NYC Radio: Francesa Claims Kay Ratings Win 'Fabricated'

The WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM's Mike Francesa returned to the airwaves Monday and took aim at the recent claims of ratings victory by nemesis Michael Kay and WEPN 98.7 FM ESPN New York, according to NJ.com.

"You may have seen some stories that were fabricated, and I mean fabricated, that the other sports station somehow beat me in the ratings," Francesa, who just returned from vacation, said. "As you know, they never have. They put out some information that they won the ratings. Well, that is a complete fabrication. I care because of this: Because it's just a lie."

Francesa, who is leaving WFAN on Dec. 15, then laid out what he said were the facts: His show lost the most recent radio ratings "book" to Lite-FM after leading for most of it, but it still defeated ESPN Radio and Kay's show by a wide margin. Francesa conceded Kay's show finished ahead of his in the ratings in the month of June - the victory Kay trumpeted last week in a Twitter rant - but argued it is a meaningless achievement.

"They lost the game 48-20, and won the fourth quarter, 10-9, and declared victory. It doesn't work that way," Francesa said. "Tell the truth."

Here's how Francesa broke it down in his words:


Francesa said he cannot remember ever paying attention to monthly ratings in his carer. He said his timeslot on WFAN - 1-6:30 p.m. - beat ESPN by a 5.8-4.1 score, and edged Kay's show (which begins at 3 p.m.) by a 5.8-4.9 margin.

"And 5.8 isn't a good number for me. I'm not happy with that. It was a bad book for me," Francesa said. "I blew it. I lost the book. But I beat them, and I beat them soundly.

"There's no victory. Just like I'm not claiming victory ... If someone beats me fair and square, I'll say congratulations. But to lie about it, and to fabricate something, is just a joke. And then to have somebody go along with this, either they're just inept, which is always a possibility, ignorant to the facts of how we do things, which is always a possibility, or just deceitful, which is always a possibility. But the bottom line is, it's not true."