New England Sports Network

New England Sports Network
Launched March 21, 1984 (1984-03-21)
Owned by Fenway Sports Group (80%)
Delaware North (20%)
Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Country United States
Language English
Broadcast area New England (via cable)
Nationwide (via satellite and select cable providers)
Headquarters Watertown, Massachusetts
Website www.nesn.com
Availability
(some events may air on overflow feed NESN Plus due to event conflicts)
Satellite
DirecTV 628 (HD/SD)
NESN Plus:
628-1 (HD/SD)
Dish Network 434 (HD/SD)
5434 (HD)
Cable
Comcast (Boston) NESN:
13 (SD) / 851 (HD)
NESN Plus:
84 (SD) / 894 (HD)
Comcast (Hartford) NESN:
28 (SD) / 200 (HD)
NESN Plus:
84 (SD) / 1650 (HD)
RCN (Boston) NESN:
367 (SD) / 612 (HD)
NESN Plus:
60 (SD) / 600 (HD)
Available on most other cable systems in primary market area and select other systems elsewhere in the U.S. Consult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability

The New England Sports Network, or NESN /nɛs.ɛn/, is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network that is owned by New England Sports Ventures, a joint venture between the Fenway Sports Group (which owns a controlling 80% interest, and is the owner of Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club) and Delaware North (which owns the remaining 20% interest in the network, and owns the TD Garden). Headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, the network is primarily carried on cable providers throughout New England (except in Fairfield County, Connecticut). NESN is also distributed nationally on satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network and as NESN National via select cable providers.

NESN is the primary broadcaster of the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins – serving as the exclusive home for all games that are not televised by a national network. NESN also carries minor league baseball games, regional college sports events, various outdoor and sports talk shows, and tape delayed broadcasts of Premier League soccer games.

History

The New England Sports Network launched on March 21, 1984, originally operating as a premium channel. The network's inaugural telecast was a spring training game between the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers from Lakeland, Florida, with former Red Sox second baseman Mike Andrews serving as the play-by-play announcer and Kent Derdivanis providing color commentary. NESN periodically sent guest color commentators to the booth, among which included Rico Petrocelli, Bill Monbouquette and Dick Radatz; the in-studio host was Sean McDonough.

In 1996, NESN became the New England affiliate of Fox Sports Net, carrying the network's national sports and magazine programs; this lasted until 1998, when then-FSN parent News Corporation acquired partial ownership of Cablevision-owned SportsChannel New England (and its sister networks), turning it into an Fox Sports regional network as Fox Sports Net New England (now CSN New England). NESN reaffiliated with Fox Sports 15 years later in September 2013 after the now renamed and Comcast-owned CSN New England dropped FSN programming.

NESN converted into a basic cable service in 2001, a model that has since been copied by other companies through their respective launches of new regional sports networks as well as similar conversions (many of which predate NESN's transition) of those that began as pay services. Afterwards, until early 2006, NESN carried simulcasts of ESPNews during the afternoon and overnight hours. NESN has carried regional Atlantic Coast Conference college basketball games since Boston College joined the conference, including games distributed for national broadcast for and by Fox Sports Networks.

In 2013, NESN (through Fenway Sports Group) placed a bid to acquire the New England Media Group from The New York Times Company, which would have placed it under the common ownership of The Boston Globe; Fenway dropped out of the bidding in July.[1][2]

On August 30, 2014, the network became a charter cable affiliate of the American Sports Network, a sports syndication service founded by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, with its first ASN broadcast being a college football game between the Old Dominion Monarchs and the Hampton Pirates.[3] NESN and NESN National also agreed to carry certain games from the inaugural season of the Fall Experimental Football League in October and November 2014.[4]

Sports coverage

Boston Red Sox

New England Sports Network has provided coverage of the Boston Red Sox's Major League Baseball games since the network's initial spring training game broadcast upon its March 21, 1984 launch. NESN now carries full coverage of Red Sox games (with the exception of some games nationally broadcast on Fox and ESPN) as well as in-depth pre-game and post-game shows. For its first two decades, NESN split coverage with broadcast television stations in the team's market territory, with an increasing number of games moving to NESN. Since 2006, NESN is the exclusive home of all Red Sox games that are not nationally televised, using the slogan "One Nation, One Network" to signify this. In 2006, NESN became the first regional sports network to broadcast all Major League Baseball games in high definition (however spring training games continued to be broadcast in standard definition until 2012), through the launch of its simulcast feed NESN HD.

For Red Sox game broadcasts, Don Orsillo serves as the play-by-play announcer with Jerry Remy as his color commentator and Gary Striewski serving as the field reporter. In 2009, Remy took an indefinite leave of absence for most of the season due to health complications stemming from his November 2008 lung cancer surgery. During that season, Dennis Eckersley performed the color commentary for home games and Dave Roberts provided commentary for most road games. Remy returned to the booth that August.[5]

On August 25, 2015, NESN controversially[6][7][8] announced that Orsillo would no longer call Red Sox games following the 2015 season, and would be replaced by Dave O'Brien, who has called games for the Red Sox Radio Network since 2007, in 2016.[9][10]

Pre-game

One hour before each Red Sox game, the network broadcasts the pre-game shows Red Sox First Pitch and Red Sox Game Day Live, in which host Tom Caron and other contributors (including Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley and Jim Rice, along with former Major Leaguers Tim Wakefield and Steve Lyons) provide highlights from the previous game, analysis on the Sox's upcoming opponent, player profiles, news from around the league and their "keys to the game." Nick Cafardo and Peter Abraham make regular appearances on Game Day Live. In 2006, NESN introduced a segment on Fridays before the pre-game show called Friday Night Fenway, which showcases pre-game activities from inside Fenway Park before Red Sox home games that day.

NESN's studio shows were originally broadcast from the network's Fenway Park studio. Since 2003, NESN has broadcast its pre-game show from Yawkey Way during home games held at Fenway Park. For road games, the pre-game shows originate out of NESN's main studios in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Post-game

Following each game telecast, NESN airs W.B. Mason's Extra Innings and Red Sox Final, in which Tom Caron and one or more of the studio analysts from the pre-game show deliver a wrap-up of that night's game from the studio. The team presents highlights and statistics from the preceding game and often have a team member of the Red Sox on hand to get their take on the game. This hour of coverage also focuses on the game to be played next on the preseason/seasonal game schedule, as well as news from the league. The post-game is usually not covered if the Red Sox play a game held on the west coast; NESN Sports Today immediately follows the game in those instances. Since 2006, NESN has broadcast the postgame show from its Watertown studios; it had previously been broadcast from its Fenway Park studio.[11]

List of announcers

Years Play-by-play Color Studio Field level
1984 Kent Derdivanis Mike Andrews
1985–1987 Ned Martin Bob Montgomery Sean McDonough
1988 Ned Martin Jerry Remy Eric Reid
1989–1992 Ned Martin Jerry Remy Bob Kurtz
1993–1994 Bob Kurtz Jerry Remy Steve Burton Amy Stone
1995 Bob Kurtz Jerry Remy Tom Larson Kim Walden
1996–1999 Bob Kurtz Jerry Remy Bob Rodgers Debbi Wrobleski
2000 Bob Kurtz or Bob Rodgers Jerry Remy Bob Rodgers or Tom Caron with Rico Petrocelli Debbi Wrobleski
2001 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Bob Rodgers with Rico Petrocelli Debbi Wrobleski
2002–2003 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Bob Rodgers with Jim Corsi, Jim Rice, or Dennis Eckersley Tom Caron
2004–2005 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Tom Caron with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley, Sam Horn, Gary DiSarcina, or Bob Tewksbury Eric Frede
2006 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Tom Caron with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley, or Dave McCarty Tina Cervasio
2007 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Tom Caron with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley, Dave McCarty, Ken Ryan, or Ken Macha Tina Cervasio
2008 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Tom Caron with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley, Dave McCarty, Lou Merloni, or Ken Macha Heidi Watney
2009 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy or Guest Analyst Tom Caron with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley or Guest Analyst Heidi Watney
2010–2011 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Tom Caron, with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley, or Peter Gammons Heidi Watney
2012 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Tom Caron, with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley, Matt Stairs, or Peter Gammons Jenny Dell
2013 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Tom Caron, with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley, Tim Wakefield, or Peter Gammons Jenny Dell
2014–2015 Don Orsillo Jerry Remy Tom Caron with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley, Tim Wakefield, and/or Steve Lyons Gary Striewski

Boston Bruins

Bruins coverage on NESN began in 1984; Fred Cusick served as play-by-play announcer and Johnny Peirson as color analyst for both NESN's games (mostly home contests) as well as coverage of mainly road games broadcast by then-independent station WSBK-TV (channel 38). In 1985, NESN dropped Pierson as analyst and replaced him with Dave Shea. Terry O'Reilly joined the telecasts the following season. Derek Sanderson became the analyst, after O'Reilly left NESN to become head coach of the Bruins in 1987. NESN broadcast some games during the 1988 and 1990 Stanley Cup Finals.

As of 2014, Jack Edwards handles the play-by-play duties during games while Andy Brickley serves as the color analyst. Jamie Erdahl serves as the reporter at ice level. Since the 2006–07 season, NESN has broadcast all Bruins games in high definition.

Pre-game and post-game coverage

Bruins coverage has expanded since NESN took over exclusive rights to the team's games in the 2002-03 season (which it previously shared with WSBK-TV). The network's pre-game show is Bruins Face-Off Live and the post-game show is Bruins Overtime Live, with a focus similar to the Red Sox shows; NESN also produces the weekly magazine program The Instigators Live (airing after the post-game show on Thursdays) and the highlights program Big Bad Bruins Live during the season (airing live before the pre-game show on Saturdays). Dale Arnold serves as host of the pre-game and post-game shows, along with analysts Gord Kluzak, Barry Pederson and Billy Jaffe. Arnold co-hosts The Instigators with Jaffe, Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley and others, while Dale Arnold hosts The Big Bad Bruins Show.

List of announcers

Years Play-by-play
announcer		 Color
commentator		 Studio
analyst		 Rinkside reporter
1984–1985 Fred Cusick Johnny Peirson None
1985–1986 Fred Cusick and Dave Shea Tom Larson Dave Shea
1986–1987 Fred Cusick Dave Shea and Terry O'Reilly or Derek Sanderson (joined broadcast team after O'Reilly became Bruins' head coach) Tom Larson Dave Shea
1987–1993 Fred Cusick Dave Shea and Derek Sanderson Tom Larson Dave Shea
1993–1994 Fred Cusick Dave Shea and Derek Sanderson Tom Larson Amy Stone
1994–1995 Fred Cusick Dave Shea and Derek Sanderson Tom Larson Kim Walden
1995–1998 Dale Arnold Gord Kluzak Dawn Mitchell Brenda Brenon
1998–2000 Dale Arnold Gord Kluzak Tom Caron
2000–2002 Dale Arnold (home) or Dave Shea (road) Gord Kluzak (home) or Andy Brickley and Gerry Cheevers (road) Tom Caron
2002–2003 Dale Arnold (home) or Dave Shea (road) Gord Kluzak (home) or Andy Brickley (road) Tom Caron with Rick Middleton, Barry Pederson and Cam Neely
2003–2004 Dale Arnold (home) or Dave Shea (road) Gord Kluzak (home) or Andy Brickley (road) Tom Caron with Rick Middleton, Barry Pederson, Cam Neely and Paul Stewart Corey Masse (playoffs only)
2004–2005 No coverage due to NHL lockout
2005–2007 Dale Arnold (home) or Jack Edwards (Road) Andy Brickley Eric Frede with Rick Middleton, Barry Pederson, Gord Kluzak or Tom Fitzgerald Rob Simpson
2007–2008 Jack Edwards Andy Brickley Kathryn Tappen with Rick Middleton, Barry Pederson, Gord Kluzak or Mike Milbury Rob Simpson
2008–2011 Jack Edwards Andy Brickley Kathryn Tappen with Barry Pederson, Gord Kluzak or Mike Milbury Naoko Funayama
2011–2012 Jack Edwards Andy Brickley Dale Arnold with Barry Pederson, Gord Kluzak, Billy Jaffe or Mark Mowers Naoko Funayama
2012–2013 Jack Edwards Andy Brickley Dale Arnold with Barry Pederson, Gord Kluzak or Billy Jaffe Naoko Funayama
2013–2014 Jack Edwards Andy Brickley Dale Arnold with Barry Pederson, Gord Kluzak or Billy Jaffe Jamie Erdahl
2014–2015 Jack Edwards Andy Brickley Dale Arnold with Barry Pederson, Gord Kluzak or Billy Jaffe Guerin Austin

College sports coverage

NESN's Hockey East Friday Night showcases college hockey games from all ten Hockey East teams, including Boston College and Boston University. In addition, NESN airs the Beanpot tournament, the Hockey East playoffs and the Hockey East championship game. Tom Caron primarily handles the play-by-play for college hockey coverage, with Craig Janney or Billy Jaffe serving as color analyst. Game coverage also includes analysis from John Chandler and Brendan Walsh. For the Beanpot, either Boston Red Sox announcer Don Orsillo or Tom Caron have traditionally handled the play-by-play in past years, with Boston Bruins announcer Andy Brickley handling color commentary.[12]

NESN also airs college football and basketball games from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which are usually produced by Fox Sports Networks. Through its affiliation with the American Sports Network, NESN also carrries college sports events from various other mid-major NCAA conferences including Conference USA and the Patriot League.[3]

Other sports events

NESN airs several minor league baseball games from the Pawtucket Red Sox (a AAA affiliate of the Red Sox) each season, as well as Futures at Fenway, a doubleheader featuring the PawSox and the Portland Sea Dogs. Tom Caron handles the play-by-play with Bob Montgomery as color commentator.

Since 2008, NESN has aired the New England Regional Little League Tournament each August. Currently, Tom Caron and Adam Pellerin handle play-by-play duty for the tournament, while Bob Montgomery serves as the color commentator.

Since November 2015, NESN airs the home games of the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League.

NESN also broadcasts tape-delayed matches of select Premier League games televised by Fox Soccer Plus (most of which feature Liverpool F.C., which is owned by NESN parent holding company New England Sports Ventures).[13][14] NESN also airs various soccer and tennis matches.

Other programming

[16]

Former programming

Special programming

Each year since 2002, NESN and WEEI have partnered to hold a "radio-telethon" to raise money for the Jimmy Fund. The 36-hour NESN/WEEI Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon is held for two days annually each August, and is simulcast on both outlets. WEEI radio programs are seen on NESN, featuring interviews by the hosts with cancer patients and survivors, doctors and athletes and celebrities (some of which have included Terry Francona, Mike Lowell, Denis Leary, Jimmy Fallon, Donald Trump and the late George Steinbrenner). Many other Red Sox players and Boston athletes take part in the Radio-Telethon and in pre-game ceremonies at Fenway Park. Since 2002, this event has raised over $37 million for the Jimmy Fund and has received donations from all 50 states.

On-air staff

Current on-air staff

Notable former on-air staff

Related services

NESN HD

NESN HD is a high definition simulcast feed of NESN that broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format. It is available to cable providers throughout New England, AT&T U-verse (in Connecticut), Comcast (in most of New England), Verizon FiOS and nationally on DirecTV and Dish Network. When the HD feed launched in April 2006, promotions for NESN's Red Sox game telecasts used the tagline "Red Sox Tradition in High Definition" to promote its high definition broadcasts. The feed broadcasts Red Sox and Bruins games, and other original programming in HD.

NESNPlus

NESNPlus is a gametime-only overflow feed of NESN that operates in the event that two sports events NESN has the rights to are subject to scheduling conflicts. Originally, Comcast systems in the region utilized New England Cable News or CN8 to carry the NESNPlus broadcasts, while other systems placed NESNPlus on an otherwise unused or local public access channel. DirecTV added NESNPlus in both standard definition and high definition on April 11, 2009.

Some Atlantic Coast Conference telecasts may also be moved to NESNPlus in the event of a conflict with NESN's Red Sox or Bruins coverage, especially when a televised Boston College sports event takes place. NESN posts updated channel listings on its website, nesn.com/nesnplus, for the majority of events airing on the channel.

NESN National

NESN National is a separate feed of NESN for cable systems located outside of New England. It carries alternate programming during Red Sox and Bruins games, but does air the network's pre-game and post-game shows. Launched in September 2010, Time Warner Cable became the first provider to carry the national feed, initially on its systems in North and South Carolina.[20] Bright House Networks added NESN National on its Michigan systems on November 1, 2010.[21] NESN National differs from the national feed of NESN that is available on DirecTV and Dish Network, in which Red Sox and/or Bruins games are viewable outside of New England with a subscription to MLB Extra Innings and/or NHL Center Ice.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Beth Healy (July 31, 2013). "Red Sox owner John Henry launches solo bid to buy Globe". The Boston Globe (Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC). Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ Evan Drellich (July 31, 2013). "Report: Red Sox owner John Henry wants to buy Boston Globe solo after group drops out". The Republican (Newhouse Newspapers). Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Harry Minium (August 27, 2014). "ODU's opener with Hampton to be televised in 66 markets". The Virginian-Pilot (Landmark Media Enterprises). Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  4. ↑ "FXFL To Be Carried on ESPN3" (Press release). FXFL. PR Newswire. October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014 – via NBC Right Now.
  5. ↑ Chad Finn (April 10, 2013). "Jerry Remy reveals he was recently treated for recurrence of cancer". Boston Globe.
  6. ↑ "With Don Orsillo news, Red Sox drop the ball again". Boston Globe. August 27, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Emotional Jerry Remy salutes fired Don Orsillo: 'I love him'". ESPN.com. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Red Sox Nation outraged after team-owned TV network fires announcer Don Orsillo". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  9. ↑ Finn, Chad (August 25, 2015). "Don Orsillo will not return on Red Sox telecasts next season". The Boston Globe.
  10. ↑ "Dave O'Brien Named NESN's Red Sox Play-By-Play Voice For 2016 Season". NESN.com. August 25, 2015.
  11. ↑ Archived November 12, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Gethin Coolbaugh (February 7, 2011). "Beanpot 2011, Boston University Vs. Boston College: Time, History, Results And More". SBNation. Vox Media.
  13. ↑ "Liverpool FC, English Premier League Action to Be Aired on NESN Beginning Feb. 28". New England Sports Network. February 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  14. ↑ NESN Staff (October 2010). "New England Sports Ventures Statement on the Purchase of Liverpool FC". New England Sports Network. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  15. ↑ "‘NESN Sports Today’ to Debut on Tuesday, June 11". NESN Press Room. June 10, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  16. ↑ "NESN Shows". New England Sports Network. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  17. ↑ Chad Finn (March 19, 2010). "NESN is trying to solve a chemistry problem". Boston Globe (Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC). Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  18. ↑ "NESN, Bruins on Breakaway". Multichannel News (Reed Business Information). November 13, 2005. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  19. ↑ Chad Finn (November 5, 2010). "Signoff for NESN’s Wright". Boston Globe (Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC). Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  20. ↑ Kristi Dosh (September 9, 2010). "NESN Goes National". Forbes. Forbes, Inc.
  21. ↑ Mike Reynolds (November 1, 2010). "Bright House Bows NESN National In Michigan". Multichannel News. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 15, 2015.

External links

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