On Long Island, Neil Best notes many people "still do not believe" Mike Francesa will leave WFAN-AM when his contract expires at the end of '17. But Francesa yesterday said that he "has had no second thoughts and already is in the early stages of planning his final year." He said, "It’s not a negotiating ploy. We have not negotiated. We’re not negotiating. I never even considered anything from that standpoint. I am leaving on that date. Nothing has changed there" (NEWSDAY, 5/17). HBO's Bill Simmons yesterday joined Francesa to guest co-host his show, and it "went for 5 1/2 hours." They "took no calls," but instead held a "wide-ranging chat peppered with A list name-dropping and old-story-telling -- led by Francesa -- that kept Twitter busy, and entertained" (NEWSDAY, 5/17).
ALL EYES ON ME: The Raptors' Game 7 victory over the Heat on Sunday is the most-watched basketball game ever on TSN. The game drew a record 1.5 million viewers, with audience levels peaking at 2.7 million late in the fourth quarter. The game was also the most-watched program of the day in the Greater Toronto area (TSN).
STAY TUNED: DEADLINE.com's Nellie Andreeva noted Fox' new reboot of the "24" series, "24: Legacy," will premiere after the net's broadcast of Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5. This is "only the third Fox drama series to air after the big game" since the net joined the Super Bowl rotation in '97. It is the first drama "to make its debut after the Super Bowl" (DEADLINE.com, 5/16).
