WEEI morning men John Dennis and Gerry Callahan — blindsided by the firing of boss Jason Wolfe yesterday — said they have been assured that station suits want them to be "part of the solution" to the once-dominant sports station's ratings woes.
Callahan, a Herald sports columnist, said Entercom Boston general manager Jeff Brown told him and Kirk Minihane, who was added to the morning show in February, that "we're going nowhere." And Dennis, who is on vacation this week, said Brown called him after Wolfe got the ax to reiterate that the morning show was not in any danger.
"I take him at his word," Dennis said. "I'm not worried. I'm fine with what we've done so far, but almost everyone who gets into this business knows that at some point it will come to an end and whenever that day comes, I'll be fine with that too."
Wolfe, WEEI's vice president of programming and operations, who oversaw the station during years of Boston radio dominance, was shown the door yesterday, the victim of spiraling ratings and competition from 98.5 The Sports Hub, the upstart that stole much of the longtime sports-talker's audience.
Immediately, speculation began about the future of 'EEI's longtime morning drive duo, who were partnered and supported by Wolfe but whose ratings have slipped since the emergence of CBS-owned Sports Hub.
"That is everyone's first question," Brown told the Herald. "There's no fait accompli regarding Dennis and Callahan, no imminent shoe to drop on Dennis and Callahan."
But others speculated that the departure of Wolfe means the current morning show is on borrowed time.
"I think they have to do something," said one station insider, referencing the duo's dwindling numbers.
In the most recent ratings period, The Sports Hub's top-rated morning show, Toucher and Rich, dominated with a 13.4 share. Dennis and Callahan finished fifth with a 6.0. The Sports Hub was No. 1 overall with men age 25-54, both stations' target audience, while WEEI was fifth, according to Arbitron.
However, both Dennis and Callahan have a year remaining on their contracts and the station's move last February to dump longtime afternoon drive host Glenn Ordway didn't do anything to improve numbers.
There were reports yesterday that Brown's choice to replace Wolfe is Kevin Graham, program director at KFAN in Salt Lake City. Brown declined to discuss it other than to say he will make an announcement in the next couple of days.
Whoever succeeds Wolfe will have a major rebuilding project. All three of WEEI's daytime shows — morning drive, middays with Mike Mutnansky and Lou Merloni, and afternoon drive with Mike Salk and Michael Holley — lag behind The Sports Hub's shows.
Wolfe's successor will have to try to figure out how to increase listeners and decrease station costs — a tough act to pull off especially given the fact that WEEI is saddled with a whopping 10-year, $200 million contract to air Red Sox games that runs for three more years. The station also has the broadcast rights to the Celtics.
Brooming Ordway likely saved Entercom a bundle in salary costs and, at the time, former 'EEI announcer Pete Sheppard predicted that the station will cut even further, eliminating most local programming in favor of syndicated ESPN content. But Brown said he believes the 'EEI "ecosystem" is strong.
"At the end of the day we want to make it better," he said, "and we are going to work to make it better."
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