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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
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The verdict on

97.5 The Fanatic

35
User verdict / 100 High confidence In trouble

The 97.5 The Fanatic app is plagued by severe technical issues like constant crashing, freezing, and unreliable streaming, despite some users appreciating its content and the return of popular personalities.

4.7★ lifetime (2,233) Free to download since 2012 by Beasley Media Group, Inc. updated 1.0 mo ago recent negative 66% 120 reviews across 2 regions
App Stability Advertisements Content & Personalities On-Demand/Podcasts
5★36
4★5
3★5
2★21
1★69
recent reviews across 2 regions, vs the 4.7★ lifetime average

The 97.5 The Fanatic app allows users to stream Philadelphia sports radio, including live shows and some on-demand content. While many enjoy the station's personalities and sports coverage, the app is widely criticized for frequent crashes, buffering, and excessive, repetitive advertisements.

What users like

  • Provides access to Philadelphia sports talk radio for local and out-of-market listenersR3R12R26R39
  • Offers live streaming of shows and some sports games like FlyersR41R79R71
  • Includes on-demand functionality for missed shows and podcasts, which was a requested feature and has been added/improvedR83R128R131R82
  • Features popular radio personalities and shows, with some listeners returning due to specific hostsR4R15R16R19

What users complain about

  • App frequently crashes, freezes, or stops playing, requiring restartsR1R11R17R18
  • Excessive and repetitive advertisements, often interrupting content or playing multiple times upon app restartR2R6R13R14
  • Streaming is unreliable, often failing to start or buffering constantlyR11R25R32R34
  • App restarts itself or auto-plays unexpectedly, even when not in use or when switching connectionsR55R56R45R50
  • Some users report issues with specific iOS versions, including beta versions, causing crashes on startupR60R61R62R63
  • Battery drain is a concern for some usersR50R57
  • Live game broadcasts may switch to other content, preventing users from listening to the actual gameR44R53
  • Content quality and personality changes are a point of contention for some listenersR5R10R21R22

Latest update · v8.0

What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):

Performance improvement and bug fixes.

Recurring themes

App Stability negative
The most prevalent complaint is the app's instability, with numerous reports of it crashing, freezing, stopping playback, or failing to stream live content. This often forces users to restart the app and re-listen to initial ads. The developer's notes mention 'Performance improvement and bug fixes' for the latest update, but recent reviews still heavily report these issues, indicating the fixes have not been effective for many users.R1R11R17R18
Advertisements negative
Users are highly frustrated by the quantity and repetitiveness of ads. Many report ads playing upon every app launch or restart, interrupting live content, and repeating the same commercials multiple times in a row. This significantly detracts from the listening experience.R2R6R13R14
Content & Personalities mixed
While many users praise the station's coverage of Philadelphia sports and specific hosts, particularly the return of Mike Missanelli and others, there are also complaints about certain personalities, lack of insight, and a perceived decline in overall content quality or diversity.R3R4R5R7
On-Demand/Podcasts mixed
Initially, many users complained about the lack of on-demand content or its removal in previous updates, making it difficult to catch up on missed shows. However, more recent reviews indicate that on-demand and download functionality has been added or improved, which is a positive change for those who rely on it.R7R57R64R81

Who it's for

This app is for dedicated Philadelphia sports fans who want to listen to 97.5 The Fanatic's live broadcasts and on-demand content, especially those living outside the local broadcast area R12R26R39. It is not for users who expect a stable, ad-free, or consistently reliable streaming experience R1R2R11R18.

Evidence note: The recent reviews skew heavily negative, focusing on app performance issues and ads. While there are positive reviews, they are fewer and often mention specific hosts rather than overall app functionality. The lifetime rating is high, but the recent trend indicates a significant decline in user satisfaction with the app's technical performance.

Frequently asked

Does the 97.5 The Fanatic app offer live streaming?
Yes, the 97.5 The Fanatic app offers live streaming of the radio station, allowing users to listen to shows and some sports games as they air R7R41R71R79.
Can I listen to shows on demand or download them?
Yes, the app now includes on-demand functionality for shows and the ability to download audio, a feature that was previously missing or inconsistent but has been improved R83R128R131R82.
Is the app stable and reliable?
No, many recent reviews indicate that the app is not stable or reliable, with frequent reports of crashing, freezing, buffering, and streams stopping unexpectedly R1R11R18R25.
Are there many ads in the app?
Yes, users frequently complain about an excessive number of repetitive ads, which often play upon app launch or restart and can interrupt live broadcasts R2R6R13R14.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R3] 5/5 · US Great Philly sports radio show: Ray dunne great producer. Bring back Mike again tho
  2. [R12] 5/5 · US Ex Pat: Born and raised in Philly; now live in North Carolina. But, in you heart, I will always be a Philly guy. I listen to this station via the net to hear about Philly sports. I enjoy the wit and wisdom of the journalists and the call in listeners.
  3. [R26] 5/5 · US From Utah: Listen everyday from Utah. Grew up in pennsauken , only station I trust to get the real Philly sports update, and rumors. I call almost every Tuesday and Thursday Bill
  4. [R39] 5/5 · US Awesome: I love it I lived in Trenton Nj my whole life so I’m a Philadelphia Eagles & Phillies fan, I listened to 97.5 The Fanatic everyday when I got into the car so when I moved to Upstate New York I missed being able to listen to 97.5 The Fanatic like I use to but now I downloaded this app & I can listen to it everyday again just like I use to 🙌🏽
  5. [R41] 5/5 · US Flyers games: I enjoy listening to flyers game when tv cover changes to people who i don’t really like
  6. [R79] 5/5 · US Listening Live: Works for the Flyers games if that's why you're downloading this app
  7. [R71] 5/5 · US Awesome: Finally I don't always have to go to my car to listen to the fanatic. Now I can listen to the show as freely as I won't on numerous mobile devices. And the sound is always clean. Good job creating this app guys!
  8. [R83] 4/5 · US Where is the on demand?: Why does the new 93.3 WMMR app have on demand functionality (even download capability on top of that), and the 97.5 app doesn't? Please tell me tell me an update is coming extremely soon that brings this functionality to the 97.5 app. 8/7 update: Looks like this app now has the on demand/download functionality. Thank you.
  9. [R128] 5/5 · US Great app!!: Very useful as a Philly sports fan. The ability to download the audio would be a nice addtition
  10. [R131] 5/5 · US Awesome App A++: This app is smooth and has a ton of features. I recently moved out of state and was worried i wouldn't be able to listen to Philly sports talk radio. Now I can and I can even listen to Mikey Miss entire show on demand!! Love it.
  11. [R82] 1/5 · US Angry Italian//now I'm happy:): Thx for adding demand back best thing about this app !!!!thx
  12. [R4] 5/5 · US These folks know sports: Love the afternoon shows. Unfiltered is number 1!
  13. [R15] 5/5 · US Favorite sports radio station: Very much enjoy listening to theses guys talk Philly sports,only thing that’s missing is a appearance from the Philly sports man (Me) keep up the great work
  14. [R16] 5/5 · US Comments: The 5 stars are ONLY because Mike is back.
  15. [R19] 5/5 · US Mike Miss: So good to listen to Mikey Miss on 97.5 again. I’m back!
  16. [R1] 2/5 · US Bad app: Freezes constantly
  17. [R11] 1/5 · US It used to be good: This app just shuts down all the time for no apparent reason or purpose. 75% of the time the app will launch but won’t stream. Very disappointed
  18. [R17] 1/5 · US Crashes too much: 🤷‍♂️
  19. [R18] 1/5 · US Stops playing every 5-10 minutes horrible: This app is the worst. Stops playing, freezes up only for you to have to restart the app and listen to commercials AGAIN before it pics back up
  20. [R2] 1/5 · US Ads: An ad to start each time so I can then listen to the ads every 10 minutes on the show and if I don’t want to listen to them and put on music and go back I then have to listen to another ad.
  21. [R6] 1/5 · US Long commercials: All of sudden started cutting off from content and playing long commercials and sneaking them in during a commercial break have to stop and restart to get back to live radio
  22. [R13] 1/5 · US Endless commercials: This app is horrible for attempting to listen to 97.5. Every time I try to use it, a continuous stream of 5-6 commercials play before any AirPlay.
  23. [R14] 1/5 · US Not reliable: Awful. Makes you have to listen to same commercial twice even if they’re already during a live on-air show outside of the radio commercial break. Can’t lower volume all the way down with out it stopping and having to reload and listen to the two commercials again. Atrocious
  24. [R25] 1/5 · US Poor Performance: App works less than 50% of the time. Devs should be ashamed on connection speed, download content reliability and just overall performance. An intern at Temple could do better.
  25. [R32] 2/5 · US Unreliable: I try to use this and it always has issues connecting or will stop playing mid stream
  26. [R34] 1/5 · US Play button often doesn’t work: kind of critical for a radio app to actually play audio, but the play button throws a loading spinner indefinitely as often as it actually plays audio, if not more.
  27. [R55] 3/5 · US Frustrating app: I love being able to stream 97.5 during work so I don’t miss anything and am not always able to have a radio. My biggest complaint is that that app constantly restarts itself while listening. Repetitively I must hear Mikey Miss repeat his commercial like as if I were first opening the app. Its not a connectivity problem with the phone. It does it on wifi or the phones data. Its th
  28. [R56] 3/5 · US Good, but not optimal: 1. The iOS app will start playing automatically when the phone wakes, even if it’s not in the foreground. I unlocked my phone this morning and opened Facebook, and I hear Missanelli’s commercial start blaring. Not connected to my car or anything else, and the app hadn’t been used in 12+ hours. 2. It would be great to put a cookie or refresh token in. As it is, the commerci
  29. [R45] 2/5 · US Needs Some Work: Loving listening to 97.5 The Fanatic but this app needs so much work. It always autoplays by itself after getting out of my car where it was connected to bluetooth. I have to here Gargano “READY FOR STEVENS LOVE DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RINGS” in the middle of the parking lot. The stream cuts out a lot or simply won’t start in general. There should not be an ad every time we hit the pla
  30. [R50] 2/5 · US Good w some issues: Let me start by saying I’m a big fan of 97.5 and I do like having this app. Currently it seems like the app is draining the battery very quickly these days. Also would like to see them make a change for data reconnection. I don’t mind listening to a ad to start the app but I listen to app while working at home. As I move from WiFi to cellular I have to listen to another ad
  31. [R60] 5/5 · US Try to fix if possible?: Love you guys, but I downloaded the beta and like everyone said it doesn't work. I know it's what I get for using a beta but would be sweet if updated
  32. [R61] 5/5 · US Don't leave 1 star for beta reviews: Yes it crashes on 10.3 but 10.3 is a beta! Love the app just miss the content:(
  33. [R62] 5/5 · US Love the App, however....: I downloaded iOS 10.3 beta and now the app will not open. It just crashes. Please get this up and running again.
  34. [R63] 1/5 · US iOS 10.3 bricked the app: Downloaded iOS 10.3 beta and the app loads and crashes each time even after reinstalling.
  35. [R57] 2/5 · US Downloading needs work.: The downloading of the shows is becoming hit or miss and a lot more miss here lately. I can’t even stream the most recent ones either and not to mention when I can it kills battery life. Please get this fixed.
  36. [R44] 1/5 · US Switches away from games.: I can listen to the pre game show and post game show on the app. However, it doesn’t let me listen to the games and switches to some dumb espn radio stuff. Please fix, it’s very annoying.
  37. [R53] 1/5 · US Can’t Even Listen to the 76ers?: What’s the point of the app...
  38. [R5] 4/5 · US Miss Tyrone & Mikey Miss: I prefer 97.5 I always have. But why do you keep John Kincade and his negative style( which fits the other station better) over Tyrone Johnson and Mikey Miss ???
  39. [R10] 1/5 · US Sports News: I like 97.5 over the other local station…. I used to love it, but my favorite personalities are gone….Bruno & Mayes, Shaun Brace, Mickey Miss, Farrzetta & Thomas, DeVon Gibbons, Phil from Mt Airy & Especially Micky Miss!!!!!
  40. [R21] 2/5 · US App: Every time I listen the app goes off! Get rid of Johnson!!
  41. [R22] 3/5 · US Not enough info: The moderators are on for only about 4 hrs per day, yet many don’t seem to be up on current events, and often don’t provide much in the way of insights or specifics. Then, go off half cocked based on a lack of real facts, or technical understanding of the specifics. It’s basically laziness and no interest in becoming fully knowledgeable.
  42. [R7] 5/5 · US 97.5: I love the shows but wish the app made every show available on demand like Wip does
  43. [R64] 3/5 · US Where Are All The Interviews?: Last one is in early December if 2016...c'mon man!!
  44. [R81] 1/5 · US No on demand? What a joke!: Who the hell has time or cares enough to dig into radio archives? That is not your audience. I don't live in Philadelphia anymore, but I still love to listen to Philadelphia sports radio (and Fanatic > WIP), but now you're not giving me much of a choice, so I guess WIP it is...

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store