The sports radio battle in Boston took a turn this week when Audacy’s WEEI made significant changes in its weekday lineup to find a way to get back in the race against Beasley Media Group’s 98.5 The Sports Hub. While The Greg Hill Show stayed as is in mornings, WEEI’s other two daytime shows have been completely revamped. Afternoon host Adam Jones is moving to middays with Rich Keefe and the new afternoon show will feature Andy Hart and Christian Arcand. Megan Ottolini, who had been with Jones in afternoons will stay with the station in a new role while Andy Gresh and Christian Fauria, who had been in middays, are out. During the Off Air Show Mike Felger does on Facebook live, he and Jim Murray talked about their competitor, or at least tried to.
The two did a few minutes on the topic, however, there was no audio coming through. By the time Felger realized there was no sound, they had just finished saying what they wanted to say about WEEI and the hosts whose lives had been disrupted with the changes.
As the audio came in you heard Felger replying to a comment seemingly about people who hope their competitors lose their jobs.
“You really go after someone’s job, their livelihood?” Felger asked. “They got families and f*** off. I hate that.”
It was at this point Felger went to look at the comments section to see if anyone had a specific question for him to answer on the topic and he realized most of what he had just said had not been heard. Reluctantly, he tried to recap what he had said.
“I feel bad,” he continued. “I feel horrible that anyone has lost jobs. I feel bad for Christian [Fauria] and [Andy] Gresh. They’ve been doing this a long time in this town. They both have been here a long, long time doing this thing, doing the thing that we do. And so, I don’t celebrate anyone losing a job.
“Never mind those guys. Never mind anyone. I think it sucks. And I feel bad for them and their families and all of that. And I wish Andy [Hart] and Christian [Arcand] luck and Jones and Keefe in the middays, that’s interesting. I’m still listening to [Zolak & Bertrand], but those two worked at night. That feels like an interesting pairing. I hope they make it.”
As Felger continued, he reiterated a stance he takes often, which is that what is good for radio is good for 98.5 The Sports Hub. “I hope everyone makes it,” he said. “I hope we’re number one and that we smoke it. But I hope that they make it, too, and that…they’re a viable, profitable radio station and that they have success and that there is successful sports radio in Boston. That’s what I’m rooting for. I’m definitely not rooting for someone to lose their job. it’s not my dog in the fight. But you know what I mean? I take no joy in it. I think it’s horrible and a s*** industry.”
