Audacy

The song remains the same.

WFAN continued to demolish ESPN Radio New York in the winter 2023 ratings book. The scoreboard in the all-important males ages 25-54 demographic, via Newsday:

Morning: Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti with a 12.1 share, Rick DiPietro and Dave Rothenberg with a 3.0.

Midday: Tike Barber and Brandon Tierney, 5.7; Alan Hahn, Bart Scott (and Mike Greenberg), 2.5.

Afternoon: Craig Carton and Evan Roberts, 7.7; Michael Kay, Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg, 2.9.

So, yeah. WFAN is steamrolling ESPN. Nothing new here. And that will not change unless there is a major change to the current lineups. Which, of course, could happen in the not-so-distant future.

If Carton bails on afternoon drive to go full-time with his FS1 morning show, things could change. Say what you will about Kay and the self-proclaimed best sports talk show in America. But this reality has to terrify WFAN: They have not beaten Kay once in the last five years without Mike Francesa or Carton in the power chair. So why you would like to think the current lead is big enough for Evan Roberts and, say, Sal Licata to maintain an edge, you just never know.

MORE: What would WFAN do if Carton leaves?

ESPN clearly is not driven by ratings. If they were, they would have canned Kay a long time ago, much less given him millions to stay and keep his program going. But history has shown they can squeeze out an afternoon victory or two if WFAN does not have a top star leading the way.

WFAN’s morning show is one place where things are likely sustainable no matter the names. If Esiason does decide to retire sooner rather than later, they should be able to keep things rolling — especially if update reporter Jerry Recco gets the call to roll alongside Giannotti.

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James Kratch can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.

James Kratch is the managing editor of ESNY. He previously worked as a Rutgers and Giants (and Mike Francesa) beat reporter for NJ Advance Media.