Few sports radio brands are operating as well as Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub right now. Like a well-oiled machine, they continued their ratings dominance during the summer book, while their sports radio counterpart WEEI did not perform as well.
Despite COVID-19 erasing games for the first half of the summer book, which spanned June 18 to Sept. 9, The Sports Hub still finished no less than tied for first in all dayparts, according to Chad Finn of The Boston Globe. Overall, in their target demo of men 25-54, The Sports Hub topped the market with an 11.2 share, while WEEI was tied for eighth earning a 4.3. Both numbers include the stream, and both were less than half a point off their spring performance, but The Sports Hub was up by more almost four points year-over-year.
Beginning with morning drive (6a – 10a), The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich finished first with a 12.0, despite being without Fred Toucher for a good portion of the book. As sports returned to give the industry a boost in late July, Toucher took a leave of absence beginning July 22 to enter a treatment center for alcohol addiction. The longtime Boston morning radio personality rejoined his co-host Rich Shertenlieb Sept. 9, just in time for the start of the fall quarter.
WEEI’s strongest performing timeslot was in morning drive, as The Greg Hill Show finished fifth with a 6.5 share, a little more than half the number generated by Toucher and Rich. Both shows saw declines of more than half a point from the spring ratings period.
In middays (10a – 2p), Zolak & Bertrand also finished first for The Sports Hub with a dominant 13.7 ratings number, while WEEI’s Dale and Keefe garnered a 4.4 share, earning them a seventh-place finish. The Sports Hub again maintained their exceptional ratings in afternoon drive as Mike Felger and Tony Massarotti were first with a 16 share from 2p – 6p.
Despite dropping almost a full point from their spring performance Felger & Mazz continued to produce ratings numbers that are rarely reached in the sports radio industry. Felger & Mazz’s local sports radio competition, OMF (Ordway, Merloni and Fauria) finished the summer book in ninth place with a 3.7 for WEEI.
In evenings, 98.5 aired The Baseball Reporters hosted by Tony Massarotti in the 6pm hour beginning July 20 which did a 10.4 share. WEEI’s evening programming did a 3 share during that same hour.
From 7p – midnight, 98.5 features The Adam Jones Show which finished tied for first with an 8.1 share, up by more than a point and a half from the spring book. WEEI’s 7p – midnight programming mostly featured the Red Sox after Major League Baseball made its return in late July. The station saw an increase from the spring book, earning a 3.6 share for the summer.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
