Esiason, Carton in morning bump up WFAN ratings

Neil Best

April 29, 2008

Eight months after assuming Don Imus' old morning perch at WFAN, Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton continue to show ratings strength - no matter how many e-mails I get from people annoyed by them.

The wrinkle in the winter numbers that came out yesterday was that for the first time, Ca-Boom went head-to-head against their predecessor.

The results: WFAN ranked fifth in men ages 25-54 - their target demographic - with an average of 4.3 percent of the audience.

That was nearly double what Imus did on WABC (18th place, 2.2) from Jan. 10 to April 12. It also was 48 percent better than what Imus did the previous winter on WFAN.

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("Mike and Mike" on 1050 ESPN were 10th in the demo with 2.9 percent of the audience.)

Imus does better among women and older people than do Carton and Esiason, but that is not WFAN's focus.

The younger the demo, the bigger the ratings gap. Among men ages 18-49, WFAN nearly quadrupled WABC's rating from 6 to 10 a.m.

The new morning show still has not matched the ad billings Imus commanded at WFAN, but the station hopes those will grow as the show becomes more entrenched.

Esiason and Carton do even better in Nassau-Suffolk, which is rated as a subset of the New York market. They rank first among men 25-54 with an average 8.0 percent of those listening.

That is more than double what Imus did last year at WFAN, nearly double what Imus rated this winter at WABC and more than triple "Mike and Mike's" winter figure on 1050 ESPN.

WFAN ranked No. 1 in its target demo from 3 to 7 p.m., but a direct comparison between "Mike and the Mad Dog" and 1050's Michael Kay awaits the hourly ratings breakdown today.

Bloggers thank Delgado

Thank you, Carlos Delgado, for teeing up a no-brainer to get us media folk through another manic Monday in the blogosphere and blabosphere.

(Next time, take a curtain call after a strikeout, just to play with our minds!)

Bob Costas owes Delgado the heartiest thanks of all, because the timing was exquisite for the "Costas Now" he will host on HBO at 10 tonight.

The topic is the "volatile" sports media landscape, and the live panelists are to include Michael Strahan, Chris Russo, Buzz Bissinger, Will Leitch, Joe Buck, Mike Tirico, Dan Patrick, Tiki Barber and John McEnroe.

(My invite was lost in the mail, I guess.)

In a taped segment, Mike Francesa sums up sports talk this way: "The Giants winning the way they won is a 9. The Mets collapsing the way they did, from what we do, is a 10."

Hmm. Too true. So is it possible the media culture contributes to the echo chamber that breeds bitterly, irrationally negative Mets fans and in turn players who decline to take curtain calls?

Just asking.

Sound bites

Fox added Brian Billick to its NFL game analyst roster, figuring his personality fits its vibe. "We have always tried to hire analysts that have a certain presence or confidence - an edge, if you will," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said ... NBC can start praying even harder now about Tiger Woods' knee. It announced that for the first time, the U.S. Open is scheduled for prime time for the final two rounds at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Bethpage is the only Open in the next four years not in the West ... The speeded-up NFL draft led to logistical problems, including missed picks by ESPN, but the TV people will figure it out. The change is a net positive. The weekend's most disturbing comment came Saturday from Roger Goodell to the NFL Network: "This is the best day in the NFL." Wasn't the commish at the most recent Super Bowl?

This and that

Tony Petitti's planned departure as the No. 2 man at CBS Sports to run the MLB Network quickly led to speculation that Sean McManus would leave the troubled news division and return to sports full-time. "I have no intention whatsoever of leaving CBS News," he told Sports Business Journal ... Vin Scully will be honored with a lifetime achievement award from Fordham's WFUV tonight. The station has produced, among many others, the current voices of the Yankees (Michael Kay), Giants (Bob Papa) and Knicks (Mike Breen) ... Tom Hammond is not a lock for the NFL Network play-by-play gig. The Net might seek a bigger splash. Be careful, guys. Bryant Gumbel was a splash.