Glenn Ordway is out at WEEI

[Fenway1912]

WEEI was cocky in early 2009.

ESPN 890 had failed just like WWZN.

BUT ESPN-890 did show a little pulse in the ratings which WWZN never did. They just could not overcome a signal that even the Charlestown studios sometimes could not hear at night. Mike Thomas at CBS correctly assumed a clear FM signal and talent like Felger could make a run.

2 years ago Jason Wolfe made changes and blew up Dale and Holley ( which was the one show that was beating 98.5 badly )

Last spring Ordway and Holley won their slot and it looked like EEI had stabilized and then EEI tanked. I think the Red Sox collapse hurt them as people didn't even want to hear Red Sox talk.

But I heard tonight that Wolfe has another headache as one of the biggest sponsors on WEEI told Jason today if Glenn is finished on Friday he will pull all ads on WEEI including the Red Sox. (1-800-54-GIANT)

Ordway has some loyal friends.

many he said The Hub had no shot.

Not accurate. Go back on these boards to see differently. There was always a concern that a well-staffed FM would do immediate damage to EEI's ratings stranglehold.
The surprise was it happened more decisively than thought possible. Which told you that a younger demo didn't like EEI in spite of their terrific numbers, high-priced talent and station of the year status.

 

[wickedwritah]

Drinkwater just sold Giant Glass to Safelite, so losing the $$$ was inevitable.

 

[wickedwritah]

Also, I don't know if you can give Mike Thomas all the credit for getting 98.5 to flip. CBS flipped WJFK to sports at the same time. The company had some lackluster performers in 104.1 here and 106.7 there, and they had the programming to make all-sports work.

 

[scranton]

many he said The Hub had no shot.

Not accurate. Go back on these boards to see differently. There was always a concern that a well-staffed FM would do immediate damage to EEI's ratings stranglehold.
The surprise was it happened more decisively than thought possible. Which told you that a younger demo didn't like EEI in spite of their terrific numbers, high-priced talent and station of the year status.

985 caught lightning in a bottle with thexstanley cup run and there was no turning back

 

[TSBench]

I mentioned Ordway had his pay cut in half due to ratings,

How much was he making before, and what was he making after?

Thanks,
TSB

 

[TSBench]

He never forced Johnny out

Correct, and anyone who was there knows he probably saved what was left of Most's career.

Regards,
TSB

 

[tvradiogeek]

its a sad day indeed Ordway and weei got me listening to sports talk in the first place!!

 

[Fenway1912]

Drinkwater just sold Giant Glass to Safelite, so losing the $$$ was inevitable.

Drinkwater is still running it for Safelite. Similar situation to Jordan's Furniture.

 

[Blackroc]

How much was he making before, and what was he making after?

Roughly a Mil and took --supposedly-- a 50% cut to 500K.
His last deal had expensive ratings benchmarks he couldn't meet with
F&M as competition.
When he signed, EEI had some of the best ratings in the country and was Sports Station of the Year a few times thanks
mainly to BigO.

 

[vmorrison]

Ordway had a 35 year run in his home town. He didn't have to spend much time in the minors and never had to move to another city for work. I worked with him from 1981 to 1986 and all and all he wasn't a bad guy at all. I liked him a lot and although he was demanding he was very good to the people who worked for him on the Celtics broadcasts. I remember how pissed he was when Joe Castiglione came to town for the Red Sox job. I sat next to him on a Celtics bus ride to Hartford and he ripped Castiglione apart even before he got here.

Interesting fact. He started out trying to be an actor and you can see him in a bit role in the Out of T owners staring Jack Lemon who at one point owned a piece of AM 1510.

 

[Fenway1912]

I think Thomas saw that WAMG was making a small dent and sensed Felger was the key to make it work.

Keep in mind WWZN never showed in books when they had Sean and Eddie ( and Globe promotion )

BUT - Ordway is not washed up like Eddie was and he will pop up somewhere.

COULD we see CC taking a flyer with Ordway in afternoon drive ( with a incentive based contract ) and flip 1200 AND 101.7 to sports?

In any event I think WEEI goes down in afternoon drive without Ordway no matter how good the guy from Seattle is.

Also, I don't know if you can give Mike Thomas all the credit for getting 98.5 to flip. CBS flipped WJFK to sports at the same time. The company had some lackluster performers in 104.1 here and 106.7 there, and they had the programming to make all-sports work.

 

[Fenway1912]

This will become Ordway vs Jason Wolfe.

Glenn will try to prove that Jason misread the market. Maybe Glenn crashes like Andleman did at WWZN but I don't think so because Glenn knows radio ( Eddie didn't )

IF Glenn gets a shot at afternoon drive again he won't beat 98.5 but he might beat 93.7.

Ordway had a 35 year run in his home town. He didn't have to spend much time in the minors and never had to move to another city for work. I worked with him from 1981 to 1986 and all and all he wasn't a bad guy at all. I liked him a lot and although he was demanding he was very good to the people who worked for him on the Celtics broadcasts. I remember how pissed he was when Joe Castiglione came to town for the Red Sox job. I sat next to him on a Celtics bus ride to Hartford and he ripped Castiglione apart even before he got here.

Interesting fact. He started out trying to be an actor and you can see him in a bit role in the Out of T owners staring Jack Lemon who at one point owned a piece of AM 1510.

 

[Fenway1912]

Ordway fights back

“The mistake WEEI made that got them into this trouble was the fact that they were on AM, an antiquated band that basically was listened to by nobody under the age of 40. Forty or 45,” Ordway said. “When The Sports Hub came on the air, they went with the FM band and they stole away this whole young audience. People were looking for what was the biggest dagger in WEEI, and that was it.”

http://bostonherald.com/business/media_marketing/2013/02/looking_to_future_for_next_big_thing


Steve Buckley writes

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinio...y_will_be_missed_but_game_goes_on_without_him

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

I'm wondering what the reaction is to this move at "EEI Network" stations NOT owned by Entercom.

I agree with some of the other folks here who say Ordway's not done yet. Given the right situation, I still think he could be gangbusters.

I also agree with those who've said the pairing with Holley never really worked. You just can't have TWO bigger-than-life egos in the SAME room together. ;D

 

[Fenway1912]

Wolfe is letting Glenn say good-bye (for now) - which in rare these days.

(also keeps a possible return open)

This is a salary dump right now and nothing more. I think most here would agree that EEI has bigger problems mornings and midday than afternoon drive.

I can foresee the following - D&C to WRKO and Ordway doing mornings at WEEI by around Opening Day.

I'm wondering what the reaction is to this move at "EEI Network" stations NOT owned by Entercom.

I agree with some of the other folks here who say Ordway's not done yet. Given the right situation, I still think he could be gangbusters.

I also agree with those who've said the pairing with Holley never really worked. You just can't have TWO bigger-than-life egos in the SAME room together. ;D

 

[DavidZ]

Ordway fights back

“The mistake WEEI made that got them into this trouble was the fact that they were on AM, an antiquated band that basically was listened to by nobody under the age of 40. Forty or 45,” Ordway said. “When The Sports Hub came on the air, they went with the FM band and they stole away this whole young audience. People were looking for what was the biggest dagger in WEEI, and that was it.”

http://bostonherald.com/business/media_marketing/2013/02/looking_to_future_for_next_big_thing


Steve Buckley writes

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinio...y_will_be_missed_but_game_goes_on_without_him

Does he even finish out the week now? He may come to work today to find out that yesterday was his final show after the brass at Entercom sees this in the Herald.

 

[wickedwritah]

Once I heard he was being allowed to end the week I wanted to say right away, "ratings stunt."

D&C on 680? Interesting.

 

[fmradio1]

In the Gayle Fee article, he hints that the internet may be in his future. He did say last night during the Whiner Line that the feature would be going away when he left, so he may be taking his schtick to a webstream, much like WFNX did when they lost their terrestrial signal (two streams actually, if you want to count BostonBDC and their 'FNX castoffs.) He mentions targeting sports talk for an older audience with more "disposable income." Maybe he gets all his old buddies together and signs on a web-based Boston sports stream with older, local hosts without fulltime work (think Gary Tanguay, Dale Arnold, some of the writers and contributors to the old Big Show format.) He may be taking Dennis Drinkwater and his money with him, which could explain why Giant Glass is rumored to be pulling it's ads from WEEI. It's something other talk show and morning show hosts have done when they've been in a market for a long time and have large name recognition, and suddenly find themselves without a station.

 

[raccoonradio]

http://dankennedy.net/2013/02/14/was-ordway-firing-more-about-ratings-or-money/

>>Marc Ganis, a sports business consultant based in Chicago, tells Matt Stout of the Boston Herald that Ordway’s salary — $500,000, down from $1 million a couple of years ago — was seriously out of whack with what local stations pay these days. Chad Finn of The Boston Globe reports that Ordway’s replacement, Mike Salk, is expected to make about $100,000.

Kennedy says it's not just about ratings, it's about money

 

[tvradiogeek]

does any one think Glenn could ever come to the sports hub im lets say nights and put Adam Jones somewhere else??