NorthEast Radio Watch 12/15/2025: NYC Morning Shakeup

In this week’s issue… NYC morning shows exit – Carton back amidst WFAN shakeup – FM signing off in Canada – More radio centennials

By SCOTT FYBUSH

*How are your math skills this Monday morning? If you can add two and two, you might – or might not – be able to figure out what’s about to happen in the suddenly turbulent landscape of NEW YORK City urban morning radio, where two competing shows both exited their respective stations on Friday.

The first shoe to drop was at MediaCo’s Hot 97 (WQHT), where the “Ebro in the Morning” show came to an abrupt end, 21 years after Ebro Darden first took over mornings at the station. The current version of the show, teaming Darden with Peter Rosenberg and Laura Stylez, has been on Hot 97 since 2012 and had also been syndicated to a lineup of affiliates that includes the “Loud” hip-hop stations in Pennsylvania.

“It’s done. More to come,” Darden posted after Friday’s show, with other cast members dropping broad hints about something new coming in the new year. Later in the day at his other gig co-hosting afternoons on WHSQ (ESPN 880), Rosenberg told listeners the Ebro show had been working without a contract for several weeks and ultimately couldn’t reach a renewal deal.

Here’s where the math comes in: just hours after the news from Hot 97, Audacy’s rival WXBK (94.7 the Block) announced it had ended its current morning show hosted by Tarsha “Miss Jones,” as well as the night show with Ed Lover.

In the small world of urban radio, both Lover and Jones are also former Hot 97 morning hosts, Lover through much of the 1990s and Jones a decade later.

Will it take long now before we get the answers to our little math problem – and assuming Ebro and his cast cut ties with Hot 97 to cross the Block, will MediaCo be quick to grab Jones and Lover for another go-round at their old station? Or does this equation not add up the way it looks, and are both stations going in new directions?

We know there’s at least some smoke that doesn’t come with a fire: while Hot 97 mainstay Funkmaster Flex filled in on the morning shift today, that’s not permanent at all.

We’ll be watching closely to see how fast the dust all settles this week. (As soon as there’s any news at all, you know you’ll see it it first on our partner site, Radio Insight.)