Boston Sports Media Watch

The latest radio ratings are out, and 98.5 continues to surprise with their solid gains in the sports radio market.

WEEI is doing just fine, though, actually moving up a bit from 5.2 in September to 5.3 in October. The station is fourth overall on the chart while WBZ-FM, 985TheSportsHub went from a 2.5 in September to a 3.6 in October, good for 14th in the market.

WEEI vs. The Sports Hub - Jessica Heslam in the Herald breaks down the two stations, show vs. show.

Round 2 : SportsHub proves that it has arrived - Boston Radio Watch says that no matter how you look at it, WEEI is still the top dog in this fight, and is not going away.

‘Hub’ is climbing the charts - Chad Finn notes that the Sports Hub’s gains did not come at the expense of WEEI, though they’re showing that there is room in Boston for two strong sports radio stations.

Fox 25 dumps top sportscaster - Heslam reports that FOX25 has chosen not to renew the contract of top sports anchor Butch Stearns. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that Stearns is interviewing with Comcast SportsNet, among other places.

Worcester native to join Dolphins - Bill Doyle has Worcester native Jim Rushton set to take over as the Dolphins’ senior vice president of corporate partnerships and integrated media. He’s leaving his job as vice president of sports sales and marketing at Entercom Communications, responsible for all revenues associated with the WEEI radio network.

Sports coverage? Think local. - That Bruce Allen guy in the Metro tells you why national sports coverage is worthless.

Jabs Reserved For Web Foe - Jeff Jacobs looks at a web group calling themselves the Paper Champions Society, who have been mounting a campaign against boxer Chad Dawson.

Elsewhere in the sports sections, here are some of the top stories from this morning:

For the Sox, Hermida a Lottery Ticket Worth Playing - Alex Speier has a look at outfielder Jeremy Hermida, who the Red Sox acquired from the Florida Marlins yesterday.

Six tricky questions for Epstein this winter - Bill Burt looks at Red Sox issues that GM Theo Epstein must address this winter.

At a loss - Bud Barth tells us that if the Bruins “were scoring goals right now, the Bruins would be the terror of the NHL, because the rest of their game has been that good for the last couple of weeks.”

Lack of scoring strikes recently has been striking - Bob Ryan thinks that the Bruins still have time to get things straightened out.

Don’t underestimate the Dolphins - Tedy Bruschi and Mike Reiss warn that there is a whole lot more to the Dolphins than just the Wildcat.

Worry Wart – Game Eight vs. Dolphins - Chris Warner has some more concerns about the Dolphins.

Rookie Myron Pryor preps to pick up ‘D’ line - Ian Rapoport looks at sixth round pick Myron Pryor making a place for himself on the Patriots defensive line.

Brian Hoyer making an impression with Patriots - Andy Vogt has another rookie, QB Brian Hoyer also learning the NFL ropes.

Shelden Williams answers Celtics’ role call - Former Celtic Ryan Gomes tells Mark Murphy why Williams has been successful with the Celtics.

Celtics couldn’t ask much more from their bench - Mike Fine calls this the “deepest and most talented bench the Celtics have had in the past three seasons.”

Popularity: 3% [?]

BSMW has confirmed that despite yesterday’s announcement of the affiliation agreement between ESPN Radio and WEEI, the former is still  actively seeking a full-time outlet to air their complete programming lineup in the Boston area.

I had asked Dan Quinn of the ESPN Communications department whether they were still seeking a full outlet in the Boston market so that they could broadcast their full daily schedule, including Mike and Mike in the Morning, The Herd with Colin Cowherd and The Scott Van Pelt Show. The answer was a very quick “Yes,” but there were no details available beyond that at this time.

Now, that outlet could very well end up being 850 AM. Chad Finn mentioned it again this morning, and stated it in terms that make it seem like it is all but a done deal. The WEEI programming will move from 850 AM to a yet-to-be-determined FM signal, and ESPN Radio will take over the 850 AM signal.  This move would take place sometime after the Red Sox finish their season, so that the broadcast will not change frequencies for the third time this season.

The result could be something like what you see with sports radio KNBR out in the San Francisco Bay Area. They run two stations out there, on AM frequencies 680 and 1050, with 680 being local programming, and 1050 being a mix of ESPN radio, (Mike & Mike and Cowherd) plus Dan Patrick, Jim Rome, and local programming.

By having two stations, WEEI/Entercom can sell twice as much advertising space, (and break their ad time offerings into additional tiers) and have two outlets to use when broadcasting sports events that are scheduled for the same time. They’ll have both the local and national presence, and access to the ESPN “talent.”

I don’t forsee any overlap between WEEI.com and ESPNBoston.com – I think both sites will run independently, though don’t be surprised to hear ESPNBoston writers on the airwaves of the two radio stations.

Popularity: 8% [?]

WEEI and ESPN Radio have announced an affiliation agreement this afternoon. The agreement brings overnight and weekend national programming to WEEI, and allows them access to ESPN personalities such as Peter Gammons and Adam Schefter.

The affiliation will also bring a variety of play by play programming, such as the Major League Baseball playoffs, the NBA and NBA playoffs, and the College Bowl Championship Series. The MLB playoff programming will start this week. (No Mike Adams? What a shame.) 

Beginning on November 2, 2009, WEEI will syndicate ESPN’s overnight programming including AllNight with Jason Smith (1-5 a.m. ET Monday through Friday), as well as select weekend programming in and around its local coverage.

As part of the agreement with WEEI, Adam Schefter, ESPN’s NFL Insider, will join Dennis and Callahan every Friday during the NFL Season beginning this week, and Peter Gammons, ESPN’s veteran Major League Baseball insider, will join The Big Show with Glenn Ordway every week during the upcoming baseball playoffs and once a week next season.

Other ESPN personalities will also be joining WEEI shows on a regular basis, throughout the week and the weekend.

This announcement today could eventually lead to WEEI moving to an FM station and ESPN Radio national programming taking over the 850 AM signal full-time.

Keep checking back here on BSMW for the latest…

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In his column today reporting on the shutdown of 890 ESPN, our pal Chad Finn tosses an interesting twist into the local sports radio state of things. He writes:

According to multiple industry sources, ESPN is in discussions to air some of its national programming on WEEI-AM 850 during nights and weekends, with WEEI intending to move to an FM station within months. (Entercom Communications, which owns WEEI, also owns two FM stations in Boston: WAAF 97.7/107.3, and Mike 93.7.)

ESPN Radio would then take over the 850 spot on the dial. The new ESPN 850 station would then be affiliated with the ESPN Boston website, which launches Monday.

Now THAT would be a big shuffle, which would just be latest in a series of frenzied moves by WEEI as they take on the new competitor in the market, 98.5 The SportsHub WBZ-FM.

I talked about the possible FM switch for WEEI a few weeks ago:

Will WEEI Add FM Simulcast In Boston?

That post looks at the options for WEEI in the FM market here, and what the possibilities might be. The move suggested above wouldn’t just be a simulcast, it would be a full switch to FM, with ESPN radio taking over 850…which would be sort of interesting. Why would WEEI want another source of sports radio competition in town, one with a signal that they previously occupied? Would WEEI want to hand ESPN’s Mike & Mike in the Morning a spot where they could compete better with Dennis & Callahan? Unless they feel that having two programs locally to compete against WBZ-FM’s Toucher & Rich is the way to go.

Mike & Mike is the one show that ESPN seems to insist on local affiliates airing.

Dan Kennedy doesn’t think this is a smart move for ESPN.

It’s going to be really interesting to see how this all shakes out.

Popularity: 12% [?]

WEEI today announced the lineup for their “NFL Sunday” football program.

The lineup has changed quite a bit over the years, with Ron Hobson and Kevin Mannix being replaced with the likes of Tom E Curran and Paul Perillo. Dale Arnold was the original host, and Greg Dickerson, Michael Felger and Doug Brown have also hosted the show in the past.

Dale Arnold will return as the show’s host this year, and he will be joined by his weekday co-host Michael Holley. WEEI.com’s Christopher Price will also be on the show, as will former Patriots tight end Christian Fauria.

The show will air from 9:00am to Noon on Sundays. WEEI’s “The Real Post Game Show” will also return, with Pete Sheppard, Fred Smerlas and Steve DeOssie.  

NESN adds Ted Johnson

NESN today announced that former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson will join the network as a regular contributor to NESN SportsDesk this football season. He will join anchor Cole Wright, reporter Kathryn Tappen, Mike Reiss  and The Providence Journal’sShalise Manza Young as regular contributors this season.

Johnson will regularly team up with Reiss on Saturdays for a look ahead at the coming week’s game followed by a Sunday or Monday appearance to analyze what happened in that week’s game. Johnson and Reiss will also team up for a mid-week report to provide commentary on the latest Patriots and NFL news.

Popularity: 9% [?]

The new 98.5 The SportsHub has been on the air for a week now, and it’s time for a few knee-jerk reactions and thoughts on how they’re stacking up to WEEI.

Toucher and Rich vs. Dennis and Callahan

Right now the best things I can say about T&R is that they’re trying, and that they’re not D&C. The show is clearly a work in progress as they make the transition to more sports talk. I like that that they usually have several guests over the course of the morning, and make the effort to talk sports.

It seems like I don’t fit either demographic for these shows right now. I’m too young for D&C’s bitter, angry old man act and target audience, and a bit too old for the fratboy humor attempts by T&R. Some of their comedy bits have been painful.

I haven’t settled on one show or the other just yet. My listening habits for the last week have pretty much been whichever show is talking sports at the moment, or is having an interesting guest or discussion. It’s nice to have that option.

Advantage: Push.  

Tanguay and Zolak vs. Dale and Holley

I mentioned on Twitter yesterday that Gary Tanguay has been everything I feared he would be on the radio. It’s true. He’s dreadful. Whether he’s wondering “whether Tito has the BALLS to put right lineup on the field” or how long the “leash” is on Francona and whether or not he’ll be fired. It makes my ears hurt, which is too bad, because I really like Zolak. He’s likable, and not prone to saying stupid things just for reaction which is Tanguay’s calling card.

Dale Arnold certainly has his critics among the readers of this site, but I’ll listen to him over Tanguay everyday. It’s not a contest.  This week Holley has been out, but Tom Caron and today, Christopher Price have made the shows much better than Tanguay’s mock indignation.

Advantage: Dale and Holley.

Felger and Massarotti vs. The Big Show.

Felger is Felger. He also loves to make stupid comments (”Josh Beckett is mentally weak“) and take unpopular stands just to be a contrarian. That’s not good radio. Glenn Ordway does a lot of the same things, which make sense because Felger learned his radio craft in the ample bosom of Ordway. However, what makes the 98.5 show more tolerable is that Massarotti is willing to challenge Felger’s comments and stances, whereas Ordway surrounds himself with yes-men sycophants who agree with everything he says.

For the most part, I really like Massarotti on the radio. There isn’t a lot of the fan-insulting, condescending arrogance that comes across (intentional or not)  in a lot of his Boston.com columns and blog entries. (Today’s column about the Yankees farm system is an example. He actually talked this subject on the radio, and it didn’t come across in the neener-neener way it does in the column.) On the radio he seems to deal more with facts, and as mentioned, isn’t afraid to take on Felger’s dumb comments. They talk sports, not Fred Smerlas’ tailgate venture or steakhouse, and mix the topics up a least a couple of times in the course of the show. They also bring on guests to break things up a little, which is something The Big Show rarely does. The Big Show will hammer the same topic for four hours without a break, while F&M try to introduce new topics in the course of the show. This makes F&M a more worthwhile listen than The Big Show. Except for the whiner line.

Advantage: Felger and Massarotti

Damon Amendolara vs. Mike Adams.

This one is simple. Do you want to hear about and talk sports, all sports, or do you want to hear Adams getting an Orlando Magic tattoo on his ass and bitching about Manny?

Amendolara has been the single biggest pleasant surprise on the new station, which is huge. There was a lot of skepticism out there about bringing in a kid from New York who grew up rooting for the New York teams and is a huge soccer fan, who had most recently been doing a show in Miami to come here and do Boston sports radio. He’s been great. Amendolara is knowledgeable about what’s going on, not just locally, but all across the nation in big time sports. He’s also hard working, having done all the weeknights, plus a show each day of the weekend.

Advantage: Amendolara.

It’s early yet, but there’s some good things going on here, and at the very least, we can say it’s nice to have an alternative to turn to and get a different topic and take.

Popularity: 11% [?]

With the threat of a well-funded FM competitor with a strong signal coming on the scene, WEEI and the the Boston Globe have apparently buried the hatchet:

WEEI announced today that the station and The Boston Globe have agreed that Globe sports writers will appear as guests on all WEEI talk shows, effective immediately.

“I think this is a great win for WEEI and the Globe,” said VP of Programming Jason Wolfe. “The Globe’s sports department has a deep tradition of exceptional coverage of the Boston sports scene and it is my pleasure to welcome them back to our airwaves. I know our listeners will appreciate their insight and expertise.”

Very interesting, indeed. Coincidence that his happens now? I don’t think so.

Update: Chad Finn posted the following on Twitter:

To clarify WEEI’s press release: Globe writers can be in studio/co-host for D&H, but call-ins only for D&C and The Big Show

Popularity: 11% [?]

I’ll admit, I’m a little obsessed with the idea of a viable second sports radio station in Boston. Other cities have several, (Dallas has four) so why can’t it work here?

I have to say, while I’m excited for the premiere of the new 98.5FM The SportsHub on August 13th, the early feeling I’m getting is that it is just going to be more of the same. Speaking right now, on July 28, WEEI doesn’t have much to worry about.

Let’s look at what we know thus far:

Toucher and Rich will be the morning show. I’ve listened to them a little bit since the announcement was made, to try and get a feel for what they have to offer. When I listened yesterday, the segment was about what to do when you accidentally pee on yourself. While they no doubt will talk more sports on the new station, it’s still not going to be an all-sports program. There’s some “rule” out there that says all sports in the morning can’t work. OK, say that’s true. T&R will hopefully stay away from the nasty, biting political talk that dominates D&C, and will ideally keep things pretty light in the mornings. How do the sports fit in? Will they do regular “sports flashes” or whatever they’re going to call them? What type of guests will they have? That’s going to be a big factor in whether the show can compete.

My formula for the show would be to talk at a minimum 50% sports, with guests each hour, and keep the rest of the show light. Do some humor, some pop culture, whatever. Don’t try to become the moral compass of the Commonwealth. Stay away from the nastiness.

I can see myself still listening to D&C a fair amount of the time, especially when they have guests, and on Patriots Mondays and Fridays.

——-

Gary Tanguay is going to do the mid-day show. Which Gary Tanguay are we going to get? I generally like Tanguay, except when he goes into his patented ”panic” mode. It happens way too much for my taste.  He just sounds fake, contrived and generally ridiculous. Some of the Patriots pregame shows that he has done are examples of the worst radio I have ever heard in my entire life. At times during the Patriots 2007 season you’d have thought they doing a pregame show for the 2008 Detroit Lions.

(By the way, Tanguay will still be hosting the Patriots pre and post game shows on 98.5 along with Scott Zolak and Andy Gresh.)

My free advice for this program is for Tanguay to aim for more of a “Dan Patrick Show” type of feel. I think Tanguay could pull it off if he was setup correctly. He needs to talk, to inform, to entertain, not just stir things up with the aim of getting reaction. From what I’ve heard there will be rotating co-hosts on this show. I’d actually rather see the show setup so that Tanguay is the main figure, with a sidekick, to toss things off of, and a series of call-in guests. These can be local, but I might actually prefer outsiders, especially writers or radio hosts from cities that have a team playing the Boston team that day. Also reach out the local beat writers, especially for the Bruins and Patriots, to give us the latest on those teams.

Depending on how it goes, I think I’m still going to have heavy doses of Dale & Holley, which for pure sports talk, is the best show WEEI has to offer.

——–

Now we come to Mike Felger. When Felger started his show on 890ESPN, he vowed that his show wouldn’t follow the WEEI model and spend “four hours talking about Manny peeing in the wall.”  The show got off to a promising start, but when the ratings didn’t follow, he changed course and jumped back to the WEEI style, and eventually back to WEEI itself. The mistake made here was concluding that the poor ratings were due more to a horrific signal rather than to a rejection of the early content of the show.

It was reported this week, first by Ken Fang, and then by Jessica Heslam,  that WBZ-FM made a hard run at WEEI regular Lou Merloni, who after auditioning for a spot with Felger, decided to sign a deal to remain with WEEI. (Interestingly, Fang reports that CBS rejected Merloni after hearing his audition…spin?)

That’s not encouraging to me. Not that Merloni remained at WEEI, but that WBZ-FM thought that he was the guy to target. This just tells me that they’re looking to rob WEEI of “talent” and perhaps copy the model. Merloni was their top target? Why? When he first came on the air, he was a breath of fresh air, but time spent at the knee of Glenn Ordway has turned him into just another voice, especially when talking sports other than baseball. He’s good as a baseball analyst, but I don’t really want to hear his take on the Patriots defense.

After failing to get Merloni, who is Felger/WBZ-FM going to go after next? Fred Smerlas? Steve DeOssie? Bill Burt? Ron Borges?

Like the Tanguay show, this program is also supposed to have rotating co-hosts. I’d prefer a “Mike and the Mad Dog” approach to the afternoon drive. Have two permanent hosts, who can talk knowledgeably on any sports topic, and attract intelligent callers who bring something other than a tired shtick to the airwaves. This is probably a total pipe dream on my part, because the “rule” of Boston sports radio seems to be that you can only talk Boston sports. Besides, who currently in the Boston media is going to be able to do this? If they’re not willing to bring someone in from the outside, maybe the rule needs to be rewritten.

I would settle for a smart, informative show, with again, many guests. Bring in some of the beat writers from the smaller papers as call-in guests. (Much better than four hours of Fred and Steve) Get some national voices to talk about big events elsewhere. Whatever you do, don’t pound the same topic into the ground for three straight weeks. Or even three straight hours. Keep it moving.

Do that, and I might never listen to the Big Show again, which despite the ratings, is the weakest show in the daytime WEEI lineup.

———

We don’t know yet about the overnights or weekends. I don’t have as strong of opinions on these timeslots, so I’d be welcome to suggestions. Ben Maller is looking for work. He’s a national guy with a pretty big following, who was let go from FoxSports Radio after doing the overnights for quite a while. Does Ted Sarandis want to get back into the radio game?

On the weekends, would you just go national and carry as many college and pro sports events as you could get your hands on, or would you do more local programming? A show devoted to the Bruins? A Sunday morning NFL show leading into the Patriots (in addition to the three-hour pregame show)?

——–

Overall, the new station has a lot of work to do if they hope to compete with powerhouse WEEI. Some of the early moves leave me thinking that rather than competing with, they’re trying to copy WEEI. That’s simply not going to work. If someone wants to listen to WEEI, they’ll listen to WEEI, who already has their formula perfected, not to a startup that is merely trying to imitate them.

For all the criticism I aim at WEEI, I have to tip my cap to them for what they’re able to accomplish in terms of ratings. They’re very good at what they do, which as Chad Finn famously put it, is catering to the lowest common denominator.

If WBZ-FM hopes to succeed, they need to target and cater to the reasonably intelligent and informed fan base, not the just the casual fan. Bringing in Tanguay and Felger (and chasing Merloni) aren’t a promising start to that end.  Prove me wrong, guys. If you’ve got any further questions on programming, my fee is quite reasonable.

Related Links:

WBZ-FM Sports Hub Starts up in August

More On The New WBZ-FM

Boston Radio Watch on the New WBZ-FM

Will WEEI Add FM Simulcast In Boston?

You Program The New Boston Sports Radio Station

Popularity: 11% [?]

So this is interesting…

Yesterday’s press release, which announced the signing of extensions for both Patriots Monday and Patriots Friday programming and for Westwood One programming has been corrected with the following information from the WEEI PR company:

WEEI is in its SECOND year of the contract with the New England Patriots for Patriots Monday and Patriots Friday programming.

So the extension on that particular set of programs was signed LAST YEAR, not this week. It appears that WEEI did just sign a two year extension on the Westwood One programming.

It is not known how long the Patriots Monday and Patriots Friday agreement with WEEI is for.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Will the new WBZ-FM The SportsHub force Entercom to get themselves a WEEI presence on the FM airwaves in Boston?

To this point, there has really been no reason for Entercom/WEEI to make the move to FM in Boston, (They’ve already gone to FM in Providence) the AM signal is strong, and there hasn’t been competition on the FM airwaves to compel them to make this move.

With WBZ-FM starting up at 98.5FM next month, is now the time for WEEI to get simulcast on FM radio in the Boston area? Might they even try to beat the new station to the FM dial?

If they decided to make this move, they have a few options available.

Entercom has three FM frequencies currently in Boston, plus the 103.7 WEEI-FM in Rhode Island.

They have ”Active” rock station WAAF, which is broadcast on 97.7 and 107.3 and there is WMKK “MikeFM” variety hits which is on 93.7

Here are the signal coverage maps for the three frequencies:

Coverage area for WAAF 107.3 FM

Coverage area for WKAF 97.7 FM

Coverage area for WMKK 93.7 FM

And here is WEEI – Daytime and Nighttime.

(Read their Frequently Asked Questions about these coverage maps)

Since WAAF is already broadcasting on two frequencies, if they wanted to, Entercom could simulcast WEEI on FM without taking another station off the air. They could just take either 107.3 or 97.7 and make that a WEEI simulcast.

Putting them on 97.7 would place them near to 98.5 as well as to the other FM talker on the dial, WTKK 96.9. Or do they move WMKK to one of the current WAAF frequencies and put WEEI on 93.7?

Would they take the WEEI-FM call letters away from Providence (maybe make it WWEI-FM or something) and give them to the new Boston FM station?

There’s an interesting thread on this topic at the radio-info.com website: Entercom waited too long…

Popularity: 8% [?]