This year, the YES Network will reach its 20-year anniversary. When the network began, programming was needed. Eventually, Mike and the Mad Dog with Mike Francesa and Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo on WFAN was simulcasted on YES and it would remain that way until the show ended in 2008 (Francesa would be on YES until 2014).
Before Opening Day last Friday, the YES Network aired a Yankees on YES! Welcome to Opening Day special. Part of that special featured a conversation Michael Kay had with Russo about the history of the simulcast. Russo said having the show featured on TV as well as radio gave the show a little bit of a lift.
“I think we kind of needed a little pick me up,” he said. “Remember we had done 13 years prior to YES and it was a little something different. My old boss said I’m the only guy in America who got paid for doing the same show twice. From that standpoint, it was a plus.”
Of course, being on TV had somewhat of an adjustment period for the duo, especially when it came to eating lunch. Plus, when Francesa and Russo were not getting along, it would have been easy for a loyal listener to tell, according to Russo.
“Remember Mike and I used to have our little battles, so if you were a key listener or watcher, you can tell Mike and I weren’t getting along because we wouldn’t talk during the breaks.”
Of course, Mike and the Mad Dog was already a hit on WFAN. However, Russo felt having the visual element of the show increased its popularity outside of the tri-state area.
“You had a little more juice out of town because they couldn’t pick up the radio signal in other parts of the country. When I go to an event, they would say ‘oh, this is the 2 guys who do the show on YES’. Outside of New York, no question. You definitely felt that there was a visual element that added to your popularity.”
So, while the simulcast can sometimes hurt radio ratings, it did provide Francesa and Russo an even-wider platform to grow the show and their brand.
