Nationals replace Phillies on Harrisburg, Penn. radio station

In addition to battling over the National League East division crown every season, the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies are also battling for territory and fans in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Well, if you want to call it battling. Based on PennLive.com’s Dave Solittle report earlier this week, that term might be an overstatement.

In his report, Solittle says that Sports Radio 96.5 FM, which is based in Pennsylvania’s capitol city of Harrisburg, will be bumping Phillies broadcasts from their airwaves this season. In their place will be the defending NL East champion Nationals, who after signing Max Scherzer last month, are also the odds on favorites to win the World Series. 

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What a bunch of front runners over there at Sports Radio 96.5! How dare they? 

“Our agreement was up and we made the decision last week to part ways with the Phillies and flip to the Nationals,” Ron Giovanniello, regional vice president of Cumulus Media Pennsylvania said. “Nothing against the Phillies, but clearly the Nationals are a team on the rise. They won the NL East last year and are picked to win it again this year.

OK, yeah, that actually makes sense.

While we’re sure there were several  other factors that led to the decision, the directions both franchises are currently going appears to be the driving force, and understandably so. While the Nationals are flying high with baseball’s most dominant starting rotation, the Phillies are just now coming around to the idea of rebuilding after three seasons of steep decline. There’s no doubt which team has a stronger positive buzz surrounding it, and logic suggests more buzz should equal more listeners and consistent interest throughout the season.

It’s just good business. 

With that said, there was already a pretty good built-in reason to feature the Nationals more prominently. Harrisburg is also the home to their Double-A affiliate. Now you have buzz plus a connection from potential listeners to some of the team’s biggest stars, including Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg.  

“The Nats are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, and they really wanted to be on the radio in this area and start building up their fan base,” Giovanniello said. “With Washington having that connection with a farm team right here in Harrisburg, it also creates synergies and opportunities for both of us.

“They’ve had a lot of star talent come through here with the Senators, and we feel the Nats are a team on the rise. There’s growing interest, and with this deal, we felt we’ve made it better. It’s a one-year deal, but we have every intention of watching the relationship grow in the future.”

Also working in the Nationals favor is that their move coincides with the stations upgrade to a more powerful PM signal with coverage four times larger. That might even get them right into Philadelphia. 

As for the Phillies, this news is obviously disheartening, but there’s not a lot they can do to turn it around right now. Their only resort is to stay focused on the baseball side, rebuild the team, and earn the trust and interest of their fans. Until that happens, the Nationals will continue running the territory like they’re Vince McMahon in the 1980s.  

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813