Yankees Replacing The Mets On WFAN In 2014

Newsday – The Yankees and CBS Radio are close to a deal that would put the Yankees on WFAN starting in 2014, a person familiar with the negotiations told Newsday. The arrangement would bump the Mets off the station that has carried their games since WFAN’s inception in 1987. Lonn Trost, the Yankees’ chief operating officer, said Tuesday a deal for the team’s radio rights is “close,” but he would not confirm or deny that WFAN is the likely landing place. “Right now we’re in negotiations and everything is confidential,” Trost said. “Part of the agreement we’re drafting has a confidentiality agreement. I can’t even get into it. I am close with some entity for next year.” Still, he cautioned, “Things have gone in so many directions with this negotiation . . . I can’t tell you today if it will be the same thing tomorrow.” Jeff Wilpon, chief operating officer of the Mets, said Tuesday while visting a firehouse in Manhattan that it is “fairly accurate” that the Mets are leaving WFAN. Wilpon said he expects a resolution to the team’s radio deal for 2014 and beyond in about six weeks. It is not clear where the Mets would land, but options include ESPN Radio and one or more of the New York stations — including WOR — owned by Clear Channel Communications, which earlier in the process made a serious bid for the Yankees’ rights. All indications are that John Sterling would remain the team’s play-by-play man. Less certain is the status of his partner, Suzyn Waldman, but if the team gives its blessing they will continue the on-air partnership that began in 2005. The Yankees currently are carried by WCBS Radio, which like WFAN, is owned by CBS. The current one-year contract is believed to pay the team $13 to $14 million. The Mets are believed to earn about half what the Yankees do in rights fees but have been a money-loser for WFAN, which inherited the team when it took over WHN’s 1050-AM signal in 1987. The Mets then moved down the dial with WFAN to 660-AM in 1988

Well this is just devastating news. Just another blow to Mets fans that ends like a 25 year run with MFAN. Now admittedly I’m a little gay about my sports radio. I take it real serious. WFAN is like actually important to me. There are days I start with Boomer and Carton, roll into Joe and Evan, Mike at 1, right through to Eddie and Howie and company for the Mets game at night. On WFAN for like 14 straight hours. All my guys in one spot. Like the same way Stoolies are on Barstool all day, I’m on the Fan all day in one form or another. Everytime I’m in the car, 660. Watch the simulcasts. Used to stream it at work back when I was stuck in the cube. Its basically my home for all my sports radio.

I guess at the end of the day, whats the difference? It shouldn’t really matter if I listen to all my normal WFAN shows and then I have to change the station for the Mets. It shouldn’t matter what the number on the dial is. But it does. It matters because of the jingle – Lets Got Mets…F-A-N, DA DA DA! It matters because its been the only place I’ve listened to a ball game my whole life. And it matters that the fucking Yankees and John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman are gonna be on the same station that used to be Gary Cohen and Howie Rose. Horrible, horrible news.