Radio activity: Phillies extend Franzke, renew 94WIP broadcast

Phillies radio voice Scott Franzke chats with manager Pete Mackanin (Frank Klose/Sports Talk Philly)

The Phillies announced a couple broadcasting broadcasting moves on the radio side.   While the Phillies are signed to a long-term deal with television partner Comcast SportsNet, the Phillies' radio contract expired at the end of the 2016 season.   The Phillies will not be going anywhere, and neither will their voice.

In a Phillies press release, the Phillies announced a five-year contract extension with play-by-play broadcaster Scott Franzke.   Franzke first came to the team in 2006 as the pre- and post-game host on the club's radio broadcasts and moved into play by play the following year.   In the press release, Franzke expressed his gratitude for his new deal:

"My family and I are very excited and I just can't imagine doing this job anywhere else at this stage of my career," said Franzke. "I'm humbled and thankful to the Phillies for wanting this relationship to continue for another five years."

The release also mentions that Larry Andersen and Jim Jackson will return alongside Franzke in 2017.

Also on Monday morning, CBS Philly announced that they had agreed to a new radio deal with the Phillies to continue broadcasting Phillies games on 94 WIP.   In the CBS Press Release, Phillies Vice President and Market Manager David Buck expressed the team's pleasure with the deal:

“CBS RADIO is a long-time partner of ours, and we look forward to working with them, once again, to bring the very best coverage to our fans, starting with spring training and continuing throughout the 2017 season.”

The report said that Sportsradio WIP will continue the "Leading Off" pregame show, "Final Out" postgame shows, and the station will continue to broadcast some shows live from the concourse of Citizens Bank Park.

On the television side, Comcast SportsNet has the hiring control and they remain in the market for someone to replace Matt Stairs, who moved from the broadcast booth to the Phillies coaching staff.