98.5 The Sports Hub has been one of the industry’s best success stories over the last quarter-century. Since launching in 2009, the Boston-based sports radio brand has built a reputation for its powerful FM presence, unique personalities and ratings success few markets have matched. For the entire length of the station’s legacy, Fred Toucher has been its morning voice, setting the day’s agenda with a variety of discussions ranging from sports to satire, with a layer of sarcasm mixed into the morning formula.
In a market built on passionate sports fans, Toucher is not a true native. Hailing from Detroit, Toucher didn’t grow up listening to the radio. Instead, his earliest media influences came from watching Howard Stern on television. He enjoyed content that went against the grain and challenged the norms of what the format presented. It’s in that spirit that Toucher has approached his work at The Sports Hub through a different lens: authenticity over the traditional norms of sports talk radio.
“I don’t know how you can be in radio and have any type of ego. I’ve never been treated well, gotten anything for free, or been friends with anyone famous. I don’t know how people can get arrogant in this job. It’s a job,” explained Toucher. “Anything that’s lasts in culture, there needs to be an authenticity to it. If you are authentic and not a terrible person, that will generate long-term success.”
Building A Beast In Boston
Success has been the foundation of Toucher’s time in mornings at The Sports Hub. According to the latest spring book, Toucher and Hardy finished with a 16.1 share in the key demo of men 25-54. That finished 10 full ratings points ahead of the direct competition at WEEI. The show’s ratings success is not an outlier. In fact, it’s become the standard for the market in recent years.
While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what continues to drive the listening audience to the program, Toucher leans on the authentic approach the show aims for. The hosts aren’t experts. You want film study? The program won’t act like they watch the All-22. Another element Toucher says aids in the ratings success is that it’s the lone program among the major dayparts that doesn’t have a television simulcast.
“We were simulcast for a bit but pulled ourselves off because of how it could have affected the ratings. I don’t think that was smart in hindsight, because we gave up a check we were making,” said Toucher. “But the benefit of it now is we are able to put ourselves on platforms that may be more advantageous for us. By making a non-wise financial decision, we stumbled into the right thing to do because of all the different ways people consume media.”
Because of sports radio’s popularity in the market, local media continues to cover the medium as a top priority. Stories about ratings battles, talent feuds, and personality profiles are still part of the daily zeitgeist. That coverage reflects the format’s success and legacy in Boston. Toucher credits that attention as one reason radio remains healthy in the market. In other markets, outlets have cut staff or shifted priorities because of budget constraints.
Toucher’s approach to content has never changed. It’s authentic in nature, and he doesn’t shy away from sharing himself with the audience.
“The advantage of being on for a long time is people feel they know you if you choose to share yourself with them. If you choose not to do that, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. That prevents that special relationship between you and the audience,” notes Toucher.
While Boston sports fans share a long, passionate history with their teams, Toucher refuses to play a character on the air or pretend to be something he isn’t. He says he doesn’t take talking points on every game and prefers his analysis to be more big-picture than focused on analytics and scheme. Instead, he leans on experts to join the program as guests rather than presenting himself as one.
“The way I think a lot of popular broadcasting is today is going to be short-lived. Everything is being done as a wrestling promo. There’s an air of drama and fakeness about it. That’s great right now, but that doesn’t last,” said Toucher. “I’m not an expert. I don’t break down the All-22. I share things in my life because people relate to that. What’s popular today is like hair metal. It won’t last.”
Navigating Personal, Industry Change
Nearly three years ago, after a long run of success as Boston’s top morning show, a change was made to the lineup. After taking a leave of absence to deal with career-threatening throat problems, Toucher signed an extension to remain with The Sports Hub for years to come. However, his 17-year relationship with Rich Shertenlieb on the Sports Hub came to a close when Shertenlieb departed the station.
A month after Shertenlieb’s departure, Rob “Hardy” Poole was named the new co-host of the longstanding morning program.
“I knew Hardy for a long time. He’s a real radio guy. Good on the air and has the same sensibilities that I do. I needed someone who was good at production, and I feel like I have a natural flow with him,” says Toucher. “It’s a more equal on-air relationship and not assigned roles.”
For the last three years, Toucher has credited the chemistry he and Hardy share on and off the air as the foundation for the show’s continued success.
“At this stage in my career, that’s extraordinarily important for me. It’s a quality-of-life issue. I want to go into the station and enjoy doing the show with the person I’m with. I didn’t realize how much that mattered,” explained Toucher. “It’s been a lot of fun in a job that I’ve been doing for a long time. It can get tedious at times, but it’s been a great gift to have this change. It reinvigorated me in a lot of ways.”
Over his nearly three decades in radio, Toucher has witnessed the industry change firsthand in many ways. The allure of appointment radio has given way to a growing on-demand culture, with podcasts continuing to chip away at the power radio once had. Despite his frequent criticisms of podcasts, Toucher doesn’t consider himself anti-podcast.
While he admits podcasting has capabilities that radio simply cannot provide, what draws his ire is the interview-style version of podcasting.
“It’s like everyone got a microphone and they’re just going to interview people. That’s boring and requires no creativity. You’re not playing with the format nor doing anything interesting,” said Toucher. “It seems like everything is doing the same f**king thing, and only five guys are truly good at it.”
The one element Toucher says radio must do a better job of explaining to advertisers is the intimacy radio provides that podcasts simply cannot.
“Netflix wants live programming more than anything else. To advertisers, having ears on something as it’s happening live at the same time is an incredibly valuable return on investment,” said Toucher. “You’re on the air 20 hours a week. That creates a connection that taped and edited content simply can’t replicate. People on the radio are the most trusted people who can advertise a product because of that intimacy they develop with the audience.”
That connection with the audience is a large reason why Toucher refuses to use artificial intelligence in any way for his program.
“The minute you start using AI in any way, you lose authenticity,” says Toucher. “The whole reason for radio is the humanity part of it. The good and bad. That all goes out the window with AI. I see no reason at all to use it in any way right now.”
A Better Tomorrow
For nearly three decades, Fred Toucher has watched radio evolve from appointment listening into a medium competing for attention across an increasingly crowded landscape. Yet the philosophy guiding him through that evolution remains remarkably simple. Be yourself, be human, and give the audience a reason to want to spend time with you.
As technology continues to reshape how broadcasters create, distribute and deliver content, Toucher believes broadcasters still have one valuable advantage. It is the one thing technology cannot replicate.
A real relationship. One fortified through success and struggle, and strengthened by coming out the other end with a newfound appreciation for the opportunity to continue engaging with the listening audience.
“Everything that’s happened since dealing with some personal issues has been much better. I had to change a lot of things about myself for that to happen. But if you’re willing to change things about yourself and make yourself a better person, then that’s going to manifest better things for you in your personal and professional life,” said Toucher.
The ratings in Boston suggest Toucher & Hardy’s approach continues to resonate. Their success isn’t built on pretending to know everything or following whatever trend happens to be popular. It’s built on two people showing up, being themselves, and inviting listeners into the conversation.
For Toucher, that’s what radio has always been about. And after nearly 30 years behind the microphone, he has little interest in changing the formula that made him successful in the first place.
In an industry constantly searching for what’s next, perhaps there’s something to be said for remembering what made radio matter in the first place.
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