September’s ratings period – already well underway – will hinge on whether Innes gains or loses steam teamed up with his new partners. But, the last two weeks were a small-sample-size verification of a common concern about Innes’ audience– that he will lose some of it to Mike once real sports begin.

Next month’s ratings and the month after will really be up for bragging rights.