Fixing WEEI
- Thread starter HomeBrew1901
- Start date
I think EEI might have something with Minihane, I'm not his biggest fan, but so far I've heard a couple of shows where he was paired up with Arnold today and another with Salk a few weeks back and both were much better than any of the other shows on EEI right now.
Small sample size and all that but he seems to be just antagonistic (not in a negative way) enough that it allows for milder personalities to play well off of him or to discuss topics.
Small sample size and all that but he seems to be just antagonistic (not in a negative way) enough that it allows for milder personalities to play well off of him or to discuss topics.
When I was listening to EEI in the mornings, I would hope that Minihane would do that with D & C, but he seemed muted a bit.
More vacation time for D & C, please!
More vacation time for D & C, please!
He just needs a lot of work, but I agree that he might be the best they've got at this point. He's someone that their "beta" personalities can work off of, and he's Felger-ish in that he can generate a semi interesting opinion on nearly anything in real time. He can come off like a huge douche, but he can get fired up and talk rationally, isn't horrifically uninformed, and generally tries to be interesting. Like others, I was happy to hear him with Arnold and without D+C this morning, although I do think that he and Callahan could do an amazing show with only the two of them if Callahan was willing to put in the work. Felger and Callahan was at times some of the best radio I've ever heard, because Callahan is kind of the original "rapid cogent take" guy, he's just gotten old and pretty lazy, plus he does the politics thing and it's infected his every thought. Nonetheless, if focused back on sports, and if Callahan actually respected him enough to really have give and take with him, it'd probably be good radio.
No doubt that he's a douche but so is Felger and I really used to enjoy listening to him for the same reasons, he was a DB with a clue that was able to form coherent thoughts that he was able to justify and back up.Blacken said:
There is absolutely no way Minihane and Felger could be successful together, but as noted above Minihane and Callahan or even Arnold (another decent show this morning when I got a little tired of the Talib stuff) would be better than anything else on WEEI right now. For some reason I can't get into Salk and Holley, I tried but there is still something forced and missing from the show.
I've listened on and off the past two days, and the biggest takeaway I have is that Dale has lost it.
Now, it's fair to ask whether Dale ever had "it," but I used to enjoy Dale and Holley for what it was. It was vanilla at times, but a welcome break from the screaming, moralizing, "sky is falling" routine that clogs sports talk radio.
But since his demotion, Dale has seemed to have devolved into a thin-skinned, houlier than thou arbitrator of morality who yells at anonymous texters. He's like GRESH crossed with Ned Flanders.
It might just be me, but it seems like every two seconds Dale will go off on a rant against "a texter from the 774" who will say something like, "Dale, you're stupid, Pete Rose shouldn't be banned for life." There is nothing worse than listening to a host argue with a text message. Dale does it routinely. Is it because he doesn't get any calls, and feels the need to fill time? It's brutal.
Fred is the only guy who can do it, because his thin-skin is part of his charm. Also, he's actually funny. There's that too.
Now, it's fair to ask whether Dale ever had "it," but I used to enjoy Dale and Holley for what it was. It was vanilla at times, but a welcome break from the screaming, moralizing, "sky is falling" routine that clogs sports talk radio.
But since his demotion, Dale has seemed to have devolved into a thin-skinned, houlier than thou arbitrator of morality who yells at anonymous texters. He's like GRESH crossed with Ned Flanders.
It might just be me, but it seems like every two seconds Dale will go off on a rant against "a texter from the 774" who will say something like, "Dale, you're stupid, Pete Rose shouldn't be banned for life." There is nothing worse than listening to a host argue with a text message. Dale does it routinely. Is it because he doesn't get any calls, and feels the need to fill time? It's brutal.
Fred is the only guy who can do it, because his thin-skin is part of his charm. Also, he's actually funny. There's that too.
When exactly is Dennis and Callahan's contract up? I was under the impression they had one year left from the NESN extension that basically gave them another 3 years.
If this is the case, the nesxt year is going to be very interesting. I fully expect that Dennis will be canned as soon as it is financially feasible. What happens from there will be fascinating.
Will they extend Callahan and pair him with Minihane?
If this is the case, the nesxt year is going to be very interesting. I fully expect that Dennis will be canned as soon as it is financially feasible. What happens from there will be fascinating.
Will they extend Callahan and pair him with Minihane?
Maybe Entercom is finally starting to get it. Only problem is that they're about 6 years too late.jsinger121 said:
I thought Callahan, Arnold and Minihane was a really good show today compared to Toucher and Dan Roache but it could be too little too late.nattysez said:
Dennis and Callahan should probably start packing up their offices.
I don't think Wolfe was the reason they are still hosting. All the reshuffling at WEEI has been done with cutting costs in mind. Paying new co-hosts while D&C are still under contracts would br the antithesis of Entercom's recent philosophy.
I don't think Wolfe was the reason they are still hosting. All the reshuffling at WEEI has been done with cutting costs in mind. Paying new co-hosts while D&C are still under contracts would br the antithesis of Entercom's recent philosophy.
He was at the end of his contract. Entercom had an option year that they declined a couple weeks before his last show. They let him work out those last couple weeks.Patriot_Reign said:
Then why was Ordway canned?
Salk makes a lot less money than Ordway, whose contract had out clauses if ratings were not maintained.
Salk makes a lot less money than Ordway, whose contract had out clauses if ratings were not maintained.
jsinger121 said:
:fap: :bravo: :globalsox: 
So long you platform shoe wearing egotistical fuckface.
Is there much of a motive for WEEI to get back to number one?
They still hold the rights to the Red Sox and Celtics, have a strong signal and many affiliates that branch into all six New England states and hold their own in the ratings book. "The Sports Hub" has crushed them, but many radio stations would kill to be as viable as EEI is.
Maybe Entercom is more concerned about maintaining profitability than getting back to the top of the ratings. Paying the likes of Minihane, Mutnansky and Salk lesser salaries and drawing respectable, but not great ratings can still generate revenue.
It's going to take a long time to overtake "The Sports Hub." I don't think any morning show combination of Dale/Minihane/Callahan is going to compete with Toucher and Rich. Felger and Mazz, whether we like the show or not, is arguably the most visible sports media entity in New England right now. Gresh and Zo still seem vulnerable to me, but Mut and Merloni aren't even close to them. People, for whatever reason, really like that show. (I think a lot of their success has to do with the strong lead in T&R give them too.)
As I've said before in this thread, Ryen Russillo and Michael Smith aren't walking through that door. I don't see a formula right now, outside of something outlandish, that would propel to WEEI back to the top.
They still hold the rights to the Red Sox and Celtics, have a strong signal and many affiliates that branch into all six New England states and hold their own in the ratings book. "The Sports Hub" has crushed them, but many radio stations would kill to be as viable as EEI is.
Maybe Entercom is more concerned about maintaining profitability than getting back to the top of the ratings. Paying the likes of Minihane, Mutnansky and Salk lesser salaries and drawing respectable, but not great ratings can still generate revenue.
It's going to take a long time to overtake "The Sports Hub." I don't think any morning show combination of Dale/Minihane/Callahan is going to compete with Toucher and Rich. Felger and Mazz, whether we like the show or not, is arguably the most visible sports media entity in New England right now. Gresh and Zo still seem vulnerable to me, but Mut and Merloni aren't even close to them. People, for whatever reason, really like that show. (I think a lot of their success has to do with the strong lead in T&R give them too.)
As I've said before in this thread, Ryen Russillo and Michael Smith aren't walking through that door. I don't see a formula right now, outside of something outlandish, that would propel to WEEI back to the top.
http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/2013/08/source-kevin-graham-to-replace-jason-wolfe-as-weei-program-director
Salt Lake City's Kevin Graham rumored to be taking over. He also has a show out there, I wonder if he plans on taking over a daily show here too.
Somewhat tangentially related, but wasn't Wolfe also the PD for WRKO? That station has been circling the drain for years.
Salt Lake City's Kevin Graham rumored to be taking over. He also has a show out there, I wonder if he plans on taking over a daily show here too.
Somewhat tangentially related, but wasn't Wolfe also the PD for WRKO? That station has been circling the drain for years.
I hope he had to drive by the sports hub on the way home.
Good riddance. Now hopefully we can have someone right the ship and have a decent alternative to Gresh & Felger.
Good riddance. Now hopefully we can have someone right the ship and have a decent alternative to Gresh & Felger.
Phenom said:
I'm not an expert on this topic, but I believe there is a significant and nonlinear dropoff in ad revenues when you are out of the #1 spot.
E.g., the "official" advertising rate card might show similar rates on a per-listener basis across stations, but I believe most advertisers pay significantly less than the published rate. The further down the rankings food-chain you are in a given market segment or demographic, the harder you have to haggle and cut deals in order to keep your advertising slots filled.
If you're an advertiser, and Toucher and Rich have twice as many listeners in your demo as D+C, then you're expecting a discount to go with the smaller show. The further down the ladder you go, the more ways there are to reach the same number of listeners, and the more stations there are who can compete to offer the same number of ears per spot. At least, that's how I vaguely recall it working, someone else may come along to correct me...
Phenom said:
Bingo.
The first thing they will do is fire/not replace the expensive talent and replace them with cheapies.
If this guy Brown goes to a 2014 shareholders meeting and says, "Rating are down 12% but profits are up 20%" it'll be nothing but blowjobs and bonuses for him.
I look for Entercom to go with the ESPN model and get as much actual sports event programmming as possible. Make ridiculous overpays for the Bruins and Patriots & pay the "talk talent" peanuts. Its not like people tune into to sports talk radio for actual insight, accuracy or enlightenment.
The Patriots will never leave 98.5 because it's a CBS station and the Kraft's are tied at the hip with CBS (i.e., the CBS scene restaurant and the broadcaster of their conference games).
I stupidly read some of the 240 comments on the Boston.com article, my favorite was:
Too bad Mustard has a day job, because I love the dynamic on Mustard and Johnson.
Too bad Mustard has a day job, because I love the dynamic on Mustard and Johnson.
I remember the first time I ever listened to WEEI (and probably even sports talk radio). It was a Saturday morning in 1992 and I was hungover in a fierce way. I flipped on the radio and stopped at WEEI for some reason. Craig Mustard was on with someone else (I forget who) and they spent like three hours "debating" who had better french fries, McDonald's, Burger King or Wendy's while I dozed. Terrible radio.
I heard that it was precisely that conversation which then led to Burger King famously changing the recipe to their fries years later.
One of the two argued McDonald's while the other sided with Burger King. They threw Wendy's into the mix in the event that callers preferred Wendy's. Some probably did prefer Wendy's, but who cares? The real item of interest here is that people actually called in to present their take on the "best fries" issue.NortheasternPJ said:
Looks like it's down to a Red Sox firewall for EEI.
Bruce Allen @bruceallen 4m
I don't have anything official, but it is looking more and more like the Celtics will not be back on WEEI this season.
Bruce Allen @bruceallen 4m
I don't have anything official, but it is looking more and more like the Celtics will not be back on WEEI this season.
Wow, wonder if they're going to The Sports Hub. It'd be an odd fit considering the hosts on 98.5.
I can't imagine that more Planet Mikey is going to help the ratings.
Edit: F&M just announced it as well via Chad Finn. Uncertain who will carry them.
I can't imagine that more Planet Mikey is going to help the ratings.
Edit: F&M just announced it as well via Chad Finn. Uncertain who will carry them.
I have to imagine (but don't know) it's unusual for the same radio station to carry both local NBA and NHL. Where would the simulcasts go?
98.5 bumps Revolution games for Bruins games when it needs to, and EEI already did the same thing for Celtics-Sox issues. If CBS were to score the Celtics, I'm sure where they'd consider where to play conflicting games as a hell of a problem to have.
Question is, with the end of the Garnett/Pierce/Doc era, is the team a compelling enough product for CBS to go too hard after, particularly if it's going to have to be pushed off to an alternate station on nights where the B's conflict? I would imagine that Entercom lowballed the C's because of that factor (the non-contender factor, not the conflict factor).
It comes down to banking that the team's future is bright enough that they will pay off at the back end of the deal with another championship contender. Entercom did that and "won" when they got the broadcast rights back in '06. Is there a station/cluster willing to do that this time around?
It comes down to banking that the team's future is bright enough that they will pay off at the back end of the deal with another championship contender. Entercom did that and "won" when they got the broadcast rights back in '06. Is there a station/cluster willing to do that this time around?
Cross posting from the thread in the Port Cellar:
Guessing that saves them money on Grande and Max's contracts as well?
This could be an opportunity for 1510 to get the rights again.
Guessing that saves them money on Grande and Max's contracts as well?
This could be an opportunity for 1510 to get the rights again.
This certainly gives the Red Sox a certain amount of leverage in the next radio deal negotiation or if they want to renegotiate their deal (not sure how long their contract is for). The FO has to realize that the Sox leaving WEEI would be the death of that station.
nattysez said:
You have it right. Grande and Max should still be broadcasting Celtics games this season. I think the1andonly3003 is bemoaning that Grande will no longer be working for WEEI in that case. He has been doing fill in work on the Red Sox broadcast as well as hosting a Celtics themed weekend show this summer. I imagine he continues to cover for Dave O'Brien when he's away, at least until the Celtics start back up...probably the plan all along even if the C's stayed with Entercom/WEEI.
That's all I care about. I love listening to Sean fill in on Sox broadcasts.the1andonly3003 said:
RedOctober3829 said:
Does this mean that Celtics show on Saturday afternoons is now cancelled? I liked Grande when he filled in during vacations of Ordway, Holley and Arnold...
D&C with some semi serious sounding banter this morning about how *if* they have a show for next year's marathon, they'd want to do it on location.
I really wonder if there's anything to the idea of EEI going all ESPN Radio.
I really wonder if there's anything to the idea of EEI going all ESPN Radio.