The week before the Super Bowl has forever been a media circus. News outlets, television, social media influencers, podcasts, and sports radio stations from across the world now take hold of everything surrounding Super Bowl LX in San Francisco. However, the Super Bowl was not always the media frenzy we see today at the epicenter now dubbed Radio Row.
In fact, nearly 40 years ago, the concept of Radio Row began, although the story of its origins remains convoluted. While many credit Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Mike Francesa for birthing the idea of broadcasting from the NFL’s crown jewel the week prior, its beginnings are still somewhat unconfirmed.
“There were years in the 1980’s where it was us and nobody else,” explained Mike Francesa. “We were in New Orleans in 1989, and there was another local station there that did one hour a day… I saw this story one year about the Hyatt versus another chain. They [Hyatt] wanted $40,000 and they moved us to the other chain. I don’t remember that to be honest, but it might have happened.”
While the official birth of Radio Row remains unknown, many give credit for the idea to the work of Mike & The Mad Dog from WFAN in New York City. The concept of broadcasting live from the Super Bowl never felt foreign to Francesa.
The Radio Hall of Fame broadcaster spent more than a quarter century, across two separate terms, serving as a guiding voice of afternoon drive in New York City. Among his many career achievements, industry insiders often credit Francesa and Russo with shaping Radio Row. What once involved a single show broadcasting from a hotel lobby has evolved into the largest media hub for the most-watched sporting event in the country.
“We had a very good relationship with the NFL, the Commissioner, and their hierarchy. So, we were in contact with them a lot,” said Francesa. “It became an annual thing, and began giving away trips to the Super Bowl, which were enormous… We just took the show and always went to Radio Row.”
Change Isn’t Always Good
Today, the idea of a local sports radio station giving away trips to the Super Bowl feels unrealistic. At the time, however, the promotion proved a smashing success for WFAN, and the concept grew steadily. That evolution, though, is where Francesa takes issue with the modern version of Radio Row. He believes it has grown too large and lost the spontaneity that once made it special for listeners.
“It’s very different now because there are so many vehicles now. They’re letting podcasts and merchandise in. It’s become like a convention now more than anything else and changed a lot. It’s just too many people and feeding off the same people. It had lost the spontaneity it once had,” explained Francesa.
In 2025, the Super Bowl approved more than 6,400 media members to cover the game in New Orleans. That number will likely rise as the event heads west to the San Francisco Bay Area. Radio Row alone expects to host more than 300 media outlets, spanning both digital and traditional platforms. What once resembled a sea of local radio stations has transformed into a mix of influencers, podcasts, sponsor-driven content, and NFL rightsholders.
Francesa recalls noticing a shift when the NFL began assigning preferred locations to league rightsholders.
“One of the big changes was they [the NFL] started giving rightsholders prominent positions. It really minimized local stations, including WFAN,” noted Francesa. “They were more interested in network stuff or rightsholders. That was very tough on us as a station.”
The Final Row Appearance
Radio Row now features rows of worktables, elaborate sets, and sponsored displays designed to attract attention. Bigger setups often draw bigger stars, creating a difficult decision for stations weighing the cost of attending. What was once a unique content opportunity has become an expensive gamble with no guarantee of high-profile guests.
For Francesa, that reality ultimately led him to stop attending Radio Row.
“They knew I was leaving WFAN, so that’s why I attended Radio Row a final time. At the end, I didn’t like being there much at all because it had gotten so big. It was really tedious,” explains Francesa. “If I wasn’t in the best position, I didn’t like it because I was spoiled for many years. Rightsholders were getting everything connected to the game. If you’re WFAN, you don’t want to be treated second fiddle.”
Today, Francesa sees Radio Row as a hub for commercialism and networking rather than exclusive content. Coaches and team personnel on the row are now former athletes and celebrities promoting products. He noted that Radio Row once served as a destination closely tied to the game itself, with WFAN positioned at the center.
That shift explains why Francesa has little interest in taking the BetRivers Mike Francesa Podcast to the Super Bowl. What once allowed WFAN and Mike & The Mad Dog to stand apart now feels diluted by rising costs and industry-wide budget cuts.
“The NFL has made everything there so expensive that I think it’s priced a lot of the local stations out of the market,” said Francesa. “Radio isn’t doing well right now, and it can blame itself for this. Radio executives can blame themselves for this. They didn’t ever figure how to monetize and co-exist with social media. They still don’t know going on a generation.”
The costs of broadcasting from Radio Row remain steep. Even after credential approval, stations must cover internet access, hotels, flights, and food. The league charges for access without guaranteeing the guests or content stations can deliver to local audiences.
“The NFL sells tickets and passes to make money off Radio Row now. If someone tried to open a lemonade stand, the NFL would try to take forty percent,” joked Francesa. “They are the greediest people in the world. They make more money than anyone in the world, and they want more money.”
Adapting To Podcasting
Francesa credits social media with reshaping the sports radio landscape. With millions of podcasts covering the league from every angle, he understands the challenge the NFL faces when granting Super Bowl access.
As Radio Row gets underway in 2026, Francesa will watch from afar while continuing to host The Mike Francesa Podcast. For the past four years, he has been central to BetRivers’ strategy of building a business around his personality. Francesa credits the vision behind the project to meeting sports fans wherever they consume content.
For a broadcaster who once relied on phone calls to drive conversation and ratings, success now means constant visibility across platforms.
“It’s such a different world now being promoted on so many different platforms. That’s what these companies want. It’s the way of the world now,” notes Francesa. “As long as they get the views they want, that’s the idea. That’s what’s more important to them than sitting there and taking phone calls.”
Francesa says he still values the immediacy of reacting to events as they unfold. He noted that a dedicated staff remains ready whenever he decides to go live on YouTube. After nearly four decades of entertaining sports fans worldwide, he does not take his audience for granted.
“I like the idea of knowing that the audience is waiting for me to give my opinion of what just happened. That immediacy is something I need. If I didn’t have it, I would really miss it more so than taking phone calls,” explained Francesa.
Super Bowl LX will likely rank among the most-watched television events in history. Two weeks of hype, commerce, networking, and content creation will continue driving interest. What began as a simple idea has evolved into a blueprint that leagues across sports now try to replicate.
From the early days of Mike Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, the NFL and the broadcast industry still owe a debt of gratitude for an idea that forever changed how the Super Bowl is covered.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
