Almost two months into the simulcast experiment involving the Mike Missanelli Show, both 97.5 The Fanatic (WPEN-FM) and NBC Sports Philadelphia seem pleased with the results – even if the TV ratings aren’t great.  The popular afternoon drive time show on The Fanatic began simulcasting on NBC Sports Philadelphia on April 16.

Weekdays had been a struggle for the regional sports network, filled with repeats of games, infomercials and syndicated programming. The hope was Missanelli would finally give the station its first viable, original daytime programming, writes Jeff Blumenthal in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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Shortly after Missanelli’s program started simulcasting, NBC Sports Philadelphia announced that Michael Barkann would relinquish hosting duties for the hour-long Philly Sports Talk to focus on serving as primary host of all pre- and post-game shows. He was replaced by the duo of Amy Fadool and Marc Farzetta.

NBC Sports Philadephia President Brian Monihan said NBC Sports Philadelphia made adjustments to the set at The Fanatic’s Bala Cynwyd studios to improve television lighting and that Missanelli, news update anchor Natalie Egenolf and producer Tyrone Johnson have all become more comfortable being on television. When the show started airing, Monihan said he was worried that it could look boring on television, but that NBC Sports Philadelphia’s crew have had footage available for certain topics to spice up the viewer experience.

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