New England Sports Network
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| Type | Cable television network, satellite television network (sports) |
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| Availability | New England (automatic on all cable systems), Nationwide (as requested by customer) |
| Slogan | New England's Most Watched Sports Network |
| Owner | Boston Red Sox (80% stake) / Boston Bruins (20% stake) |
| Launch date | 1984 |
| Website www.nesn.com |
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The New England Sports Network, or NESN [NESS-en], is a regional cable television network that covers the six New England states except Fairfield County, Connecticut. In the New England area, DirecTV carries it on channel 623, with channel 623 for HD). Comcast, in the city of Boston, has NESN on channel 13, but NESN HD is still on channel 851. The Boston Red Sox are a co-founder and the majority owner (80%) of NESN, with the Boston Bruins owning the remaining 20%. NESN is thus technically a unit of the New York Times Company's Boston Globe division, which is part of the Red Sox ownership group. Although it mainly broadcasts non-national Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins games, NESN also features regional college sports including college hockey games on Friday nights, various outdoor shows, and sports talk shows featuring the sports columnists of the Globe, as that paper is also owned by the New York Times. NESN was, for a time, the New England carrier for Fox Sports Net (before Sports Channel New England joined Fox Sports Net), after that, until early 2006, NESN carried ESPNEWS in the afternoon and overnight hours. NESN has carried regional Atlantic Coast Conference basketball games since Boston College joined the conference, including games from Fox Sports Net since FSN sold regional competitor CSN New England.
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[edit] Red Sox coverage
Boston Red Sox baseball coverage began in 1984 on the New England Sports Network, airing mostly mid-week home games on the newly-formed pay cable channel. Former Sox second baseman Mike Andrews served as the play-by-play announcer and Kent Derdivanis provided color commentary. NESN periodically sent guest color commentators to the booth, with the likes of Rico Petrocelli, Bill Monbouquette, and Dick Radatz. The in-studio host was a young man just out of Syracuse University named Sean McDonough.
NESN now carries full coverage (minus some nationally broadcast games on Fox and ESPN) of Red Sox games as well as in-depth pre- and post-game shows. Unlike previous seasons where it split coverage with over-the-air stations, it now broadcasts all games not on national television, using the slogan "One Nation, One Network". In 2006, it became the first network to broadcast all its Major League Baseball team's games in High Definition, available to cable providers throughout New England, DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse (in CT) and Verizon FIOS (in MA). On March 26th 2008, Dish Network joined the list of providers offering NESN in HD.
[edit] Pre-game
One hour before each Red Sox game, Tom Caron hosts the Boston Globe Pre-Game Report, where Caron and others, including Jim Rice, Dave McCarty, Lou Merloni, and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley — as well as team president Larry Lucchino on a weekly basis — provide highlights from the previous game, analysis on the upcoming team, player profiles, news from around the league, and their "keys to the game." Former Oakland Athletics manager Ken Macha was named a rotating analyst on this program in April 2007. In 2006, NESN introduced a segment before the Pre-Game Report called "Friday Night Fenway", which, on Red Sox Friday home games, showcases pre-game activities from inside Fenway Park. They have also included a Monday segment, "Monster Monday", which airs every game day Monday, regardless of whether or not the game is at Fenway Park.
[edit] In-game
For Red Sox game broadcasts, Don Orsillo serves as the play-by-play announcer with Jerry Remy as his color commentator.
[edit] Post-game
After the game has finished, NESN goes back to the studio, where Tom Caron and one or more of the studio analysts from the pre-game show deliver a wrap-up of the night's game. They present highlights and statistics from the completed game and often have a member of the Red Sox team on hand to get their take on the game. This hour of coverage also focuses on the upcoming game as well as news from the league. The Post Game is usually not covered if the Red Sox are on the west coast, in those instances SportsDesk immediately follows the game.
[edit] List of announcers
[edit] Boston Bruins coverage
Bruins coverage began in 1984 with Fred Cusick, Dave Shea and Derek Sanderson at the microphone. They mostly covered home games on NESN and road games on WSBK. Bruins coverage has grown since NESN took over exclusive rights (previously shared with WSBK). It now includes extensive pre- and post-game shows, with the focus similar to the Red Sox's shows, plus a weekly magazine show (Rubber Biscuit) and a highlights show (The Buzz) during the season. Jack Edwards handles the play-by-play duties during games while Andy Brickley serves as the color analyst. Every game since the start of the 2006–2007 season has been broadcast in HD.
[edit] List of announcers
| YEARS | PLAY BY PLAY | COLOR | STUDIO | RINKSIDE REPORTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–1985 | Fred Cusick | Derek Sanderson | None | |
| 1986–1994 | Fred Cusick | Derek Sanderson | Dave Shea (also in booth at Boston Garden) | |
| 1995–2004 (Home) | Dale Arnold | Gord Kluzak | Tom Caron with Rick Middleton and/or Barry Pederson | |
| 1995–1997 (Road on WSBK-TV) | Fred Cusick | Derek Sanderson | Gene Lavanchy | |
| 1998–2004 (Road) | Dave Shea | Andy Brickley | Gene Lavanchy (1998–99), Tom Caron with Rick Middleton and/or Barry Pederson (2000–04) | |
| 2005–2007 | Dale Arnold (home), Jack Edwards (road) | Andy Brickley | Eric Frede with either Rick Middleton, Barry Pederson, Gord Kluzak, or Tom Fitzgerald | Rob Simpson |
| 2007-Present | Jack Edwards | Andy Brickley | Kathryn Tappen with either Rick Middleton, Barry Pederson, Gord Kluzak, or Mike Milbury | Rob Simpson |
[edit] Shows
- SportsDesk, a twice-daily half hour-long show reporting on the teams and players who matter to New England viewers. It is generally shown in the evening after Red Sox or Bruins coverage. In the morning it is shown continually from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. (9 a.m. on mornings when Bruins or Red Sox do not play) in half-hour blocks. Hazel Mae has been the lead anchor since September 2004; the weekend anchor is Kathryn Tappen, who joined in the summer of 2006. Jayme Parker serves as a reporter.
- Lights Out, a weekly wrap up show airing Sunday night at 11:25 EST. It is hosted by either Kathryn Tappen or Hazel Mae and generally covers all the top sports stories of the week. Its tagline is "Your weekend is not over until it's Lights Out"
- Granite City Electric Ultimate Red Sox Show, a weekly show recapping the week in Red Sox Nation, hosted by Hazel Mae
- Globe 10.0, a three times weekly sports talk show featuring the columnists at the Boston Globe, hosted by Bob Ryan
- The Buzz, a fast-paced Top 10 countdown of all things Bruins hosted by Hazel Mae
- Charlie Moore Outdoors, a fishing and outdoors show hosted by vibrant Charlie Moore
- Boston vs. New York Poker Challenge, a show pitting six poker players from each city against each other
- Sox in 2, a re-air of that night's Red Sox game, usually aired at midnight and early afternoon the next day (Not aired when the Red Sox play games on the West Coast)
- Breakfast with the Sox/Breakfast with the Bruins, a one hour re-air of the previous night's game. Originally aired when the Sox are on the west coast, later expanded to every morning after a game, expanded to include Bruins games in 2007.
- RemDawg Unleashed, a half-hour of bloopers and funny moments from Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy
- The Remy's, an awards show showcasing the top moments and players from the first half of the Red Sox's season. The "Top Dawg" of 2006 (its first season) was Jonathan Papelbon.
- Classic Red Sox, old Red Sox games that have been deemed classic because of events happening in the game or someone achieving some kind of record are shown. Walk Off Sox is essentially the same program, but with a walk-off win by the Red Sox.
- Classic Boston Bruins, shows old Boston Bruins games condensed to fit a one-hour time slot
- What If..?, it goes back to major games and plays to answer the What If? question
- Rubber Biscuit, Boston Bruins show that goes into players lives off the ice, hosted by Rob Simpson
- Red Sox Hot Stove is a Red Sox show that is hosted by Tom Caron and is played during the baseball offseason. Many guest stars such as Gordon Edes, Nick Cafardo, Sean McAdam and Jerry Remy also appear. Tina Cervasio reports from a different locations each week.
- Sox Appeal is a reality television series began airing in August of 2007. It is a Red Sox themed dating game show that follows a man or woman during three, two-inning long blind dates that take place over the course of a Red Sox game.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Sean McDonough
- Fred Cusick
- Ned Martin
- Bob Rodgers
- Dave Shea
- Kara Henderson
- Derek Sanderson
- Mike Perlow
- Paul Devlin
- Jim Corsi
- Bob Tewksbury
- Wendi Nix
- Kent Derdivanis
- Mike Andrews
- Dale Arnold
- Tom Larson
[edit] Trivia
- NESN broadcast the 1988 and 1990 Stanley Cup Finals' in the United States. The Bruins lost to the Edmonton Oilers for a combined 8 games to 1. Game 4 in 1988 was moved to Northlands Coliseum due to a power failure at Boston Garden in the 2nd period.
- During Red Sox Spring Training games, the press conference is conducted during the middle of the game and is shown live in the corner of the screen.
- NESN has a sports ticker, called The Edge, at the bottom of the screen similar to the one found on ESPN. It is on during :20/:50 intervals only during a live event.
- NESN has different-colored borders on its graphics according to the event being aired. They include: red (Red Sox) and Sportsdesk, gold (Bruins), blue (NCAA) and green (golf and tennis).
- At Red Sox home games, the pregame show is broadcast live from Fenway Park, at RemDawg's on Yawkey Way.
- NESN still has the Fenway Park studio, but is rarely used on-air. It is, however, used during weekly interviews with Larry Lucchino and other Red Sox personnel.
- NESN sells merchandise at the NESN Store. One of the most popular items is the "bobbledesk". It is a collectable desk with broadcasters Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy on it as bobbleheads.
- NESN has higher ratings in the New England DMR than ESPN and CSN combined.
[edit] NESN HD
NESN HD is a high definition simulcast of NESN, featuring HD broadcasts of Red Sox & Bruins games as well as other content such as SportsDesk, The Ulimate Red Sox Show, The Buzz, and Rubber Biscuit.
The HD service's early tagline was "Red Sox Tradition in High Definition."
[edit] NESN Plus
NESN Plus is an alternate channel, usually CN8 on Comcast cable systems or an alternate channel on other systems, activated when the Bruins and Red Sox play at the same time. One team will play on the main channel, while the other will play on NESN Plus. Prior to the 2008 Boston Red Sox season the alternate station was referred to as "an alternate station".
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- List of NESN Plus station
- Search NESN Red Sox Video
- Search NESN Patriots Video
- Search NESN Celtics Video
- Search NESN Bruins Video
- NESN HD
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