Budget cuts have been made at Gow Media Sports “ESPN 97.5” KFNC Mont Belvieu/Houston TX as hosts Paul Gallant and Joel Blank have exited the station.
Gallant joined KFNC in February 2022 originally teamed with Vanessa Richardson first in the 10am-12pm timeslot before sliding solo to 12-3pm. He has spent much of his career in Houston previously working at Audacy’s 610 KILT from 2011 to 2019 with stints in weekends, nights and mornings. In between, he co-hosted mornings at Bonneville’s “710 ESPN” KIRO Seattle from 2019 until August 2021.
In a social media video announcing his departure, Gallant said, “Today was my last day at ESPN Houston. Budget cuts. Who could have seen budget cuts coming to radio in 2025. Huh> On a serious note, it’s been a blast these last three and a half years. So, I’ve got no hard feelings. That place allowed me to do the radio that I wanted to do. We laughed. We made fun of things. We made fun of me. We were goofy. We didn’t take ourselves seriously. That’s what its supposed to be.”
Blank co-hosted “The Killer B’s” with Jeremy Branham since 2021 first in middays before moving to afternoons in 2023. Blank previously hosted in other dayparts at the station and previously worked for the NBA’s Houston Rockets as Director of Broadcasting and part of their broadcast team from 1994 to 2016 after a previous stint with the Portland Trail Blazers.
With the exits, KFNC adds ESPN Radio’s Rich Eisen Show for 12-3pm, while evening host Joe George joins Branham in afternoons.
