
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Jeff Smulyan has been called the Godfather of Sports Talk for his role in creating the genre. As CEO of Emmis Communications, he purchased WHN in New York City then flipped it to all sports and rebranded it as WFAN. It was a decision met with resistance and doubt within the company, let alone the outside world. And the early results were harrowing. But within a year, the FAN became an NYC staple and soon there were copycats nationwide. This is the story of how Suzyn Waldman discovered Buck Showalter, the FAN commercial that was too crass to air, and the early friction between Mike Francesa and Chris Russo. If you've ever listened to an all-sports radio station, this is the story of how that all happened.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
By AudacyJeff Smulyan has been called the Godfather of Sports Talk for his role in creating the genre. As CEO of Emmis Communications, he purchased WHN in New York City then flipped it to all sports and rebranded it as WFAN. It was a decision met with resistance and doubt within the company, let alone the outside world. And the early results were harrowing. But within a year, the FAN became an NYC staple and soon there were copycats nationwide. This is the story of how Suzyn Waldman discovered Buck Showalter, the FAN commercial that was too crass to air, and the early friction between Mike Francesa and Chris Russo. If you've ever listened to an all-sports radio station, this is the story of how that all happened.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices