The , or '''NESN'''
{Link without Title} , is a regional
Cable Television network that covers the six
New England states. It is broadcast throughout New England (except
Fairfield County and most of
New Haven and
Litchfield counties in
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 fishing and hunting 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 games since
Boston College joined the conference.
Boston Red Sox baseball coverage began in 1984 on the New England Sports Network, airing mostly road 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 .
Fast-forwarding 23 years ahead, 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). Dish Network does not provide NESN in HD.
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 , 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.
For Red Sox game broadcasts,
Don Orsillo serves as the play-by-play announcer with
Jerry Remy as his color commentator.
Tina Cervasio is the field-level reporter.
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.
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 somewhat 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 and a highlights show during the season.
Dale Arnold and
Jack Edwards split the play-by-play duties during games, as Edwards also calls and hosts NHL games for
Versus while Arnold has hosted sports-talk programs in Boston for many years.
Andy Brickley serves as the color analyst. Most of NESN's Boston Bruins' games during the 2005-2006 season were broadcast in High-Definition; all Bruins games in 2006-2007 and beyond are in HD.
- ''SportsDesk'', a twice-daily 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 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 11:30 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 "''
- ''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'', a re-air of the previous night's (originally aired when the Sox are on the west coast, later expanded to every morning after a game), game. Similar to Sox in 2, but one hour long.
- ''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.
- 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 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 personell.
- NESN sells merchandise at the NESN Store . One of the most popular items is the "bobbledesk". It is a collectable desk with brodcasters Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy on it as bobbleheads.
is a
High Definition Simulcast of NESN, featuring HD broadcasts of Red Sox & Bruins matches as well as other content such as SportsDesk, The Ulimate Red Sox Show, The Buzz, and The Red Sox Report.
The HD service's early tagline was "Red Sox Tradition in High Definition."
