Glenn Ordway out at WEEI

Boston.com

A seismic shakeup at sports radio station WEEI is apparently imminent, with longtime host Glenn Ordway being replaced on its afternoon drive program by Mike Salk, a Boston native who has co-hosted a program on 710 ESPN in Seattle since 2009. Multiple industry sources have said that Salk, a Buckingham Brown and Nichols graduate with previous Boston radio experience at 1510 and the now-defunct ESPN 890, has been heavily pursued by WEEI to replace Ordway, a staple on the Boston sports radio scene since the ’70s, and that he will accept the job.

So, Ordway finally got the ax after 18 years. DAMN. I can't believe it's that long. This is obviously a last ditch move by Jason Wolfe (program director at WEEI) to save his own ass. Sportshub has obviously been gaining traction over the last years, and after the last set of ratings came out, you could tell there was going to be some shakeups over there.

The Sports Hub finished first in the Arbitron ratings from the period of Sept. 13-Dec. 5, earning an 8.5 share. WEEI fell into a tie for seventh place with a 4.9 share among the men 25-54 demographic.
In morning drive (6 a.m.-10 a.m), The Sports Hub's "Toucher and Rich'' program was first with a 9.1. WEEI's Dennis and Callahan was sixth with a 5.7.
Midday (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), the Sports Hub's "Gresh and Zo" program was second (7.9), while WEEI's "Mut and Merloni" was fifth (5.9).
In afternoon drive (2 p.m.-6 p.m.), "Felger and Massarotti" was first (9.1) while WEEI's "Ordway and Holley'' show was fifth (5.2).
In evenings (6 p.m.-11 p.m.), "The D.A. Show'' was second (6.9), tying WXKS, which took first because of a higher cumulative audience. WEEI's "The Planet Mikey'' show -- as well as Celtics broadcasts, which air in that time slot -- were seventh (5.6). In the summer, The Sports Hub was second (6.8) and WEEI third (6.4) overall.

So yeah, SportsHub has really exploded and WEEI is DROPPING. The funny thing about all of this to me, is that the Big Show is the only show I still listen to over there. Now, granted, that is mostly because Felger is the most despicable piece of shit on the planet and has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. BUT, that is beside the point here.

The writing has been on the wall for a while for Ordway who took a paycut from $1 million to $500k salary in 2009. The biggest problem with WEEI, in my opinion, is those assclowns in the morning. However, as Chad Finn pointed out earlier in the week (I can't link because boston.com blows and wants me to pay money, like THATS going to fucking happen) D&C just signed a new contract when the simulcast deal with NESN went through, and they are pretty much unfireable right now, but could potentially be moved to a political station also owned by the parent company. I think THAT is WEEI's only move.

They need to get someone on there that has even a small chance of competing with T&R, which I don't see happening, because they are funny as fuck, but that's beside the point. WEEI is fucked, and they fucked themselves over by 1. Staying on AM too long, and 2. Having two of the biggest douchebags on air together from 6-10. People switch their radios to Sportshub in the morning, and just never turn 'em back. If I'm WEEI, I move Merloni to the afternoon, put Kirk Minihane in with Mutnansky (just because those shows are always hilarious with Minihane shitting on Mut) and then I don't know what you do with the morning. I know Portnoy from BarstoolSports (which I am a frequent reader of) has put his hat in the ring for potentially making his way onto the sports radio scene, but I just don't know if I see it. But, he does have the online persona of a morning radio guy, just not sure if he has that same persona on the radio.

Either way, they gotta make some changes, because I am in my mid 20's, and half of the people I know that listen to the SportsHub DON'T EVEN KNOW WEEI EXISTS. Not good, not good at all.

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