Sports-talk radio host Mike Francesa has long lamented his relationship with his bosses at CBS Radio. Back in May when a report ran saying that Francesa was looking to leave WFAN before his contract ended so he can work elsewhere, it wasn’t the most shocking news in the world. Francesa confirmed as much soon after and it hasn’t been a question of “if” but rather “when.”
Now comes word from the man himself that Mr. Sports Pope will not leave WFAN before his contract expires at the end of 2017 and has apparently repaired the broken relationship between he and the station to a degree.
“I have come to the conclusion there is no way to do anything but play out my contract,” he said. “I’ve come to the conclusion, and the company has made it clear, that that’s what they want to happen, and there really is no other way to deal with it.”
Francesa said “a lot of the disputes that we had have been rectified in one way or another, so we don’t have anything hanging over our heads right now.”
It doesn’t appear that Francesa’s show will reappear as a simulcast on Fox Sports 1 thanks to Colin Cowherd’s presence on the network in Francesa’s timeslot and he said there are “no developments” for the show to appear elsewhere on television.
As for what a post-Mike Francesa on WFAN World looks like (he’s been there since 1987), the longtime host says he hasn’t even begun to think a day beyond December 31, 2017.
“I’m not looking one day past that,” he said. “Time goes very fast. Two years is a very short time in our business. As you get older you find out how fast time goes.”
Whatever you think of Francesa and his radio show, the world of sports radio will be a quieter place come January 1, 2018. At least until Stephen A. Smith’s show begins.
[Newsday]
