Red Sox and WEEI Denying Very Bad Idea of Turning Game Broadcast into Talk Show

WEEI, a Boston-based sports radio station, is denying a report that they intend to change the style of their Boston Red Sox game broadcasts. WEEI was considering shifting the format from a typical game broadcast to that of a sports radio talk show, according to The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn.

A shift is certainly coming for WEEI. They parted ways with game analyst Tim Neverett, who intends to let his contract expire, according to The Boston Globe. They’ll have to replace him in the coming months.

From The Globe:

"“There were industry rumors about possible changes all season long. One, which multiple sources have said was a genuine consideration, had WEEI dropping the concept of a conventional radio baseball broadcast to make the call of the game sound more like a talk show.”"

The question is what sort of talent they’ll use to replace Neverett, now that they’re denying the report of a shift in philosophies. The answer seems muddled.

If they did elect to take a different approach, it’s not totally clear how that might look. While sports talk radio can be entertaining, the game broadcasts on WEEI have value in that they are entirely unlike the other shows on the station. The talk radio show schtick would likely detract and distract from the facts and events in the game. And the audience might not take kindly to a shift. Imagine settling in for a relaxing baseball broadcast and getting a play-by-play with splash of hot takes. It would be a strange experiment for a typically mellow baseball broadcast.

As pious as this sounds, game broadcasts should remain sacred from the (entertaining) madness that takes place in the other hours of the sport radio schedule.