Boston Sports Media Watch

The TV ratings are  an indication of how anticipated last night’s Bruins game was among fans.

The game garnered a 6.2 household rating, which is the highest rated regular season game in NESN’s history, as fans tuned in to see whether the team would retaliate against Matt Cooke and the Pittsburgh Penguins for the hit that left Marc Savard with a concussion that likely ended his season.

Fans ended up the evening disappointed, as the Bruins suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Stanley Cup Champions.

Popularity: 2% [?]

A couple of notes from today:

The Beanpot is coming up over the next two Monday nights, and once again NESN has the complete coverage.

Coverage begins with Beanpot Hockey Tournament presented by SBLI beginning on Monday, February 1st.  The first game pits Boston College against Harvard at 5:00 PM followed by Boston University battling Northeastern University at 8:00 PM from the TD Garden. NESN’s coverage of the Beanpot championship game on Monday, February 8th will begin with Prelude to A Championship, a live, half-hour pre-game show starting at 7:30 PM.

Tom Caron and Andy Brickley will call all three games for NESN.

The championship game will also be available to 4.5 million homes in Canada on TSN2, which will rebroadcast the game in HD at 6:00 PM on February 9.

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Pete Sheppard might’ve been the most high-profile radio guy to be laid off recently, but he’s not the only one. Yesterday WGAM Manchester/Nashua announced that producer P.J. Huot, who had been with the station since 2002, along with morning sports anchor Darrin Root and a traffic/production guy David Kimball had all been let go due to the economic conditions.

In addition, there is talk that the afternoon drive show with Mike Mutnansky could be cut back from 3-6PM to 4-6PM starting next week, though that is not set in stone just yet.

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The biggest interview on Boston sports radio today was Vince Wilfork talking with Michael Holley and Lou Merloni on WEEI this morning, where the nose tackle voice his displeasure at his contract situation and that he does not want to be franchised.

Meanwhile on Patriots Daily, the question is asked: Should The Patriots Re-Sign Vince Wilfork?

Popularity: 8% [?]

We’re just a few weeks away from the start of spring training, and this afternoon, NESN announced their plans for expanded Red Sox spring training coverage which will begin with an evening edition of Red Sox Spring Break LIVE on February 18th at 7:00pm.

The show will be hosted by Tom Caron and Peter Gammons.

Here is the schedule for Red Sox Spring Break LIVE in February:

NESN will also broadcast nine Red Sox spring training games, starting with the annual game with Boston College on March 3rd. Here is the full slate of games:

NESN’s 2010 Spring Training Game Broadcast Schedule

Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy will team up for their tenth season together in the NESN broadcast booth with Red Sox reporter Heidi Watney joining them for her third season with the network.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Just mere hours after we learned that Peter Gammons was leaving ESPN, we learn that he joined MLB Network. That was expected. But was not expected was the announcement this evening that Gammons was joining NESN and NESN.com. This is a big coup for NESN which gets him from ESPN and the ESPN Boston site. Peter will not only be seen on NESN and MLB Network, he’ll write for NESN.com and MLB.com.

Here’s part of the press release that was issued by NESN this evening:

Gammons will serve as a studio analyst, reporter and offer commentary for over 50 of the network’s hour-long pre and post game shows and as co-host of Red Sox Hot Stove and Red Sox Spring Break LIVE. He will also make regular contributions to NESN.com.

“I’m a New Englander who wanted to be Jackie Jensen,” said Peter Gammons. “I started out at the Boston Globe and wrote about Jerry Remy when he was at Somerset High School. I was lucky enough to be there for the Munson-Fisk fight in 1973 and The Sixth Game and the ’78 playoff, and when my local cable company wouldn’t put NESN on our system I signed the override petitions.”

“NESN has given me the opportunity to come back to my roots and once again be part of my neighborhood, and I am truly excited about it. During the 2007 World Series, Matt Holliday said that what differentiated Fenway Park from any other stadium is that fans don’t react, they anticipated, and that creates a tension unlike any other audience in sports. It is a great feeling to be back with that audience.”

And not to be outdone, MLB Network and MLB.com had a release of its own:

MLB Network and MLB Advanced Media today announced that Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons has joined MLB Network and MLB.com as an on-air and online analyst. As part of a multi-year deal, Gammons will offer analysis and commentary on MLB Network for breaking news and special events like the Trade Deadline, First-Year Player Draft, Winter Meetings and Postseason. Gammons will also serve as a signature and regularly featured writer for MLB.com’s new columnist initiative, writing commentary on breaking news and posting several articles online each week.

During the 2009-2010 offseason, Gammons will appear on Hot Stove, MLB Network’s nightly offseason studio show featuring updates and analysis of the moves all 30 clubs are making and planning in preparation for the upcoming season. He will also contribute to MLB Network’s Spring Training program 30 Clubs in 30 Days and do studio work on short documentary-style pieces and other select programming. Gammons will also be a regular analyst on MLB Tonight, MLB Network’s signature nightly studio show.

So the baseball winter meetings have gone from very quiet to very busy with this news about Peter Gammons.

Popularity: 9% [?]

A couple of quick programming notes:

 The Instigators Returns to NESN

The Instigators presented by Cadillac Village of Norwood returns for its second season on Thursday, November 19th at 6:00 pm. The Instigators is an Original NESN Entertainment (ONE) production that was first introduced last December. The weekly show is hosted by NESN studio analyst Mike Milbury who is joined by color analyst Andy Brickley, play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards and other special guests as they debate the hottest and most controversial hockey topics every Thursday night.

The Instigators, which will once again air every Thursday at 6:00 PM and again at 10:30 PM the same night, is unlike traditional regional sports network programs as Mike Milbury and his co-instigators tackle national topics like hirings and firings, NHL rules controversies, and debates about their favorite NHL tough guys and personalities.

Comcast Unveils Expanded Celtics On Demand Library

The new season of Celtics On Demand returns exclusively to Comcast to put fans in control and give them access to in-depth coverage of the players, team and Celtics Dancers, as well as press conferences and community events, which have been produced by the Boston Celtics.  With Celtics On Demand, fans can watch Celtics Captain Paul Pierce teach a new generation how to play basketball; see Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo rollerskating; and take a front row seat at Coach Rivers’ post-game press conferences.  Soon, fans will also enjoy the latest documentary “Take It Back,” which tells the story of how the Celtics added Rasheed Wallace and other talent to this year’s team to make for another championship-driving season. 

Additionally, fans can tune into replays of Comcast SportsNet’s Celtics game telecasts within four hours of each game’s conclusion.  Games are available On Demand for 24 hours. 

Celtics On Demand programming is updated regularly and is available around the clock with the ability to pause, fast forward and rewind selections for Comcast’s digital cable customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.  It’s easy to access just by selecting the “Get Local” or “Sports and Fitness” categories from the On Demand menu, then choosing “NBA TV” and “Boston Celtics.”  For game replays and other Comcast SportsNet content, viewers can then select the “Comcast SportsNet” category.  As with the vast majority of Comcast’s 17,000 On Demand programs available each month, Celtics On Demand comes at no additional cost to the company’s digital cable customers.

Popularity: 8% [?]

With TBS having the rights to the Red Sox-Angels series, NESN still plans to cover the ALDS as best as it can with wrap around programming. As it has in previous years, NESN will provide pre and postgame shows. Tom Caron will host. Analysts Jerry Remy and Jim Rice will join him. Here’s NESN’s schedule for Thursday and Friday.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

5:30 PM – 6:30 PM Red Sox GameDay LIVE – (Tom Caron, Jerry Remy and Jim Rice in studio with Heidi Watney and Dave Roberts at the ballpark)

6:30 PM – 7:00 PM Bruins Face-Off LIVE – (Kathryn Tappen, Mike Milbury and Naoko Funayama)

7:00 PM – 9:30 PM Bruins vs. Anaheim – Jack Edward (play-by-play) and Andy Brickley (color analyst)

9:30 PM – 10:00 PM Bruins Overtime LIVE – (Kathryn Tappen, Mike Milbury and Naoko Funayama)

12:30 AM – 1:30 AM Extra Innings – (Tom Caron, Jerry Remy and Jim Rice in studio with Heidi Watney and Dave Roberts at the ballpark)

1:30 AM – 2:00 AM NESN SportsDesk (Cole Wright)

Friday, October 9, 2009

8:30 PM – 9:30 PM Red Sox GameDay LIVE – (Tom Caron, Jerry Remy and Jim Rice in studio with Heidi Watney and Dave Roberts at the ballpark)

12:30 AM – 1:30 AM Extra Innings – (Tom Caron, Jerry Remy and Jim Rice in studio with Heidi Watney and Dave Roberts at the ballpark)

1:30 AM – 2:00 AM NESN SportsDesk (Cole Wright)

The morning after both game #1 and game #2 NESN will schedule a half-hour replay of the Red Sox post-game show to alternate with NESN SportsDesk for Red Sox fans that are not able to stay up late enough to see the entire game.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Before you get all excited, this affiliate is WGAM in New Hampshire, which serves primarily the Manchester and Nashua markets.

WGAM (1250 and 900 AM)  announced the new affiliation (which begins on October 8th) this afternoon, and also announced that they will also be a Boston Bruins radio affiliate as well. The station now carries the Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins games as well as the Manchester Monarchs.

With the change, the new weekday lineup for the station will be:

The new weekday station lineup will be…

6A-10A “Mike and Mike in the Morning” with Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg

10A-12N “The Dan Patrick Show”

12N-2P “The Herd with Colin Cowherd”

2P-3P “The Scott Van Pelt Show” with Ryen Russillo

3P-6P “The Home Team”  with Mike Mutnansky and Rich Keefe

6P-7P “New Hampshire Game Night” with Pete Tarrier and George Russell

I listen to the The Home Team on occasion when I’m in the car, and found it a decent alternative to the madness of Boston sports radio. The Dan Patrick Show is not an ESPN Radio program, but is a Fox Sports Radio program, which WGAM is currently an affiliate of. From their announcement, they’re going to keep Patrick in place and only take two hours of Colin Cowherd, which I think is a smart move.

There is no news at the moment on the status of a Boston-based ESPN Radio affiliate. I had thought they might have one in place by this point, but nothing has been announced.

NESN Ratings for Season Opener

NESN earned a 3.9 HH rating in the Boston DMA for Saturday’s Bruins – Hurricanes game, the network’s highest rated Bruins season opening broadcast in 25 years of covering the team. (The actual Bruins season opener on Thursday night against the Capitals was broadcast on VERSUS.) NESN’s 3.9 rating was also the highest average household rating recorded in the Boston DMA during the game’s 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM window, besting all other broadcast and cable networks.

NESN’s Bruins pre-game show WB Mason Bruins Faceoff LIVE also reached a major benchmark on Saturday. The season-opening edition generated a 1.1 HH rating in Boston and was seen in 28,000 homes, more than any Bruins pre-game show during the 2008-2009 season.

The Batter’s Box debuts on NESN October 12th.

NESN is bringing on another trivia game show, as The Batter’s Box presented by Cabot Cheese will air weeknights at 6:00pm starting Monday October 12th. The show will run for three weeks, and be hosted by comedian and radio host Stephen Donovan.

16 players will face off over 4 rounds of trivia action, a mix of sports and pop-culture. The Batter’s Box questions are in a multiple choice format. The contestants are from all over New England, and selected from tryouts earlier this summer.

Popularity: 7% [?]

NESN has announced today that they have signed Bruins studio analyst Mike Milbury to a multi-year contract extension. This will be Milbury’s third season as an analyst with NESN, and he will also continue to host “The Instigators” and will contribute to hockey content on NESN.com.

Milbury also works as a studio analyst for NBCs NHL coverage, and as part of that will participate in the network’s coverage of the NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park on New Year’s Day.

NESN also announced their Red Sox playoff coverage plans, which includes pre and postgame coverage. NESN will have Tom Caron hosting and Jerry Remy and Jim Rice as studio analysts, with Heidi Watney and Dave Roberts reporting from the ballpark for away games and Tony Massarotti for home games.

A few other items:

As he did last season, NESN’s Don Orsillo will also be participating in the postseason, as he will again call one of the League Division Series for TBS, alongside Buck Martinez. Dennis Eckersley will work as a TBS studio analyst with Ernie Johnson, Cal Ripken Jr, and David Wells.

Chris Forsberg is the latest to join ESPNBoston.com. Forsberg had been working at Boston.com, and was a part of their Patriots coverage there. His first post at the new site is already up, as he provides a report from today’s Patriots practice.

Rico Petrocelli is going to be co-hosting with former MLB reliever Mitch Williams a new weekly show on SIRIUS XM Radio.

On Patriots Daily today, I’m Trading Places with the Baltimore blog Right Off Russell.

Joe Donahue has a 2009-10 NHL Preview.

Popularity: 9% [?]

A few notes from today.

I’ve got a new column up for the Metro: Moss Speculation Means New Lows For Media.

Rodney Harrison was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show today, and as always, had some interesting things to say.

Jeremy Gottlieb goes around the league on Patriots Daily.

The Big Lead has an interesting post on Should Sports Editors Forbid Their Writers From Helping ESPN Essentially Kill Newspapers?

With the Bruins starting the regular season and the Red Sox in the playoffs once again the NESN dance is set to begin again. Like last year, when the teams happen to play on the same night, both Bruins and Red Sox games will be available in HD, with one of them being moved to a NESNplus station.

On October 3, NESN will deliver simultaneous high definition (HD) coverage of the Red Sox and Bruins when both teams play at the same time. The Red Sox and Bruins are both scheduled to play 7:00 PM regular season games on October 3 and NESN will deliver live and exclusive coverage of both games in standard and high definition. The Red Sox – Indians game will be available on NESNplus and NESNplus HD channels with coverage beginning at 6:00 PM with Olympia Sports presents The Boston Globe Red Sox Game Day Live while the Bruins – Hurricanes game will be available on NESN and NESNHD with coverage beginning at 6:30 PM with WB Mason Bruins Face-Off Live.

NESNplus and NESNplus HD are a compilation of channels that distributors provide NESN to carry simultaneous coverage of Red Sox and Bruins games.

A complete list of NESNplus and NESNplus HD channels will be available at NESN.com later today.

Popularity: 8% [?]

NESN announced today that Jade McCarthy will join NESN as an anchor, host and reporter in January 2010. 

From their press release today:

A Newton, Massachusetts native, McCarthy has spent the last 4 years with WCAU NBC 10 in Philadelphia, where she serves as a sports anchor/reporter. In 2008 she won 2 Emmy awards, one for best sports news story and the second for best sports special for Football Night in Philly. The Mount Holyoke College graduate also served as a host on Sports Final, an anchor on NBC 10’s weekend newscasts and a co-host for The10! Show, a daily lifestyle & entertainment show. 

“Jade’s passion for sports and her unique style will make her homecoming that much more enjoyable for our fans,” said Joel Feld, NESN’s executive vice president of programming and executive producer. “She will make a terrific addition to NESN’s on-air team.” 

“I am very excited to join the NESN family. I still remember sitting at my first Red Sox game with my great aunt being amazed as I watched Wade Boggs tower over Jody Reed in front of the dugout,” said Jade McCarthy. “My love for the Boston teams went with me as I worked in Alabama, and then in Philadelphia. While it is bittersweet to leave four years in Philly behind, I couldn’t be more thrilled to come home to the Boston area for this opportunity.” 

McCarthy began her career as a reporter at WGGB in Springfield, Massachusetts. She then moved to WAFF the NBC affiliate in Huntsville, Alabama to serve as a weekend morning show anchor and reporter before moving on to Philadelphia in 2005. Growing up, McCarthy rode horses competitively for 10 years.  Although she no longer competes, she still enjoys horseback riding. She will join NESN after completing her current contract at WCAU NBC 10.

Apparently they’re heartbroken in Philadelphia over this move…

Popularity: 13% [?]