Sports Radio News

The Michael Kay Show Moves Up An Hour, Setting Up Head to Head Battle With Carton & Roberts

“The 2 pm start time means ESPN New York is scrapping the one-hour syndicated broadcast of the Max Kellerman Show and provides Kay the stronger lead-in of Alan Hahn and Bart Scott.”

Published

3 years ago

March 29, 2021

Brandon Contes

As of Monday March 29, The Michael Kay Show is on-air every weekday from 2 – 6:30pm, beginning their show an hour earlier for the first time since moving to a 3pm start in 2010.

The move serves a few purposes, putting 98.7 ESPN New York’s afternoon show in direct competition with WFAN’s Craig Carton and Evan Roberts, who are narrowly leading the ratings battle after two months in the spring book. But it also allows TMKS to feature more Michael Kay with the Major League Baseball season set for first pitch.

As the TV voice of the Yankees, Kay often leaves his radio show as early as 5:45pm for a 6:30 game, with co-hosts Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg left to close out the final 75 minutes. Shifting the radio show up from its previous 3 – 7pm timeslot allows Kay to spend more time with his ESPN New York audience.

ESPN New York cleans up their lineup a bit with its programming shuffle, giving the station three different national shows before Kay instead of four. The 2 pm start time means ESPN New York is scrapping the one-hour syndicated broadcast of the Max Kellerman Show and provides Kay the stronger lead-in of Alan Hahn and Bart Scott.

Kellerman was bumped multiple times by ESPN New York in recent months. On occasions of breaking news such as the Mets trading for Francisco Lindor, 98.7 would either give Kay or Chris Carlin the 2pm hour. But having to repeatedly alter your lineup on a “big” New York sports day, likely means permanent change is necessary.

Kellerman’s show had been destroyed by WFAN’s Carton and Roberts since the New Year, while Bart and Hahn have been more formidable in their noon – 2pm slot. Hahn and Scott are familiar to the New York audience, giving 98.7’s lineup more of a local feel, but they’re still a national show featuring broader sports topics. While TMKS might be better served by a legitimate local lead-in, there’s no question the 2pm start time puts them on a more equal playing field with WFAN.

Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at [email protected].

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Sports Radio News

Mad Dog: Gus Johnson ‘Bothered The Hell Out of Me’ Saturday

“For crying out loud, Michigan/Ohio State isn’t even better than North Carolina/Duke, who play twice a year. So let’s be careful with the hype machine.”

Published

3 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BSM Staff

(Photo: SiriusXM)

FOX Sports college football voice Gus Johnson has made no bones about his affinity for Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. However, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has heard enough.

During his Mad Dog Unleashed program on SiriusXM, Russo shared that not only was Johnson obnoxious for the constant use of a nickname he bestowed up Harrison, but he was also misguided for calling Ohio State/Michigan the greatest rivalry in sports.

“Gus Johnson — the hype machine that he is — please, when you broadcast a ballgame, I don’t need to hear about Maserati Marv, number one. And number two, that’s not the greatest rivalry in sports history. Have you heard of the Yankees and the Red Sox? Giants and the Dodgers? How about Bears/Packers? Have you heard about that?

“For crying out loud, Michigan/Ohio State isn’t even better than North Carolina/Duke, who play twice a year. So let’s be careful with the hype machine. That bothered the hell out of me.”

When a caller pushed back on Russo’s opinion on the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry, he continued by saying “That rivalry’s not Yankees/Red Sox. To compare college football to the Yankees and the Red Sox is ludicrous.”

BSM Staff

Sports Radio News

Nashville Predators Radio Voice Pete Weber Calling 2,000th Game Tuesday

“I always wanted to be there for the birth of a team. I feel like I’ve been a pretty fair midwife here.”

Published

4 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BSM Staff

(Photo: Nashville Predators)

Nashville Predators radio voice Pete Weber is set to hit a career milestone Tuesday, as he’ll call his 2,000th game for the NHL franchise.

Weber told The Tennessean that he has relished the opportunity to be the voice of a team since its inception. He claimed he applied for and was a finalist for the radio play-by-play job when the Carolina Panthers were conceived, before ultimately landing with the Predators.

“I always wanted to be there for the birth of a team,” said Weber. “I feel like I’ve been a pretty fair midwife here.”

Despite missing time late last season due to a rare brain condition, Weber said he has no plans of retiring anytime soon.

“I have not thought about it, other than when I thought about how (former Philadelphia Phillies announcer) Harry Kalas was carried dead out of the broadcast booth in Washington,” Pete Weber said. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s an interesting way to go. I don’t necessarily know that I want to do it like that. But it could happen. I’m not going to say no.”

Weber’s 2,000th game will come as the Nashville Predators play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins. 102.5 The Game is the flagship home of the Predators Radio Network.

BSM Staff

Sports Radio News

iHeartMedia Ending WEEI Simulcast in Cape Cod

A job opening for a sports talk co-host/producer/programming assistant that says its salary will “be funded by the savings that the market is acquiring from the expiring Audacy/WEEI & Red Sox contracts”.

Published

5 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BSM Staff

iHeartMedia is preparing to drop its simulcast of WEEI on its 96.3 WEII-FM signal in Hyannis/Cape Cod.

According to a report from Radio Insight, iHeartMedia has posted a job opening for a sports talk co-host/producer/programming assistant that says its salary will “be funded by the savings that the market is acquiring from the expiring Audacy/WEEI & Red Sox contracts”.

It goes on to state that the contract between the company and Audacy was $300,000 annually and it paid the Red Sox $65,000 annually.

The job posting alleges 96.3 FM will continue to carry sports programming with a local show.

WEEI is currently simulcast on stations in Springfield and Worcester, MA; Providence; Portland, Maine; and on stations in New Hampshire and Vermont, as well. Earlier this year, the station’s offices in Warwick, Rhode Island closed as part of a cost-cutting measure.

WEII-FM is licensed to Dennis, MA and features a 25,000-watt Class B signal.

BSM Staff