Francesca is locked in for five more years, but the rights to simulcast a man drinking lots of Diet Coke, scribbling on a newspaper, and handwaving callers is up for grabs and Bob Raissman believes MSG Network is a lock to take over this job.
Raissman also says that we are likely to see Russo on Sirius as early as the first week of September.
Francesa says YES to MSG
Friday, the day after he was named host of FAN's afternoon drive show, Francesa heaped praise on the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, which simulcasts the "Mike and the Mad Dog Show." He tossed many bouquets in YES' direction.
"They (YES) are staying with us for the rest of the contract," Francesa said.
Underline "rest of the contract." The YES/FAN simulcast contract ends at the end of the year.
And as soon as it does, look for Francesa to take the simulcast of his new show over to the Madison Square Garden Network.
"It's basically a done deal," a YES source said.
YES brass is already contemplating what it will do to fill the afternoon hours. Maybe they can pick up ESPN-1050's "The Michael Kay Show." Those who run YES are very familiar with Mr. Kay, right?
Doggie's now Sirius
After FAN announced the FranDog split, one Sirius XM wiseguy was cackling how "out in the open" the process of bringing Russo into the satellite world was.
"There's no cafeteria here (in Sirius' Manhattan studio)," the mole reported. "So I see Russo up here and figure he wasn't around to dust off Howard Stern's microphone - he was cutting a deal."
Word is Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin also invited Doggie to his Manhattan apartment for a private pow-wow where he made his intentions known. Karmazin (no doubt dangling dollar signs) swept Dog off his paws.
Russo likely will make his Sirius XM debut the first week of September (Sept. 4, maybe?) and may even get his own channel, which could mean 24 hours of Russo. Oh, joy!
By the way, wouldn't it be a trip if the Yankees miss the playoffs and Doggie is stuck explaining the significance to Beauregard from Biloxi?
And Now, A Note From Brian Powell
14 years ago
3 comments:
What are the chances that YES makes a deal to simulcast Dog's show? I mean, I don't know what the timeslot is going to be yet, but YES needs to find some way to fill all those programming hours they'll miss when their deal runs out. They don't have enough programming, so that time would just be filled otherwise with repeats of Yankees Classics and infomercials.
YES broadcasting Michael Kay? Will his giant head fit in my 50" screen? I like his radio show, and I truly hope they simulcast his show.
The only reason to watch Kay's show on TV is to see Christina Stoffo.
And what time slot do you think Dog would get? he'd be on the same time as Fatso.
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