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The Sports Hub Tops Boston Ratings Across the Board

“The evening timeslot was the lone weekday window that didn’t see The Sports Hub finish first overall.”

Brandon Contes

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It was a clean sweep for 98.5 The Sports Hub in the Boston sports radio ratings battle. According to Nielsen Audio, The Sports Hub finished first overall with an 11.9 share during the winter ratings book, while their sports radio rival WEEI finished fourth, earning a 6.4 among the targeted demo of men 25-54.

The Sports Hub already includes their stream in the number reported by Nielsen, while WEEI’s digital audience is calculated separately. But according to Chad Finn of The Globe, WEEI’s stream did not register a share during the winter ratings period, while their Providence-based simulcast on WVEI adds a 0.2 in the Boston market.

Beginning with morning drive, The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich finished first overall in the book with a 14.6, comfortably topping WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show. Still less than a year into his tenure hosting morning drive for WEEI, the longtime Boston radio personality finished second overall with a 9.2.

In middays, Zolak & Bertrand finished first with a 14.2, while WEEI’s Dale and Keefe finished fourth, garnering a 7.2 when including the stream and WVEI number. In afternoon drive, the Sports Hub maintained their dominance as Felger & Massarotti also finished first with a 14.6. Their Boston sports radio counterpart, OMF (Ordway, Merloni and Fauria) finished fourth for WEEI with a 5.8.  

The evening timeslot was the lone weekday window that didn’t see The Sports Hub finish first overall. The Adam Jones Show, which airs from 6 – 11pm and includes Bruins and Celtics broadcasts, finished second with an 8.1. On WEEI, Mut at Night with Mike Mutnansky earned a 4.9 share, finishing fifth.

The winter ratings period extends from Jan. 2 through March 25, meaning most of the book took place before the COVID-19 pandemic forced live sports to shutdown March 11. Ratings during the spring book will likely decline as sports are paused and non-essential workers aren’t commuting during the morning and evening rush hours.

Sports may have stopped on March 11, but less than a week later, six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady announced he was parting ways with the Patriots after more than two decades in New England. Shortly after, news broke that Brady was heading to Tampa Bay. Brady likely kept listeners locked in to Boston sports radio even though league shutdowns were underway.

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KNBR’s Brian Murphy Speaks for First Time After Paul McCaffrey Laid Off

“Paulie Mac is my guy, will forever be my guy. The best thing I could ever wish anyone is that you get to work with someone as loyal, energetic, funny, consistent as the guy his Jersey buddies call ‘Smack’.”

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A photo of Paul McCaffrey and Brian Murphy
(Photo: KNBR)

Earlier this week, KNBR underwent a round of layoffs, affecting a pair of programs on the Bay Area sports station, including the departure of longtime morning host Paul McCaffrey. His longtime partner — Brian Murphy — has taken to X to share his thoughts.

In a thread to X, Murphy shared his admiration for McCaffrey, whom he hosted Murph and Mac with for 18 years.

“Paulie Mac is my guy, will forever be my guy. The best thing I could ever wish anyone is that you get to work with someone as loyal, energetic, funny, consistent as the guy his Jersey buddies call ‘Smack’,” wrote Murphy. “So much love.”

He then shared that everything listeners and fans of the program have shared on social media has been read by the duo, and thanked them for the outpouring of love and support.

Finally, Murphy addressed his future. Fill-in host Dieter Kurtenbach shared on Thursday he did not have a definitive answer about Murphy’s future with the Cumulus-owned station.

However, Brian Murphy has shared he will return to the airwaves on Monday morning.

“I’ll be back Monday morning on KNBR with our guy Markus (Waterboy) Boucher,” Murphy wrote. “Come on. It’s Niners-Eagles. Wouldn’t miss it. As Paulie Mac’s board itself would say: The show goes on.”

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Mike Mulligan: Sports Radio is More Difficult Than Other Formats Think

He shared that he has worked with people on morning shows that he has seen come to a station fully hungover who play music and proceed to sit on the couch.

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Mike Mulligan
Courtesy: Illinois Entertainer

On Friday morning’s edition of Mully & Haugh on 670 The Score in Chicago, co-host Mike Mulligan outlined the difference with music radio that hosts are not continuously talking to the audience, instead taking mic breaks and then interspersing commentary with different songs.

Filling in for David Haugh on Friday’s edition of the program was Gabe Ramirez, who used to work in the format with B96 as the host of its morning show. Mulligan’s assertion about the differences between the two formats resulted in a conversation about the differences between the grenres, with Ramirez explaining the difficulties that music radio hosts face on the air.

“The music station’s still creating content,” Ramirez said. “You get to have a guest – since I am going to defend my music stations – you get to have a guest and toss them a softball question and listen to them rant for five minutes.”

Mulligan disagreed with this perspective, conveying that he does not feel their program provides guests with easy questions. Additionally, he shared that he has worked with people on morning shows that he has seen come to a station fully hungover who play music and proceed to sit on the couch.

“As a former sportswriter, we sit around and we talk about sports,” Mulligan said. “We talk about the sports we cover and we talk about other sports.”

“You have to talk about Justin Fields seven days in a row,” Ramirez replied. “As a morning show for music, you have to come up with new content every day.”

Rather than taking umbrage towards the response, Mike Mulligan explained that the key to effectively performing his job is being able to discuss important stories of the day even when they are not the headlines. Furthermore, he expounded on the commitment that it takes to watch the amount of sporting events and to be properly informed on the action so he is able to take the air.

“That I will agree with,” Ramirez said. “I’ve told people this – they ask me, ‘What’s the biggest difference?’ The prep, without question, is way more difficult in sports radio because everyone that’s listening to you already knows the answers and you have to be equally if not more informed in all of those things.”

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Minnesota Twins Set to Tab Cory Provus as New TV Voice, Kris Atteberry as Lead Radio Announcer

Provus has been the radio voice of the Minnesota Twins since 2012.

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Minnesota Twins

After Dick Bremer exited the Minnesota Twins TV booth in October, the search began for his replacement. The MLB franchise didn’t have to look far, though.

Twins radio voice Cory Provus is reportedly set to become the new TV play-by-play broadcaster for the club, according to a report from Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

Provus has been the radio voice of the Minnesota Twins since 2012. Many immediately tabbed him as the club’s replacement for Bremer, who retired after 40 seasons as the lead television voice of the American League club. Before joining the team in 2012, Provus worked for the Milwaukee Brewers as the number two broadcaster after spending two seasons as the radio pregame host for the Chicago Cubs.

Meanwhile, Kris Atteberry has been signaled as the person set to replace Provus inside the franchise’s radio booth. He has served as the pregame and postgame host for the Minnesota Twins Radio Network since 2007. Atteberry joined the club after spending five years calling games for the then-Independent St. Paul Saints from 2002-2006.

While the television and radio broadcast crews appear set, questions remain about where the team will televise its games in 2024. The club’s contract with Bally Sports North has reportedly expired, and it has yet to sign an agreement with the bankruptcy-laden RSN, or with a local over-the-air television station.

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