NESN, New England’s most watched sports network, and The Hockey East Association are pleased to jointly announce that they have extended their television rights agreement.
Highlights of the new agreement include:
• A four-year term through the 2014-15 season with at least 16 games per season
• NESN to produce every game in high definition
• A new “flex” scheduling plan that will allow Hockey East and NESN to pick the best games during the closing weeks of the regular season
• Four games will air immediately following Bruins Saturday afternoon games
• Five Hockey East Tournament games in 2012, including the women’s championship game plus exclusive New England rights to the men’s tournament semifinal games and championship game from TD Garden in Boston
• All 10 Hockey East teams will appear on NESN each season
• Pre or postgame shows will be produced around all games from NESN’s studios in Watertown, Mass.
“NESN’s affiliation with Hockey East dates back to the network’s beginnings in 1984, and the conference continues to deliver the best hockey action that the college game has to offer,” said Sean McGrail, NESN’s President and CEO. “As the conference continues to grow in popularity, both here in New England and nationally, we are excited to continue to enhance our coverage of Hockey East.”
“This is the final and perhaps most important piece of our television future,” said Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna. “While our recent announcements on national television remain significant to the growth of the conference, the fact is we play our games here, we sell our tickets here and we still recruit a large number of our hockey players out of New England. NESN allows us to reach the people who care about Hockey East the most.”
Sun Life Frozen Fenway – Jan. 7, 2012
NESN’s Hockey East coverage is set to begin with live and exclusive high definition coverage of the Sun Life Frozen Fenway event on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. This special doubleheader of outdoor games at Fenway Park will begin immediately following NESN’s coverage of the Boston Bruins-Vancouver game at 4:00 p.m. when Massachusetts takes on Vermont followed by Maine versus New Hampshire at 7:30 p.m.
NESN’s 2012 Hockey East Broadcast Schedule
| DAY/DATE | OPPONENTS | TV GAME TIME |
| Saturday, Jan. 7 | Massachusetts vs. Vermont (Fenway Park) | 4 p.m. |
| Saturday, Jan. 7 | Maine vs. New Hampshire (Fenway Park) | 7:30 p.m. |
| Friday, Jan. 13 | Boston University at Northeastern | 7:30 p.m. |
| Friday, Jan. 20 | Providence at Boston University | 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Jan. 21 | Boston College at Maine | 4 p.m. |
| Friday, Jan. 27 | New Hampshire at Boston College | 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Feb. 4 | Vermont at UMass-Lowell | 7 p.m. |
| Saturday, Feb. 11 | New Hampshire at Merrimack | 7 p.m. |
| Saturday, Feb. 18 | Flex Game | 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Feb. 25 | Flex Game | 3:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Mar. 3 | Flex Game | 4 p.m. |
| Sunday, Mar. 4 | Women’s Championship Game | TBD |
| Saturday, Mar. 10 | Hockey East Quarterfinals | 4 p.m. |
| Friday, Mar. 16 | Hockey East Semifinals No. 1 | 5 p.m. |
| Friday, Mar. 16 | Hockey East Semifinals No. 2 | 8 p.m. |
| Saturday, Mar. 17 | Hockey East Championship | 8 p.m. |
About NESN
NESN has consistently been one of the top rated regional sports networks in the country with award-winning Red Sox and Bruins coverage. The network is delivered to over 4 million homes throughout the six-state New England region and an additional 3.7 million homes nationally as NESN National. NESN.com, the network’s online sports news service, is one of the most visited regional sports network websites in the country. NESN also produces a number of distinctive programs under its umbrella Original NESN Entertainment (ONE). NESN is owned by Fenway Sports Group (owners of the Boston Red Sox) and the Boston Bruins.
About Hockey East
The Hockey East Association is a 10-team Division I college men’s hockey conference founded in 1984 and an eight-team Division I women’s league which began play in 2002-03. The men’s league has won seven NCAA championships in the past 19 years. Since 1999, Hockey East has won five NCAA championships and have placed 18 teams in the Frozen Four, along with 45 teams in the NCAA tournament.
