New England Sports Network

The New England Sports Network (or NESN [NESS-en]) is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network that is owned as 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 Boston Bruins and TD Garden). Headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, the network is primarily carried on cable providers throughout New England (except in Connecticut in Fairfield County). NESN is also distributed nationally on satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network and as NESNNational via select cable companies.

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 broadcast by a national network. NESN also carries minor league baseball games, regional college sports events, various outdoor and sports talk shows, and delayed Premier League soccer games.

NESN was, for a time, the New England carrier for Fox Sports Networks (before SportsChannel New England joined Fox Sports Net). After that, until early 2006, NESN carried 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 from Fox Sports Net. NESN was launched on March 21, 1984 as a premium channel; it was converted to a basic cable service in 2001, a model that has since been copied by other companies through their respective launch of new regional sports networks.

Boston Red Sox
New England Sports Network has provided coverage of Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball games since the network's first broadcast day on March 21, 1984, when it aired a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers from Lakeland, Florida. 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, among which included Rico Petrocelli, Bill Monbouquette and Dick Radatz. The in-studio host was Sean McDonough.

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- and post-game shows. Unlike previous seasons where it split coverage with broadcast television stations, it now broadcasts all Red Sox games that are not nationally televised, using the slogan "One Nation, One Network". In 2006, it 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 NESN HD – available to cable providers throughout New England, DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T U-verse (in Connecticut), Comcast (in most of New England) and Verizon FiOS.

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, Jerry Remy took an indefinite leave of absence due to illness. 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 in August of 2009.

Pre-game
One hour before each Red Sox game, Tom Caron hosts Red Sox First Pitch and Red Sox Game Day Live, in which Caron and others, 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 upcoming team, 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 its Fenway Park studio. Since 2003, NESN has broadcast its pre-game show from Yawkey Way when the Red Sox play at Fenway Park. For road games, the pregame shows originate from NESN's Watertown, MA studios.

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 the night's game from the studio. The team presents highlights and statistics from that day's 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 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; in those instances NESN Sports Today immediately follows the game. Since 2006, NESN has broadcast the postgame show from its Watertown studios; it had previously been broadcast from its Fenway Park studio.

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 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.

, 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 (which it previously shared with WSBK-TV). The pre-game show is Bruins Face-Off Live and the post-game show is Bruins Overtime Live, with the focus similar to the Red Sox shows, along with the weekly magazine program The Instigators Live (after the post-game show on Thursdays) and the highlights program Big Bad Bruins Live during the season (live before the pre-game show on Saturdays). Dale Arnold serves as host of the pregame and postgame shows, along with analysts Gord Kluzak, Barry Pederson, and Billy Jaffe. Arnold co-hosts The Instigators with Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Jaffe, and others, while Dale Arnold hosts The Big Bad Bruins Show.

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.

NESN also airs Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) college football and basketball games. The network's ACC telecasts are usually produced by Fox Sports Net.

In August 2014, NESN began to air college sports from Sinclair Broadcast Group's American Sports Network—adding coverage of Conference USA, the Patriot League, and other mid-major NCAA conferences.

Other sports events
NESN airs several minor league baseball games from the Pawtucket Red Sox each season, as well as Futures at Fenway, a doubleheader featuring the PawSox and the Portland Sea Dogs. Eric Frede formerly handled the play-by-play with Ken Ryan 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.

NESN also broadcasts tape-delayed matches of select Premier League games televised by Fox Soccer Plus. Most games feature Liverpool F.C., which, like NESN, is owned by New England Sports Ventures. NESN also airs soccer and tennis games.

Other programming

 * NESN Sports Today – a nightly sports news program that debuted on June 11, 2013, replacing NESN Daily.
 * The Ultimate Red Sox Show – a weekly show recapping the week in Red Sox Nation.
 * The Big Bad Bruins Live – a weekly look into the happenings of the Boston Bruins. The show is hosted by Dale Arnold and features a rotating panel of expert analysts.  The show focuses on the top Bruins stories of the week, with segments about the history of the team.
 * The Instigators Live – a debate show featuring Bruins analysts that focuses on the latest hockey news. The program was originally hosted by Mike Milbury, Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley; with Bob Beers and Lyndon Byers as substitutes. Currently, Edwards, Brickley, and Billy Jaffe.] serve as hosts of the program.
 * Charlie Moore Outdoors – a fishing and outdoors show hosted by Charlie Moore.
 * The Red Sox Report – a Red Sox analysis program hosted by Don Orsillo with reporter Rob Crawford.
 * Sox in 2/Bruins in 2 – a two-hour replay of the previous night's game, usually aired at midnight and in the early afternoon the next day (it is not aired when the Red Sox play a game in the Pacific Time Zone).
 * 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. A postseason edition is also aired.
 * The Brick's – an awards show showcasing the top moments and players from the first half of the Bruins' season. A postseason edition of the show is also aired.
 * Red Sox Classics – a showcase of old Red Sox games that have been deemed classics because of events happening in the game or someone achieving some type of record. Walk Off Sox is essentially the same program, but with a walk-off win by the Red Sox.
 * Bruins Classics – a showcase of vintage Boston Bruins games condensed to fit a one-hour time slot.
 * Red Sox Hot Stove – a Red Sox program that is hosted by Tom Caron and airs during the MLB offseason. Many guest stars such as Gordon Edes, Nick Cafardo and Jerry Remy also appear.
 * Friday Night Fenway – a half-hour program that airs before the Red Sox pregame show on Friday nights when the Red Sox play a home game. Tom Caron serves as host, along with Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo.
 * NESN Clubhouse - Live Red Sox pregame show for kids. Airs every Sunday when NESN broadcasts a Red Sox game.
 * NESN Live - Nightly sports news with live reports and coverage of all major Boston teams.
 * Dining Playbook - A sports-themed look at the New England food and dining scene featuring celebrity chefs and favorite restaurants of local athletes
 * Dennis and Callahan – a three-hour simulcast of the morning radio program from WEEI (850 AM), which began airing on NESN on November 16, 2010.
 * Celebrity Spotlight
 * Dirty Water TV
 * UFC Wired
 * Golf Destination

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 WEEI and NESN. 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.

Former programming

 * SportsDesk – a twice-daily half-hour program that featured reports on teams of importance to New England viewers and their players. It was generally shown during the evening after Red Sox or Bruins game coverage. NESN also reran the program in half-hour blocks from 5:00 to 8:00 a.m. (or 9:00 a.m. on mornings when the Bruins or Red Sox do not play). Jade McCarthy and Cole Wright were the lead anchors; Jayme Parker served as a reporter. Tony Massarotti, former Celtic Dana Barros, former Patriot Ted Johnson, Mike Adams, James Murphy, and others contributed to the show regularly.
 * SportsDesk Lights Out – a weekly wrap-up program that aired Sundays at 10:00 p.m. with a rebroadcast at 11:00 p.m. It was hosted by Cole Wright or Jade McCarthy, and generally covered the top sports stories of the week.
 * NESN Daily – a nightly half-hour show that debuted on August 6, 2010, replacing SportsDesk, and ended on June 10, 2013.
 * Sox Appeal – a reality series that debuted in August 2007. The Red Sox-themed dating show followed a man or woman during three, two-inning-long blind dates that take place over the course of a Red Sox game.
 * NESN's Comedy All Stars – a half-hour series that featured various stand-up comics; most of the jokes are geared towards Boston sports.
 * Breakfast with the Sox/Breakfast with the Bruins – a one-hour replay of the previous night's Red Sox or Bruins game. Originally aired when the Red Sox played a game on the west coast, it was later expanded to every morning after a game, and expanded to include Bruins games in 2007. The program ended in November 2010 when NESN began airing a simulcast of Dennis and Callahan.
 * Pocket Money – a half-hour game show, hosted by Paul "Fitzy" Fitzgerald (played by Nick Stevens), that took place on the streets of Boston, in which fans were asked sports trivia questions. SportsTime Ohio and SportsNet New York air a similar program called Beer Money.

Graphics
NESN utilizes borders of different coloring on its graphics depending to the event being aired, which include red for Red Sox games, gold for Bruins games, blue for NCAA games and NESN Sports Today broadcasts, and green for golf and tennis events. NESN maintains a sports ticker, called "The Edge", which appears at the bottom of the screen similar to the "BottomLine" used by ESPN; it appears only at 20 and 50 minutes past each hour during live event telecasts, and throughout the program during non-sports telecasts.

Current on-air staff

 * Dale Arnold – Bruins studio host
 * Andy Brickley – Bruins color commentator
 * Tom Caron – Red Sox studio host and Hockey East play-by-play
 * Matt Chatham – football insider on NESN Sports Today
 * Jamison Coyle – NESN Sports Today anchor
 * Sarah Davis – NESN Sports Today reporter, Red Sox field reporter
 * Elle Duncan – NESN Sports Today reporter, Red Sox field reporter
 * Dennis Eckersley – Red Sox studio analyst
 * Jack Edwards – Bruins play-by-play
 * Jamie Erdahl – Bruins ice-level reporter
 * Billy Jaffe – Bruins studio analyst
 * Gord Kluzak – Bruins studio analyst
 * Charlie Moore – host of Charlie Moore Outdoors
 * Don Orsillo – Red Sox play-by-play
 * Barry Pederson – Bruins studio analyst
 * Adam Pellerin – NESN Sports Today anchor
 * Jerry Remy – Red Sox color commentator
 * Jim Rice – Red Sox studio analyst
 * Gary Striewski – NESN Sports Today reporter, Red Sox field reporter
 * Tim Wakefield – Red Sox studio analyst
 * Ben Watanabe – NESN.com Celtics beat writer
 * Steve Lyons - Red Sox studio analyst / fill-in color commentator
 * Doug Kyed - NESN.com Patriots beat writer

Notable former on-air staff

 * Leah Hextall
 * Mike Andrews
 * Steve Burton
 * Tina Cervasio
 * John Chandler
 * Jim Corsi
 * Fred Cusick
 * Jenny Dell
 * Kent Derdivanis
 * Eric Frede
 * Glenn Geffner


 * Kara Henderson
 * Bob Kurtz
 * Tom Larson
 * Hazel Mae
 * Ned Martin
 * Jade McCarthy
 * Sean McDonough
 * Lou Merloni
 * Mike Milbury
 * Dana Baros
 * Ted Johnson
 * Lyndon Byers
 * Peter Gammons
 * Naoko Funayama
 * Dawn Mitchell


 * Bob Montgomery
 * Wendi Nix
 * Al Skinner
 * Mark Mowers
 * Matt Stairs
 * Ken Macha
 * Eric Reid
 * Bob Rodgers
 * Derek Sanderson
 * Randy Scott
 * Dave Shea
 * Rob Simpson
 * Amy Stone
 * Kathryn Tappen
 * Debbi Taylor
 * Heidi Watney
 * Kristen Mastroiani
 * Cole Wright

NESN HD
NESN HD is a high definition simulcast feed of NESN that broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format. When the HD feed launched in 2006, promotions for NESN high definition game telecast used tagline was "Red Sox Tradition in High Definition." The feed broadcasts of Red Sox and Bruins games in high definition, along with other original programming.

NESNPlus
When two sports events that NESN has the rights to conflict, NESN carries one of those events and carries the second on a second channel called "NESNPlus". Originally Comcast systems utilized New England Cable News or CN8 for NESNPlus, 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 ACC 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 in nesn.com/nesnplus for most all events that run on the station.

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, the first provider to carry the feed was Time Warner Cable on its systems in North and South Carolina. Bright House Networks added it on its Michigan systems on November 1, 2010. 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.