(above : most certainly not Mike Francesa)
The daily simulcast of Mike Franceea’s top rated WFAN afternoon drive program recently moved from the YES Network to Fox Sports, a situation the host might’ve considered an upgrade were it not for Fox’s habit of preempting the show or moving shows-in-progress from FS1 to the less-available FS2. Though Newsday’s Neil Best points out there’s some programming that’s simply too popular not to bump Francesa for (ie. Champions League soccer), Chris Russo’s former partner tells Best, “we have an issue here…I do have a high level of frustration.”
Francesa emphasized how much he likes the people at Fox both professionally and personally, and he said he and executives there are in the process of trying to “correct” the issue.
That issue is Francesa repeatedly has been pre-empted on Fox Sports 1, for everything from soccer to NASCAR to baseball, and pushed to FS2. Sometimes he has been knocked off both channels.
“We’ve been pre-empted far more than I ever thought possible,” he said.
Even on a clear day, he moves from FS1 to FS2 at 5 p.m. (Until last week, the switch happened at 4 p.m.)
“They have told me they’re very happy with the show,” Francesa said. “But I have to continue to find a way to take care of my daily loyal audience and to take care of Fox right now.”
“I owe my fans,” he said. “They have been great to me. They have been the most loyal audience anybody has ever had. I owe them, and I’m trying to get them the signal.”