Red Sox Report: A Big Move At WEEI
Thursday, September 08, 2011
What took you so long? That would be my question to the management team at Entercom-Boston which apparently has decided to finally simulcast WEEI’s sports talk format on the FM dial.
According to various reports, WEEI will announce tomorrow that they will now simulcast their signal on both 850 AM and 93.7 FM.
WEEI has been a pioneer in the sports radio industry dominating in the ratings like no other sports station in the country for many years. However, new competitor 98.5-The Sports Hub has taken a big bite out of their ratings success to the point where they have now surpassed them in all of the major demographics in the Arbitron ratings.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTMany believe that The Sports Hub’s FM signal is a large part of their success over WEEI which, to this point, had only been on the AM dial.
Don’t think that the Boston Red Sox and their fans aren’t happy about this. Listening to Red Sox baseball on a clear FM signal in the greater Boston area will be a joy for all in Red Sox Nation who have had to endure the broadcasts on the AM dial to this point.
It will be very interesting to see how WEEI does now in the ratings. If they regain their top ranking in the market, then the FM signal will have proved to be a huge factor. However, if the Sports Hub maintains its healthy lead in the ratings, more programming changes could be coming at the Entercom station.
-The news continues to be encouraging regarding Clay Buchholz and his attempt at a comeback this season. Buchholz threw from 105 feet today in Toronto and his manager was pleased with the results. “Good day,” said Terry Francona. “Again, picking up the intensity, picking up the distance. He’s tolerating everything.” Buchholz will take tomorrow off and throw from 125 feet in Tampa on Friday.
-The Josh Beckett injury remains somewhat of a mystery to many. First off, if it was simply an ankle sprain, why did it “pop out” as Beckett put it a few nights ago? That sounds like some type of dislocation of the joint. Secondly, if it truly is a “bad” sprain, why wasn’t there any swelling after the game Monday when he was in the locker room? Every ankle sprain I have either experienced or seen has involved some degree of swelling. Hmmmmmm?
-By virtue of Detroit’s win at Cleveland Wednesday and Texas’ loss to Tampa, the Tigers now have a better record than the Rangers. This has an impact on the Red Sox and Yankees who are battling it out for the AL East title and the AL Wild Card Spot. The division winner plays the team with the worst record between Texas and Detroit in the ALDS while the wild card winner draws the other.
