Mike Francesa will be returning to WFAN on Tuesday. His shift will be 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. In an Entercom press release Francesa said, “After exploring several options, this partnership with CAA Sports and Entercom was the perfect fit. This partnership allows me the chance to return to WFAN and all of our loyal listeners, as well as significant opportunities, including the app and live events, that are completely new. I look forward to working with both companies on making this a very successful venture.”
The partnership also includes the launch of a mobile app and online destination by the same name, “Mike’s On,” which will feature exclusive live video streaming of Francesa’s weekday radio program on WFAN. The “Mike’s On” app and website will be the home of the “Mike’s Football Sunday” show, beginning with the 2018-19 football season. It will also provide exclusive audio and video archival content of Francesa dating back through his 30-year career at WFAN, in addition to a live audio stream of Francesa’s WFAN show for sports fans in New York and throughout the country. The app will be free to download in summer 2018 and will offer a subscription option for fans who want to hear and view additional content.
There were no quotes in the press release from WFAN PD Mark Chernoff. Entercom CEO David Field was quoted. “We are excited about this partnership with Mike and CAA Sports. We are proud of the terrific lineup on WFAN and are looking forward to bringing Mike back into the mix in this new, multiplatform and innovative way.”
In an interview with Radio Ink Francesa spoke about how the deal came about. “This deal was completed by Entercom CEO David Field, CAA’s Mike Levine and myself. We are partners on a new venture that drove the entire negotiations. I believe the Mike’s On app will become a sports media destination.”
Francesa also told Radio Ink he does not regret stepping down and never expected to be back at the Fan. And, that opinions aside, the reporting in the New York City press has been outrageously poor. “Almost everything has been incorrect.”
To make room for Francesa, Entercom announced the new lineup will have Chris Carlin, Maggie Gray and Bart Scott from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Joe and Evan from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Many New York City sports talkers have been critical of how this went down with Entercom. Some have been very critical of Francesa, including a few at WFAN. It will certainly be interesting to hear what happens next week when Francesa returns, although if history is any indicator, he rarely talks about other hosts on his show.
Our guess is he’ll go right into why the Jets and the Giants picked who they picked in the Thursday night NFL draft. Or why the Mets bullpen is imploding. And then, all eyes will be on the first time Nielsen puts out ratings. Yes, feelings were hurt. Air-shifts were shortened, time slots were changed. And perhaps there was a better way to handle the situation. However, if Francesa comes out of the gates with killer ratings and stays on top, Entercom will be laughing all the way to the bank. In addition to all that, nobody was fired and nobody took a pay cut.
1010 WINS was the first to interview Francesa about his new deal. You can hear that interview HERE.
