Since launching in August 2009, Beasley Media Group’s 98.5 The Sports Hub has been a defining legacy brand in one of the most passionate sports markets in the country. The radio station has celebrated numerous championships across all four major sports. Quickly elevating to a ratings juggernaut in the industry. Throughout the station’s longevity, Mike Felger and Tony Massarotti have held down afternoon drive, setting their own standard of excellence.
“The last time we didn’t finish first was in the spring of 2011,” stated Felger about the streak of 19 consecutive quarters in which Felger & Mazz have beaten their crosstown competition.
Prior to his time at The Sports Hub, Mike Felger covered Boston sports as a beat reporter for the Boston Bruins before becoming a columnist for the Boston Herald. Considered a scrappy tabloid compared to its competition at the Boston Globe. The time spent in locker rooms, challenging franchises, and understanding the inner workings of organizations helped Felger navigate his role at The Sports Hub.
Sixteen years later, Felger considers the success a combination of luck and a testament to the strength the station delivers overall in meeting the demands of its audience.
“I would say that most of the shows on our station have a similar track record [of ratings success],” explained Felger. “It’s a statement by the station and everyone on it. The city, and their appetite for sports talk in Boston.”
Consistency Is the Key
While there have been many critics within the industry regarding how measurement is tallied with Nielsen, Felger understands the challenges. After historic numbers in previous years, Felger & Mazz have seen declines in rating share despite still being well ahead of their head-to-head competition.
“Even though we’re still number one, the numbers have been down recently from our peak, which we don’t like. We’re still number one, the streak continues, but I’m always conscious of it,” explained Felger. “I’m constantly thinking of radio in general, and the place of terrestrial FM radio. Bigger-picture stuff, even beyond our content and approach.”
Felger says there is constant evaluation regarding how the program is performing. Everything from which stories and topics are discussed to how the program approaches connecting with the audience online. However, he admitted that he considers himself “incredibly lucky and grateful” for the long-standing success of the program, even with the challenges of the industry itself being ever-present.
“When you really boil it down, there are so few people who have a [PPM] meter. If one goes on vacation, or one is off for a week, it can throw it off. That’s kind of scary,” admitted Felger. “The thing we’re most proud of is that it has been 14 years. That sort of shows you that it’s not a fluke. That is something we’re very proud of, and we’re very proud of the continuity on the show.”
Benefits of a Reporting Background
Felger & Mazz have been together on The Sports Hub for over 16 years, with a production staff that has been consistent as well. He noted that not many programs stay together as long as they have. Jimmy Stewart, the show’s executive producer, has been with the program for 14 years. Marc Bertrand was the original update chair on the program before being elevated to a full-time host in 2015. Since then, Jim Murray has filled the role.
The consistency on the program mirrors the consistency in the delivery of its content. Felger insists the show is rooted in sports first. Utilizing the background both he and Massarotti acquired during their years working the beat for the Boston Herald.
“I find there’s real value in having two guys who have been in locker rooms, been on the beat, butted heads with teams, and covered teams. We’ve been around the block, and we can very easily discern when a team is full of s**t,” explained Felger. “There are a lot of modern kids who are bloggers, streamers, or podcasters who don’t really get it the way someone would who covered teams on a daily basis.”
Felger noted that his experience at the Boston Herald has translated directly to his experience hosting afternoon drive on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
“We had to be edgier and tougher [at the Boston Herald]. Sure, more sensational. We took that approach still because it’s in the DNA of the show,” explained Felger. “Yes, we talk s**t and we’re hot-take artists. But it comes from a base of covering these teams. Having a better idea of how the sausage is made than a kid who does it from his living room.”
A self-admitted “sports dork” who grew up reading the sports pages of his local papers, Felger is an adamant critic of how the practice of beat reporting is today compared to when he covered Boston teams.
“I think that beat reporting has gotten softer than it was in my day,” explained Felger. “The beat reporters now, to me, feel like their first inclination is to protect the team. I just know this because our approach on the radio is to be critical. That’s our default. That’s where we start on the show. But now, writers start from a place of protecting the team against people like us. Back in the day, that used to be different.”
Felger admitted his feelings don’t apply to all beat writers and not necessarily always. However, he remains passionate about the honor of the practice and the role it plays in telling the stories of athletes and franchises.
Effects of TV and Social Media
With the success of Felger & Mazz on radio, the duo began a simulcast of their program on NBC Sports Boston in 2010. As part of a partnership with the network, Felger believes the simulcast helps the branding of the show, allowing it to be available on television and reach a new audience. However, he also understands how it could affect their radio ratings in the market.
“We wonder about it. On a macro level, it cannot help,” said Felger. “Anyone who might be listening to us in the car and gets home and turns on the TV, or anyone who could be listening on the radio but has access to the TV, is watching on TV instead of listening on the radio. That takes away radio listeners. In the short-term macro, it does not help.”
With the professional television presentation that NBC Sports Boston provides for Felger & Mazz, the exact opposite could be said about Felger’s Off Air Show, which streams on social platforms. Following every show, Felger is joined in a production studio to discuss either similar topics or more “grab-ass stuff,” as he termed it.
Felger is not a participant on social media on any platform, but the Off Air Show serves as a platform that fulfills a requirement in his contract with 98.5 The Sports Hub.
“I have a social media requirement in my contract. We all do. I am not on social media. I can’t do it, nor stand it,” admitted Felger. “They want us to have a social media presence. While some of the other guys do Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, I do that. So that’s my contribution to the internet world.”
While for some it may seem like checking a box, Felger enjoys the opportunity to riff on the most random things in the setting of the Off Air Show. While many of his contemporaries insert that type of content into their daily programming, Felger admits the focus must remain on sports for his program.
No Time for Reflection
Winning is everything in Boston. Sports fans around Beantown have enjoyed a run of titles since the inception of Felger & Mazz: three Super Bowls, two World Series titles, an NBA Championship, and a Stanley Cup Championship. In most markets, it would take a century or more to experience the amount of winning the Boston market has seen in the last sixteen years.
Felger believes that because of the lack of recent sports success, the market has somewhat forgotten that winning feeling. He admitted that the streak of glory the city experienced was a once-in-a-lifetime stretch that may never be duplicated.
“The winning around here lasted so long. It wasn’t just the [New England] Patriots,” noted Felger. “I think we just took for granted that it’s not always that way.”
Despite a growing legacy in the medium, Felger admitted he’s not stopping anytime soon. Instead of taking a step back to enjoy and reflect on the program’s standing in the industry, he says no one on the program is close to hanging their jersey in the rafters.
“It’s still the best four hours of my day,” noted Felger. “I really do enjoy the process of it, and I’m incredibly lucky. I grew up as just a sports dork. As a kid, I just wanted to be a sportswriter. To be able to do what I do, I just consider myself lucky. And no, we’re not ready to stop anytime soon. I’m more worried about the industry stopping before I stop—that is really the concern.”
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
