No official announcements have been made by WFAN as to how they’re replacing Mike Francesa in afternoon drive, but the radio icon himself has been open about his new role, which will include a 30-minute weekday show.
As WFAN looks to retool their lineup for the second time in two years, Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts are expected to take over the 2 – 6pm timeslot with Maggie Gray and Marc Malusis likely headed to the midday. But as Francesa recently stepped down from his afternoon post, he has continued to make it clear that he’s not leaving the station completely.
On Tuesday, Francesa appeared as a guest with Julie Stewart-Binks on her fubo Sports Network show, Call It a Night to promote the upcoming film he has a small role in Uncut Gems. During the appearance, Francesa removed himself as a potential candidate to be the next head coach of the Giants, but did discuss his future with WFAN and their parent company Entercom.
According to Francesa, his daily WFAN gig from 6 – 6:30pm will be fast paced and unlike his previous shows, probably won’t take a lot of calls.
“My show always moved very quickly anyway,” Francesa told host Julie Stewart-Binks. “That’s how I did things. I disposed of callers very quickly. I moved everything along very quickly. That’s just my way. I went through a very high volume of stuff. I think the show has to move. I hate when it drags.”
Keeping with the plan of moving quickly, the half hour show will only have five-minutes of commercials, but Francesa said he’s still working on the format.
“I’m gonna change up how I do it, there’s not going to be a lot of calls. There will be some, but very few. Maybe even only one a day. I thought about maybe that. I’m still formulating the half-hour. I’m going to make it something we haven’t done before.”
In addition to maintaining a daily presence on WFAN, Francesa will also have an expanded role with RADIO.COM, which he previously stated will include content on both sports and politics.
Francesa told Stewart-Binks that he has a fascination with finance and politics. While he’s satisfied with show options in the finance space, Francesa believes there’s room for improvement with available political content.
The radio host has never shied away from stating his support for President Trump, but when it comes to the political content he wants to create, Francesa says he’ll play it right down the middle. While most political shows and networks are heavily in favor of the left or right, Francesa hopes to be an unbiased voice.
Stewart-Binks asked Francesa about the often spewed ‘stick to sports’ mandate. “Tell ‘em to shut up, I don’t care what they think,” Francesa answered.
Francesa’s RADIO.COM hour is expected to air weekdays at 5pm ET, preceding his six o’clock show on the FAN and totaling 90 minutes of airtime a day for the longtime sports radio host.