Advertisers are not the only group upset with the sports station. WEEI carries Boston Red Sox games through the 2023 season. And that gives the team every right to express their “frustration and disappointment” with Entercom, according to president and CEO Sam Kennedy. Kennedy told The Boston Herald “We have had a growing level of concern, and we’ve expressed that very clearly to their management, especially over the past year — and in the past week and in the past few days.”
Kennedy told The Herald his frustration didn’t just crop up over the past ten days. “We’ve shared our frustration and disappointment dating back to really last year. It seems like there’s been a pattern that’s sort of emerged in terms of a different culture throughout the station. There are always one-off controversies in talk radio and we get that; we’re talking about different highly charged subjects. Since last year we’ve expressed our displeasure and concern to Entercom’s corporate leadership down in Philadelphia. They’ve listened to us, we’ve had productive dialogue, but as you know, there have been a series of incidents that have sort of become a pattern. We’ll see what comes of it.”
The Red Sox CEO also said while he’s frustrated with what’s been going on at WEEI, he also understands the game. “In today’s world, media outlets have to cover all different aspects of the political and social landscape. That’s really changed, I think, at WEEI over the last year or two. We understand that there are differences of opinion, there are different political viewpoints, but there’s a line, and when that line gets crossed, it’s troubling to us. It’s disappointing to us. Each and every time that line has been crossed, in our opinion, we’ve expressed that to Entercom’s management.”
Kennedy notes that The Red Sox have zero editorial control or influence or input over the talk-radio hosts and the talent. “Our rights are limited to the play-by-play broadcasters.”
Entercom’s WEEI is in a constant fight for ratings with WBZ-FM The Sports Hub, which carries the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics. The Sports Hub is now owned by Beasley, following the CBS/Entercom merger.
