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Angelo Cataldi: New WIP contract is his last

The 610 morning host is on the books for four more years.

After months of talks, Angelo Cataldi has reupped with WIP (610), sealing a new four-year deal on Monday.

But he says this will be his last contract at WIP and in radio.

Cataldi posted on his blog Monday night that it was "a brutal four-month ordeal in which I truly believed several times that I was leaving the only station I know. The fact that I signed a week after the new year – and a week after the last contract ran out – shows how close I really came to leaving. ... How close was I to leaving? In mid-November, I put in for my remaining comp time. My last day was going to be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I had every intention of following through on that drop-dead date until the weekend before then, when our parent company, CBS, softened its stance and offered what I considered the framework of a fair deal."

He's been with WIP for about 20 years.

"I'm convinced this will be my last contract at WIP, and in radio," he wrote.

His agent, Steve Mountain, would not disclose the terms. He said the morning man -- whose long-rumored seven-figure salary is believed to be the highest among Philadelphia radio folk -- made out "very well."

Cataldi prides himself on his thriftiness, and is known as a smart investor.

Cataldi's contract talks played out amid general belt-tightening at WIP's parent company CBS.

As I noted in November, media companies are in a bind as revenues fall.

If companies re-sign high-priced talent at a higher price, or even the same price, other personalities can use the point in their own negotiations. Conversely, if Cataldi settled for less, it hurts the bargaining position of the rest of the talent out there.