Mike Francesa
AP Photo

Legendary WFAN host and pioneer of the sports talk radio industry Mike Francesa is back with a brand new 90-minute show on RADIO.com.

The Sports Pope is not completely done with his sports talk radio career.

This past December, Mike Francesa ended his tenure as the host of WFAN’s drive time radio program. But on Monday, he returned to the microphone, just in a slightly different way. Francesa ultimately launched a brand new 90-minute show, which airs exclusively on weekdays from 5-6:30 p.m. ET on RADIO.com

The final 30 minutes of the show will be simulcasted on WFAN.

Back in 1989, Francesa teamed up with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo for “Mike and the Mad Dog,” a widely-known sports radio program that lasted until 2008. After Russo left WFAN to start his own channel on SiriusXM, Mike went solo on the 1-6:30 p.m. ET slot until his initial retirement in 2017.

In April of 2018, Francesa announced that he would be returning to The Fan. He thus took back control of the drive time program. The station shortened it to a 3-6:30 p.m. ET show. Francesa remained in that role until December of 2019.

With multiple “retirements,” it’s tough to predict if Francesa will ever want to officially exit the industry. Ratings had been low for him recently, with his drive time opponent, “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN Radio, defeating him in his final ratings book. Nonetheless, Francesa is a pioneer when it comes to sports talk radio and will always stand as a massive name in the industry.

Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.