Courtesy Boston Herald

(November 6, 2009) The obvious question in August, when The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM, 98.5) began its quest to become the first significant challenger to longtime powerhouse WEEI, was whether Boston could sustain another sports-talk radio station.

Stunningly, the answer, just two full monthly ratings books into the competition, also has become obvious: Absolutely.

The Arbitron ratings for the period Sept. 17-Oct. 14 were released yesterday, and as usual, WEEI is rightfully pleased with its numbers, finishing first in the morning, second in afternoon drive time, and fifth overall in the market.

The catch, though, is that the fledgling competition is justifiably ecstatic with theirs.

The Sports Hub climbed from 17th in the market in September to 12th in October, its overall share increasing from 2.5 to 3.6. But the truly spectacular progress came elsewhere. Consider:

■The afternoon drive program “Felger and Massarotti’’ finished fourth in the 18-49 male demographic, edging the long-entrenched “The Big Show,’’ which was sixth.

■The Sports Hub’s cumulative audience - the number of listeners that tuned in during the ratings period for more than five minutes - was 780,100, up from 488,000 a month ago and actually surpassing WEEI’s 696,700 “cume’’ in October.

■In the coveted core demographic of men ages 25-54, The Sports Hub bounded from 12th in September all the way to third, increasing its listenership by nearly 50 percent as its share rose from 4.0 in September to 5.9 last month.

It’s impressive progress for a station that launched Aug. 13. Did Mike Thomas, program director at The Sports Hub, expect such gains so soon?

“I can honestly say no,’’ said Thomas. “I mean, we knew having the Pats would help us, but we were 12th last time from 25-54, and we were optimistic of making some steady progress from there.

“But as we got trends [from Arbitron during the ratings period], the first week it was like, ‘Holy [cow], we’re third!’ And the next week it was, ‘Holy [cow], we’re third again!’

“It continued like that, and by the end of the period, we sort of knew we would be third in the demo unless something went drastically wrong.’’

Yet The Sports Hub’s gains did not come at the expense of WEEI, whose numbers generally remained as strong as ever - and in some cases improved.

In the 25-54 group, the station earned an 8.4 share, up from 7.7 in September, to again finish first in the market. “Dennis and Callahan’’ remained first in the demo in the 6-10 a.m. slot with a 7.7 share; The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich’’ was seventh, up from eighth, with a 5.2 share. And WEEI’s drive-time “The Big Show,’’ hosted by Glenn Ordway, was second among 25-54 with a 7.5; “Felger and Massarotti’’ was fourth.

Overall, WEEI (850 AM) ranked fifth in the market, earning a 5.3 share, up from 5.2 last month and 4.5 in August.

“We’re in outstanding shape,’’ said Jason Wolfe, Entercom New England’s vice president of AM programming and WEEI’s program director. “We have an incredibly loyal audience, knowledgeable and smart listeners who have an incredible passion for sports.

“Boston is arguably the best sports city in the country, and our teams’ success breeds interest across the board. Our ratings continue to reflect that passion.’’

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