As predicted, CBS Radio’s 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston will be the new radio home of the Celtics, beginning with the 2013-14 season. It is a multiyear deal, but terms were not disclosed, noted The Boston Globe.
“We’re very excited,’’ said Celtics president Rich Gotham. “We don’t look at this as a stand-alone play-by-play deal. We look at it as a partnership that includes play-by-play rights, but also as a promotional platform for our advertisers and our team. There will also be a lot of cross-pollination over the other CBS Radio stations, some synergy with Comcast Sports Net New England [the TV home of the Celtics] since a lot of the same personalities appear on both.”
The Celtics had been on Entercom stations locally since 2005-06 — WRKO for two years and then WEEI through last season. They parted ways in August.
The Sports Hub now has rights deals with three of the four major Boston sports franchises: the Celtics, Patriots, and Bruins. When the Celtics and Bruins play on the same night, the former will move to WZLX, another CBS Radio station in the market.
The long-running and popular broadcast tandem of play-by-play voice Sean Grande and analyst Cedric Maxwell will remain intact. Grande and Maxwell have called more than 1,000 games together since they were paired in 2001-02. Howie Sylvester will be the producer.
See the Boston Globe story here
