WEEI moving into NH

A major player in sports talk radio is moving into New Hampshire. Entercom Boston's WEEI Sports Radio will soon be simulcast on Nassau Broadcasting stations in the Concord and Lebanon markets as part of a partnership between Entercom and Nassau, the companies announced.

"We're so looking forward to bringing WEEI to the Concord/Lakes region," said Nassau regional manager Rob Fulmer. "A lot of my listeners inquired about it as soon as they found out. We've had nothing but great feedback. Our listeners want it to happen as soon as possible."

Nassau will announce which stations will simulcast WEEI programming within the next few weeks, Fulmer said. Nassau owns 11 New Hampshire radio stations, including WEMJ 1490-AM in Concord and WFNQ 106.3-FM in Manchester.

WEEI broadcasts Boston sports talk shows throughout the week, including midday's The Dale & Holley Show with former Boston Bruins television broadcaster Dale Arnold and former Boston Globe columnist Michael Holley, and afternoon drive's The Big Show with former Boston Celtics radio broadcaster Glenn Ordway.

Currently, the 850 signal carries their voices into Southern New Hampshire, but becomes weak north of Manchester. In addition to Concord and Lebanon, WEEI programming will also be simulcast in the Portland, Maine, Montpelier, Vt., and Cape Cod (Mass.) markets.

"We could not be more pleased with our new partnership with Nassau Broadcasting," Entercom President David Field said in a statement, "but the big winners are millions of listeners across New England."

WEEI's competition in New Hampshire includes Boston's ESPN affiliate, which is simulcast on WLLH 1400-AM in the Lowell/Lawrence (Mass.) market and reaches into parts of Southern New Hampshire, and Nashua-based WGAM, which offers local programming and national programming from Fox Sports Radio.

John Kosian, programming director at WGAM, which can be heard on 1250-AM in Manchester and 900-AM in Nashua, welcomes WEEI's expansion into the state. "We like that there'll be more sports on radio," Kosian said. "We love being one of the choices, but we don't have to be the only choice."

WGAM's niche is local programming, which includes Friday Night Lights and New Hampshire High School Rewind.

"We've gotten great support for our local coverage," Kosian said. "The ADs (athletic directors) love it, the players love it, the families love it."

Boston sports talk lovers frequently turn to WEEI. In the last few years, Entercom has added WEEI affiliates in Westerly, R.I., Worcester, Mass., and Easthampton, Mass. Calls to WEEI for this story were not returned.