July 14, 2017
On Friday afternoon, 97.5 The Fanatic midday host Rob Ellis announced his departure from the station, leaving a vacancy is his current 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. slot alongside Harry Mayes after the pair spent close to two years together.
"It's a mutual parting of the ways," Ellis said on-air as he and co-host Harry Mayes wrapped up their show. "My contract's been up, we've had some discussions. I'm usually pretty good at following my gut, and I just feel like it's time for me."
“I just felt like it was best for everyone involved to just walk away,” Ellis added.
Ellis admitted that he's "bitten off a little more than I could chew" with juggling full-time jobs at The Fanatic and working on the air at Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.
"More than anything else," he said on his show. "I needed a little balance in my life, and I haven’t done the best job at that over the last couple of years."
"I've known this for about a week," Ellis added. "It's been a blast the last two years."
Really upset & disappointed w/ news. @relliscsn is a total pro & a friend beyond work. I'll miss all the laughs we had, wish him the best.
— harry maYES (@HARRYMAYES975) July 14, 2017
Ellis left The Fantic's rival station, SportsRadio 94 WIP, just over two years ago. He was also previously one of the hosts of the since-canceled Breakfast On Broad on TCN. His decision to leave WIP after eight years there came after he was not only demoted to make room for Josh Innes, who Afternoon host Josh Innes fired by Sportsradio 94 WIPhas since been fired from the station, but had to find out about it by reading a story online.
This move comes amid speculation that big changes could be underway at the station filling several months of subpar ratings, especially for the midday show.
Ellis and Mayes have struggled to keep up with the ratings growth of their new competition at WIP, former Fanatic host Joe DeCamara and ex-Eagles fullback Jon Ritchie. In the spring ratings books, one of four quarterly measurements of a show’s performance, Ellis and Mayes were slightly down compared to last year, and finished their time slot among men 25-45 in 11th place. [philly.com]
Where they'll turn to next remains to be seen. One possibility could be producer Jason Myrtetus, who currently works on the Mike Missanelli show. Here's more from Kyle Scott at Crossing Broad:
As I noted last month, changes could be afoot. Ellis and Mayes’ ratings were in the shitter. I floated the possibility that Jason Myrtetus, who had good chemistry with Mayes when they filled in for Mike Missanelli earlier this year, could join Mayes in the mid-day slot. It’s looking more likely that will happen. [crossingbroad.com]
For what it's worth, I've heard that Myrtetus is not the only person being considered for the position.
Stay tuned.
PhillyVoice's Andrew Parent contributed to this report.
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