Preston & Steve

Last updated

Preston & Steve
Preston and Steve logo.png
GenreComedy, Talk, Rock
Running time4+ hours
Country of origin United States
Home station WMMR (Philadelphia)
Hosted by
  • Preston Elliot
  • Steve Morrison
Starring
  • Casey Foster
  • Kathy Romano
  • Nick McIlwain
  • Marisa Magnatta
Produced by
  • Marisa Magnatta
  • Nick McIlwain
Executive producer(s)Casey Fosbenner
Recording studio Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Original release1998 (1998) on Y100/Y100
(Except February 23, 2005 - May 23, 2005)
Website prestonandsteve.com
Podcast prestonandsteve.libsyn.com

Preston & Steve is a morning radio, comedy, and variety broadcast on Philadelphia's active rock station 93.3 FM WMMR. The show features DJs Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison. The show originated at WDRE and then on Y100, both in Philadelphia, and features daily telephone interviews, in-studio guests, celebrity impersonations, unusual news stories, and numerous sound clips and running gags. It broadcasts live on the radio as well as streaming audio via the station website from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. ET Monday through Friday, and is a featured podcast in the comedy section of the iTunes Store.

Contents

History

Preston Elliot, Steve Morrison, and Marilyn Russell were among a group of radio personalities introduced to the Philadelphia market through the now defunct radio station WDRE. [1] With several of their WDRE co-workers, they departed the station for Y100 in 1997 when WDRE changed format. [1] After four years of The Y100 Morning Show with Preston, Marilyn, and Steve, Marilyn Russell left the morning show on March 1, 2002, citing family reasons. She has worked part-time on other stations in the Philadelphia area since then, including WMGK, SoJo 104.9, WYSP, and joined morning personality Dave Cruise as co-host on "The BENFM Morning Show on 95.7 in 2007. [2]

In 2001, WPLY's owner, Dan Lerner, one of the last independent owners in the Philadelphia market, sold the station to Radio One, a national broadcasting corporation that acquired Preston, Marilyn & Steve's previous radio station 103.9 WDRE. Radio One and hosts Elliot and Morrison did not successfully negotiate a new contract, and the personalities agreed to a deal with local broadcasting group Greater Media. The hosts' contract with Radio One expired on February 24, 2005, and Y100 changed format and became WPHI "The Beat" the same day. [3]

A legal battle between Radio One and the Elliot and Morrison team over the hosts' non-compete clause was resolved by a ruling that they were no longer in competition with WPLY. On May 23, 2005, their new show debuted on WMMR. [4]

In 2006, Elliot and Morrison received a long-term contract extension [5] and in 2008, the station gave them a new 1,800-square-foot (170 m2) studio with their own production equipment. [6]

They signed multi-year extensions in 2011 [7] and in 2019. [8] In May 2022, their contract with WMMR was extended to 2030. [9]

On-air staff

Preston Elliot
Born
Preston Elliot Wilson

(1968-01-25) January 25, 1968 (age 56)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Other namesKenny Knight
SpouseRachelle
Children3, Parker, Carter, and Caroline
Steve Morrison
Born (1959-06-12) June 12, 1959 (age 65)
Long Island, New York, U.S.
SpouseClare

Awards and ratings

The show has been named the "Best Morning Show" by Philadelphia Style magazine, [10] and "Personality/Show of the Year" in the active rock category by Radio & Records trade magazine. [11] Before switching to WMMR, the show won various Philadelphia A.I.R. Awards, including the "Best Weekday Morning Team" award for 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005, [12] and was voted best local morning show in the country in FMQB's Year End Leaders Poll for 2004 and 2005 in two different formats. [13]

In the Summer 2004 Arbitron ratings book, the show was rated fourth in market share for all people ages 18–34, and second for men in the same category. [14] The Preston & Steve show's ratings surpassed Howard Stern's during his last month on the air, and they outranked each of David Lee Roth's, Opie and Anthony's, and Kidd Chris's tenures at WYSP. [15] As of 2009, Preston & Steve was the top rated show in Philadelphia, [16] and over a four-year period, they had the #1 show in the Arbitron ratings for the 25–54 adult demographic a total of 42 times. [7]

In 2014, Elliot and Morrison were nominated by the National Association of Broadcasters as finalists for the NAB Marconi Radio Awards for Major Market Personality of the Year. [17]

On June 11, 2019, Elliot and Morrison were honored by The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation, receiving the 2019 Service to Community Award in acknowledgement of the Camp Out for Hunger [18]

On November 22, 2019 The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted the duo into their Hall of Fame. [19]

In August 2021, it was announced that Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison will be inducted to the Radio Hall of Fame, being nominated under the “Spoken Word On-Air Personality” category. [20]

Publicity events

Camp Out for Hunger

Since 1998, the show has held an annual Camp Out For Hunger, in which both Elliot and Morrison live in a motorhome for one week in November to raise food for Philabundance. The show awards prizes to individuals and groups that donate the most food. Since 1998, the event has collected thousands of tons of food and raised millions of dollars to feed the hungry across the Delaware Valley. [21] [22]

Results

YearTons of FoodUS Dollars
200587.4$10,000
2006151$18,337
2007232$27,427
2008223$40,540
2009187$45,000
2010 [23] 264$64,119
2011288$80,000
2012 [24] 313$106,000
2013386$240,522
2014420$110,518
2015580$158,995
2016683$74,870+
2017 [25] 839$272,683
2018 [26] 913$198,188
20191,339$200,000
2020 [27] 1,268$1,743,232
2021 [28] 1,167$1,802,237
2022 [29] 1,410$1,340,254
2023 [30] 878$1,158,732
2024 [31] 830$995,710

10,000 marbles

To celebrate the anticipated 10,000th loss in Philadelphia Phillies franchise history, executive producer Nick McIlwain rolled 10,000 marbles down the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art as Bill Weston, WMMR's program director, looked on. After being cleaned up by the show's production crew, the marbles were donated to Toys for Tots and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. [32]

"Totally Office Calendar"

In 2006, Elliot had a slip of the tongue while trying to say "awesome" and instead said "office". Later that year they announced that they would be releasing a calendar featuring one (sometimes two) woman a month. Lauren Harris had been the only woman to appear in the calendar every year, until the 2015 calendar, when other commitments kept her from participating (she returned to appear in the 2016 Calendar). Release of the Calendar is typically accompanied by a "Totally Office Calendar Party", which can draw thousands of participants to see the women depicted in the Calendar in person and receive signed copies of the Calendar. There was no Calendar shoot nor a release party for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Instead, a 2021 "Totally Office Calendar" poster featuring past photos from previous Calendars was created and was given to anyone that made a drive-through donation at the 2020 Camp Out for Hunger. [33] The Calendar poster was later made available through the station's "Rock Shop" store on their website for the apropos price of $9.33. [34]

"I Bleed for Preston & Steve" blood drive

This annual blood drive is hosted by Preston & Steve in coordination with the American Red Cross. The event typically attracts a very large crowd, and various promotional items and free concert tickets are often given out. The 2011 blood drive, the sixth annual drive, collected a total of 1,174 units of blood, and gives them a 6-year total of 6,409 units. [35] The 2016 (11th annual) drive collected a total of 1,297 units of blood. [36]

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References

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  2. ↑ "The Greater Media Grapevine" (PDF). Fall 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Radio One Displaces Y100 Philly With The Beat". February 25, 2005. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007.
  4. ↑ "The Greater Media Grapevine" (PDF). Summer 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2007.
  5. ↑ "WMMR's Preston and Steve Extend Contract Through 2010". Greater Media, Inc. March 14, 2006. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007.
  6. ↑ Klein, Michael (May 4, 2008). "Inqlings". The Philadelphia Inquirer .[ dead link ]
  7. 1 2 "WMMR Inks Preston & Steve To Multi-Year Contract Extension". FMQB. August 23, 2011. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Preston and Steve sign multi-year extension at WMMR".
  9. ↑ "Preston And Steve Staying AT WMMR". Archived from the original on May 19, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Best of Style". Philadelphia Style . 2006. Archived from the original on July 14, 2006.
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  13. ↑ "Q&A with WMMR/Philly Morning Hosts Preston & Steve". FMQB. February 16, 2006. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007.
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  17. ↑ "2014 NAB Marconi Radio Award Finalists Announced". FMQB. July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014.
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  25. ↑ "The totals are in! Camp Out for Hunger 2017 collected... - 93.3 WMMR". 93.3 WMMR. December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Totals are in!! 2018 Camp Out for Hunger Collected..." 93.3 WMMR. December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  27. ↑ "The totals are in! Camp Out for Hunger 2020 collected…". November 24, 2020.
  28. ↑ "The totals are in! Camp Out for Hunger 2021 collected…". November 9, 2021.
  29. ↑ "The totals are in! Camp Out for Hunger 2022 collected…". 93.3 WMMR. November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  30. ↑ "The totals are in! Camp Out for Hunger 2023 collected…". wmmr.com. November 21, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  31. ↑ "The totals are in! Camp Out for Hunger 2024 collected…". wmmr.com. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Marbles Roll Ahead Of Dubious Milestone". NBC10.com. July 13, 2007.[ permanent dead link ]
  33. ↑ "P&S 2021 Totally Office Calendar Poster ON SALE NOW". November 5, 2020.
  34. ↑ Vallee, Joe (November 15, 2010). "Preston and Steve's 2011 Totally Office Calender Party brings thousands to Chickie's and Pete's". philly2philly.com. Game Time Media, LLC. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  35. ↑ Segel, Whitney (June 30, 2011), "WMMR Listeners Give Back During Annual Blood Drive", Penn-Jersey Blood Services Region, American Red Cross, archived from the original (press release) on April 19, 2012, retrieved December 2, 2011
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  39. ↑ "Bleak Basement Bath".
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  41. ↑ "Casey Boy Plays for the Philadelphia Soul!". WMMR. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008.
  42. ↑ "'Always Sunny" Third Season Debuts". phillyedge.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.
  43. ↑ ""It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" Eagles Shoot". philadelphiaeagles.com.[ permanent dead link ]
  44. ↑ "Remember the Bazaar?". Philly.com.
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