“If there’s breaking news in the sports industry, people turn to WFAN. They don’t turn to 1050 ESPN,” said Ed Randall, the host of Talking Baseball, which airs Sunday mornings on sports radio station WFAN. That statement sums up the rivalry between New York’s two sports talk radio stations.  In one corner is the heavyweight, WFAN, 660 on the dial and the grandfather of sports radio in the U.S.  In the other corner is the ambitious challenger, 1050 ESPN Radio, which is struggling to find the right formula to compete.

John Minko reads a sports news update on WFAN. PHOTO: Gennady Sheyner SLIDESHOW: Behind the scenes of sports radio. WATCH VIDEO: Sports radio in action. Download the free QuickTime viewer here.

Ratings show ESPN lags far behind WFAN during the time slots in which they compete most heavily. But WFAN boasts a lineup of veteran program hosts that, whether they are venerated or despised, are considered authorities on New York sports.  Even with recognizable names like Dan Patrick and Yankees TV broadcaster Michael Kay, ESPN has yet to establish the same foothold.

ESPN targets a younger audience than WFAN, which caters to an older base of New York fans.  Mike Thompson, the general manager at ESPN, considers his station hipper and more relevant, and hopes that the same young male demographic that watches the ESPN television network will tune into his spot on the dial.  He hired popular NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith in late March during a shake-up of the daily schedule (the second in four months) in an attempt to connect younger listeners to a personality that is both entertaining and insightful.

To achieve success ESPN must develop a host that listeners consider destination radio, said Bob Raissman, sports media critic for the New York Daily News.  “Fans feel close to them,” he said about established program hosts like WFAN’s afternoon team of Chris Russo and Mike Francessa.  “You have to be very loved or very hated, and there’s no middle ground.  Being hated isn’t bad because people will listen to your show.  The worst thing you can be is vanilla.”

Smith, whose hip and poignant NBA analysis has turned him into a love-him-or-hate-him character, might be the host who can draw those appointment listeners to the station.  If he can, it will help ESPN capture more of the incredible market for sports radio that WFAN started in 1987.

“The passion has never been greater,” Randall said of fans’ interest in sports radio.  “This medium has changed the dynamic for all athletes and for professional sports in general.  And this radio station drives that because this is the template for all the other sports radio stations in the country.”

Other stations have tried and failed to compete with WFAN’s.  For ESPN to pull even, it will require not just talent but also corporate leadership to draw listeners.  “There’s a finite amount of [advertising] dollars for that market,” said Raissman.  “When you’re going against guys that are institutions, you have to have deep pockets.”