Posted on 04/23/2006 8:12:07 PM PDT by raccoonradio
"Radio bases loaded : Sox to change channels
"Red Sox, Entercom, and Greater Media are all about to end playing hardball any minute now. While Sox and Greater Media managements remains mum, some of their personnel are now openly bragging around town that the Sox broadcasts will move from WEEI AM 850 after 12 years. The shortly-to-be-announced "done deal" has the Sox purchasing a majority interest in WBOS 92.9FM with Greater Media retaining a remaining share of the station. A Sox source tells BRW that the deal may be announced as soon as Monday(4/24)."
Oh, I've been saying the same thing on radio boards: Look
for Greater Media to team up with the Sox and their neighbors, the Globe. Due to an FCC rule, daily newspapers (except
those with waivers) cannot own radio stations. But when you sell the station to a baseball team, 17 per cent of which is owned by the parent company (New York Crimes) of said newspaper...
>>This deal with Greater Media seems to serve the dual purposes of Lucchino's control and some measure of revenge by the Globe.
From Boston Radio Watch: "John Molori's "Media Blitz" has ESPN Radio 890/1400 feeling the pressure from within and talk of tense working environment inside the upstart sports talker. Plus, Eddie Andelman predicting the future - one of the main reasons why he took the "New Sports Huddle" to WTKK 96.9FM this year was because Sox radio rights were likely headed to Greater Media. [Ed. Note : Ironically, one of the reasons why the Sox(the Yawkey regime) and Campbell Sports Network pulled WHDH's affiliation after the 1985 season was because Andelman wouldn't halt his criticism of the team on his nightly show. The other reason was money, of course. The Sox and Campbell made an affiliation deal with WRKO after dropping WHDH]
This is good info. I wasn't aware of the extent of Andleman's involvement. I listened to Eddie in my youth, but over his last few years with WEEI he had become an insufferable bore. He couldn't work with anyone, even Dale Arnold (one of the nicest people in the business by all accounts). This just reinforces my opinion that this is a decision based on control and personalities and not sound business. There is no way in hell that such super-sized egos like Shaughnessy,Andleman, and Lucchino can make this work. There's nothing to do here but sit back and watch for the inevitable implosion.
Yes. After WWZN (The Zone 1510) cut back their local hosts (including E.A.) due to money woes, Eddie later went to 96.9 FM Talk and got them to hire him to do a revival of the Sports Huddle. Even then there was speculation GM might get the Sox, and he'd be in place for when that happened.
He's made fun of on the Whiner Line (WEEI) esp. for his tendency to clear his throat over the air. I will say that it's nice he continues to do the Hot Dog Safari for
charity, but yes, I had also heard he rubbed many co-workers the wrong way. (Maybe he just wants to get back at
WEEI's Glen Ordway for taking his afternoon slot away!)
Eddie was a legendary sports talker in his day, but not only do talk hosts sometimes lose a little off the old fastball,
but times change...Implosion? could be! If they do go to sports talk I wonder if they'll hire Ted Sarandis, who can be knowledgeable but came across at times as arrogant--
Ted SirRudeness, he was called.
Greater Media will probably look at how WBCN has handled the Patriots and just stay the course with their existing format. I think a sport talk format would be disastrous for them. WEEI is really sports venting vs. sports talk, and that seems to be what the local fans want. Sporting News, ESPN and others have tried to "raise the bar" and failed miserably. You're somewhat on the mark with Sarandis. He can be abrupt, bordering on rude. However, he has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of sports and he doesn't suffer fools. The knock on Andleman of late is just the opposite. He comes across as lazy and slipshod in his research. He's either coasting or losing his fastball. He definitely has made many enemies in the industry. To see him gloating about being associated with Red Sox again, especially after driving them away from EEI so many years ago, is obnoxious. It does, however, give you an idea of why many people don't like him.
maybe baseball would be a good fit with "classic hits". Greater Media could move their WROR "songs you grew up with" format to 92.9..
Right now Greater Media in Boston is:
WBOS 92.9 "adult album"
WTKK 96.9 talk (Imus, Barnicle, Graham, Severin, Ingraham etc)
WKLB 99.5 country
WROR 105.7 classic hits
WMJX 106.7 soft rock/adult contemporary
and they mean to buy
WCRB 102.5 classical
which would necessitate them selling one -- or "one half"?--
of their stations due to FCC rules
WHAT is up with our Red Sox lately, BTW? I'm almost dreading Monday night's game with the Yankees (and Johnny DEMON) visiting Fenway... :-(
Still not a done deal...YET. No announcement from Sox, or
WBOS. Entercom/WEEI is still trying to retain the rights.
http://fybush.com/nerw.html
There would still be a Red Sox radio network including WTIC--which, frankly, is a more powerful flagship than
WEEI at night (due to a lack of other stations their
signal has to "protect"...WEEI has to change pattern of their signal to protect other stations in Denver, Cleveland,
Penn., etc.) I've picked up WTIC while visiting a friend in Ohio.
It's also possible that even if WEEI loses the Red Sox
rights, the powerful WEEI-_FM_ 103.7 Westerly, RI
might still have them next year. Who knows.
Yes, not into the Waste of Boston at all. I wonder now that the Celts season is over, will they put Savage back at 7 pm?
I heard supposedly 'RKO held a kind of focus group with listeners and many wanted him back at 7 pm.
If you're in Beverly MA you can pick up Batchelor on a fairly weak signal (at least at night), WNSH 1570...in the wee wee hours. Or try WABC.
They tried to have the Celts move their games from 7 to 7:30
so that the pregame would not pre-empt Howie. It still happened (esp. in cities where 7 pm starts couldn't be moved).
On Martin Luther King Day, most of Howie's show was pre-empted by the C's, though you could try him on
stations in Fitchburg, Hyannis, Concord NH, and Holyoke.
If WEEI loses the Sox, they could move the Celts there and 'RKO would be fine. Problem is, WEEI would probably get higher ratings with local sports talk instead of the C's
so they might just keep them on 'RKO.
Ironically enough on a radio discussion group I'm on,
someone mentioned Clemens' big 20 strikeout game in '86
and said you had to hear it on _FM_. Reason? WRKO had
Sox AND Celts and _Celts were more important back then_
so the lowly Sox (who'da thunk they'd be one strike
away from winning it all later that year?) were bumped
to FM (probably WROR 98.5 or maybe WPLM)?
Yes, it should. I was in Akron, OH and Pitt. PA the past week or so. Due to atmospheric conditins, WTIC wasn't really coming in well, but WTIC was coming in when I was in Pittsburgh the other night. (Also ESPN Radio had a show talking about baseball and the host, I presume, was Duke Castiglione, son of Joe. He mentioned how his Dad does play-by-play for the Sox...)
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