Shakeup at WEPN NY - ESPN 1050

COWHERD SPORT TALK SHOW RETURNING TO NEW YORK CITY

Courtesy New York Newsday

(March 6, 2009) Colin Cowherd, whose national ESPN Radio program was last heard in these parts in 2006, will return to 1050 ESPN March 16 when the station picks up the last two hours of his 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. show.

As part of that move, Max Kellerman will be limited to two hours, from 10 to noon. Mike Tirico will move to 2 to 4 p.m. and no longer will be heard in New York.

The station declined to make Kellerman available to discuss the change, but Cowherd spoke about how he hopes to tailor his show to New York listeners.

"We'll ramp up our baseball coverage to a higher degree and not waste much time on college football in New York," Cowherd said.

How might the rest of the country feel about that? "They don't have the influence on my revenue and ratings that New York and Los Angeles do," he said.

From 1 to 2, Cowherd will take on WFAN's Mike Francesa in one of his best ratings hours. Cowherd said he will counter with strategies such as New York-oriented guests at the top of the hour.

Told that Francesa recently vowed never to be surpassed by 1050, Cowherd said, "Mike's always been confident, and that's fine. It's a heritage station. He's a big name.

"I love that. I love a good fight . . . 1050 is not going away. ESPN is not going away. I think it's great that Francesa feels that way."