NYC Radio: WEPN Greenlights Earlier Start For Michael Kay Show

"The Michael Kay Show" on ESPN 101.9 FM  660 AN New York will be heard from 2 to 6:30 p.m. instead of 3 to 7 p.m., effective Monday, Kay announced on Friday.

Kay said the move was prompted by the start of the baseball season in general and the Yankees’ 6:30 p.m. early season starts in particular, which force Kay – YES Network’s play-by-play man – to leave his show early.

Chris Carlin’s show will expand to 6:30 to 10 p.m., and Max Kellerman’s national show, currently heard on 98.7 FM from 2 to 3 p.m., instead will be heard in its entirety from 2 to 4 p.m. on ESPN’s AM outlet at 1050 on the dial.

The move to 2 p.m. will expand the time during which Kay’s show, with co-hosts Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg, is head-to-head against WFAN’s Evan Roberts and Craig Carton, who are heard from 2 to 7 p.m.

The lead-in to the Kay Show, Max Kellerman’s national program, was destroyed for the month by “Carton & Roberts” (7.7 to 1.7). Kellerman is 21st in the market. 

ESPN New York completely change its lineup in the fall, which had finally featured local programming into Kay.

In the first two months of the winter ratings book, “Carton & Roberts” had a lead in the 25-54 male demographic when both shows’ streams are included. The two sides dispute how to look at Nielsen Audio’s ratings. The way ESPN NY looks at it, it is winning, reports The NY Post.

While the ratings were a factor, the impetus of the move was the Yankees’ schedule, which features a lot of 6:30 p.m. starts at the beginning of the season. Kay, the TV voice of the Yankees on YES, would be forced to leave the program at 5:45 p.m. In this new setup, Kay will be on the show that bears his name basically throughout on those days.