Tampa Bay radio is getting interesting.
Bubba the Love Sponge (aka Todd Clem) returned to the airwaves Monday full of vitriol against his former employer. Now on WHFS 98.7 FM, Bubba came out swinging against WHPT 102.5 FM, also known as The Bone.
Song parodies, insults and promises of regaining his morning show crown from Mike Calta (Bubba's former station-mate and the biggest name in 102.5's lineup) were part of his first-day agenda, which also included media questions and the launch of his own chicken wing (seriously).
Sparks flew when Bubba actually called Mike Calta's show and the two went at it for around 10 minutes on the air.
Calta seemed more than ready for the exchange, confidently peppering Bubba with digs and essentially dismissing the heavyweight personality as being well past his radio prime. Bubba responded by mentioning the station's drop in morning ratings since Calta took over his old time slot. Then there was a lot of yelling. But it was fun radio.
While Bubba's the bigger name in this "war" (his word), it's not exactly an even fight right now. Calta's The Bone has several hours of original programming each day, featuring radio personalities, stand-up comedians, music parodists and other talent — all of whom are loyal to Calta and have developed a working synergy across their shows. But at 98.7, it's just Bubba. Literally just Bubba: The station is running his show 24/7 for the next month while they figure out the new format. Two weeks ago they were playing Christmas music non-stop. Now nobody can say what the format will be, or whether 98.7 will definitely be Bubba's home station. Aside from vague claims of "revolutionizing radio," it's all up in the air.
But if the first battle is any indication, the winner will likely be the Tampa Bay radio listener.
