Why would a sports franchise abandon their fan base?
MLB New York Mets and their NYC radio partner, Entercom Communications have apparently done just that by not providing game coverage for upstate radio affiliates.
That's right...there is no Mets radio network for the 2019 season, a Mets spokeswoman has confirmed to the Albany NY Times-Union.
The only way to hear Mets games on traditional radio is via the team's new flagship station, WCBS 880 AM, owned by Entercom, or via SiriusXM.
"They (Entercom) couldn't come to an agreement with stations in the upstate area that we originally had listed as affliates for the season," said Lorraine Hamilton, Mets director of broadcasting. "so the way it looks now, it will just be WCBS."
Stations in Poughkeepsie, Syracuse, Oswego and Port St. Lucie, Fla., among others, also were affected by this decision.
In Syracuse, Ed Levine, president and CEO of Galaxy Communications, confirmed the Mets’ departure in Syracuse and the Central New York area. The New York Mets own the Syracuse franchise and are entering their first season as its major league affiliate.
Levine said he recently received an email from an Entercom official explaining that the company would not be purchasing the satellite time required to distribute the Mets games throughout the state. Levine said he wrote back and expressed his opinion that the cutback was "embarrassing.''
"This is why the Yankees are the Yankees and the Mets are the Mets,'' Levine said. "It’s not like we told the Mets we didn’t want them. They reneged on the deal. They are too cheap to do what every other major league franchise does.''
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