By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Mitch Evans, a late-night sports talk host at 92.9/The Game, announced today that he is gone.
"After 3-1/2 years @929TheGame I am done. Enjoyed bringing "The Experience" 2 the airwaves & offer my opinions on Atlanta sports & beyond," Evans wrote on Twitter.
His latest shift was 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Despite a raft of changes at the station since its launch in October 2012, Evans was never given a slot during the prime daylight hours.
"We just made a change in evenings," said GM Rick Caffey, without elaboration. A replacement is now being sought.
Evans was one of just three original weekday hosts left at 92.9/ The Game. With Evans gone, that leaves only Rick Kamla (now on mid-days) and Carl Dukes (on afternoons) from the October, 2012 lineup.
The Game now regularly beating rival sports talk station 680/The Fan in overall ratings though during the daytime, the Fan remains competitive, often outdrawing the Game in afternoons. In the most recent Nielsen Audio book, the station a respectable 2.4 share, good for 17th place in the market. (Since the Fan does not subscribe to Nielsen, I'm not allowed to publicize its specific ratings.)
Evans, whose real name is Mitch Shapiro, has worked in the past with the Atlanta Thrashers Radio Network, 640/WGST-AM as sports director and pre and post-game host for the Atlanta Braves. He has also hosted a show about the Atlanta Falcons for Comcast. He spent six years as an on-air host on the now defunct 790/The Zone.
