Boston.com24%
‘Toucher and Hardy,’ Sports Hub clean up in spring Nielsen ratings 13%
By Chad Finn
7/15/2026, 12:00:00 AM
Topics: Sports Media, Ratings Analysis
Keywords: Sports Radio, Nielsen Ratings, Toucher And Hardy, 98 5 The Sports Hub, Weei, Radio Ratings
BS Summary: This article contains 13 faulty reasoning types, including Sunk Cost Effect, Halo Effect, and Primacy Effect, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 32.2% saturation with 94 hits. Analysis detected 435 faulty-reasoning hits from 292 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 29.4% and a BS Rank of 13% (14,523 of 16,550 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 87.80% of the article peer group.
The “Toucher and Hardy” morning show set the standard in the spring Nielsen Audio Ratings and 98.5 The Sports Hub finished first overall and in all day parts in sports radio’s primary demographic.
Overall, the Sports Hub earned a 12.4 overall share among men 25-54 in the period from April 2-June 24.
Fellow sports station WEEI was seventh with a 4.2.
“Toucher and Hardy” had a 16.1 share in the period, the best among any radio show in the market during the period, to finish first in morning drive.
WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” was sixth with a 6.0.
In middays, The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand” program took first (12.3) while WEEI’s “Jones and Keefe” was fourth (5.4).
The Sports Hub’s “Felger and Mazz” rolled to first place as usual in afternoon drive (13.9), with WEEI finishing in eighth (3.5).
In late April, WEEI changed its lineup, dismissing Andy Hart and Nick Stevens and ending its “WEEI Afternoon Show” and launching “The Rich Shertenlieb Show,” featuring the former Sports Hub morning show co-host after which it is named as well as Ken Laird and Ted Johnson.
In the 6-7 p.m. window, the Tony Massarotti-hosted “The Baseball Hour” took first with an 8.9 share.
WEEI programming, which often includes the Red Sox pregame show, was 14th with a 2.2.
In the evenings from 7 p.m.-midnight, The Sports Hub, which features “The Joe Murray Show” and had Celtics and Bruins broadcasts in that window, tied WBMX for first (8.8).
WEEI, which has “The Christian Arcand Show” and Red Sox broadcasts, was ninth (3.3).
Last spring, The Sports Hub took first overall with an 11.6 share, while WEEI was seventh with a 4.9.
Analysis
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