Yankees announcer Michael Kay's show gets moved from longtime radio station, risks losing 40% of audience

New York Yankees announcer Michael Kay received some bad news on Tuesday. It has been reported that ESPN New York will relinquish its 98.7 FM signal on August 31, 2024. They will now focus on digital distribution and 1050 AM for its top programming.

"The Michael Kay Show" will move to 1050 AM, along with New York Jets, Knicks, and Rangers games.

"We're committed to serving the New York sports fan and with the combination of our AM signal, the ESPN New York App, podcasts, smart speakers, YES and other additional audio and video distribution, investing in an FM signal was not relevant in the way ito was a decade ago" Said Good Karma Brands CEO and founder Craig Karmazin.

This decision was made because Good Karma Brands, the company that controls ESPN New York, is changing its business model. They no longer see value for an expensive FM signal.

Recent evaluations have shown that 60% of their listenership comes from people outside of radio. Of the 40% in range, eight out of 10 are expected to find the station on AM.

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Michael Kay is the voice of the New York Yankees

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Michael Kay started his broadcasting career with the New York Post in 1982. His focus was on basketball, which included college and the NBA. In 1987, he received an assignment to cover the New York Yankees starting in 1989.

1992-99, Kay served as MSG's locker room reporter for the New York Knicks. At the same time, he was doing radio broadcasts of Yankees games with John Sterling. 2002, Kay moved to the YES Network while Sterling stayed on the radio.

For Yankees fans, they could not imagine another person in the booth. He has been the team's voice for years and does not look to be stopping anytime soon.