Herald: Sports Hub closing in on WEEI

[raccoonradio]

http://bostonherald.com/jobfind/new...ub_closing_in_on_weei/srvc=home&position=also

850 and 98.5 neck and neck in 25-54 men for aft drive. Felger & Mazz slightly beat out Big Show
(#2, #3) in the demo but of course when WEEI-FM is included, Big Show wins out. T&R just a hair behind D&C in mornings (if you don't include 103.7). This is for Jul/Aug./Sep.

And 98.5 beat out WEEI in every slot exc. nights (as was reported before in Aug ratings) in 18-34.
Jason Wolfe says Sox can be part of the blame.

 

[EnterCommunicator]

'EEI has a new open on D&C today proclaiming over and over that they're #1, no fuzzy math included etc. It's kind of funny actually.

 

[raccoonradio]

#1 among Entercom sports outlets in Boston

 

[ChrisNH]

I think people outside the city in their cars tend to abandon WEEI once the sun starts setting early and the leaves fall from the trees. Not only do you have to stomach the hosts on WEEI bludgeon each other and the callers, you have to stomach a peanut-whistle signal that no one outside the 128 belt can hear after dark and during the early-morning drive.

 

[Blackroc]

'EEI has a new open
Does anybody tout themselves as much? They are an unpleasent group although that's standard fare at a sports station.
Let's see how the next book goes without the RS? I don't think the morning routine of GOP-central for the next month or so will interest most listeners.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

I don't think the morning routine of GOP-central for the next month or so will interest most listeners.

Hmm. I guess that election coming up in about six weeks is just a hoax...

 

[ArtSpooner]

'EEI has a new open
Does anybody tout themselves as much? They are an unpleasent group although that's standard fare at a sports station.
Let's see how the next book goes without the RS? I don't think the morning routine of GOP-central for the next month or so will interest most listeners.

Right now the polls say that about 65% of the people don't want Patrick to be re-elected. I'd say there could be a little interest.

 

[GenXRadio]

That may be Art but let's remember that WEEI is a SPORTS station NOT a political talk station nor is it an arm of Fox News or the RNC.
It's one thing to talk about Entertainment type stuff and women on the morning show of a sports station to appeal to a broader audience ie: women or to talk about attractive women in keeping the "guy radio" thing going but D&C go way overboard with their political and Republican rants which is why I always listened to something else in the morning and switched to EEI when D&C's show was over because I wanted to listen to SPORTS talk...my, what a novel concept for a sports station wouldn't ya say?

 

[raccoonradio]

The idea is perhaps to get into the politics/current events talk on morning drive, just as WEEI
and similar stations used to do Imus in morning drive. D&C like many of their listeners lean
conservative; it would be interesting to hear a left-leaning sports talk show ("oh, we shouldn't
keep score during our kids' games--it could hurt their feeeeeeeeeeelings!") Whether WEEI
is 48 yr old guys living in their mom's basement while WBZ-FM is 28 yr old guys living in
their mom's basement, who knows! (Do T&R get into politics and if so is it left leaning? Do they
do strictly sports?)

If their ratings are good they may feel they should keep it up. If ratings stank they may say
"OK, let's just talk sports and see what happens". If Wolfe and company were getting
horrible ratings or ad billing you may see changes. As it is they are now in a competitive
market with Sports Hub taking a piece of the pie--no wait, in the ratings WEEI didn't
lose listeners to 98.5--they may have come at the expense of music stations etc

 

[CTListener]

it would be interesting to hear a left-leaning sports talk show ("oh, we shouldn't
keep score during our kids' games--it could hurt their feeeeeeeeeeelings!")

Hey, don't turn that issue into a left/right thing. My politics (with regard to foreign policy, government spending, health care, etc.) are generally liberal, but I'm just as repulsed by the let's-not-keep-score-because-they're-only-kids-and-we-don't-want-them-to-grow-up-ever mentality as you, and so are plenty of other politically liberal sports fans I know.

 

[Blackroc]

Speaking of Sports (as Howard used to say) I think the 20 min's or so I caught of the Sports Huddle might have been the worst radio I've ever heard (and that's saying something). Yes worse than Mustard/Johnson.
Among other nitwit pronouncements, the ethnic hotdog king explained that Italians aren't in the major leagues anymore because they are going to school now (like he did). This was as Jimmy used to say "putrid."

 

[Speaker of Truth]

When is Entercom going to put WEEIs programming on an FM Signal? There really is no excuse, as The Sports Hub continues to close in, to try to compete with an AM only option..should also be interesting to see who draws more listeners as the Bruins and Celtics get ready for their regular seasons...

 

[raccoonradio]

Would love to see it too but Mike is giving good ratings at low cost. They figure most people can get 850 or some of their various sister stations. 93.7 does pretty well in Boston area and where I live and work, a couple towns away from their transmitter, it comes in well. Yet "We Play Everything"
does well, so maybe they are shy to change. What else do they have--97.7 and 107.3. Could
you see them going there? How's the coverage? If they had a signal like 92.9, 96.9, 94.5, 100.7,
103.3, etc. they could put EEI there (or move Mike there and put EEI on 93.7). Fact is, they
don't. They only have those 3 freqs.

South of Boston 103.7 may do well though and of course they claim that ratings they get
on that station should be included in with 850s.

 

[DToTheJ]

...it would be interesting to hear a left-leaning sports talk show...

Hey, if all of the programs on WWZN implode into each other, there's a strong chance of that happening!

 

[ArtSpooner]

That may be Art but let's remember that WEEI is a SPORTS station NOT a political talk station nor is it an arm of Fox News or the RNC.
It's one thing to talk about Entertainment type stuff and women on the morning show of a sports station to appeal to a broader audience ie: women or to talk about attractive women in keeping the "guy radio" thing going but D&C go way overboard with their political and Republican rants which is why I always listened to something else in the morning and switched to EEI when D&C's show was over because I wanted to listen to SPORTS talk...my, what a novel concept for a sports station wouldn't ya say?

For some reason Sports Talk doesn't seem to work too well. As Imus used to say "nobody cares what Vinnie from Queens has to say at 6:00 AM". The Sports Hub doesn't have a strictly sports show on either. D&C have never tried to disguise the fact that they don't confine their show to sports.

Now, truthfully, is it the political talk or the anti-democrat talk that really bothers you? Curt Schilling should be a venerated figure in Boston, but he made the mistake of saying "Vote Bush".

 

[SonicOverload]

...it would be interesting to hear a left-leaning sports talk show...

Hey, if all of the programs on WWZN implode into each other, there's a strong chance of that happening!

Jeff Santos talks about sports on his show... no one listens that much (including me, except once in a great while) but he does.

 

[radiolives]

When is Entercom going to put WEEIs programming on an FM Signal? There really is no excuse, as The Sports Hub continues to close in, to try to compete with an AM only option..should also be interesting to see who draws more listeners as the Bruins and Celtics get ready for their regular seasons...

Im sure people would love to hear the Red Sox on FM. Entercom needs to move WEEI to FM. When that contract is up for the Red Sox you can bet CBS Radio Boston will have a sweet deal on the table for the Red Sox games to air on 98.5 The Hub [static free]. (this is if WEEI isn't on FM by then)

 

[raccoonradio]

Agreed though technically the Sox do air on WBOQ 104.9 on Cape Ann/North Shore and many south of Boston can get WEEI-FM 103.7. Though as I have related many times where I work reception of any radio is a challenge due to building construction and new lighting (and I work nights) but sister station WMKK 93.7 does come in fairly well as the tower is one town away. But they're happy with Mike 93.7 and its jockless variety hits. The Entercom contract is till around 2016 I believe though some contracts may be broken if possible.

Oh here's the details--in May of 06 the deal was signed with "games to be split between WRKO
and WEEI" and was to run ten years starting the following yr
http://www.boston.com/business/arti...o_be_split_between_wrko_weei_in_radio_accord/

Most games were to be on WRKO while WEEI would have Fri nights and wkday afternoons; WRKO
had the Celts as well but soon EEI got Celts and then shortly after Sports Hub debuted,
EEI got the Sox just about totally (some games shifted to RKO) as they didn't want EEI's
ratings to fall and RKO wasn't really benefiting from Sox, apparently

 

[Blackroc]

~ To open the 8pm hour the ethnic hot-dogger mentioned that 'EEI is failing (not true).

~ I'd give her --Gisele-- a backhander, a wack right in the labonza.
Somebody in touch with reality should tell him that it isn't good form to quip about beating women.

 

[ArtSpooner]

~ To open the 8pm hour the ethnic hot-dogger mentioned that 'EEI is failing (not true).

~ I'd give her --Gisele-- a backhander, a wack right in the labonza.
Somebody in touch with reality should tell him that it isn't good form to quip about beating women.

Is he still on?