RADIO CRAZE
Kay mixed on ratings war now that Francesa has left WFAN
This is not how Michael Kay wanted it.
His opportunity to win the afternoon sports radio ratings war has increased with Mike Francesa abdicating his afternoon throne at WFAN. Kay, along with co-hosts Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg at ESPN Radio New York, has made gains through his 15 years against Francesa but never was able to topple the radio giant in the three-month Nielsen books that are the scorecard for the business.
“I would hope that he would have stayed,” Kay said of his rival. “Even if we win now. … We are in a good spot where we have an opportunity to do even better than we’ve done and now we’re expected to. And if we don’t, it’s going to be looked at as a great failure.”
Don’t expect any talk of pea shootahs or Diet Cokes dumped in trash cans in this battle, though. Kay said he is close with Chris Carlin and Bart Scott, twothirds of Francesa’s replacements, along with Maggie Gray. The ESPN trio congratulated Scott on the air during his thenweekly spot on the show, and Kay texted Carlin to tell him “it would never get nasty.”
In Francesa’s final book, which ran through Dec. 6, WFAN garnered 6.6 percent of the audience between 3-7 p.m., compared to a 5.0 rating for Kay. The next book will come out in early March and will include Francesa’s final week, but it largely will be an indicator on how well his replacements are faring.
Where will Francesa’s fans flock? Kay has the advantage of being in the same 3-7 p.m. slot for many years, an additional platform on the YES Network and a proven commodity that consistently outperforms the national ESPN shows surrounding them. Carlin, Scott and Gray have WFAN, a landmark that affords them the chance to grow into a show Francesa loyalists could enjoy.
“That WFAN real estate really means a lot,” Kay said. “Would we like to get more listeners? Yeah, but I don’t want it to look as if I want to vulture of what’s left of the carcass. That’s not what I am about. I don’t want to root against those guys. Maybe there is an opportunity to move up higher than No. 3. ... I don’t want to particularly do it off of people that I like.”
It’s not a position one could have imagined the show ever being in. La Greca’s was the first voice to be heard on the station in 2001, when he was an update guy. He remembers going to restaurants to promote the show, Devils games for trivia contests between periods and broadcasting from the parking lot of Jets games.
“It was just letting people know we were there,” said La Greca, who went from Kay’s update guy to sidekick to co-host. “Once we were able to accomplish that, I think people liked what we were doing. Then getting people to realize that even though Michael Kay is there, it’s not a Yankees show. You can listen as a Mets fan or a football fan or a basketball fan or a hockey fan.”
Through the years, Kay said he has tried to push the show from the “cookie-cutter” sports format and make it more conversational. His belief is the chemistry with La Greca and Rosenberg, who also is a host at HOT 97 and a WWE commentator, is what has helped grow the show into what it is today.
“I think it’s a really entertaining show now. When it’s nuts-and-bolts sports time, we do that, but I think people want to have fun, too,” Kay said. “I try to do the Howard Stern Show if Howard Stern was a sports fan. Obviously, we can’t be that risqué because of Disney, but we push the envelope and have fun. It’s just three guys BS-ing.”