Courtesy Chicago Sun Times

(September 24, 2010) Justin Craig, program director for the last 4½ years at ESPN Radio's sports talk WMVP-AM (1000), is moving on to handle similar duties at the radio sports network's flagship New York Station WEPN-AM (1050).

Craig came to WMVP from ESPN's corporate headquarters in Bristol, Conn., where, among other things, he was involved in producing ESPN Radio's popular "Mike & Mike In the Morning" show that has shown local ratings strength in recent months against "The Mully & Hanley Show" on archrival CBS Radio Chicago's sports talk WSCR-AM (670).

The ratings strength in Chicago of "Mike & Mike," a national radio program with hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, has surprised some observers. Typically, Chicago radio listeners tend to gravitate toward locally based programming, like "Mully & Hanley," with co-hosts Sun-Times columnist Mike Mulligan and former Sun-Times reporter Brian Hanley. But in the most recent August Arbitron ratings report, "Mike & Mike" was ranked fourth among men 25 to 54, while "Mully & Hanley" ranked sixth in the same core demographic. There is speculation "Mully & Hanley" may have lost a little steam as the Chicago White Sox, a popular topic of the show, started to slump. All White Sox games also air on WSCR.

Meanwhile, Craig's departure leaves a key post vacant in the WMVP programming department. It is expected to take several weeks to fill the position. But one likely candidate for the job is Adam Delevitt, who has been assistant program director under Craig. Delevitt, who will handle Craig's responsibilities until a permanent replacement is named, also is a Chicago native. So he has solid knowledge of the local radio and sports landscapes, considered big pluses when programming a Chicago sports radio station.

Delevitt said Thursday that if he gets the job, he foresees no major overhaul of current programming. His main goal, he said, is to remain super competitive with WSCR. He expects the morning drive ratings at the two stations to remain close heading into the heart of football season, which Delevitt says is a specialty of the "Mike & Mike" show. The two "Mike & Mike" hosts plan to broadcast their program from Chicago Monday to spotlight the Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers game.

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