Sports Hub Blasts WEEI In Ratings
Thursday, July 14, 2011
I guess we won’t be hearing “the #1 rated sports station in America” promo for WEEI anytime soon. It’s hard to be the top-rated sports station in America when you’re not even #1 in your own market!
The latest Arbitron ratings have been released and the once-dominant WEEI took it on the chin from relative newcomer WBZ-FM – 98.5 The Sports Hub.
According to radio-info.com, the breakdown for the ratings were as follows:
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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)
WEEI spinsters will likely try to explain the butt-kicking by saying that the Bruins march to the Stanley Cup helped boost The Sports Hub’s numbers significantly in the spring which may be somewhat true. But that clearly doesn’t tell the whole story.
As has been written here many times, Entercom management has waited far too long to put WEEI’s sports talk on one of their FM signals (93.7 or 107.3)in Boston. If they cannot see that the time is now to make that move, will they ever see it?
This also appears to be a clear indication that WEEI’s programming and talent either isn’t up to par with WBZ-FM or is getting a bit stale in the ears of their listeners.
As shocking as the demise of “Dennis & Callahan” was in the spring versus “Toucher & Rich,” one has to wonder if the ultra-talented Gerry Callahan’s constant over-the-top right-wing conservative rants aren’t a turn-off to many of the listeners?
While John Dennis works well with Callahan, he is not the true “talent” on that show. Callahan is. His quick wit, humor and biting sarcasm make him a great listen. But even many of those who share his political views are now tiring of his constant liberal, Obama, Whitey and Billy Bulger bashing and the like.
In the midday, we told you that WEEI’s new “Mutt & Merloni” show was going to be a disaster and the early returns back that up. Mike Mutnansky is just plain boring and brings very little to the table. Merloni is okay but seemed much better served as a contributor on “The Big Show.”
Meanwhile, The Sports Hub’s “Gresh & Zo” enjoyed their best ratings book yet by dominating WEEI in the midday. While Gresh has his share of detractors, he and Scott Zolak are clearly the choice of sports radio listeners in Boston from 10am-2pm at the moment.
WEEI should have stayed with “Dale & Holley” in the midday. That probably would have made for a much more competitive showing in the spring book.
But WEEI panicked by moving Michael Holley to “The Big Show” with Glenn Ordway from 2-6pm. It has not been the greatest listen they had hoped for.
Ordway, while severely overrated, was much better with constantly rotating guests which kept the show fresh. But he is far from the talent that his afternoon counterpart Michael Felger is on WBZ-FM.
Ordway’s opinions and commentary aren’t nearly as strong as Felger’s. Felger, for his part, may be the most talented host on either station and makes for an interesting listen each day.
Felger’s co-host Tony Massarotti is also very good and the two of the them make for a much better combination that Ordway and Holley.
So what should WEEI do?
First, putting their programming on an FM stick in Boston is a must.
Second, they should bring back Bob Neumeier and pair him with Michael Holley for what would be a very solid midday show.
They should also go back to a “Big Show” of Ordway with rotating guests each day. They may also want to consider looking for Ordway’s replacement at some point although there does not appear to be anyone available that would represent a significant upgrade over him at the moment.
