As Rich Shertenlieb launches his new show on 100.7 WZLX “Boston’s Classic Rock,” his co-hosts who you’ve probably heard on sports radio and seen on sports TV channels have been announced.
Shertenlieb, who was a longtime morning host on 98.5 The Sports Hub before his split last year, will be debuting “The Rich Shertenlieb Show” on WZLX this Monday, May 20.
He’ll be bringing with him a cast of characters from the sports media world, iHeartMedia Boston revealed on Thursday. Shertenlieb will be joined by Michael Hurley, who recently left WBZ Boston after a long run covering sports there.
There will be a rotating cast of co-hosts, including: Ted Johnson, three-time Super Bowl champion with the Pats who has been filling in on 98.5 and appearing on NBC Sports Boston; Charlotte Wilder, formerly with Fox Sports, ESPN and Sports Illustrated who’s now on the Dan Le Batard Show; and Mike Giardi, an NFL Network alum who’s now a writer at Boston Sports Journal and appears on NBC Sports Boston.
Kenny Young, who joined the WZLX family in 1997 and became producer of the morning show in 2020, will be the producer of Shertenlieb’s show.
“I couldn’t be happier to be a part of the iHeartRadio family,” Shertenlieb said in a statement. “From empowering me to helm one of the most legendary signals in New England at WZLX, to giving me the ability to surround myself each morning with some of my favorite people on the planet, they’ve provided everything that I need to create something special.
“iHeartRadio is the biggest and best audio companies in the world, and I’m excited about exploring this partnership to its full potential,” he added. “Now it’s time to get to work, and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Shertenlieb’s morning show from 6 to 10 a.m. will be competing against his former co-host, Fred Toucher at 98.5 The Sports Hub.
“Rich has made an undeniable impact on the Boston radio landscape,” said Dylan Sprague, senior VP of programming for iHeartMedia Boston. “Rich’s drive and creativity are unmatched and he’s assembled an incredible team to lead WZLX into its next chapter.”
Shertenlieb in the fall left the 98.5 morning show after a longtime run with Toucher. In Shertenlieb’s WZLX announcement on social media, he wrote that “non-competes are the worst and should be totally illegal.”
The previous morning show at WZLX included hosts Pete McKenzie and Heather Ford, who are now out. The morning show change also comes several months after morning show co-host Kevin Karlson died unexpectedly.
iHeartMedia Boston owns and operates WZLX-FM, WXKS-FM, WJMN-FM, WBWL-FM, WZRM-FM, WBZ-AM, WRKO-AM, WXKS-AM.