Angelo Cataldi Signs 4-Year Renewal With WIP-A

CBS RADIO Sports WIP-A/PHILADELPHIA morning host ANGELO CATALDI announced on the air this morning that he has signed a new four -year deal to continue with the station. CATALDI, the former PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER sportswriter and columnist who has been with WIP for 20 years, told his listeners that he was happy not to have taken a pay cut in this economy, but resisted co-host HUGH DOUGLAS' attempts to get him to disclose his actual salary.

On his blog, CATALDI wrote that he signed "after a brutal four-month ordeal in which I truly believed several times that I was leaving the only station I know. The fact that I signed a week after the new year -- and a week after the last contract ran out -- shows how close I really came to leaving. The problem all along was not with my commitment to WIP, nor theirs to me. It was simply a philosophical difference over how the recession should impact my contract. I argued that my value to the station was only growing (as were ratings), and they argued that revenues were down throughout the industry and I had to shoulder the burden of that downturn.

...I’m convinced this will be my last contract at WIP, and in radio.

"How close was I to leaving? In mid-NOVEMBER, I put in for my remaining comp time. My last day was going to be the WEDNESDAY before THANKSGIVING. I had every intention of following through on that drop-dead date until the weekend before then, when our parent company, CBS, softened its stance and offered what I considered the framework of a fair deal. Even with that breakthrough, we needed six more weeks to get the language right, requiring me to work without a contract last week for the first time in my 20 years at WIP.

"Believe me, I broke no banks with this deal. It represented a major compromise on both sides. The agreement runs for four years, with WIP holding the option to bring me back for what would be my 25th year if they want. Either way, I’m convinced this will be my last contract at WIP, and in radio. I will be 62 (or 63) when it runs out. By then, it should be time for someone else to take the show into the future.

"Until then, though, I will continue to do the best I can every day, every segment, to represent the passion of the great sports fans of PHILADELPHIA. I thank all of you for your loyalty and your many kind words during this difficult time."

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