The Red Sox improved slightly in 2024, but their NESN ratings declined slightly

The Red Sox had a 2.65 rating on NESN in 2022 and a 4.18 rating in 2021, which happened to be the last time they made the postseason.

Ratings reached their highest levels of the season in June and July and peaked just before the start of the Paris Olympics on July 26, drawing huge viewership away from all other television programming.

Still, in the sixth season, Red Sox broadcasts outperformed all prime-time television programs in the Boston market.

Ratings fell in September — the Red Sox went 11-15 that month and were eliminated from the playoffs on Sept. 25 — leading to another decline in viewership in the final month of the 2023 season.

Sports Business Journal found last week that the five teams that received the most viewers on their respective regional sports networks all made the playoffs: Royals (up 32 percent), Phillies (up 25 percent), Dodgers (up 11 percent) , Guardians (up 11 percent) and Orioles (9 percent).

It's fair to conclude that an offseason investment by the Red Sox in top-tier talent to supplement the roster of young players already in Boston or on their way there would mean an immediate boost to NESN's ratings.

Hopefully the Red Sox are interested in finding out for sure.

Limitations for Brady

Six games into his $375 million contract as the No. 1 analyst for Fox's NFL broadcasts, Tom Brady is significantly improved.

I dare say he is Good? I dare say he is.

He's much more relaxed and self-deprecating than he was in his Browns-Cowboys debut in Week 1, yet still willing to show his distaste for certain plays and developments.

(Kevin Burkhardtthe No. 1 play-by-play voice, deserves a lot of credit for establishing a quick rapport with Brady.)

That's why it's such a shame that the restrictions that come with Brady's just-approved status as a minority owner of the Raiders will hurt his chances of getting even better.

These restrictions include: He cannot attend another team's practice; participate in in-person or virtual broadcast production meetings with coaches and players; or publicly criticize officials and other clubs.

In other words, he can't find out any information and is essentially limited to praise and basic observations.

It will be so difficult to do the job right that one may now wonder how long Brady will actually do it.

Conflict resolution

Radio programming note: When the Bruins and Celtics play on the same night this season, the Bruins will typically air on 98.5 The Sports Hub while the Celtics broadcasts will air on WROR 105.7, also owned by Beasley Media Group .

However, there is one immediate exception to this. When the Celtics raise their 2024 championship banner and open the season on Tuesday against the Knicks, it will be carried by The Sports Hub. The Bruins' game in Nashville this evening will air on sister station WKLB 102.5.

In the vast majority of cases, WROR will be the normal “conflict” station for Celtics broadcasts. Last season, 92.9 had that status, but that signal is now leased to Bloomberg Radio.

Apology issued

Tony Massarotti apologized on Thursday's “Felger and Mazz,” a day after he used a derogatory slur toward Asians on the show. Massarotti said he had no idea the term he used had such a connotation when he used it to educate a producer about his affinity for baseball analysis. “I have since come to the realization that historically there is a pejorative context for this term, which I assure you I was not aware of,” Massarotti said. “Nevertheless, if you are one of those I offended by this, I apologize. It wasn't my intention, I can assure you. I had no idea the word had that meaning.” It would be hypocritical to criticize Massarotti too much for using that word, since I had no idea what it meant either. But given that he was suspended without pay for almost a week in February 2023 after making a racist joke, Massarotti would be wise to double-check the meaning of any insults he plans to use before actually uttering them. . . TNT's outstanding “Inside the NBA” studio team brings their show to Boston for the Celtics' opening game on Tuesday night. Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny SmithAnd Shaquille O'Neal will host a live presentation of the show from City Hall Plaza. It runs from 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. and admission is free to watch Chuck and Shaq argue hilariously. Watch them while you can.

Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GlobeChadFinn.