Boston Radio: Sports Radio Rules

WEEI’s “Kirk & Callahan’’ won morning drive, 98.5 the Sports Hub’s “Felger & Massarotti’’ program was tops in afternoon drive, and Boston’s two prominent sports radio stations once again dominated the Nielsen Audio ratings in the fall, according to a story in Thursday's Boston Globe.

In the men 25-54 demographic overall, the Sports Hub earned an 11.3 share and WEEI a 9.2 to finish 1-2 in the fall period from Sept. 14 to Dec. 6.

But, in the effort to tell the complete story, there are other variables to be considered. The Sports Hub gains an additional 1.0 share from its online stream. WEEI’s online stream is already included in the single number. But WEEI picks up a 0.7 share from its WVEI-Providence listeners that are within the Boston market.

(An explanation of the stations’ different streaming measures is, as usual, explained at the bottom of this segment.)

Some of the Sports Hub’s overall advantage comes on the weekends, when it airs Patriots game broadcasts as the team’s flagship station. WEEI found significant success during some of its individual weekday programs.

WEEI earned victory in the mornings with “Kirk & Callahan’’ finishing first (13.0), one spot ahead of the Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich’’ (12.2, plus 0.3 for its online stream).

Thank you for once again making Toucher & Rich on The Sports Hub #1 in Boston for December 2017!

#1 Men 25-54
#1 Men 18-49 (Sports Hub Mornings beat competition by 32%)
#1 Men 18-34(Sports Hub Mornings beat compet by 143%)
#1 Persons 25-54(Sports Hub Mornings beat compet by 10%) pic.twitter.com/otlJrvlclb

— Toucher and Rich (@Toucherandrich) December 28, 2017

(Note: The Tweet covers the month of December only, this article quotes a 3-month rolling average)

It marks the third straight three-month period in which “Kirk & Callahan’’ topped “Toucher & Rich’’ in the 6-10 a.m. time period.

In middays (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), this one will be a matter of semantics and debate among the stations. In factoring in all of the variables, WEEI’s “OMF’’ took first, the culmination of enormous progress over the last year.

“OMF’’ finished first in the fall with a 10.3 share, edging the Sports Hub’s second-place “Zolak & Bertrand’’ program (9.8) without the latter’s stream included. With that 0.9 streaming share included, “Zolak & Bertrand’’ would move from second to first. But “OMF’’ – featuring Glenn Ordway, Lou Merloni, and Christian Fauria — claims the top spot even with the “Zolak & Bertrand’’ stream included when its own WVEI share (0.8) is included.

The Globe states it’s a remarkable turnaround from a year ago, when “Zolak & Bertrand’’ had a 10.2 and “OMF’’ a 7.9. The Sports Hub, the radio home of the Patriots, typically has been tough to overcome in the fall in part because of co-host Scott Zolak’s popularity as the team’s color analyst.

In afternoon drive (2-6 p.m.), the Sports Hub’s “Felger & Massarotti’’ was the highest-rated show, finishing first with a 14.6 share, 16.3 with streaming added.

WEEI’s “Dale & Holley’’ program, which includes Rich Keefe, was second (10.4, 11.3 with WVEI’s 0.9 included).

For the record: @DaleHolleyWEEI finished 2nd among 33 radio stations in PM drive (10.4 rating), and had an 18% improvement over Fall 2016. Congratulations to everyone at the station on a great ratings book. pic.twitter.com/lCssoj0Gg5

— Dale Arnold (@DaleEArnold) December 27, 2017

Now for the usual note about streaming: The Sports Hub and WEEI have different methods for measuring streaming, both valid, but the cause of some controversy.

WEEI uses Total Line Reporting, which includes the stream in its Nielsen Audio ratings since it is a direct simulcast of the radio.

The Sports Hub does not use Total Line Reporting and has a separate online stream, which generates a separate share. That is expected to change now that its sale to Beasley Media has been completed.

Here is a further explanation of what it means — including insight from Nielsen — and why the stations have different interpretations of whether the Sports Hub’s streaming number should be added.