WEEI, losing sports radio war with 98.5 FM, fires Glenn Ordway
For well over a decade WEEI sports radio in Boston was the envy of AM and FM stations across the country. Host Glenn Ordway was king at the station as his “Big Show” garnered record ratings, including a stretch where ’EEI was the number one rated sports radio station in the U.S..
But because of upstart, in-town competitor 98.5 FM The Sports Hub (owned by CBS Corp.), which debuted in August of 2009, as well as satellite radio competition, WEEI began to see it’s record ratings rapidly decline. The Entercom-owned WEEI decided to “part ways” with Ordway on Wednesday.
“Glenn and I have been together since day one. He is an icon in this business and he helped build WEEI into arguably the most successful sports station in history,” said Jason Wolfe, VP of programming and operations for Entercom Boston in a press release. “I am so thankful to have been able to work alongside Glenn for the past 20-plus years and I hope that all Boston sports fans realize how important his contributions have been to this station, to the market and to this industry. He’s a true professional and that was clearer than ever in his comments today.”
Ordway announced WEEI’s decision himself, on-air Wednesday during “The Big Show” with co-host Michael Holley. Ordway will continue to broadcast the show through this Friday. Holley is expected to remain as a co-host in the afternoon drivetime slot and is likely to be joined by Boston native Mike Salk, who has co-hosted a sports radio program on 710 ESPN in Seattle and has considerable Boston sports radio experience. Boston.com’s Chad Finn reported Wednesday that Salk will replace Ordway.
“The Big Show” had actually beaten The Sports Hub’s “Felger and Massarotti” show in the ratings early last year but slipped during the summer and into last fall.
