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WFAN To Split Broadcast For Giants & Yankees

Under Nielsen’s new policy, splitting the signal to accommodate the Giants and Yankees will keep WFAN over the 95% threshold, allowing them to report ratings for 660 AM and 101.9 FM as a combined number.”

Brandon Contes

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WFAN is splitting their AM and FM signals, for at least one day.  For the first time since New York’s WFAN 660 AM began simulcasting on 101.9 FM, the two signals will broadcast different content on Thursday August, 8th

WFAN serves as the flagship radio affiliate for both the New York Giants and the New York Yankees, as it has for six years.  On Thursday, the Giants will play their first preseason game against the New York Jets at 6:30pm, while the Yankees have first pitch with the Blue Jays scheduled for 7:05.  The radio station will handle the conflict differently than in past years, choosing to place the Giants on WFAN’s AM signal, with the Yankees broadcast airing on 101.9 FM.  

The two teams will have similar scheduling conflicts during three of the Giants four preseason games and again during the first four weeks of the NFL’s regular season.  Some of the conflicts share direct start times, while others anticipate an overlap between the two broadcasts.  

“Depending on pre-game or game times there will be times where we’ll start a broadcast on both stations then split the signal when necessary to get full pre-game coverage on,” Senior VP/Programming Mark Chernoff told Inside Radio.  Whenever a conflict forces a split, the Giants will always broadcast on AM, with WFAN’s FM signal carrying the Yankees.

Previously, when a scheduling conflict occurred for the Yankees and Giants, The Fan’s sister station, WCBS NewsRadio 880 provided a temporary home for one of the teams.  This season, Entercom’s WCBS 880 is the flagship radio station of the New York Mets, who happen to be off on Thursday August 8th, when both the Giants and Yankees will play at the same time.  Still, the decision was made to split WFAN’s signal rather than move one game to WCBS as they did in previous years.

One factor that played a role in choosing to split WFAN’s signal was Nielsen changing its Total Line Reporting Policy.  In February, Inside Radio reported Nielsen will now allow stations that simulcast 95% of its quarter hours in a survey period to be reported as one combined rating.  Previously, Nielsen required 100% of a station’s content to be simulcast, which would have forced 660 AM and 101.9 FM to report separate ratings numbers if they chose to split the signal for any amount of time.

Under Nielsen’s new policy, splitting the signal to accommodate the Giants and Yankees will keep WFAN over the 95% threshold, allowing them to report ratings for 660 AM and 101.9 FM as a combined number.  The Yankees have partnered with WFAN since 2014, while Giants games have been broadcast on The Fan since 1997.

Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.

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Boomer & Gio Break Down Fight Between Tiki Barber & Joe Benigno

“Here’s Tiki, 0% body fat, all-time leading rusher for one of the great franchises in history, has run marathons in like seven different countries, and he’s got to deal with this wacko on Zoom.”

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Boomer & Gio

Even if WFAN is in the news for something a little less than flattering, the station does not run from it. That was evident on Tuesday morning as Boomer & Gio broke down the argument between Tiki Barber and Joe Benigno on Evan & Tiki from Monday afternoon.

Gregg Giannotti found it tremendously entertaining. Boomer Esiason says he had not seen the video, but had read about the argument.

“I was laughing,” Esiason said. “Then, of course, I started to think that, you know, you have, you know, obviously passionate fan. in Joe, who is just going to be screaming and yelling, and you have Tiki, who’s a very reserved, smart bright that is not going to want to put up with the frickin nonsense.”

Both hosts agreed that Tiki Barber and Joe Benign will not let this ruin their relationship. Giannotti said that there is no denying that Barber took Benigno questioning his work personally. He very clearly pointed to the screen Benigno appeared on and said “that’s bullshit.” 

Giannotti added that the visual is even better than the audio.

“Joe, who I believe just turned 70, is wearing a jet sweatshirt, a Jets hat. He’s got a Joe Namath Jersey thumbtacked to the wall behind him, and he is screaming at Tiki Barber’s credibility in breaking down Zach Wilson,” Giannotti said. “Here’s Tiki, 0% body fat, all-time leading rusher for one of the great franchises in history, has run marathons in like seven different countries, and he’s got to deal with this wacko on Zoom.”

“Well, welcome to talk radio,” Esiason joked.

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Greg Hill: Courtney Cox Controlled ‘Narrative of the Entire World Yesterday’

“You can’t get as wholesome and as basic and as, you know, cookie cutter as they come than Taylor Swift, and if she’s a fan of the NFL, then it is okay for anybody to be a fan of the NFL.”

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Courtney Cox
Courtesy: WEEI

One woman has proven that she knows how to get Bill Belichick talking and willing to have fun with the media. Media outlets of all types ran with the Patriots’ coach’s reaction to seeing Taylor Swift in concert last month with WEEI’s Courtney Cox asked him about it. Those same media outlets pounced again this week when Cox asked Belichick about his thoughts on Swift being romantically linked to Travis Kelce after she showed up in a luxury suite with Kelce’s mother in Kansas City on Sunday.

“Well, I would say that Travis Kelce has had a lot of big catches in his career. This would be the biggest,” Belichick quipped during his regular appearance on The Greg Hill Show Monday morning.

Hill opened his Tuesday show by acknowledging Cox once again using Swift to get attention for the show.

“Congratulations on directing the narrative of the entire world yesterday with your question for Bill,” he said.

The show debated if Kelce and Swift were really an item or if this was a publicity stunt. Cox said it doesn’t matter if it is real or not. The NFL is embracing it for a reason.

“Travis Kelce ended up being one of the top five selling NFL players’ jerseys on Sunday after the game. His jersey sales spiked 400%. That is the Taylor Swift effect,” she said. “Whether you like her or you don’t. That’s why the NFL is running with this. That’s why everybody’s talking about it.”

She added that the NFL has changed it handles on multiple social media platforms as well to take advantage of the moment. The league’s bio on its TikTok account reads “Taylor was here” while its name on X (formerly Twitter) is now The NFL – Taylor’s Version,” a reference to Swift’s album re-releases on Spotify.

Greg Hill believes the relationship is not real, or at least that it is not really romantic. Co-host Jermaine Wiggins said that there is too much upside for the NFL to completely dismiss the idea that this is not a set up.

“You can’t get as wholesome and as basic and as, you know, cookie-cutter as they come than Taylor Swift, and if she’s a fan of the NFL, then it is okay for anybody to be a fan of the NFL.”

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SiriusXM Presenting Broadcast Coverage of 2023 Ryder Cup

“Our listeners will get comprehensive access to the tournament…”

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SiriusXM Ryder Cup 2023
Marco Simone Golf and Country Club - Courtesy: Carlos Amoedo | Ryder Cup Logo - Courtesy: PGA, Ryder Cup Europe | SiriusXM Logo - Courtesy: SiriusXM

SiriusXM will be the radio home of the Ryder Cup, delivering consumers more than 28 hours of live coverage from the bi-annual international golf competition from Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia just outside of Rome, Italy. The tournament will showcase various teams of skilled golfers from the United States and Europe that will face off with one another in match play, including head-to-head singles matches and four-ball matches over the three days.

Coverage begins on Friday, Sept. 29 at 1 a.m. EST/10 p.m. PST (Thursday, Sept. 28) and will continue through the final hole of play. The same structure will take place the next day and feature commentators Mark Carnevale, Brian Katrek, Colt Knost, John Maginnes, Drew Stoltz and Taylor Zarzour. The official Ryder Cup Radio channel, which is produced in partnership with IMG and Ryder Cup Europe, will include a score of additional voices such as Alberto Binaghi, Raymond Burns and Sophie Walker. All of the broadcasts will be available to consume on SiriusXM channel No. 92 and on the SiriusXM app.

“The Ryder Cup is one of the most exciting events in all of sports,” Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer of SiriusXM, said in a statement. “Our listeners will get comprehensive access to the tournament, with live coverage of every match and a level of insight and analysis leading up to and throughout the event that you’ll only get from SiriusXM.”

As the competition approaches, listeners can tune into SiriusXM for golf programming previewing the festivities. Moreover, listeners can tune in for a special, Backstory: Ryder Cup, hosted by David Marr III that examines Europe’s success in the competitions played on their own continent. Marr III will decipher the phenomenon through the lens of the 1993 Ryder Cup in England, the last time the competition was won by the United States overseas, led by Jim Gallagher’s win over Seve Ballesteros.

Two special collaborative podcast episodes hosted by former American tour pro Smylie Kaufman and European Tour pro Andrew “Beef” Johnston will debut on Tuesday, Sept. 26 and Wednesday, Sept. 27. Both golfers currently host their own podcasts – The Smylie Show and Beef’s Golf Club, respectively – and will blend the American and European perspectives on the tournament. Kaufman will record episodes of her show each night in Italy reacting to the day’s events and looking ahead for what is to come.

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