Anthony Gargano out at 97.5 the Fanatic after contract dispute

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Philadelphia sports talk radio host Anthony Gargano is officially out at 97.5 The Fanatic after the two sides had an ugly contract dispute that spilled into the courts.

Gargano and the station’s parent company Beasley Media Group agreed to a preliminary injunction in which the host is done with the network now, but cannot work at his new role for All City Network’s Philadelphia startup PHLY Sports for six months, the website Crossing Broad reported.

Beasley Media Group filed a lawsuit last month accusing Gargano of breach of contract after he had been involved in the launch of PHLY, an upstart digital competitor to the Fanatic.

The suit claimed that Gargano wanted to work concurrently for both outlets but was prohibited from doing so by his contract with Beasley.

“Under both his Agreement and the common law duty of loyalty, Gargano is prohibited from providing services to a competing business while he is employed by Beasley,” the suit read.

“Despite this clearly defined obligation not to compete with his current employer, Gargano notified Beasley on September 11, 2023 that he intends to do precisely that: Gargano advised Beasley that he intends to continue producing content for The Fanatic, but also that he has accepted employment with All City where he will perform on podcasts, write articles, and likely create other forms of Philadelphia sports-focused content that will compete directly with Beasley.

“In other words, Gargano intends to work simultaneously for two competing business to provide sports coverage and commentary to the Philadelphia marketplace, targeting the same audience and competing for the same local advertisers on each platform.”

Gargano has been off-air from his midday show since the week before the suit was filed.

He had been at the Fanatic since 2015 and in the midday time slot since 2018.

Andrew Salciunas, Gargano’s former producer, has been hosting in his place.

All City has previously launched city-specific sites in Phoenix, Denver and Chicago.

Under the terms of the injunction, Gargano is permitted to work for All City’s other sites besides PHLY for the next six months but is unable to solicit Beasley’s advertising customers or employees for 18 months.

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