NESN Celebrates 30 Years

As one of the oldest regional sports networks in the country, NESN a.k.a, the New England Sports Network, prepares to celebrate its 30th birthday. Starting in 1984, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins, plus the home to Hockey East and various other New England sports.

Starting this Friday, NESN will air several vignettes marking several milestones including its first Red Sox Spring Training game (March 21, 1984 vs. Detroit) and its first Bruins game (October 11, 1984).

And in June, NESN will air a one-hour special that will look back at its 30 years.

When it first began, NESN had a minimal audience and was a pay network, those who wanted to subscribe would pay for the channel. In 2002, it changed to a basic network and its audience grew exponentially.

Here’s the announcement.

NESN 30 logoNESN TO CELEBRATE ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY

2014 Celebration to Include 200 Vignettes Featuring New England Sports Moments and One-Hour Special on the History of NESN

March 20, 2014 – NESN will celebrate its 30th Anniversary over the next nine months beginning on Friday, March 21, the 30th anniversary of the network’s first game broadcast. Thirty years ago on March 21, 1984, NESN went on the air for the first time with a Red Sox spring training game against the Detroit Tigers from Lakeland, Florida. The fledgling start-up network with only a few viewers in March of 1984 became the highest rated cable network in New England and the preeminent regional sports network in the country. Forbes also recently ranked NESN as the 8th most valuable sports brand in the world.

Two Hundred Vignettes: New England Sports Moments

Every day, beginning this Friday through the end of 2014, NESN will celebrate its 30th anniversary by airing one of the 200 vignettes during Red Sox & Bruins pre and post game shows and on NESN Sports Today, which airs nightly at 10 pm or immediately following post-game coverage. This collection of iconic and memorable moments from all of New England’s sports teams over the past 30 years will often debut on or around the date the actual event took place (e.g. April 5, 1991, Cam Neely’s Playoff Hat Trick to beat the Hartford Whalers, April 29, 1986, Roger Clemens strikes out 20 to set a new MLB record, etc.).

The first three vignettes will be introduced on Friday, March 21 during NESN’s Hockey East Semifinal and Boston Bruins hockey coverage:

Vignette #1: NESN’s First Televised Game (3/21/1984) — Presented at 5 pm before Game #1 of the Hockey East Semifinals, Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy kick-off NESN’s 30th anniversary celebration by visiting Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, the site of NESN’s first game.

Vignette #2: Boston University wins 2009 NCAA Hockey Championship (4/11/2009) — Presented during intermission coverage of Game #1 of the Hockey East Semifinals with NESN’s Hockey East Studio Analyst Colby Cohen (who scored the winning goal for BU).

Vignette #3: NESN’s First Bruins Game (10/11/1984) — Presented during Bruins Face-Off LIVE at 8:30 pm with NESN’s Andy Brickley and Barry Pederson (both played in the game).

NESN’s 30th Anniversary Special to Air in June

NESN will also produce a special one-hour retrospective on the history of the network that will air in June. The documentary will look at NESN’s birth and growth from the perspective of the people who were instrumental in getting the network off the ground and building it into one of the most successful regional sports networks in the country.

That’s all.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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