Mike’s On has gathered a small cluster of subscribers, though new downloads have slowed in recent monthsGETTY IMAGES
Entercom has purchased the Mike's On app, a subscription audio and video app from WFAN's Mike Francesa, and will "dismantle the paywall to integrate the content with its ad-supported Radio.com," according to Max Willens of DIGIDAY. The Mike’s On app "gives Radio.com a new set of features, such as live video, to test out on its audience." Earlier this month, Entercom "launched a sports digital network featuring video and audio produced by a mixture of radio DJs and former professional athletes." Since its launch, Mike’s On has "accumulated a small cluster of subscribers, though new downloads have slowed to a crawl over the past few months, with the app driving fewer than a thousand downloads a month in each of the past four months." Entercom plans to "eventually migrate away from an app product strategy focused on specific shows in favor of one organized around topics and talent." A source said that this "may eventually include a paid tier of the app as well" (DIGIDAY.com, 9/3).
TECHNICAL INTEGRATION: On Long Island, Neil Best notes Francesa had "jointly owned the app" with his agency CAA. The move to Radio.com is "more seamless than other potential options because Entercom is the parent company of both that site and WFAN, keeping Francesa under the same corporate umbrella." Francesa said that the sale of the app has "no immediate effect on his WFAN situation" (NEWSDAY, 9/3). In N.Y., Justin Tasch notes Francesa has "originally planned to use his WFAN show as a way to promote the app when he ended his short-lived radio retirement" in May '18. It is "unclear how many subscribers the app had, but last November he indicated he had around 1,000" (N.Y. POST, 9/3).
