If the station management at 890 made this move a year ago perhaps they could’ve kept Felger (he doesn’t go back to EEI) and that afternoon show takes off enough that they can build other local programming around it (like a local show for Russillo instead of him leaving for Bristol). If that happens maybe CBS Radio decides not to flip BCN to sports because now it’s that much harder for them to find a duo for afternoon drive. Now Jessamy Tang and her pals are trying to expand their product after 98.5 has already gotten a foothold in Boston and I can’t see this market–sports-starved as it is–supporting three sports radio stations.

If I were ESPN I would do one of three things in the Boston Market as it currently is the most profitable sports radio market in the country.

1) End the affiliation with ESPN 890 and reaffiliate with WEEI. I do not think WEEI would think twice about dropping Fox Sports if only to get Gammons back on as a regular contributor.

2) Buy WEEI outright. It may mean buying Entercom but to the bean counters that might not be as far fetched an idea as having virtually no presence in the market as they currently do. They could then merge the WEEI.com business with their ESPNBoston.com business and they have instant credibility.

3) Buy an FM station with a good signal, and have a corporate run station rather than an affiliate. Put on local programing from 10:00am until 6:00 pm. Then slug it out with the other two.

I think the most likely option is the alliance with WEEI in option 1. Although it does not get Mike and Mike into the Boston market, the fact is they have no other block of programing that would compete against the local stuff here. The issue is exposure. I think option 2 however makes the most sense if I were a bean counter. We will see what happens.