Evolution is part of life. That can include both the growth of a person, and a business. In the case of WEEI, the legendary Boston sports radio station has been on a different path and trajectory under the direction of long-time radio executive Mike Thomas.
Last week, Thomas celebrated his two-year anniversary as Market Manager of Audacy Boston and the changes — both inside the walls of the WEEI and what the radio station’s listeners are hearing — have altered dramatically.
“Internally, we’re all working together now and we all support each other and it’s to everybody’s benefit,” said Thomas. “The culture is much different inside the building and much more positive and supportive.”
While Thomas has worked hard to improve the culture inside WEEI, that has translated to what is going out over the airwaves.
From the listener’s standpoint, the radio station sounds completely different than it did under the previous regime.
“There used to be a time when you listened to EEI and it was somewhat hard to listen to because it just was constant fighting,” said Thomas. “Now, you can listen to it and you can agree or disagree and you don’t feel worn out after you listen.”
One of the great topics of discussion on a sports radio station is the great rivalries in sports, but those rivalries can also extend to those markets that have multiple sports radio stations. In the case of Boston, there is WEEI and 98.5 The Sports Hub, and for Thomas, the rivalry is personal.
Thomas helped launch The Sports Hub and brought it to great heights. And now, he’s charged with the continued growth of WEEI and ultimately competing with 98.5 The Sports Hub for listeners in the market.
“I feel like I’ve been through this before,” said Thomas. “Back in the CBS days when we signed on The Sports Hub, nobody thought that we were ever going to be successful and that we could never beat EEI. I feel like there’s some similarities there that we’re the underdog and we have room to grow and I feel like we’re starting to make some progress.”
For Thomas, the goal is for his new home at WEEI to be competitive and continue to attract new listeners while also not losing sight of what his former home has accomplished in the market.
From his perspective, both radio stations can be successful just like in other markets that have multiple sports radio stations.
“I have a big place in my heart for The Sports Hub and what that meant to my career,” said Thomas. “I’m not disillusioned that we’re going to beat The Sports Hub but I think that EEI can be competitive and there’s a lot of markets with two or three sports stations and Boston is certainly one of those markets where you can have two very successful sports stations. That’s our goal. We want to be in the race and I think that we’re getting there.”
Thomas brings a unique skill set to his role as Market Manager at Audacy Boston because much of his career has been on the programming side. In transitioning from being Vice President of Sports Programming for CBS Radio to being the Brand Manager at The Sports Hub to where he was before WEEI as Market Manager for Good Karma Brands in Chicago, Thomas is all about bringing people together and having the entire staff on the same page.
And there are pages involved in the job that Thomas never dreamed he would have to worry about.
“My life involves a lot more spreadsheets,” chuckled Thomas. “I never expected that. I didn’t get into radio to do math. It used to be programming and sales never saw eye-to-eye. It just was a constant kind of battle between both sides of the building and now I think we all realize that in order to be successful, we all have to work together and help each other.”
Thomas has looked on as the entire sports radio industry has evolved over the years. There was a time when a host or hosts would take phone calls and have a civil conversation about what was going on in the world of sports. Today, there seems to be an increase in the passion level of both the callers and the hosts and sometimes that can lead to some testy moments.
But that is not something that happens all of the time leading to a misconception of what sports radio has become, especially in the Boston area.
“The overall perception of sports radio, in my opinion, everywhere is that it’s all just so negative and it’s a cesspool of people that are just pissed off,” said Thomas. “I think that there’s that element to it and that’s what sports radio and just being a fan is about. We all yell at our radios or yell at our TVs during games because we’re passionate and that’s what makes the format is that passion. I think sports radio, like all of us in life, we’ve all kind of evolved and I don’t think you have to go on the radio and scream to get your point across. Sports radio has kind of changed in that way too.”
For Thomas, the radio industry has been his blood, and that includes working for and learning from his brother Bruce Gilbert, a long-time radio executive and currently the Senior Vice President of Sports Content and Audience for Cumulus. During the late 80s, Gilbert was working mornings at a radio station and hired his brother to do the overnights giving Thomas his first full-time radio job.
Thomas has received a lot of quality advice from his brother going all the back to their younger days.
One piece of advice came when they were younger.
“Get out of my room!” said Thomas when asked what his brother has taught him.
And when the laughter stopped, Thomas was serious about what his brother has meant to him.
“Bruce has been an incredible influence on my radio career,” said Thomas. “He’s helped me all along the way and Bruce has always been a great sounding board. But also he’s like ‘Man, you just have to be yourself and trust your gut’. And that’s probably the best radio career advice that he’s ever given me because he’s right.”
Mike Thomas has used all of that advice to become a huge success in the radio industry. And now as he begins his third year as Market Manager for Audacy Boston, his goals are to continue to help WEEI evolve and become a success in the market while it goes head-to-head with his old station The Sports Hub.
“I just want us to continue on the path that we’re on which is internally this is now a fun place to work which is so important in my opinion and the culture is so important,” said Thomas. “Externally, I want to continue on the road of ‘Hey have you listened to WEEI lately?’ If you consume the station now compared to pre-COVID and before, it’s a different product and I think people would enjoy it.”
And so far, with Thomas at the helm for the last two years, more and more people have been listening to what WEEI has to offer.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
