Steve Somers leaving WFAN

[Halldan1]

Steve Somers leaving WFAN ‘sometime this fall’

Somers, 74, made somewhat of an announcement on his show Thursday, saying his time at that station is coming to an end “more sooner than later.”

nypost.com

By Andrew Marchand

Steve Somers is leaving WFAN soon.
WireImage

The final schmoozes are upon us.

The distinctive voice of Steve Somers will retire from WFAN. Somers, 74, made somewhat of an announcement on his show Thursday, saying his time at that station is coming to an end “more sooner than later.”

Somers and FAN executives have been discussing how Somers should go out for weeks. He’s been with the station for all 34 years of its existence.

“Yes, sadly it is true,” Audacy senior VP Chris Oliviero told The Post. “Steve will be wrapping up his full-time run at WFAN sometime this fall. He is without a doubt one of the most important building blocks in the history of WFAN. Steve and The FAN became stars together in this town. The voice, the wit, the humor, the catchphrases all iconic. Now we have to convince him to give us all, especially the listeners, a chance to celebrate him because he is worthy of the accolades.”

FAN has had a pretty drastic facelift over the last five years, beginning with the retirement tours of Mike Francesa and then Joe Benigno. Craig Carton and Evan Roberts have assumed the afternoon slot and are facing a challenge from “The Michael Kay Show” for ratings supremacy this fall.

FAN has not replaced John Jastremski full-time yet. Jastremski left for The Ringer in May. FAN will look internally as hosts like Sal Licata have gotten more airtime, but will also be searching for fresh voices.

Somers has been a part of the fabric of the New York sports scene with his nicknames and nasally sound. He has connected with a loyal fan base that has famously included Jerry Seinfeld. In many ways, Somers has been the antithesis of the “all-knowing” hot takers. He wants to go out his own way.

“One thing I don’t want to do is have a farewell tour,” Somers said on his show Thursday, according to Barrett Sports Media. “Francesa had that, and Joe Benigno had that, and I don’t want to go through all of the glad-handing, the hugging and the kisses and all that stuff. That would embarrass me.”

 

[HallGuy23]

Sounds like WFAN is doing everything they can to shed salary. Jastresmki left, Carlin left, Bart Scott left, 2 retirements now, and the CLO guy was recently all but let go.

I guess when u realize you can do radio shows from your living room now it changes things….

 

[Halldan1]

 

[Piratz]

Sounds like WFAN is doing everything they can to shed salary. Jastresmki left, Carlin left, Bart Scott left, 2 retirements now, and the CLO guy was recently all but let go.

I guess when u realize you can do radio shows from your living room now it changes things….

Yep. Dynamic totally changed. Similar to traditional network TV, etc. But WFAN was an absolute monster in its heydey when the world was different; the gold standard for sports talk.

 

[TheHall87]

Sounds like WFAN is doing everything they can to shed salary. Jastresmki left, Carlin left, Bart Scott left, 2 retirements now, and the CLO guy was recently all but let go.

I guess when u realize you can do radio shows from your living room now it changes things….

That's probably part of it but I'm sure they're still paying Boomer very well and Carton and to a lesser extent Roberts are also well paid.

Jastremski probably saw the handwriting on the wall that he wasn't going to get a daytime slot anytime soon and moved on. Carlin got pushed out, the FAN wanted to keep Scott but ESPN gave him a better opportunity, Beningo was probably pushed out to a degree when they brought Carton back but he had been talking about getting out also. Tony Paige also retired which was an underrated loss. The station's on-air depth has taken a big hit over the past five years or so.

The bigger thing is that Mark Chernoff retired. Now with Spike Eskin in charge, there are going to be changes. Looks like updates are now hourly rather than every 20 minutes and now he'll get to impact the regular airstaff.

Somers is 74. Personally, I long ago tired of his schtick and pretty much turned the station off whenever I heard his voice. That said, he deserves the chance to ride off into the sunset however he sees fit.

 

[Seton75]

I was in my car an awful lot from around 95 to 2005. Sweater and Schmoozer at lunch time. First time I heard SS I had to go down south for a day, got a late plane home, driving around 2am...who is this crazy man working on FAN? Does Joe Beningo give steve a vig, didnt Joe get famnous from calling Steve all the time then win a contest?

Actually had FAN on one recent Sunday to listen to the NYG. Dont bother much with it anymore. Maybe that will change if I ever go back to my office...

 

[HALL85]

That's probably part of it but I'm sure they're still paying Boomer very well and Carton and to a lesser extent Roberts are also well paid.

Jastremski probably saw the handwriting on the wall that he wasn't going to get a daytime slot anytime soon and moved on. Carlin got pushed out, the FAN wanted to keep Scott but ESPN gave him a better opportunity, Beningo was probably pushed out to a degree when they brought Carton back but he had been talking about getting out also. Tony Paige also retired which was an underrated loss. The station's on-air depth has taken a big hit over the past five years or so.

The bigger thing is that Mark Chernoff retired. Now with Spike Eskin in charge, there are going to be changes. Looks like updates are now hourly rather than every 20 minutes and now he'll get to impact the regular airstaff.

Somers is 74. Personally, I long ago tired of his schtick and pretty much turned the station off whenever I heard his voice. That said, he deserves the chance to ride off into the sunset however he sees fit.

I never cared much for Somers either...struck me as someone who liked to hear himself talk and his schtick to me was over the top. 74 is a good run although everyone should have the chance to write their own exit from the last job. Such is the media game though...prop people up and kick them to the curb without any notice.

 

[HallLine69]

I was in my car an awful lot from around 95 to 2005. Sweater and Schmoozer at lunch time. First time I heard SS I had to go down south for a day, got a late plane home, driving around 2am...who is this crazy man working on FAN? Does Joe Beningo give steve a vig, didnt Joe get famnous from calling Steve all the time then win a contest?

Actually had FAN on one recent Sunday to listen to the NYG. Dont bother much with it anymore. Maybe that will change if I ever go back to my office...

I am retired and living in Atlanta for the past 40 years but still listen to the FAN when doing yard work or sitting in my home office. Not Carton though, never liked him much. I can't stand Atlanta sports radio. It's alI fanboy, rahrah garbage where anything vaguely negative is never heard.

 

[Seton75]

I am retired and living in Atlanta for the past 40 years but still listen to the FAN when doing yard work or sitting in my home office. Not Carton though, never liked him much. I can't stand Atlanta sports radio. It's alI fanboy, rahrah garbage where anything vaguely negative is never heard.

Carton is the worst. Was a good reason i switched to spotfy on the ride to work.

 

[NYShoreGuy]

Nostalgia for a time and a place steve somers and tony paige meant a lot to those who worked late or graveyard shifts....a good evening to you and how you be, steve somers here and you there at 11:32 and 14 seconds on a Friday night in NY we have eddiie robinson on the other side if the glass and dont forget that 718 937 66 66 on The Fan NY....his monologues were well written orginals probably a far most humble person who treated everyone the same

 

[seton1996]

Carton is the worst. Was a good reason i switched to spotfy on the ride to work.

Could not stand Carton when he was on in morning with Boomer, since his return in afternoons with Evan Roberts I have warmed up to him a lot more, while not a fan do listen to them on occasion.

 

[andover joe]

Is the rumor true that SSomers is going to become the play-by-play announcer for the NY Islanders?