Earlier in the year, the FTC announced a new rule banning noncompete agreements around the nation, a decision the agency believes will result in higher earnings, augmented levels of innovation and the creation of new businesses. In some cases, violation of a noncompete agreement has resulted in litigation, as was the case for Anthony Gargano when he took a job hosting programming for the ALLCITY Network. The startup, streaming-first media venture focuses on blending sports and lifestyle and expanded in recent years, including into the Philadelphia marketplace.
When Gargano officially joined PHLY Sports, he was suspended with pay by 97.5 The Fanatic. Station owner Beasley Media Group believed he was in breach of contract and filed a federal lawsuit. One month later, a preliminary injunction was agreed upon that stated he was unable to provide any services to ALLCITY Network related to content targeted towards the Philadelphia market as defined by Nielsen. There were also limitations placed on him as it relates to exclusivity and solicitation, the latter of which remains in effect. Gargano, however, never wanted to leave traditional radio, trying to find a way to forge a partnership and realize a path forward.
“I offered them many different ways to sit down and talk about it – I don’t think they ever really took it seriously,” Gargano said of Beasley Media Group management. “I also don’t think they realized what I was doing [and that] I wanted to do both.”
Beasley Media Group had the ability to terminate Gargano’s employment at any time and owe him four months’ severance under his previous contract. Despite having that runway, the state of the radio business alarmed him pertaining to the diminished value of stations and cyclic job cuts at 97.5 The Fanatic. Gargano became enamored with the concept behind ALLCITY Network, perceiving it to be akin to Netflix for local sports without any impediments.
“The opportunity to get in early where I could be free to create and use my vision – now we have a staff, a healthy staff of almost 30 people, and we do journalism and shows and fun stuff and relate to the fans [and] the community,” Gargano said. “But there’s a million things, and we’re not encumbered by anything other than our imagination and how we can create content.”
Gargano had enjoyed an eight-year stint at 97.5 The Fanatic where he primarily hosted a weekday program in the midday time slot. Although he has reverence towards terrestrial radio, beginning his foray in the business at the turn of the century with SportsRadio 94WIP, he observed the dynamic nature of the business model itself.
“First of all, I helped The Fanatic more than The Fanatic helped me, and if anything, you can argue that WIP made me, which they did, but if you don’t do it yourself, you’re not going to last long,” Gargano explained. “If it doesn’t work out, just because you put someone on the air doesn’t mean that they’re going to work out – it’s just kind of how it is. There has to be a fit, and some people who are really, really talented sometimes don’t fit.”
The Philadelphia bureau of ALLCITY launched last September and reached over 1 million consumers in combined audience through podcast downloads and video views in a single month. Even with Gargano making his local debut in late March, PHLY Sports reached this point faster than any other ALLCITY Network market. Gargano stated that PHLY Sports will hit profitability next month and already has more than 20 active advertising partners on its network. ALLCITY Network will continue its expansion this quarter with the introduction of a fifth market in its portfolio and the launch of FAST channels in all markets.
“Our big expense is the internet,” Gargano said. “We don’t have heritage radio stations that we bought and signals and towers – we don’t have that, so we can spend all of our money on talent, and ultimately talent always drives it. People are going to go, and now people are starting to find [it] – you can see it; you can see how quickly things change.”
Despite not being able to divulge his opinions on Philadelphia sports in this capacity for six months, Gargano still made sure to keep up with the latest news regarding the local teams. Shortly after the new year, Gargano, ALLCITY Network and Beasley Media Group reached a settlement, dismissing the case with prejudice sans fiscal remittance. Through the process, Gargano was permitted to take part in administrative work for ALLCITY Network, along with writing articles for the website so long as they did not specifically pertain to Philadelphia or were published on the PHLY Sports platform. Outside of ALLCITY Network, Gargano also continued to host a weekend show on FOX Sports Radio and started a sports betting podcast with Parx Casino.
Gargano views his eponymous local program, The Anthony Gargano Show, as adopting a similar format to TMZ on TV, in which it discusses pertinent topics and implements its audience. The weekday program runs on the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel of the local FOX affiliate in addition to streaming live on YouTube and available to listen across podcast distribution platforms. By the start of the football season, PHLY Sports will have its own 24/7 FAST channel streaming on at least three over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
“We’re in a digital age, so why wouldn’t this work?,” Gargano said. “The fact is you cut so much cost [and] cut so much fat out of the equation by broadcasting live on YouTube and broadcasting live on the internet. It just makes so much sense [from a] fiscal standpoint [and] from a creative standpoint.”
— Anthony Gargano Show (@PHLYGarganoShow) March 27, 2024IT’S TIME 😤
Tune in tomorrow at 9AM ⬇️https://t.co/T3x9kNsOLEpic.twitter.com/cZuQpg9rA4
From the beginning of his infatuation with sports media, Gargano always wanted to be a writer and honed his craft at Temple University. After working for the Burlington County Times covering preps out of school, he moved to Chicago and wrote stories for the Associated Press. Following time in the Windy City, Gargano returned to the east coast where he worked for the New York Post covering marquee matchups and writing lengthy feature stories and essays for the Sunday edition. He eventually wanted to become a foreign correspondent, bringing him back to Philadelphia to work for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“The internet had come aboard and nobody realized [or] really kind of figured out how to monetize, and newspapers started to hit a little bit of a struggle [and] they started to close bureaus,” Gargano recalled. “I wanted to do the Rome bureau for the Inquirer – they wound up closing it later.”
Many of the radio hosts at then-610 WIP were veterans of the Philadelphia Inquirer and people with whom Gargano consulted when he was offered a job at the station. Upon being compelled to take the role, he accepted and began hosting in the midday timeslot alongside Glen Macnow.
Gargano knew that he had a “muddy patois” and became more comfortable speaking naturally over time. Within his years at the station, which he refers to as the heritage brand in Philadelphia sports radio, he looks back on the entity being wild and representing the pulse of the city. Pairing with Macnow for many years was an invaluable experience that enhanced his hosting abilities and helped him through the business. Macnow will be retiring from SportsRadio 94WIP in mid-July and is leaving a legacy on the airwaves as someone who made Philadelphia as home and related to the fans through trials and tribulations.
“He was a consummate professional,” Gargano said of Macnow. “He would think through topics the way they should be thought through, and all of us that were journalists, the way we would program the show would be through that prism, right? You would inject fun into it, but you also thought about the big story of the day, so it was an inverted pyramid.”
Although Gargano enjoyed his time with WIP, he ultimately left the outlet in 2015 and joined 97.5 The Fanatic where he hosted the midday program for many years. In hosting on a competing station in the sports radio space, he evinced a clear dichotomy between the two media outlets.
“The soul of WIP is still Eagles and football centric, even though it’s the home for the Phillies and they do some good Phillies content, but it’s really always been Eagles,” Gargano said. “Sixers, Flyers, Phillies – there was more diversity in the conversation, and I think that’s kind of the difference between the two.”
Through the vision of its executive team and evolving media paradigm, Gargano decided that ALLCITY Network would be the best place to continue his career. In the early stages of his time with the outlet, he was hosting the ALL NFL Podcast alongside former offensive lineman Brian Baldinger. The show includes deft storytelling and insightful analysis, along with timely and pertinent interviews.
“If you go deep dive with someone, I think that’s what separates you because you find your own little niche,” Gargano said. “You learn the game, and you have Baldy who can break it down and what he sees, so it will be more football centric.”
Outside of his responsibility hosting two programs, Gargano has taken on a managerial role with the digital entity. It is something he has always wanted to do, comparing it to athletes wanting to serve as the coach or general manager of a respective team. As he was hosting on the radio, Gargano pitched several nonfiction and scripted television shows and has several unfinished novels, leaning into the pastime of storytelling and writing.
“I love ideas and bringing an idea [to] life, so we’re working on something for football season that’s going to be a whole lot of fun,” Gargano said. “A whole Eagles kind of preview that melds the old-school newspaper preview section, tab section with video elements to it, and so we’re going to be diving into a little local 30 for 30 stuff; like really kind of interesting content that’s not just a daily opinion.”
While he does not solicit or sell the content, he oversees the local enterprise while establishing relationships and assisting in overall dissemination. Gargano conveyed the success of the subscription model in welcoming new consumers in recent months. In fact, he articulated that PHLY Sports has led ALLCITY Network in subscriber growth since its launch and set the single month record for new subscribers this past March.
“Opinion is great and it’s necessary, but I think storytelling also needs to be a part of us, so I like that piece of it a lot,” Gargano said. “So, if you marry editorial, written opinion and storytelling and journalism – you meld those together, I think that’s what I want to deliver at PHLY. I used it as the model of all of our markets at ALLCITY.”
