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How Millennials Can Alter The Future of NYC Sports Radio

Jason Barrett

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WFAN has occupied the penthouse in New York City for quite some time. For over a quarter of a century, Mike Francesa has been a dominant force, and he’s not expected to suffer ratings amnesia during his final eighteen months on the air either. In case you missed it, the WFAN ratings king announced he will leave his radio home at the end of his contract in 2017.

This begs the question, what will happen once Francesa’s gone? Will loyal FAN listeners stick with the radio station and support the next show that follows Mike? Will they jump ship and throw their support behind the Michael Kay Show on 98.7 FM ESPN New York? Or will they change their habits and listen to other alternatives?

Where the story becomes more intriguing is when you take into account WFAN’s wheelhouse. The station has an excellent connection with males 45-54. Those listeners have grown up with the Fan and pledged their allegiance to guys like Francesa, and Joe Beningo, who have hosted daily for over twenty years. Even the radio station’s morning show, Boomer and Carton, has been in morning drive for close to nine years.

We’ve been down this road before wondering if a shift in the market would take place. When Howard Stern left the New York City airwaves, stations tried many different tactics to reel in his listeners. When WFAN parted ways with Don Imus after the I-Man made controversial remarks about the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team, Boomer and Carton took over and proved that they could not only keep the existing audience, but bring in new listeners as well.

But losing Mike Francesa is unchartered territory. Imus didn’t talk sports daily. He wasn’t connected to Chris “Mad Dog” Russo for nineteen years, and viewed as the sports radio show of record in the nation’s top radio market. He was also lining up against a national sports morning show, not a strong legitimate local contender. One of the few things he had in common with Francesa was that each of their shows skewed older, and received strong support from that demographic.

That was then, and this is now. The habits of listeners have changed over the past decade. Loyalty isn’t as strong as it once was. Content options are greater than ever before. And younger listeners are consuming sports radio programming differently. What that means is that prior success doesn’t promise future success.

I was curious to see how younger listeners in New York City were listening to Francesa, and his competitor Michael Kay. In the key demo of Men 25-54, Francesa has long been the king, and that continued in May. Mike finished just under a 7 share. Kay meanwhile was in the top 10 and slightly below a 5 share.

But when you turn the attention to the younger end of the demo, you can see a shift starting to take place. In May, Men 18-34 listened more to Michael Kay’s program between 3p-7p than they did Francesa’s. Kay was a half point higher than Francesa. The two shows tied in April with Men 18-34, delivering shares in the low 3’s. If you turn the clock back twelve months ago, WFAN was doubling ESPN New York’s performance. That’s a pretty significant shift.

It’s even more impressive for ESPN New York when you analyze the hours of 4p-7p. That’s when Peter Rosenberg joins Kay, and Don LaGreca (he doesn’t appear during the first hour of the program). With Kay’s program operating at full strength during those three hours, they’ve beaten Francesa with Men 18-34 during every single month in 2016.

To be fair to Francesa, he hosts his show from 1p-6:30p. I’m focusing on the head to head matchup with Kay, not including the earlier hours when Mike is lined up against Hahn and Humpty. We’re also looking at the younger audience, not the key demo of Men 25-54.

Another factor to take into account is that Francesa’s reach hasn’t grown during the past few years. Kay’s has. The YES Network now airs Kay’s show instead of Francesa’s. That’s helped the ESPN New York host pick up an extra 200,000 viewers daily. Kay, LaGreca, and Rosenberg are also active on Twitter, and collectively have 550,000 followers. Francesa remains uninterested in being present in the space. I don’t have full details to each station’s podcast and streaming data but I’d be very surprised if ESPN New York was losing that battle.

The reason this story interests me, is because we know Francesa plans to leave. Tomorrow’s Men 25-54 audience is starting to turn to Kay, and that hasn’t been the case in the past. Millennials do change their habits frequently, so assuming that these trends can’t be reversed would be a mistake, especially when a permanent replacement for Francesa has yet to be named. But, if you’re Kay, LaGreca, Rosenberg, and ESPN New York’s management, you have to feel optimistic about the way younger audiences are responding.

When you add it all up, here’s what it means. Francesa remains the king of the Men 25-54 competition, but in a radio market as competitive as New York City, Kay is doing quite well. WFAN reaps the benefits of a bigger radio cume. ESPN New York has the advantage of a larger total audience. I don’t see a massive change occurring during the next 18 months unless something unplanned takes place, but given the inconsistencies of radio ratings measurement that’s also not a guarantee.

What is clear though is that younger listeners are tuning in more frequently to ESPN New York. The addition of Rosenberg has paid dividends, and when WFAN moves on without Francesa after 2017, the person or persons they put in afternoon drive will need to have an ability to reach the younger end of the demo.

Nielsen is taking steps to make digital listening a bigger part of the ratings story which will further help ESPN New York’s narrative. It’s still WFAN’s turf until proven otherwise, but yesterday’s fortunes don’t promise tomorrow’s riches. If the FAN stumbles during the next 18 months or replaces Francesa with someone who doesn’t appeal to the younger end of the demo, we could see a shift in the market. That’s a story few thought was possible.

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Charley Steiner Injured; Tim Neverett to Handle Dodgers Radio Play-by-Play

“This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes.”

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photo of Charley Steiner
Courtesy: Los Angeles Dodgers

As the Los Angeles Dodgers get set to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in their first home game on Thursday, team play-by-play voice Charley Steiner has revealed he will not be doing games at the beginning of the season due to a severe back injury.

Through the Dodgers, Steiner posted a statement which said, “Over the winter, I landed on the Injured List with three compound fractures in my back. (I don’t recommend it.) With the start of the baseball season upon us, the Dodgers are ready to go – but I’m not. This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes. I look forward to returning to the mic later this season. In the meantime, go Dodgers!”

TrueBlueLA.com reports Tim Neverett will handle play-by-play duties while Steiner recovers. Neverett called the first two regular season games with Rick Monday as the Dodgers started the season in South Korea. Neverett and Monday did not travel with the team, however, they called those games in a studio back home.

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Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi Put a Bow on The Ronnie & TKras Show After Nearly 10 Years

“Finally, Tampa Bay can sleep easy knowing this hideous show is finally over.”

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Photo of Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi
Courtesy: iHeartMedia

After nearly 10 years, The Ronnie & TKras Show with Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi came to an end today as the duo broadcast their final show on remote with many listeners, friends and co-workers on hand. Earlier this month, WDAE announced changes to its programming lineup which will take place starting tomorrow. Ronnie Lane will take on a new role as host of the Tampa Bay Rays pre-game show The Inside Pitch. Tom Krasniqi will continue on in afternoon drive with producer Chris Mathis for The Drive.

Their final show kicked off with station voice Jim Cutler saying, “…Finally, Tampa Bay can sleep easy knowing this hideous show is finally over.”

And with that went three very fast hours of looking back on a nearly decade-long run for Lane and Krasniqi. “It seems kind of surreal, doesn’t it?” said Lane.

Mathis had several special guests lined up for the final show and many others left voice messages which were played coming out of breaks. Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht and Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford took part in the final show. Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks also called in and, at first, identified himself as “Pete from St. Louis” before asking what the hosts thought of the Rays bullpen.

“I’m telling you man, when I hear all of these tributes it really brings a tear to my eye, Ronnie,” said Krasniqi. “It’s a surreal moment…It makes me feel so fortunate and blessed to be in this position sitting next to you all these years. This is one of those moments where I am almost speechless and just so incredibly overwhelmed by the support and the love that everyone has shown here today.”

Lane responded, “…Our time together is really coming to an end. I might get a little emotional before this show is over, but we have had a great time and been through many ups and downs…This business is crazy and for us to be able to do what we are doing and doing it on our terms…And for a company that believes in both of us to give us this opportunity to go in different directions with the same company is truly amazing…It doesn’t happen like this always in this business, usually it’s an ugly goodbye.”

As the show came to an end, Lane reminded everyone, “It has been a blast, but we’re not freakin’ leaving!”

“We’re not leaving folks,” ‘TKras’ said. “Thanks very much for being a part of our lives and thanks for having us as part of yours. Onward and upward. You are dismissed.”

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Tyler Murray Added to WEEI Red Sox Radio Bench

“Coming up on 13 seasons in [minor league baseball], it’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to have this opportunity.”

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Photo of Tyler Murray and logos for WEEI and the Boston Red Sox
Photo Credit: Ashley Green

The voice of the Worcester Red Sox, Tyler Murray, has been added to the Red Sox Radio play-by-play bench. WEEI made the announcement on their X account, saying, “On the heels of calling the Hockey East Tourney this weekend [and] adding to his excellent work [with the Worcester Red Sox], happy to announce that Tyler Murray will be helping to build our [Red Sox Network] bench this year! Tyler’s 1st series in the big leagues will be April 5-7 [with Will Flemming].

Murray, who has also called college hockey games on NESN plus college football and basketball games, said on X, “Coming up on 13 seasons in [minor league baseball], it’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to have this opportunity. Thank you to [WEEI brand manager Ken Laird] and [Audacy Boston Senior Vice President/Market Manager Mike Thomas], and to everyone who has reached out. Your support has honestly been overwhelming, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Murray’s first series will be the Red Sox taking on the Los Angeles Angels on the road, April 5-7.

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