98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston host Mike Felger said on Facebook Live earlier this week in reference to his station’s crosstown rival, WEEI and their parent company Audacy, he is “rooting for them big time.” The conversation was with former WEEI employee Mark Dondero, who had only recently moved over to The Sports Hub.
The “Off Air Show with Felger” airs on Facebook and on this occasion, Felger used the opportunity to get to know his new teammate a bit better. When the topic of his former employer came up, Felger asked, “So what’s the word over there? Are they going to make it…I hate the bankprutcy [stuff]. I hope they make it. I’m rooting for them big time.”
“You should be able to have two stations in Boston,” Dondero said. “It’s ridiculous with the amount of passion that’s in the area for the teams. I don’t see them going down. I hope they’re fine but I don’t know. They didn’t talk to me all that much with certain things, so I don’t know.”
Felger drew the comparison to Coke and Pepsi. “I am sure Coke wants to beat Pepsi, but if Pepsi went out of business and that meant that fewer people were drinking cola…you want the space to be healthy…you want the product itself, whether it’s your brand or not to be widely consumed and healthy,” Felger said. “And I would be worried that if EEI didn’t make it, it’s like sports talk was declining, not an EEI thing, it’s a sports talk thing. So I…hope they make it. They should be able to.”
Later, Dondero asked, “So you just want them to exist, but you just continue to dominate?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely,” said Felger. “We would want sports talk to be a really healthy space, a really healthy business in general, and then through competition, we win. That’s what I would want…Part of it is selfish. If my contract’s ever up, like it’s been in the past and the other station bids for you, like that’s healthy for people who work at the stations, but that’s obvious,” he added. “But beyond that, I think it’s healthy just that sports talk be vibrant, and important and widely consumed.”
Audacy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early January and last week a US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved a plan for Audacy to reemerge from its bankruptcy proceedings. Under the plan, Audacy will equitize more than $1.5 billion of funded debt, which reduces its debt load by 80%, down from $1.9 billion to $350 million.
In the latest ratings ratings report, Felger & Mazz earned the best number among local sports radio programs in the market. Mike and Tony garnered a 20.1 share for the quarter, up from a 17.2 share in the summer.
In weekday prime hours (6a-7p), 98.5 The Sports Hub gained a 16.3 share, which placed the Beasley Media Group-owned outlet first in the market. WEEI dropped by three shares from the summer to fall book, finishing with a 4.4 share in the prime frame. That placed them seventh place for the quarter.
