He may not be getting his reps on Fox Sports 1, but in New York, Mike Francesa is still the king of sports talk radio. In the latest ratings period between September and early December, WFAN’s Francesa easily beat rival ESPN Radio New York in the men 25-54 demographic from 1 p.m. — 6:30 p.m. ET by a wide margin. Overall, Francesa’s show beat the two men ESPN has programmed against the Sports Pope, Mike Lupica from 1-3 and Michael Kay from 3-6:30 p.m.
Francesa beats the two Mikes by a 7.2-3.8 margin. When you break it down by timeslot, Francesa exactly triples Lupica’s rating, 7.5-2.5 while the late afternoon battle with Kay is closer, 7.1-4.6.
As Lupica isn’t the most likeable personality, it’s easy to see why listeners would prefer Francesa in that early afternoon block. However, Kay has been making inroads against Francesa ever since the Yankees TV voice took over the Pope’s spot on YES Network in New York while the big guy continues his exposure struggles with Fox Sports 1.
However, strictly on radio, this has been one of the better ratings books for WFAN, as it did well in all of the major dayparts, morning drive, middays and afternoon drive.
Boomer and Carton almost doubled Mike & Mike and the midday show of Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts more than doubled ESPN Radio in the same period.
So what does this mean? With a strong consistent lineup and engaging hosts, WFAN is able to stretch out its lead over ESPN. And the takeaway here is that Mike Francesa is beating Mike Lupica like a drum. We’ll see if Lupica can make a dent in the ratings in the next period, but for now, Francesa has really big bragging rights over the New York Daily News columnist.
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About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.