Francesa not worth headache for WFAN
While his comment is highly debatable, it’s hard doubting Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa’s sincerity (did we just say that?) when he proclaims: “I have no problems with the company (CBS/WFAN) at all.”
There now is no reason for the pontiff to have any hassles with the corporate suits. Who else could get away with publicly trashing their boss the way Francesa already has? Howard Stern? Imus?
More to the point, who else would just sit back and take it up the ying-yang the way CBS honchos have?
Do they just have thick skin? Or are they spineless? Have they just become anesthetized to an arrogant Francesa acting maniacally? Or maybe Francesa actually has something on these particular gentlemen he has rolled up on?
Take it in reverse order. Instead of announcing his retirement exclusively on CBS-owned WFAN, the station he’s worked at for nearly three decades, he goes on a Fox Sports 1 Katie Nolan podcast to deliver the word. Coincidence? Or was the pontiff once again sticking it to the “man?”
Think about it. Francesa hand delivered this scoop (he disingenuously contended it was “a throwaway line”) to FS1, a network he used to verbally destroy for pre-empting his WFAN simulcast.
While hammering Fox, Francesa also chided CBS for not being able to extricate him from the simulcast deal. And when CBS did break the contract, Francesa cost the company any revenue they were getting from its rights fee contract with FS1.
Continuing on, Francesa used the airwaves of WFAN to bash CBS for running the all-sports station “into the ground.” Want more? In September 2014 he claimed he received a letter from CBS threatening to sue him if he continued complaining about the FS1 situation. CBS said there was no discussion of a lawsuit.
The alleged letter did not stop Francesa’s diss-er-tation about CBS and how it was ruining FAN, which peaked when he began publicly suggesting he wanted out of his contract before it expires in 2017. Francesa continued snitting on CBS, but cooled down, even offering what passed as a mea culpa over his relationship with corporate brass.
Does that mean Francesa got the suits back to the table to negotiate a buyout of his current contract? And does the fact he announced his departure from FAN, two years before it will happen, mean those talks went nowhere and Francesa found himself having to honor his contract when he really wanted out — now?
One thing is certain, while Francesa said he has “no problems” with CBS, the feeling from various suits in some areas of the corporation is definitely not mutual. This is still a bad marriage with two years left to run.
A lot can happen in that time. CBS might not even own WFAN. CBS has been looking to sell off its radio stations. CBS Radio just came off a horrible year with revenue down. Analysts are not optimistic about this trend reversing. This is why Francesa was looking at having his reported $4 million per salary cut drastically when his contract expires.
What if another company buys WFAN and decides it must do anything to keep Francesa, including giving him a raise? Would the Pope suddenly cancel his plans to leave? If he does make good on his “promise” and splits, there won’t be many tears shed in CBS corporate suites. They would have rid themselves of Francesa, a serial producer of migraine headaches. And, contrary to group-think, will still be able to make money in the afternoon drive, even if ratings dip below the numbers Francesa generated.
Follow the money: It’s not about the Gasbag who replaces Francesa. It’s about the amount of savings CBS will get by capping the salary of the new mouth(s) far, far below what Francesa was earning.
If you pay Yakker Smith — or Yakkers Smith & Jones — $1 million per or less, the advertising revenue may decline post Francesa, but the cost of talent will have dropped so drastically the net revenue will be the same, or slightly less, than what the Pope was generating.
So, if he keeps his “promise” and actually leaves in two years, not only will CBS be rid of a perpetual pain in the ass, but the chance of maintaining net revenue in afternoon drive are not all that bad.
CBS could also focus its attention on extending the contracts of morning mouths Craig Carton and Norman Julius Esiason, whose pacts will expire during the twoyear span. They already generate healthy ratings and higher advertising revenue than Francesa.
And despite saying all is now sweetness and light between the Pope and those he once tormented at CBS, expect some bumps in the road between now and the time he leaves FAN.
If Mike Francesa ever actually does leave.