Since the turn of the century alone, Boston has hosted 12 ticker-tape parades to celebrate championships. Christian Arcand has had the opportunity to experience that success firsthand, first as a die-hard Boston sports fan and then as a voice of the fan. Now as he begins his second stint at WEEI — this time as producer and weekend host — he aims to ensure a smooth transition for both Merloni, Fauria and Mego afternoon drive show and his career in sports media.
Returning to a station where his Boston radio career began, Arcand steps into the same building where he began his last sports media job with 98.5 The Sports Hub. After the station moved to Dorchester, Massachusetts, WEEI moved its studios to the location — and it’s where its shows are broadcast from today. Arcand’s time at 98.5 The Sports Hub ended with him being fired last month; despite this, going to work evokes feelings of nostalgia and déjà vu.
“Going back there for the first time was pretty wild,” said Arcand, who returned to WEEI earlier this week. “I was fired from The Sports Hub and it was a big surprise to me and, I think, to everyone who [it] happened.”
After graduating from the University of Colorado, Arcand moved back east to work for WDIS AM 1170 in Norfolk, Massachusetts, which he says isn’t really an option for those entering the business today.
“These little stations are all gone,” said Arcand. “They were pipelines to places like WEEI and WFAN and other places in the area. You’d be working in Connecticut or you’d be working in Rhode Island or whatever and these places just disappeared.”
A little over a year later, Arcand made the move to ESPN New Hampshire, initially co-hosting Christian and King with Tom King, a sports writer for the Nashua Telegraph who covers the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins and other college and high school sports. The show aired in the midday slot from 3:00 PM and aimed to entertain the audience while informing them of the day’s action.
After nearly four years on the air, Arcand moved on to work with Pete Sheppard, a former member of the heralded WEEI program The Great Show hosted by Glenn Ordway, on Arcand and Sheppard. Additionally, Arcand was named as the show’s executive producer, meaning that while the show was going on, he was often focused on many different tasks. One time Christian and King returned, he continued to work in this dual role before the show ended in January 2017, six months before the format reverted from ESPN-branded sports to legacy.
“It was a lot – cutting all the audio you want to play, then playing it during the show, then cutting the ad [and] trying to answer the phone,” Arcand said. “It was all that stuff, but I really enjoyed it; we had a lot of fun up there.”
While Arcand currently works at WEEI, it’s his second stint with the station — and this time, he’s working in an entirely new role. He originally joined the station in 2013 as a sports anchor and co-host of the evening program Planet Mikey with Mike Adams. Soon after, he helped launch WEEI late nightairing from 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM where he became popular in the Boston market by airing after the conclusion of live Boston Red Sox game broadcasts.
However, unlike his time at New Hampshire, he was only waiting and not producing — requiring him to adjust to not having as much oversight regarding the inner workings of each program.
“I’m not a control freak, but I remember [thinking], ‘Wow, that’s different. I am no longer running the board. I’m not playing my stuff,’” Arcand said. “….That was kind of annoying at first [but] I ended up working with a lot of great producers and still am today.”
Mike Thomas, who currently serves as senior vice president and market manager for Audacy Boston, was integral in building 98.5 Sports Hub from its inception in August 2009. He was responsible for signing Arcand away from WEEI to joined the brand as a co-host of The Adam Jones Show weeknight broadcast.
Working alongside show producer Jeremy Conley, he gained a deep understanding of what it means to produce a sports radio show in a major market, helping to expand his knowledge of the craft and position him for the job of his current with WEEI.
“I’ve had a really good opportunity to learn from some of, I think, the best [producers] in business,” said Arcand. “….It’s cool to be a fan of these guys and then work with them and learn from them and all that other stuff…. It’s a really demanding job, and the guys who are really good at it, I think, are just top notch.”
Over the past several years, 98.5 Sports Hub has scored massive wins in the Nielsen ratings, most recently finishing number one in the summer book in all dayparts in the male 25-54 demographic. However, a few days later, the station’s parent company Beasley Media Group made budget cuts, resulting in Arcand and Toucher and Rich Producer Mike Lockhart is terminated.
While Lockhart has since been rehired after Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb lobbied to overturn the decision, Arcand was on the job market thinking quickly about his future in the industry. In fact, it was reported that Arcand was on the verge of signing a three-year contract that would keep him at the station until the end of the job.
“I was so shocked that it had happened and it was kind of hard to deal with,” Arcand said. “Then I got angry about it and then I kind of channeled it, ‘Okay, what am I going to do next here?’ You start thinking, ‘Is this? Is this the end of my career? Are you going to keep doing this?’, and that was a thought I had several times.”
Arcand’s sudden departure from 98.5 The Sports Hub and sports radio in Boston was short-lived however, as there was a sizeable market for his services. In the end, he communicated with Thomas and WEEI operations manager Ken Laird, using his industry connections and savvy to return to where he began working professionally in Boston.
“Seeing that WEEI was in the market for someone on the air and to produce [the afternoon] I was there and willing to try something I hadn’t done in a while,” Arcand said. “It was a no-brainer, really. Going to WEEI was a no-brainer for me. I started there. This it’s my radio home.”
As someone once again “new” to the station, Arcand is looking to foster a working chemistry with afternoon hosts Lou Merloni, Christian Fauria and Meghan Ottolini, along with radio producer Ryan Garvin. Arcand steps into the role replacing show executive producer Tyler Devitte, who left the station to pursue other opportunities, and feels the show’s makeup is unique in the sports radio landscape. In short, it gives them an opportunity to further differentiate themselves from other afternoon programming across multiple distribution platforms.
“It’s an interesting show because Lou and Christian are both exes,” Arcand explained. “It’s rare that you see shows where it’s just two guys like that and it was just them for a while, but then with [Glenn] Ordway and then brought Meghan [Ottolini].”
Arcand had been listening to the afternoon drive long before he was offered to return to WEEI and now looks to offer his knowledge and expertise when needed. He doesn’t want to go into his new role brashly or coming off as dogmatic when expressing his thoughts on the show.
“I’m kind of taking the approach of observing more than I probably would in a couple of weeks from now or something,” he said. “I want to make sure I get the pace of the show and the clock and everything like that. Those are all things you have to be more aware of when you’re behind the glass as opposed to on the air.”
Arcand will host a solo radio program on WEEI every Saturday afternoon, which reminds you Sunday service, a weekend show he hosted on 98.5 The Sports Hub. He’s excited to be back on the airwaves in Boston and connecting with his audience once a week to bring them the latest sports news and entertaining talk – all with his signature sarcasm and cool .
“I’m very comfortable just sitting in the room, cracking the mic and talking to callers or making my points and getting to some things I want to touch on,” Arcand said. “….I think my style is one where you just tune in and hang out with me for a few hours.”
After all, Christian Arcand has made the move back to what he refers to as his radio home. As he wraps up his first week at WEEI, he’s focused on producing the afternoon drive program and complimenting that with his solo show on Saturdays, the first of which runs tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m.: 00 Through all of his endeavors, he will talk Boston sports to his listeners, regardless of the season, giving them a platform to engage with hyperlocal coverage.
“Coming back to WEEI is something I’m really happy about,” said Arcand. “I was excited to get started, [and] now that I’m there, I’m excited to see where we can take this show.”
