Red Sox
After two straight 78-win seasons, the Red Sox found their way back to .500 in 2024 with an 81-81 record.
Their live broadcast ratings on NESN, however, saw a slight downturn from the previous two seasons, perhaps another sign that a mediocre ball club isn’t cutting it anymore even with diehard fans.
The Red Sox averaged a 2.47 local rating on NESN this season, down 6 percent from a 2.64 in 2023.
The Red Sox had a 2.65 rating on NESN in 2022, and a 4.18 in ‘21, which happens to be the last time they made the postseason.
Ratings rose to their highest points this season during June and July, peaking just before the start of the Paris Olympics on July 26, which siphons massive numbers of viewers away from every other form of television programming.
Still, over the sixth-month season, Red Sox broadcasts outperformed all prime-time television programming in the Boston market.
Ratings fell off in September — the Red Sox went 11-15 in the month and were eliminated from playoff contention Sept. 25 — which repeated a viewership dive in the final month of the 2023 season.
Sports Business Journal noted this past week that the five teams to gain the most viewership on their respective regional sports networks all made the playoffs: Royals (up 32 percent), Phillies (up 25 percent), Dodgers (up 11 percent), Guardians (up 11 percent), and Orioles (9 percent).
It seems fair to conclude that an offseason investment by the Red Sox in high-end talent to complement the assortment of young players already in Boston or on their way would be an instant boost to NESN’s ratings.
Hopefully, the Red Sox are interested in finding out for sure.
Restrictions on Brady
Six games into his $375 million contract to be the No. 1 analyst on Fox’s NFL broadcasts, Tom Brady is much improved.
Dare I say he’s good? I dare say he is.
He’s much more relaxed and self-deprecating than he was in his Week 1 Browns-Cowboys debut, and yet willing to show his disgust with certain plays and developments.
(Kevin Burkhardt, the No. 1 play-by-play voice, deserves a heap of credit for building a quick connection with Brady.)
Which is why it is such a bummer that the restrictions that come with Brady’s just-approved status as a minority owner of the Raiders are going to impede his chances to get even better.
Among those restrictions: He cannot attend another team’s practice; participate in in-person or virtual broadcast production meetings with coaches and players; or publicly criticize officials and other clubs.
In other words: He can’t find out any information, and he is essentially limited to praise and fundamental observations.
It’s going to be so challenging to do the job right that it’s now reasonable to wonder how long Brady will actually do it.
Conflict resolution
Radio programming note: When the Bruins and Celtics play on the same night this season, the Bruins will usually air on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with Celtics broadcasts moving over WROR 105.7, which is also owned by Beasley Media Group.
But there is an immediate exception to this. When the Celtics raise their 2024 championship banner and open the season Tuesday against the Knicks, it will be carried by The Sports Hub. The Bruins’ matchup at Nashville that night will air on sister station WKLB 102.5.
On the vast majority of occasions, WROR will be the normal “conflict” station for Celtics broadcasts. Last season, 92.9 held that status, but that signal is now leased to Bloomberg Radio.
Apology issued
Tony Massarotti apologized on Thursday’s “Felger and Mazz” program, a day after using a slur on air derogatory toward Asians. Massarotti said he had no idea that the term he used had such a connotation when he used it to needle a producer about his affinity for baseball analytics. “I have since come to the realization that, historically, there is some derogatory context for that term, which I assure you, I did not know,” said Massarotti. “Nonetheless, in so doing, if you are among those who I offended, I apologize for that. It was not my intent, I can assure you of that. I had no idea that the word had that meaning.” It would be hypocritical to criticize Massarotti too much for using that word given that I had no idea what it meant, either. But given that he was suspended without pay for the better part of a week in February 2023 after making a racist joke, Massarotti would be wise to double-check the meaning of any insults he plans to deploy before he actually says them . . . TNT’s stellar “Inside the NBA” studio team is bringing its show to Boston for the Celtics’ opener Tuesday night. Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal will do a live presentation of the show from City Hall Plaza. It runs from 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. and admission to watch Chuck and Shaq bicker hilariously is free. See them while you can.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)