Alternate broadcasts seem to be all the rage in sports television circles, and Mike Francesa thinks he would be great at one.
During The Mike Francesa Podcast Friday, the former WFAN host was asked if he liked alternate broadcasts and if he would ever do one. The Sports Pope said he would be interested and would be open to partnering with his former co-host — Chris “Mad Dog” Russo — on the assignment.
“Would I like to comment on the game on a different vehicle and I’m not on the game? Yes, I think I’d be great at that,” Francesa admitted. “I think if you put Dog in a room would be a home run show. I don’t know that anyone would ever do it, or think of it, but I think if you had a big event and you put Dog and I in a room, and put the cameras on? It would be hilarious.
“If you’re asking me who I’d do it with, I’d rather do it with him than someone else. I think I’d be very good at it, but I don’t know that it’s ever gonna happen. I really haven’t given it much thought.”
Francesa’s comments came after he admitted he wasn’t completely sold on the idea of alternate broadcasts when the concept first debuted.
“It’s a very — to me — double edged sword,” Francesa said. “I understand the idea now is give everybody whatever they want to watch and they’ll pick what they want. Don’t try to dominate a time period. Now, in my mind, I always tried to dominate a time period. That’s what I believed in, that’s what I grew up with in TV, and that’s what I grew up with in radio. It’s changed.
“Now, it’s ‘Hey, we’re gonna give everybody everything and see where they go’. Drawing eyes away from the game itself is almost hard to understand when you think about it and you’ve been brought up thinking about. The idea was to promote the game and have the ‘cast enhanced and get everybody’s eyeballs to that. Now they’re basically telling you, sending you away.”
The Manningcast is the most popular alternate broadcast, and Francesa added Peyton Manning has the opportunity to become a media mogul if he chooses.
“Listen, Peyton Manning has become an extraordinary media vehicle. He is a machine. He can do no wrong. Everything he touches turns to gold. He’s great on television, he’s great on commercials, he’s great hosting big events. I mean, the guy’s got a career. He’s got the whole world. He could become a Senator, he could become the next commissioner, he could do whatever he wants. He could become an NFL, anything he wants. His second act is gonna be bigger than his first. People aren’t even gonna remember Peyton as a player, and he was a great player. But I don’t know if this is the way to go.”
