In the winter 2019 ratings book, Francesa received a 6.2 percent share of the listening audience compared to the 5.9 received by The Michael Kay Show during the same time slot. The total included both the over-the-air share as well as the WFAN online streaming. However, Kay beat Francesa 5.9-5.5 in the radio segment, and both hosts claimed victory on their respective shows. After hearing that Kay was celebrating victory over the disputed ratings book, Francesa said on his April 15, 2019 show that "I have nothing but sadness and pity for you that you would actually claim a victory that wasn't real” as well as saying that "you're ESPN, and you get beat like a rented mule for 20 years, it's got to hurt". Francesa later tweeted that "there was only one possible way to read ratings" and that "anyone, and that means anyone, who says differently is either a fool or a liar." Francesa also felt the stress of a close ratings battle for the first time in his NYC sports radio career, and got in a heated argument with WFAN management about the availability of a Craig Carton post-sentencing interview on the last few days of the book, after Carton was interviewed by Kay.