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Twins Radio Announcer Cory Provus Was Visiting Family in Highland Park at Time of Mass Shooting

BSM Staff
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Cory Provus was having breakfast with his parents in his hometown of Highland Park, Illinois when the parade shooting happened.

Provus, who was in town to call the Twins/White Sox for Minnesota radio, had taken the time to visit with his parents. They live in Highland Park which is about thirty miles north of Guaranteed Rate Field.

It was there that Provus got a phone call from his brother saying there was an active shooter a mile and a half away at the town’s Fourth of July parade downtown.

Provus told his story to KARE 11 in Minneapolis.

“He said there was a live shooter at the Fourth of July parade downtown. And I said, ‘what?‘” Provus recalled. “Within minutes, we could hear sirens and helicopters.”

Provus had family at the parade. His sister-in-law’s mother attended but reported herself safe.

“My parents would bring me in my stroller and we’d sit there with the music and the floats and the food, and it was what July 4th was all about,” Provus said recalled of his history with the event. “It was about family and celebrating, and today it turned into tragedy. It really is sad what took place.” 

The game between the Twins and the White Sox did go on as planned. The White Sox took time to hold a moment of silence before the game.

“That will hit me pretty hard. Once the game starts, the amazing thing about this sport is it does bring people together,” Provus said. “Once we get through the moment of silence, through the national anthem, and the first pitch is thrown by Johnny Cueto and hopefully Luis Arráez hits a double down the right field line, then that sadness I think will turn into a smile, for just about three hours. Real life will be on pause and we’ll watch a baseball game and hopefully the Twins prevail tonight.”

But his hometown of Highland Park will never be far from his mind.

“Am I taken aback that I can’t believe that this happened in downtown Highland Park? No. Because that’s our world today. With the gun laws that we have in our country, they’re going to keep happening. That, to me, is a problem, and those are my feelings on it,” Provus said. “I know people watching it right now probably will disagree, and if so, you’re entitled to your beliefs, I’m entitled to mine. But to say, ‘I can’t believe this happened in Highland Park, Illinois,’ I think is just flat-out naïve.”

Larry Krueger Joins 95.7 The Game

BSM Staff
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Former KNBR afternoon host Larry Krueger is back on air in the Bay Area. He tweeted today that he will join 95.7 The Game.

Details of Kruger’s role at the station remain unknown at this time.

Krueger and Rod Brooks were let go from KNBR in April. They had been on the station’s afternoon show with Tom Tolbert.

Larry Krueger is a staple of sports talk in San Francisco. He spent over 25 years on KNBR. In the past, he had also served as sports director at KGO and was heard on SiriusXM, Sports Byline USA, and KHTK.

Since being let go from the Cumulus sports talker, he has launched a YouTube channel, where he has been doing local sports talk. He noted that show will continue even as he joins 95.7 The Game.

Cable News Networks See Boost After Roe v. Wade Is Overturned

BNM Staff
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The Supreme Court’s decision, by a 6-3 vote aligned by party lines, to overturn Roe v. Wade — the near-five decades long-ruling that had declared the U.S. Constitution generally protected the liberty to choose to have an abortion — was made official on Friday, June 24.

When Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion that first indicated the overturning was leaked to the public back on the evening of May 2, the overall ratings for the three major cable news outlets surprisingly remained relatively steady.

However, news of the Supreme Court’s official decision noticeably boosted all three networks — Fox News, MSNBC and CNN — from recent prior Friday daytimes. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, the total viewer averages of each and their respective percent gains were, as follows:

  • Fox News Channel: 2.16 million viewers (+64% from 6/17/22; +40% from 6/10/22); 332,000 adults 25-54 (+83% from 6/17/22; +44% from 6/10/22)
  • MSNBC (10 a.m.-6 p.m.): 1.17 million viewers.(+56% from 6/17/22; +21% from 6/10/22); 161,000 adults 25-54 (+120% from 6/17/22; +56% from 6/10/22)
  • CNN: 0.901 million viewers (+127% from 6/17/22; +56% from 6/10/22); 251,000 adults 25-54 (+218% from 6/17/22; +92% from 6/10/22)

As seen in the aforementioned percentage increases, the growth was more profound from just one week prior. Compared to June 17, there was more viewership on June 10, the day following the opening night of the Jan. 6 committee hearings.

Newsmax averaged 205,000 total viewers from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on June 24, approximately 50 percent larger than each of its prior two Fridays within the same time window.

HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” was TV’s first late-night comedy talk show to broadcast an original edition following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Its hour drew 817,000 total viewers in its original 10 p.m. ET telecast, matching what it drew one week prior.

Fox News Channel’s “Gutfeld!” at 11 p.m. delivered 2.22 million total viewers and 429,000 within the key 25-54 demographic — from June 17, up 13 percent in viewership and up 38 percent in the demo. As noted in the rankings below, the late-night talker was among the four FNC telecasts from June 24 to place in the Top-9 of all cable news programs for the week (ending June 26) based on adults 25-54.

Cable news averages for June 20-26, 2022:

Total Day (June 20-26 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.421 million viewers; 214,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.899 million viewers; 106,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.570 million viewers; 116,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.165 million viewers; 49,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.121 million viewers; 32,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.121 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.118 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.103 million viewers; 18,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (June 20-25 @ 8-11 p.m.; June 26 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 2.201 million viewers; 310,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 1.459 million viewers; 163,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.657 million viewers; 133,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.208 million viewers; 64,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.193 million viewers; 25,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.192 million viewers; 63,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.137 million viewers; 19,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.069 million viewers; 10,000 adults 25-54
  • NewsNation: 0.041 million viewers; 9,000 adults 25-54

Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:

1. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 6/20/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.528 million viewers

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 6/24/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.255 million viewers

3. January 6th Hearings “Hearing Day Five” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/23/2022 3:02 PM, 148 min.) 3.220 million viewers

4. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 6/24/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.213 million viewers

5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 6/23/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.185 million viewers

6. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 6/22/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.159 million viewers

7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 6/20/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.111 million viewers

8. January 6th Hearings “Hearing Day Four” (MSNBC, Tue. 6/21/2022 1:02 PM, 158 min.) 3.019 million viewers

9. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 6/21/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.976 million viewers

10. Hannity (FOXNC, Fri. 6/24/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.856 million viewers

27. Attack On Democracy “Jan 6th Hearings 6/23/22” (CNN, Thu. 6/23/2022 3:02 PM, 147 min.) 2.428 million viewers

202. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 605” (HBO, Fri. 6/24/2022 10:01 PM, 59 min.) 0.817 million viewers

333. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 6/26/2022 11:00 PM, 35 min.) 0.469 million viewers

334. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “Episode 7218” (TBS, Thu. 6/23/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.463 million viewers

369. The Daily Show (CMDY, Tue. 6/21/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.399 million viewers

383. Kudlow (FBN, Thu. 6/23/2022 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.368 million viewers

401. Forensic Files “In The Bag” (HLN, Tue. 6/21/2022 11:30 PM, 30 min.) 0.322 million viewers

462. Squawk On The Street (CNBC, Wed. 6/22/2022 9:00 AM, 120 min.) 0.260 million viewers

480. The Earth Unlocked “(102) Deserts” (TWC, Sun. 6/26/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.247 million viewers

811. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Thu. 6/23/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.129 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top  programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54

1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 6/24/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.529 million adults 25-54

2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 6/20/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.498 million adults 25-54

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 6/23/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.493 million adults 25-54

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 6/21/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.465 million adults 25-54

5. Hannity (FOXNC, Fri. 6/24/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.450 million adults 25-54

6. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 6/22/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.448 million adults 25-54

7. Attack On Democracy “Jan 6th Hearings 6/23/22” (CNN, Thu. 6/23/2022 3:02 PM, 147 min.) 0.441 million adults 25-54

8. Outnumbered (FOXNC, Fri. 6/24/2022 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.429 million adults 25-54

9. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Fri. 6/24/2022 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.429 million adults 25-54

10. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Thu. 6/23/2022 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.414 million adults 25-54

19. January 6th Hearings “Hearing Day Five” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/23/2022 3:02 PM, 148 min.) 0.367 million adults 25-54

110. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “Episode 7218” (TBS, Thu. 6/23/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.205 million adults 25-54

160. The Daily Show (CMDY, Tue. 6/21/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.165 million adults 25-54

183. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 6/26/2022 11:00 PM, 35 min.) 0.150 million adults 25-54

198. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 605” (HBO, Fri. 6/24/2022 10:01 PM, 59 min.) 0.136 million adults 25-54

215. Very Scary People “Sammy ?The Bull? Gravano Pt 1” (HLN, Tue. 6/21/2022 12:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.130 million adults 25-54

302. Shark Tank (CNBC, Sun. 6/26/2022 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.099 million adults 25-54

549. Weather Gone Viral “(408) Challenging The Weather” (TWC, Wed. 6/22/2022 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.053 million adults 25-54

656. Varney & Company (FBN, Mon. 6/20/2022 9:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.042 million adults 25-54

725. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Tue. 6/21/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.032 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

Pat McAfee Donating Hot Dogs To Homeless Shelters In Response To Peter King Tweet

BSM Staff
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Pat McAfee Donating Hot Dogs To Homeless Shelters In Response To Peter King Tweet

Every July 4, competitive eaters take center stage on ESPN for the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. On Monday, for the eleventh time in twelve years, Joey Chestnut took home the mustard yellow belt after eating 63 hot dogs in the allotted ten minutes.

The undeniable gluttony caught the attention of NBC’s Peter King and not in a positive way. He tweeted that the contest was disgusting in light of America’s hunger epidemic.

On Tuesday, Pat McAfee said that he had not thought of the competition in that light before, but had to agree with the sentiment.

“Peter King brought up a pretty good point,” the former punter said on his show. “I didn’t even think about it, to be honest, because I think we all assume that hot dogs are a never-ending commodity. You can never stop making hot dogs because no one knows what is in hot dogs.”

McAfee said he would donate 10,000 hot dogs to food banks and homeless shelters across the country, but noted that he had not quite figured out how to do it yet. He said he would like to partner with Nathan’s, who has already donated over 100,000 hot dogs to food banks in New York City.

The donation was made tongue-in-cheek. McAfee and his crew joked that Peter King may be worried that we are running out of hot dogs, because it can be hard to find them in the grocery store when you go in “on a high horse” and then called out divers for splashing water outside of a pool when rivers and lakes are drying up.

Still, Pat McAfee is sincere in his promise to make the donation, which by the way, will be in King’s name.

“Peter King probably could have done this as well,” McAfee said of his donation. “I assume he will, but him putting out a tweet about hot dogs being shoved down your face made me think ‘you’re right.’ We should think about that stat about people going to bed hungry.”

Pac-12 To Immediately Begin Search For New TV Deal

BSM Staff
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The next round of negotiations for Pac-12 media rights was always bound to be interesting. Just how interesting is something we will find out much sooner than expected.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports reports that the conference’s board of directors has authorized commissioner George Kliavkof to begin exploring options for a new deal.

The Pac-12 learned last week that it would lose USC and UCLA to Big Ten as early as 2024. That puts the conference in a race, not just for a payday, but for sustainability. Dodd reported last week that the Big 12 is discussing adding six current Pac-12 schools to its roster. The Athletic had a report of its own last week that the Pac-12 board authorized the conference to explore expansion options of its own.

Networks and streaming services are currently locked in a battle to land the second half of the Big Ten’s media rights. Initially, it was expected that the Pac-12 would let that conference set the market before beginning its own search for a new deal. That, of course, was before the conference lost its two most valuable brands.

The conference’s current deals with FOX and ESPN expire in 2024. With so much uncertainty, there are some interesting possibilities at play here.

One may be to see how the market values the Pac-12 as it stands right now. Another could be to see if there is a network or streamer that misses out on the Big Ten and responds by overpaying for another power conference. The final, and most likely, explainer is that the conference wants to be able to show it is in a better position than the Big 12 as the two conferences try to attract each other’s remaining schools.

Mully & Haugh React To Mass Shooting in Highland Park on 670 The Score

BSM Staff
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The scene in Highland Park on the 4th of July was unimaginable. Six people are dead and 24 others were injured after a gunman opened fire on a crowd attending the Chicago suburb’s annual Independence Day parade.

On Tuesday morning, 670 The Score hosts Mully & Haugh described their feelings watching coverage of the attack on local television stations.

“It will be a difficult work day for a lot of people in Chicago, in the area, and a lot of people in Highland Park, and a lot of people everywhere because of yesterday,” David Haugh said in opening the show.

Mike Mulligan said he was doing show prep when he got a text to turn his television on. He was struck by a doctor named David Baum, who was at the parade and decided to help victims rather than flee.

Dr. Baum described what he called “battle wounds” on the victims hit by the bullets fired from an automatic weaponed fired by Robert Crimo.

“I think we’ve seen these things happen so often that there’s a kind of numbness that settles in, but the idea that it happened in a Chicago suburb changes that narrative,” Mully said. “The idea that it happens here changes that. Now, people are murdered, people are killed in this city at an astounding rate, at a horrific rate. Every weekend, you can look at a map and see where the shootings were and they’re all over this city, and the gun violence in this city is horrific. But yesterday was the Fourth go July. It was a time where families get out and they celebrate and people are in this suburb in Highland Park and people are having a parade to celebrate America and maybe one of the most American things that can ever happen happens, which is a mass shooting.”

He said Baum’s description reminded him of seeing victims of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 that had suddenly lost limbs.

Mully & Haugh‘s Score colleague Danny Parkins has been critical of people using Chicago’s gun violence to score political points in the past. Haugh remarked that even those people haven’t been so quick to dismiss what happened on Monday as a typical Chicago problem.

“Highland Park is your quintessential American suburb and people find it a little more relatable because it does hit closer to home for a lot of people,” he said. “At 10 o’clock in the morning, you don’t expect to be running for your life from a downtown parade.” 

HRN Media Adds Carlos Baerga For Syndicated Baseball Feature

BSM Staff
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Carlos Baerga is launching a radio career!

The three-time All-Star is joining HRN Media Networks. He will launch a 90-second feature called Are You Ready to Play Ball with Carlos Baerga and Legends from Yesterday and Today.

The Spanish-language show will see the former shortstop and his guest telling stories about their careers and remarking on current goings-on in the league. New episodes will be distributed daily.

“Carlos is an energetic and dynamic sports figure, who will entertain listeners,” Clark Logan, President of HRN Media Networks, said in a press release. “Baseball is the most popular American sport among Hispanics, and Carlos’s insights about the game and the top-name players that will join him will engage sports fans.”

“I am excited to launch my Hispanic radio career with the HRN Network and talk about my favorite topic… baseball,” added Baerga. “Listeners will get behind-the-scenes stories from the elite players we’re going to have on as guests.  I can’t wait to get started.”

Former CNN Host Chris Cuomo Resurfaces with Ukraine Coverage

BNM Staff
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Former broadcaster Chris Cuomo is back. The former CNN host returned to social media nearly eight months after he was fired from the network for allegedly using his position to influence the outcome of his brother’s sexual misconduct investigation. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned last year following multiple reports of sexual misconduct claims against him. 

Cuomo posted pictures on Instagram from war-torn Ukraine. “In Ukraine. We can not forget,” the post captioned.

As of early Tuesday morning, the post had elicited nearly 70,000 likes and more than 6,000 comments. Cuomo shared 10 pictures and videos from Ukraine’s Eastern front.

“Ukraine is fighting Russia for what we Americans celebrate today: freedom,” the post continued. Ukraine is us vs England; I was here in 2014 and I went back east to where I was when MH17 was likely shot down by Russia…It was a war zone.”

Prior to Monday, Cuomo’s last post on Instagram came in November as he was headed out for a vacation. Cuomo was fired from CNN in early December after he was placed on suspension following an internal report of his conduct.  

Cuomo shared several shots of buildings decimated by bombs as well as Ukrainian streets in ruins from Russia’s relentless attacks.   

NPR Called An Audible on 4th of July Tradition

BNM Staff
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NPR Called An Audible on 4th of July Tradition

National Public Radio (NPR) drew mixed reactions Monday after it announced that it was departing from its normal 4th of July tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence. 

Opting instead to assess what equity means to residents of the United States. “Morning Edition” co-host Leila Fadel tweeted, “important segment about our past and future.” 

For more than three decades, the publicly-funded network has read the Declaration of Independence which was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The document announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. 

“Really good segment next year would love to see both,” tweeted one user. 

“No, the Declaration has deeply offensive and racist terms in it that should not be broadcast as if it’s some sort of historical treasure to be repeated ad nauseam,” tweeted another user. “There’s no reason to repeat those words out loud on air.” 

According to Newsweek, a survey conducted in advance of this year’s Independence Day holiday has found the amount of people who said they are “extremely proud” to be Americans is at a record low.

Mike Francesa Is Embracing And Enjoying Podcasting

Peter Schwartz
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Mike Francesa Is Embracing And Enjoying Podcasting

When legendary sports talk host Mike Francesa initially retired from WFAN Radio in New York back in December of 2017, offers to do a podcast started to come in but it was not something that he wanted to get involved in.  Five months later, he came out of retirement and returned to WFAN but subsequently retired for a second time hosting his final show on July 24th, 2020.   

Under contract to WFAN for two more years, Francesa was not allowed do to anything locally and only did one interview last year, a cameo Mike and the Mad Dog reunion with Chris Russo on Mad Dog’s Sirius XM show.

For the most part, Mike was only getting his sports takes out to his fans via his Twitter account but the offers to do a podcast continued to come in, particularly from a handful of gambling operations that were looking for star power.

“A couple of them came after me and offered me pretty outstanding amounts of money,” said Francesa.  “These gambling companies have come in and paid a lot of money to a lot of people but they wanted people who had name recognition because that’s what they were looking for.”

Ultimately, the Bet Rivers Network impressed Francesa during their presentation and they signed the iconic radio giant to do The Mike Francesa Podcast which launched back in March.

“It’s been easy,” said Francesa. “I noticed now that basically that’s where everything is going.  It’s all gone there. I haven’t studied the economics of the podcasts for the companies the way I knew radio. Radio is changing obviously. Local radio is changing dramatically.”

Francesa generally does two podcasts a week, a solo show on Monday that recaps the weekend in sports and another show later in the week with guests. He has the flexibility to do more if a big sports event is taking place or there’s breaking news and the plan is to ramp things up once the football season gets underway.

“I do them whenever I want,” said Francesa.  “I do them the length I want to do them. I do them on any topic I want to do but basically, I’ve done sports. They’ve been received very well.”

As part of his deal, Francesa is also voicing Bet Rivers’ radio commercials and will do two public appearances for them with the first one scheduled for September.   

And, he hired his WFAN producer Brian Monzo to help out with the podcast.   

“Monz had left the FAN which I wasn’t even aware of,” said Francesa. “He wanted to come aboard so he’s handing all of my technical stuff. Everything goes through him. I have a studio in the house so it works out great.”  

Francesa was obviously skeptical about podcasts a few years ago, but now he is embracing it as the landscape of radio, particularly on the local side, continues to evolve with content and social media elements that were not in place back in the day. Not only was Mike, arguably, the most successful sports talk show host in history, but he was also a student of the game understanding the business end of broadcasting.

Today, sports talk radio is a whole new ballgame.

“It has changed,” said Francesa. “They want to generate social media applications and awareness there and hits there because they are moving their advertising as much to those platforms as they are to regular radio platforms. I don’t think that has been successful for local radio stations. Clearly, they aren’t paying the salaries that they paid years ago.”  

As far as the economics of podcasts go, Francesa is still learning. The reality is that there are a lot of podcasts out there but the challenge is always how to monetize them. Some are able to and some are not, but so far Francesa’s new venture has been a success in terms of the interest from the listeners and also the reaction from his new bosses.

“I don’t know the economics,” said Francesa of podcasts. “I don’t see how a lot of them could be economically solvent but I really haven’t looked into it that much. So far, the response has been very good (to his podcast). (Bet Rivers) is very happy with them.”

To a certain extent, Francesa’s podcast is very much like his radio show in that he can express his thoughts and share his takes on sports news and issues on his own terms. With the podcast, Francesa can deliver what he used to in a three or four hour talk show in a nicely compacted half-hour to one hour podcast depending on if it’s a show with guests.

After he’s provided his commentary on sports issues and whatever else he chooses to talk about, Francesa will end the podcast by taking some emails from his fan. It’s the closest he can get now to taking phone calls because, at the moment, phone calls are not a part of the podcasts which are all pre-recorded.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be a live element,” said Francesa. “It’s been discussed.  A couple of other companies had talked to me about doing something live once a week. I think these companies intend on moving in that direction where they are going to have some appointment radio that’s going to be live.”  

Francesa has a couple of ideas for potential live shows.

One could be for an hour every week, maybe around noon. Another possibility for a half an hour on NFL Sundays at 7:30pm eastern time before the night game starts.

“I’ve thought about that,” said Francesa. “I might do something like that because that would be very timely and very popular.” 

Francesa has been doing a baseball podcast just about each week with former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine, also under contract to Bet Rivers, and he plans on doing a Football Friday podcast.

In a lot of ways, it will mirror the football program that he did each Friday on WFAN. 

“We’re going to hire some people for the football season,” said Francesa. “They also have people under contract like Mike Ditka, Mark Schlereth and all these different people that they have signed around the country that I can use if I want.”

As for his former employers, Francesa has pretty much distanced himself from WFAN.  He did go on the air at the FAN to say goodbye to retiring longtime update anchors John Minko and Bob Heussler.   

There actually could have been a cameo return for Francesa to do a show.

This past Friday, July 1st, was the 35th anniversary of WFAN going on the air becoming the first ever all-sports radio station in 1987.

“WFAN asked me to do a show on July 1st on the anniversary,” said Francesa. “I (couldn’t) do it but I did voice a message to the fans on the 35th anniversary.”

Between his early days on WFAN, the Mike and the Mad Dog show and his solo program, Francesa was a huge part of the station’s success, but the radio station has certainly entered a new era.

In addition to Francesa, many of the names and personalities that helped in the station’s growth and sustainability, like Minko, Huessler, Steve Somers, Harris Allen and Tony Paige have all retired and are no longer on WFAN.

Since his retirement, Francesa continues to follow sports as closely as he did when he did his show, but he has not listened to WFAN very much.

“I don’t hear the FAN a lot to be honest with you,” admitted Francesa. “I really don’t. If I’m in the car, I might put it on but I really have not heard the FAN very much. I haven’t listened to it a whole lot. It just hasn’t fit my schedule very well. I haven’t heard a lot of sports talk. I watch the games. I hear the games. I listen to the ballgames on the radio if I’m in the car. I watch everything like always.”

And now, with the The Mike Francesa Podcast on the Bet Rivers Network, the iconic sports talk show personality has a platform to, like always, deliver his sports commentary to so many listeners who enjoyed his shows on WFAN. And, like always, when something big is happening in sports, Mike Francesa is once again a must-listen like he was for many years on afternoon drive radio in New York.

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