Mike Francesa to Fox Sports

[joewilly12]

Raissman: Underdog Mike Francesa gets his chance to go after ESPN on television

[Maxman]

 

It's a David vs. Goliath tale as Mike Francesa, soon seen on Fox Sports, goes after ESPN

When it comes to Fox Sports 1 and 2, their 24-hour sports cable networks, the Foxies are in need of divine intervention.

 

Why else would they leave the darkness of their Hollywood bunker, squint into the SoCal sunshine, look to the East and summon Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa?

 

If the Foxies are counting on him, and his WFAN simulcast, to close the viewership gap (the size of the Grand Canyon) between FS1/2 and ESPN, a network Francesa detests, they need the Pope to pull a Hail Mary.

 

Face it, around here the real world order has changed. The Pope’s “rivalry” with YES’ “The Michael Kay Show” is now officially insignificant — small potatoes. The pontiff has ascended to a true national stage. It’s down-and-dirty, straight-up: Francesa, the spiritual leader of the first-time-caller, long-time-moron crowd, vs. the World Wide Leader.

 

This reality cannot be downplayed. The stakes are too high. For the pontiff, motivation is not a problem. Neither is time. Francesa will have plenty of both. Beginning March 24 his simulcast airs Monday-Friday on FS1 (1 p.m.-4 p.m.) and FS2 (4 p.m.-6 p.m.). That gives The All-Knowing One many hours to play catch-up with ESPN. It’s a tough assignment.

For example, from Feb. 17-March 9, FS1’s total day (24-hour cycle) average, according to Nielsen, was 140,000 viewers. For the same period FS2’s total day average was 17,000 viewers.

 

For the same period, Feb. 17- March 9, Nielsen has ESPN’s total day average viewership at 667,000, crushing FS1/2.

 

Another sample, one in which more total eyeballs were likely in play, came during the week leading up to the Super Bowl (Jan. 27-Jan. 31). According to Nielsen, ESPN averaged 794,000 viewers during a full day (24-hour cycle) while FS1 averaged an anemic 48,000 viewers.

 

This is the underdog environment Francesa enters. His first priority is staying on top of the radio ratings heap. That’s where most of his bread is buttered. Yet throughout his career, the bloviating pontiff has shown not only disdain for the ESPN product but an ability to destroy its local radio affiliate, ESPN-98.7, in the ratings department.

RELATED: THE WAIT IS OVAH: FRANCESA JOINS FOX SPORTS

 

The Foxies have now provided Francesa the “opportunity” to go head-to-head and conquer ESPN on the TV side. As of this month FS1 is available in nearly 87 million homes, FS2 in nearly 37 million homes. ESPN can be seen in close to 97 million homes.

 

Francesa now has the opportunity to attract a significant number of new eyeballs to his FS1/2 shows. It’s a big-time challenge. If he succeeds, Francesa will have pulled off a major coup. Since he is locked into a four-year deal, Fox really isn’t putting any pressure on him.

 

Yet, if ESPN continues obliterating FS1/FS2, it won’t do much for Francesa’s mega-ego. It will reveal a Gasbag who is successful locally but not against the national competition at the Bristol Clown Community College.

 

Then the Pope would only have one option — to look within for renewed strength and comfort. He would crawl back to the balcony, miraculously rise to his feet.

 

Then hang up on Mike From Montclair.

 

FS NONE

Yankee fans should check out where FS1 is on their cable system, or if your friendly operator even carries it.

Under Fox’s new contract with MLB, when teams the Foxies own TV rights to play each other, Fox has the right to air those games exclusively on FS1.

Since Fox now owns Yankees TV rights, it will black out four Bombers games on YES this season (April 26 vs. Angels, Aug. 9 vs. Indians, Aug. 29 vs Texas, and Sept. 6 vs K.C.) and air them only on FS1.

 

RELATED: THE SCORE HEARS: POPE A BIG FAN OF FRANCESACON

Fox is using baseball to drive eyeballs to FS1. It will carry a full schedule of games this season.

 

HELLO, LARRY

With all these hoops voices splitting their day jobs to work college tournaments and studio shows, it opens up opportunities for new faces.

So when Wally Szczerbiak exits MSG this month, viewers will see Larry Johnson in the Knicks studio. This appears to be sort of a comeback for L.J., who, spies say, was exiled by Gulag operatives last season.

 

Whatever went down has obviously been cleared up. That’s a good thing. Johnson is entertaining, speaks his mind, and is likeable.

He also lightens the mood and loosens up his colleagues.

 

NO MUSS FUSS

We found all the fuss and fury over ESPN demoting Brent Musburger to the SEC Network with Jesse Palmer comical.

It wasn’t quite as funny as when the late Jimmy (The Greek) Snyder whipped MussMan’s ass in a Manhattan saloon, but close.

 

RELATED: ESPN'S BEADLE ACCEPTS PROM INVITE FROM PARALYZED TEEN

All these pity parties the media threw for Musburger failed to deal in reality. This is a play-by-play man who spent many years working Shill Street, a guy pushing 75.

ESPN gives him yet another job — a darn good one.

 

Why the tears? Why all the sanctimonious drivel? The Clown Community College boys made a move that should have been made five years ago. They could have given Musburger a pink slip and a farewell party. That’s what happened to others whose mikes became rusty with age.

They got the the boot. This dude got a new contract.

 

This was was a charitable transition. Musburger is out on ESPN’s Saturday night college football featured game, Chris Fowler is in. ESPN handled it well.

Pass the Kleenex.

 

FREE TV

It’s stunning Roger Goodell and his TV posse have not yet found a way to bottle this period of free-agent madness and turn it into a prime-time special.

If TV coverage of the draft, which is sleep-inducing, can produce healthy ratings, imagine what a show capturing the frenetic wheeling and dealing behind the free-agent signings, the speculation, the controversy and opinions could do?

 

This would be a live, fast-paced product, perfect for those with short attention spans. Would love to see it.

* * *

 

DUDE OF THE WEEK: MICHELLE BEADLE

Every so often a sports personality puts his or her celebrity to work, arriving at a spontaneous decision, making someone happy. That’s what ESPN’s Beadle, a media punching bag on occasion, did last week when she accepted Jack Jablonski’s invitation to his prom at Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, during a sports-radio interview. Jablonski, 17, has been paralyzed from the chest down since 2011 when he was checked into the boards head-first during a high school hockey game. When she said “yes” to the invite, Beadle put a smile on the kid’s face and everyone else who has been touched by this story.

 

DWEEB OF THE WEEK: 3N2

No, this is not a new Internet virus. It’s a baseball shoe company that apparently has been infected with a disease known as Sudden Stupidity. The company has proudly confirmed a sponsorship deal with disgraced Brewers star Ryan Braun. This is not a guy anyone would put in the role-model category. Braun has lied, cheated and thrown others under the bus to save his own tuchis. Has 3N2 come up with some unique marketing plan? Or maybe Braun is going to endorse a shoe known as The Urine Sample.

 

DOUBLE TALK

 

What Justin Tuck said: “But I just wanted a new, fresh start, and I think Oakland is definitely a good place to be.”

 

What Justin Tuck meant to say: “But I just wanted to freshen up my bank account and Oakland showed me the money.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/raissman-article-1.1722771#ixzz2w4gvfhcF

[Arsis]

Good, so I can ignore him without effort.

[BurnleyJet]

Douche v Douche.

[dbatesman]

Best signing of the week

[HessStation]

They're about 20 years too late with that insufferable douchebag. 

[T0mShane]

Do people really watch simulcasts?

[Maxman]

Do people really watch simulcasts?

 

All the time, I just hit the trifecta on Wednesday night.

[Maxman]

Good, so I can ignore him without effort.

 

So true.

[slats]

Now I can ignore sports and politics in one convenient location. How awesome!

[stugotz81]

Fox has a sports channel?

[Bugg]

It's one thing to listen to the radio, But who the hell is home in the middle of a workday to watch either? Why would advertisers covet people who don't work and are silly enough to watch a radio show? Expect FS1 to load up on ads for breakfast cereals,chain store pizza delivery, scuzzy PI attorneys and medical pot dispensaries.

 

I listen to the radio a bit more this time of year since I'm tax veal chained to my desk. Listening to both shows, Kay and Lagreca at least realize they are not splitting the atom and this is the toy department of life. Suspect both get up form the console at show's end and go laughing to the ATM.They readily acknowledge they have biases and don't watch everything because its impossible. To his credit Kay clearly cherishes his baby daughter and also Lagreca has much fun mocking him as the geriiatric guy someday in the future at girls softball with the oxygen tank. It's 2 guys who are friends breaking balls.

 

Francesa is 50+ with little kids. If you have little kids with homework and birthday parties and plays and little league, you are not sitting on the couch all weekend and every night  and leaving it all to the wife unless you are a total zero of a human being. Doing such things in your 50s is frankly insane. He still pretends he watches everything. The guy hates his audience. To argue like a mental patient about what club a golfer uses is really really odd.WGAF.  May be the guy can look at his payceck and slog through every afternoon, but it sounds like a death march. Not sure his ego allows him to grasp that without Russo he comes off as a very angry and unhappy  guy.

 

Remarkably both shows now work for Fox.

[stoicsentry]

Michael Kay is one of the few men in the world that is douchy enough to make me root for Francesa.