Are Mike Francesa and WFAN about to dump the app?
Mike’s about to be off?
WFAN’s Mike Francesa made some curious comments at the end of a somewhat-rambling monologue about Knicks and Rangers owner James Dolan’s decision to go nuclear on the station during his Monday show, and some are interpreting them as a sign his much-ballyhooed app may last about as long as his recent retirement.
“It’s been an ugly 14, 15 months for WFAN, and I feel badly about that. I really do,” Francesa said. “Some of it … a lot of it has nothing to do with me. And if some of it does, like me coming back, if that was part of it internally, it probably was. Because I think I upset the schedule, upset the apple cart.
“Maybe that was the wrong idea, maybe that wasn’t right, you know? Maybe coming back was – I knew it was going to be uncomfortable, and maybe it was more uncomfortable than I thought. It probably has been. It’s been successful, we’ve done what we’ve had to do, I think from a business standpoint they’re thrilled, but still, it’s not the most comfortable thing.
“We haven’t even come to a deal yet, which makes me think that maybe the app and the show don’t work together, and maybe that’s something we’re going to have to adjust, one way or the other. We’re going to have to wait and see about that, because we still don’t have a deal. So maybe it’s not the right – maybe the app and this show can’t work together. That’s possible. And if it is, we’ll adjust one.”
When Francesa returned to WFAN this spring after his four-month departure, he reportedly signed a deal to host his daily show through 2020. So that only leaves one other thing to dump, er, adjust.
Francesa’s app: Our 8.99 takeaways after it was launched
Francesa made the comments while addressing news Dolan has banned all MSG employees from appearing on WFAN or working with Entercom, the station’s parent company, after WFAN midday host Maggie Gray blasted him earlier this year. Gray called Dolan a “vile piece of trash” after his band released a song perceived to be making light of the sexual harassment allegations against his longtime friend, disgraced Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein.
Gray has since apologized, but MSG is not accepting.
“Entercom aired a hate-filled rant directed towards MSG, its employees and its Executive Chairman in August of this year. They chose to take no action to remedy this until the start of this season. Only after learning they would not receive special access to players and coaches did they elect to offer an insincere half-hearted apology,” MSG said in a statement to NJ Advance Media. “We wish them no ill will. However, we decline to carry on a business relationship. We will continue to afford Entercom league-mandated access only.”
The cliff notes version of Francesa’s comments: He largely defended Dolan, who he has been criticized of being too friendly toward, but also added the two have not spoken in some time and had some sort of falling out in the last year, although Francesa indicated they made up. But Francesa blasted MSG PR for its decision, and criticized Dolan for enacting their strategy.
Francesa also revealed former MSG PR head Barry Watkins “is like family,” and more or less threw Gray under the bus while saying he doesn’t need MSG’s guests to do his show. But Francesa did reiterate Gray apologized and MSG should accept the apology and move on.
James Kratch may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.
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