Courtesy Brockton Enterprise News

(November 30, 2009) Fans’ passion for Boston’s professional teams have translated into a windfall for longtime sports radio leader WEEI-AM. But competitors see an appetite for more sports news and opinion: In recent months, WEEI has been confronted with the launch of a serious sports radio rival, a multi-million-dollar cable network expansion and a new Boston spin-off of ESPN’s web site.

Comcast SportsNet New England, the home of the Boston Celtics’ local broadcasts, is vying with NESN, the cable station that hosts the Red Sox and the Bruins, to become a leading source of local sports coverage.

“We’ve always been known for edgy, opinionated, critical commentary,” Comcast SportsNet New England President Bill Bridgen said. “Now we’re going to take that passion and opinion base to the 10th degree.”

Philadelphia-based Comcast is expanding its news and original sports programming after acquiring the 50 percent share of Newton-based New England Cable News it didn’t already own from Hearst Corp. in June.

Cutbacks in local TV news broadcasts and the departures of longtime anchors such as WBZ-TV’s Bob Lobel and most recently, Fox 25’s Butch Stearns, have given cable networks a chance to change audiences’ allegiances.

Comcast hired nine former NECN employees, including sports anchors Chris Collins and Mike Giardi, as part of 50 new newsroom positions as it adds more than 20 hours a week of locally-produced programming to its schedule. The Burlington-based network now has more than 100 full-time employees.

The centerpiece of Comcast’s lineup will be SportsNet Central, a new 30-minute newscast that will air three times each night beginning on Thursday. It will lead into the existing “Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight” talk show that airs at 6:30 p.m.

To accommodate its growing staff and showcase the new line-up, Comcast recently expanded its Burlington studio by 10,000 square feet and built a new newsroom.

Comcast and NECN will share sports coverage, with Comcast providing sports highlights for NECN’s 30-minute news updates throughout the day. NECN also will air “SportsNet Central” at 6:30 p.m. on weeknights, 30 minutes after it runs on its sister station.

Comcast also hired Bill Via, a digital media executive whose past assignments include working for WGBH, to revamp its Web site to post more breaking stories.

“People talk about the immediacy of news these days,” Bridgen said. “If you’re waiting for the 11 o’clock news, it’s old news.”

As local TV newscasts and print media trim sports budgets amid declining revenues, Comcast has hired several longtime local reporters including former Providence Journal and Boston Herald baseball writer Sean McAdam, who will cover the Red Sox.

ESPN also has poached the ranks of print media, hiring former Boston Globe NFL writer Mike Reiss, Globe baseball writer Gorden Edes and local freelancers for its new ESPNBoston Web site. The site is among a series of local Web sites that ESPN is launching in cities with active sports scenes.

On the radio dial, more sports fans find themselves switching between the AM and FM bands following the August launch of WBZ-FM.

Branded as 98.5 The Sports Hub, the 50,000-watt flagship of New England Patriots broadcasts has the strongest signal of any sports station yet to do battle with WEEI.

Commentator Michael Felger, who also appears regularly on Comcast SportsNet, and Boston Globe columnist Tony Massarotti are going head-to-head against WEEI’s afternoon drive-time “Big Show.” The Sports Hub lineup also includes former WBCN morning hosts Fred “Toucher” Toettcher and Rich Shertenlieb, midday hosts Gary Tanguay and Scott Zolak, and evening host Damon Amendolara.

The Sports Hub Program Director Mike Thomas said the station appeals to a younger demographic than WEEI because it’s on the FM dial. Callers tend to be more passionate about the Patriots than any other local team, Thomas said.

The station has reached out to NHL fans, scheduling an hour-long hockey show Wednesday nights from 6 to 7 featuring Bruins announcers Bob Beers and Dave Goucher.

“Bruins fans really didn’t have a place to go,” Thomas said. “WEEI certainly doesn’t talk about hockey much, and that’s a very loyal fan base.”

Bruce Allen, creator of the Boston Sports Media Watch blog, said The Sports Hub hasn’t done much to differentiate itself from WEEI. “Their 10-2 and 2-6 programs are all guys who have been on WEEI in the past, and are sticking to the WEEI formula of creating fake ‘storylines’ and controversies rather than real sports talk,” Allen said. “If you want to listen to that, why wouldn’t you just stick with the guys who started the concept and have it down pat?”

Still, Arbitron ratings indicate that listeners are willing to give The Sports Hub’s format a try.

After finishing 17th in the Boston market during its first ratings period, The Sports Hub climbed to 12th in the Arbitron ratings for the month ending Oct. 14.

“The radio station this early into the game is way ahead of where everybody expected it to be,” Thomas said.

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