2011 Approval Ratings – Michael Holley

Today’s subject is WEEI’s Michael Holley.

An Ohio native, Holley worked for the Akron Beacon Journal before joining the Boston Globe in 1997. He was the Celtics beat writer before being moved into the columnist role. At the time, he was also a frequent guest on WEEI, especially on The Big Show, prior to the WEEI/Globe schism.

In September, 2001, Holley left the Globe to join the Chicago Tribune as a columnist. He quickly realized that he had made a mistake, and has spoken of the impact that 9/11 had on him at that time. By January, 2002, he was back at the Globe, and remained there until 2005.

In 2004, Holley was working on television on Fox Sports Net’s I, Max alongside Max Kellerman. He has also done ESPN’s Around the Horn. Locally, he has been a regular on CSNNE, and has been the host of Celtics Now.

In 2005, he was named to replace Bob Neumeier alongside Dale Arnold on the WEEI midday show. In February of this year, it was announced that Holley would be moving to The Big Show as permanent co-host alongside Glenn Ordway.

Holley has published three books – Patriot Reign, Never Give Up

His fourth book, War Room: Bill Belichick and the Patriot Legacy is due to be released on October 4th, 2011.

Michael Holley 2011 Approval Ratings
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Spring Numbers Show Huge Wins For 98.5 Over WEEI

According to a post over at radio-info.com, which has been accurate with these posts in the past, these are numbers from the Spring 2011 ratings book:

MEN 25-54

6:00 to 10:00 AM

TOUCHER & RICH – 11.6 (1st)

DENNIS & CALLAHAN – 6.0 (3rd)

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

GRESH & ZO – 9.4 (2nd)

MUTT & MERLONI – 4.1 (10th)

2:00 to 6:00 PM

FELGER & MAZZ – 9.5 (1st)

THE BIG SHOW – 5.4 (6th)

MEN 18-49

6:00 to 10:00 AM

TOUCHER & RICH – 14.8 (1st)

DENNIS & CALLAHAN – 5.1 (4th)

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

GRESH & ZO – 11.9 (1st)

MUTT & MERLONI – 2.8 (11th)

2:00 to 6:00 PM

FELGER & MAZZ – 10.5 (1st)

THE BIG SHOW – 4.4 (7th)

MEN 18-34

6:00 to 10:00 AM

TOUCHER & RICH – 22.3 (1st)

DENNIS & CALLAHAN – 2.8 (11th)

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

GRESH & ZO – 14.1 (1st)

MUTT & MERLONI – 1.2 (17th)

2:00 to 6:00 PM

FELGER & MAZZ – 12.1 (1st)

THE BIG SHOW – 1.7 (16th)

With the Bruins on their Stanley Cup run, I think we knew 98.5 was going to score a big win this time around, but these numbers are still stunning.

It doesn’t appear that we’ll be hearing anything like this on the 850 AM airwaves this week. We might hear how we’re not reading the numbers correctly, and how WEEI is #1 in the demographic they’re shooting for, or something along the lines of “Everyone knows the spring and summer ratings don’t matter, that’s why we all go on extended vacations.”

2011 Approval Ratings – Jon Meterparel

Jon Meterparel is the morning update guy for the Dennis and Callahan morning show on WEEI.

The Weston native is also the radio voice of Boston College football and basketball. He went to Ithaca College, where he did the play-by-play for the football team on the campus radio station. The team won the Div III title in Meterparel’s sophomore year.

He began his radio career at WKOX in Framingham where he hosted an afternoon sports talk show. He then moved down to Charlotte, where he was the flash guy for WFNZ, as well as doing play-by-play for the AAA Charlotte Knights and analysis for the UNC Charlotte basketball team.

While at WFNZ, he was “discovered” by Gerry Callahan, who brought him onto the Dennis and Callahan show in 2000. 

He also served for a time as the voice of the New England Revolution. He has filled in on Celtics radio broadcasts a few times, and also done Red Sox exhibition baseball.

Jon Meterparel 2011 Approval Ratings
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Bringing Out The Friday Megalinks

Yup, time for the Friday megalinks. As long as I don’t get interrupted, I should be able to do this all in one shot for you.

Your Weekend Viewing Picks have a whole lot of sports and entertainment programs so take a gander and see what suits your fancy.

To the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks about ex-Florida coach Urban Meyer diving headfirst into being a college football TV analyst for ESPN.

Nate Davis at USA Today’s The Huddle blog notes that ex-NFLer’s and current TV analysts Michael Strahan and Warren Sapp don’t take much stock in Tiki Barber’s comeback.

Also in USA Today, Devra Maza talks with Hall of Fame baseball announcer Bob Wolff about his memories calling Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest is seeking to change his name to “Metta World Peace” while his wife, Kimsha is being cast for the new edition of VH1′s “Basketball Wives”.

Jon Weisman of Variety says David Feherty’s new show gave Golf Channel its most watched premiere in the history of the network.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser notes that Wednesday’s Mexico-Honduras Gold Cup semifinal match was the highest rated primetime sporting event ever on Univision.

Sports Media Watch has some various news and notes.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has the new DirecTV Football Cops ad featuring the Manning brothers.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Globe talks with WEEI’s Dale Arnold who had to watch the Bruins championship run while being mostly on the sidelines.

Rich Fahey of the Globe says former Bruins TV38 host Tom Larson followed through on a 30 year promise to shave his beard.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says with a lockout looming, the NBA Players Association is standing firmly behind its leadership.

Phil Mushnick in the New York Post has praise for ESPN’s Bobby Valentine and Orel Hershiser, but has to somehow temper it.

The Post’s Brett Cyrgalis has four questions for Mets radio voice Howie Rose.

Newsday’s John Jeansonne looks at how John McEnroe was perceived as a player and perceived now as an analyst.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty says two local TV reporters were able to catch up with Jimmer Fredette after the NBA Draft.

Pete says Jimmermania kept fans watching the NBA Draft for about an hour.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call looks at the new CBS Sports Network contract with the Patriot League.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes talks about the programming changes at one Baltimore sports radio station.

Dave says the Washington City Paper is firing back at DC NFL Team owner Daniel Snyder in his efforts to sue the publication.

South

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times feels ESPN should not be leading the charge to move the Rays out of Tampa Bay.

William Brethertont of the Marietta (GA) Daily Journal says an Atlanta Beat Women’s Professional Soccer star will be on ESPN’s Women’s World Cup coverage.

Dan Murtaugh of the Mobile (AL) Press-Register says Tennis Channel will focus on a local program that benefits young women and weaves in a tennis exhibition to help raise funds.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle recognizes one sports anchor’s longevity in the market.

Berry Tremel at the Daily Oklahoman says FX’s early college football schedule is all-Oklahoma, all the time.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that Thom and Marty Brennaman don’t seem to have time to work together in the Reds broadcast booth.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk will be swinging a golf club on NBC’s celebrity golf tournament next month.

Bob says local overnight ratings for the NBA Draft on ESPN were strong.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business has this week’s winners and losers in sports business and media.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says a local sports anchor is pinch hitting on the news side this month.

And Dan has a few news and notes.

West

Scott D. Pierce at the Salt Lake Tribune looks at Urban Meyer moving to the TV booth on college football Saturdays for ESPN.

Richard Eng of the Las Vegas Journal-Review explores the decision of former Triple Crown caller Tom Durkin to step down this year.

John Maffei of the North County Times says this weekend is a big one for soccer fans.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star notes that the Los Angeles Lakers will have different voices for next season.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that Lenny Dykstra is now tweeting.

Tom also has a column on Simmons’ Grantland site.

Jack Humphreville of City Watch LA takes a look at Frank McCourt’s embattled ownership of the Dodgers and the collapse of his rich rights deal with Fox.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail has yet another mediocre media column this week.

The Toronto Sports Media blog notes the one year anniversary of a huge lineup change on one local sports radio station.

And that’s going to do it for today.

2011 Approval Ratings – Dale Arnold

It’s been a year of change for Dale Arnold, who was bumped off his longtime 10-2 slot on WEEI this past winter, and moved into a “roving” role, where he fills in whenever needed, hosts on the weekend, and is being used more in play-by-play for the Red Sox and Celtics radio broadcasts.

A Maine native, Arnold has been broadcasting games since he was 15 years old. He attended Bowdoin College, and began doing Maine Mariners games in 1979. In 1986 he got the same job with the New Jersey Devils. From 1988-1990 he was the voice of the New England Patriots.

In 1991, he joined WEEI, and in 1995 he started calling Bruins games for NESN, a post he held until 2007. On WEEI, he had a variety of broadcast partners, from Eddie Andelman, to Bob Neumeier to his last partner, Michael Holley.

Dale Arnold 2011 Approval Ratings
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2011 Approval Ratings – John Dennis

John Dennis is a former sportcaster for WHDH channel 7, and the current co-host of The Dennis and Callahan Show, mornings on WEEI 6:00 to 10:00 am - and simulcast on NESN from 6:00 - 9:00 am.  

A Pittsburgh native, Dennis graduated from Kent State in 1974, and spent three years at WDAF in Kansas City (Where he was the youngest sports director in the history of NBC affiliates) before moving to Boston in 1977. He remained at WNAC/WNEV/WHDH until 1997, having held many different roles – weekend sports anchor, feature reporter and sports director.

In 1997, he left WHDH to host The Dennis and Callahan Show alongside Gerry Callahan. The show launched on October 6th, 1997, originally airing from 10:00 – noon. In September of 1999, the show moved to its current time slot, where it has enjoyed tremendous ratings success.

One sports media observer told me that Dennis is the best in the business at the “tease” leading into commercial breaks, thus keeping the listener waiting for the next segment. His acerbic and biting style are a turnoff to some, but the consistent ratings of the program indicate there is a large audience that enjoys their style of radio.

John Dennis 2011 Approval Ratings
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Ratings Battle Extends to Twitter

THANKS for making T&R #1 in ALL male demos in March. JanFebMarch- had 35% more Men 18-49 & a WHOPPING 8X more Men18-34 listeners than WEEI.
@Toucherandrich
Toucher and Rich
Thanks to ALL of you D&C are again #1 with men age 25-54, 35-44, 35-49, 35-54. That's called a sweep going back 7 rating books & 21 months.
@JohnDennisWEEI
John Dennis
That's the truth according to the official Arbitron BOSTON ratings books. It's losers who HAVE to lie to you.
@JohnDennisWEEI
John Dennis
If you call someone a liar and a loser and they call you on the phone and talk to your producer why wouldn't you talk to them? #vertstripes
@FredToucher
Fred Toucher

WEEI’s D&C Strike Out at Competitors, Media Reporters

To open up their show this morning, Dennis and Callahan congratulated themselves on winning another ratings book, and struck out at competitors Toucher and Rich at 98.5 (though they never actually named them) and at media writers Jessica Heslam and Chad Finn of the Boston Herald and Boston Globe respectively.

Rather than having you listen to the entire segment, here are the highlights, and I figured we can let John and Gerry’s exact words be on the record and in print here. I do wish I could accurately portray the sarcasm, venom and whining that some of these statements were made with.

After some silly talk about “high body slams”, they said this:

JD – …We want to keep it subtle.

GC – We don’t want to gloat too much, but congratulations.

JD – We just want to wait for Jessica and Chad to write it, which they always do…

GC - The hell with them, We don’t care about them, we’ll announce it ourselves…

JD You know who we care about? We care about the people who made us # 1

GC – That’s true.

JD – The ones who appreciate what we do and like what we do and support what we do. AND by the way, for the record, and this needs to be said, this was the BOSTON rating book, not Providence, not NESN, these are not all the other stations, and I would dare say this, if you added up the people who are listening or watching on NESN and the entire radio network, including Providence, and including the station from Providence that comes up into the Boston signal area, the beatdown would be like bully beatdown. But this is just the Boston audience. Boston vs Boston, number one, I believe that’s seven books in a row.

GC It’s more than that, but it’s at least that many. We can go back and get the number if you want..

A few moments later, Callahan alluded to their demographic by saying:

GC – In our business, in our genre, the only thing that matters is men, and in men, in the winter ratings book, we won again. Congratulations Meterparel.

JD – What a minute, hang on, you mean being slightly ahead for like three weeks doesn’t count as something? REALLY. So we shouldn’t celebrate if we’re slightly ahead for three and half weeks?

After a few more comments referencing their competition lying to their listeners, D&C unloaded on media reporters, specifically Chad Finn.

GC You know what the amazing thing is, you could call a reporter, lie to them, he’ll run with it, the paper will correct it, I’ve been in that business for a long time, that’s the most embarrassing thing, a correction, to fix your mistake,

JD …and you still continue to carry the water…

GC – How that works, I don’t know. If someone lied to me, and I was forced, the paper,  you know, you’d obviously be called into the boss’ office, and he’d be like what the hell are you doing, don’t you check your facts, and then they run a correction, an official correction, and that would be painful, I would never forget it.

JD – Right, you’d be pissed at the person who erroneously who lied to you and gave you misinformation which went with into the paper…and yet some people say “That’s ok…as long as you call me back, and you remember my first name, isn’t THAD. “He didn’t call me Thad!”

GC – That’s how it works.

JD – I’ll just write some story and be your PR agent, basically.                                                                                    

GC – That is the height of unprofessionalism in this business, and kind of pathetic. ….wouldn’t you double-check it next time? It’s one thing to be corrected once, can you imagine being a writer and the newspaper was forced to run corrections multiple times?

Then they dipped into the area that has caused the most controversy. The allegations that WEEI tries to include numbers from Providence in their total ratings.

JD- That’s part of the lie, Gerry, that they’re counting people who listening in Providence.

GC – That’s never been true, and if you say that, you’re either stupid, or dishonest.

JD – As a clarification the Providence signal comes north. It doesn’t just go south to Rhode Island. It comes north to places like Canton, Stoughton, Randolph and places like that, and people can pick it up on the FM side.

GC – Why wouldn’t you? We don’t have the best signal, that’s another thing we’re proud of, overcoming that obstacle.

JD – So the Providence signal comes north into the Boston market, and so when they do count Providence, and this number one has nothing to do with it, nor did the last one or the seven before that, when they do count people who are listening in Boston, but on the Providence radio station, then the beatdown is significant.

GC  – Again, if you say there is anything deceiving about that, then you are either A) Stupid, or B) lying. Because you know if someone is sitting in, forget Canton, sitting right here in Brighton, and they happen to get the FM signal, and they listen to our show, you’re think for some reason they shouldn’t count?

This morning, on his Facebook page, 98.5 morning host Rich Shertenlieb posted the following:

THANKS for making Toucher & Rich #1 in ALL male demos in March. For the months of Jan Feb & March- We had 35% more Men 18-49 listeners & a whopping EIGHT TIMES more Men 18-34 listeners than WEEI. Time & time again, our listeners continue to show that they are hands down the most diehard and loyal in radio. Never seen anything like it. Thanks from all of us…even Wallach for letting us do what we do.

Mike Adams To Join Big Show, WEEI.com Partners with SB Nation

WEEI announced this afternoon that Mike Adams will be joining “The Big Show with Glenn Ordway and Michael Holley” effective today. He will serve as the flash guy for the program, will be in-studio, ready to weigh in with a thought from Bill Lee or memory of the 1978 Red Sox.

If they’re trying to appeal to a younger audience, this is the exact wrong move.

On the air, it was mentioned that the Planet Mikey show is not being impacted by this move,  but now that the Red Sox season has begun, most evenings are already scheduled with game broadcasts.

In another move, WEEI.com announced a content sharing partnership with the blog network SB Nation.

Some of the details about the deal, as outlined in the release from WEEI.com:

  • WEEI.com will feature headlines and content from SB Nation websites relevant to all the Boston teams, and SB Nation will bring WEEI.com’s highly-regarded reporting and personalities to its readers in Boston and beyond.
  •  A new feature on WEEI.com called “Behind Enemy Lines” will provide news and commentary from SB Nation’s network of team-focused blogs about upcoming Boston opponents. 
  •  A new, co-branded landing page will include links to SB Nation content appearing on WEEI.com as well as outbound links to national stories within the SB Nation network.
  •  WEEI.com and SB Nation will integrate relevant content within each other’s coverage of Boston sports teams, offering a unique diversity of perspectives on all the local teams.
  •  Content from each partner will appear on dedicated team pages & blogs in widget form for easy-to-use functionality.

Of interest from this desk is the fact that I write a weekly media column for SB Nation Boston. As far as I know, this does not impact me in any way. No one has said anything to me, anyway.  We’ll see.

A Friday Night Megalink Thing

Let’s provide the Friday megalinks. Lots of things to get to.

We, of course, provide the Weekend Viewing Picks for your sports and entertainment weekend programming.

Now let’s get to the linkage from across the country.

National

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age reports that NBC is already seeking $3.5 million for a 30 second spot for Super Bowl XLVI.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today writes that ESPN’s Erin Andrews will be working the red carpet during the Oscars for ABC’s Good Morning America.

Mike and fellow USA Today sport media writer Michael Hiestand debate the pros and cons of airing the NFL Scouting Combine.

George Winslow from Broadcasting & Cable writes that a tennis tournament has decided to use NeuLion’s platform to stream matches online in HD quality.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News discusses Versus’ good ratings for the NHL Heritage Classic.

Multichannel notes that Style Network will be turning a NASCAR wedding into a reality TV series.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid has a video of Erin Andrews looking for that perfect dress for the Academy Awards red carpet.

Marcus Vanderberg from SportsNewser says Versus will air its next UFC MMA card in 3-D.

Sports Media Watch writes that MSG saw its highest ratings in 16 years for the New York Knicks with Carmelo Anthony’s debut.

SMW says NASCAR’s Nationwide Series got off to a slower start in the ratings from last year.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the NHL on Versus continues to be red hot in the ratings

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says outsourcing has helped smaller teams stay in contention.

Awful Announcing notices the notorious “Schwab” making a cameo in the new Hooters ad featuring ESPN’s Dick Vitale.

SportsbyBrooks gives the legendary voice of Mississippi State football and basketball Jack Cristil a very nice tribute as he had to step down immediately due to health issues.

In Examiner.com, Evan Weiner looks at the NFL lockout and what it means to the league’s TV partners.

All Access says the embattled Charlie Sheen called into a Fox Sports Radio show to once again rant against CBS, Warner Brothers and Global Warming.

East and Mid-Atlantic

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn reviews the week in Boston sports media news.

In SB Nation Boston, BSMW Fearless Leader Bruce Allen has a look at the WEEI shakeups and a tumultuous week for the once-dominant sports radio station.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks about a local part-time radio reporter who has been reporting on the Red Sox for almost two decades.

Richard Sandomir from the New York Times writes about MSG’s boffo ratings for Carmelo Anthony’s Knicks debut.

Richard discusses how a panel takes over as the ESPN Ombudsman.

Richard and Pat Borzi team up for a story on the NFL Players Association trying to prevent the NFL from collecting its TV rights fee during a potential lockout.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with Steven A. “A is for Amiable” Smith who’s happy to be back with ESPN.

Bob Glauber of Newsday says both New York Jets coach Rex Ryan and HBO will not be back on Hard Knocks at least this year.

It’s official. Phil Mushnick from the New York Post really hates Madison Square Garden and Cablevision Chairman James Dolan.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for MLB Network’s Al Leiter.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union has ESPN releasing its Big East football schedule.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says the local Fox affiliate will have an extra high school sports highlight show this weekend.

In the New Jersey Newsroom, Nicole Pride talks with an ESPN producer who felt a story on paralyzed Rutgers football Eric LeGrand really hit home.

Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates have announced their spring training TV and radio schedule.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg has ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt ripping the students of his alma mater once again.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says NASCAR is back in full swing on TV.

South

Bob Molinaro of the Virginian-Pilot says there’s too much speculating in the sports media today.

Erin Barnett of WSLS-TV in Roanoke, VA reports on College GameDay’s visit to the Virginia Tech campus.

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald says like them or not, the Miami Heat are among the top of the heap in the local and national NBA TV ratings.

Carlos Frias of the Palm Beach Post talks with Pam Tebow, mother of Tim, about life after the controversial Super Bowl ad she and her son did last year.

Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has Cowboys owner Jerry Jones speaking about how he felt Super Bowl XLV went.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle talks with syndicated radio host Paul Finebaum about now infamous confession from the Alabama fan who said he poisoned the Auburn tree. That confession occurred on Finebaum’s show.

Mel Bracht at the Daily Oklahoman talks with the new TV voice of the Texas Rangers.

In his media notebook, Mel says the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be featured nationally this weekend.

Midwest

Kevin Bull of the Detroit Free Press has highlights of an ESPN.com chat conducted by former Michigan Fab Five standout Jalen Rose regarding the new ESPN documentary on the 1992-93 team.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press writes that a local radio host is making sure that high school sports gets its due.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has former Brewers manager Ken Macha responding on MLB Network Radio to one of his former player’s comments.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business has his winners and losers in sports business and media.

The Des Moines (IA) Register reports that Iowa State’s football game against UConn has been scheduled for a Friday night on ESPN2.

From Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals spring training games will be pre-empting Rush Limbaugh on KMOX.

West

Jay Posner at the San Diego Union-Tribune has CBS’ Clark Kellogg looking forward to seeing San Diego State and BYU square off tomorrow.

John Maffei of the North County Times says it’s BYU and Jimmer Fredette as to why San Diego State is on national TV on Saturday.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News looks at the Poynter Institute panel that will play the role of ESPN Ombudsman.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times also looks at the new ESPN Ombudsmen.

Ben Bolch of the Times says Fox Sports Net will honor the late UCLA coach John Wooden during Pac 10 basketball games this weekend.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that TSN continues its TV rights shopping spree, this time at the expense of one of its competitors.

And that is going to do it for the megalinks. Enjoy your sports weekend

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