Craig Carton Returns To WFAN/NYC
• In an announcement that surprised pretty much no one, Entercom Sports-Talk WFAN/New York formally announced the imminent return of Craig Carton, this time as afternoon co-host. Carton, the former co-host of WFAN’s Boomer & Carton morning show from 2007-2017, starts November 9 and will plug in alongside co-host Evan Roberts, weekdays from 2-7pm ET. He succeeds longtime WFAN personality Joe Benigno, who yesterday announced his retirement.
As has been exhaustively reported by now, Carton’s massive gambling debts and a concert ticket-selling scam led to his 2017 arrest, subsequent termination from WFAN and a federal prison term, all of which are well documented in the HBO documentary, Wild Card: The Downfall of a Radio Loudmouth.
“Craig Carton was part of the fabric of WFAN for a decade, both on and off the air, engaging and entertaining audiences with his one of a kind personality and talent,” said Chris Oliviero, SVP/Market Manager, Entercom New York. “We all hope that this next step on his road back will not only be beneficial to Craig, but also for his audience as he shares his story and looks to make an impact through the power of his voice. WFAN welcomes him back and is excited to have him join Evan Roberts in afternoon drive.”
Carton commented, “I’m grateful to Entercom for the chance to return home to WFAN. I have dreamt about this moment every minute of every day for the last three years. I know I have work to do to regain the trust of my colleagues, listeners and advertisers and am committed to doing just that. I can’t wait to get started with Evan Roberts on November 9th.”
• Carton began his radio career in 1991 at WGR/Buffalo, NY, before moving to WWWE/Cleveland a year later, and to WIP/Philadelphia in 1993. In 1997, Carton hosted a syndicated sports-talk show on the Sports Fan Network. He later moved to Denver as morning host on KKFN-FM, where in his first year his show became the highest-rated in the station’s history. His success continued at crosstown rival KBPI-FM –within one book he had the highest-rated local morning show in the market. Following a stint at WNEW-FM/New York, Carton joined WKXW (New Jersey 101.5)/Trenton to host The Jersey Guys afternoon show, making enough noise to lead WFAN to hire him as Boomer Esaison‘s co-host in 2007.
