Aug262009
Interesting timing on Entercom’s decision to take Red Sox broadcasts from WRKO and put them all on WEEI
Filed under Radio by george scione at 1:38 pm
Do you feel the heat?
I’m pretty sure WEEI 850-AM is. That’s the only logical reason Entercom has decided to shift what was the majority of Red Sox baseball broadcasts from WRKO 680-AM to WEEI. No, not just the majority, they are shifting every game for the rest of this season to WEEI.
Why? Well according to a press release sent out Tuesday, it’s simply to consolidate anything sports related to one station.
Entercom New England’s vice president of AM Programming Jason Wolfe put it this way:
“This move will add consistency to our lineup, whereby all of our sports assets will be consolidated in the same place. There’s no better compliment to the Boston Celtics, Patriots Monday and Patriots Friday, Sunday Night and Monday Night NFL football, the Super Bowl and NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, than adding Red Sox baseball back to nation’s biggest sports radio station.“
The timing is just all too funny. Let’s just say WEEI is hearing the footsteps. They slacked off on getting their signal to an FM station in Boston - likely thinking nobody else would do it - and now they see some buzz created by another sports talk station.
With the Sports Hub 98.5-FM going all out as the Flagship Station of the New England Patriots, WEEI had no other choice than to pull out its credentials as the Flagship Station of Boston Red Sox baseball.
From 1995-2006, the Red Sox were exclusively on WEEI. With competition in town, the station had to regain that claim - and fast.
Julie Kahn, Entercom New England Market Manager/VP drove that point home in the release:
“We’re delighted to bring the Red Sox back to their original home on WEEI. The Red Sox and WEEI have a long history together and it’s a partnership that’s a win for all – WEEI, the Sox and the Boston sports fans.”
It’s definitely a smart move for the station. Unfortunately it comes at a time when the Red Sox seem to be trying their hardest to give away even the wild card spot. What would be a saving grace for the Red Sox and WEEI would be if the team switched a number of games to the drive-time slot, thus covering up all that noise normally heard on the air at that point.
Hey, a guy can dream can’t he?
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