NESN Announces Plans In Celebration Of Network’s 40th Anniversary

The celebration will begin Thursday

BOSTON — NESN announced Wednesday plans to commemorate the network’s 40th anniversary beginning Thursday. The celebration will begin on March 21, which marks the 40th anniversary of the first live game broadcast on NESN and will continue throughout the year.

NESN will be kicking off its 40th anniversary celebration with the Boston Bruins and Boston Red Sox live game telecasts Thursday. The Bruins game against the New York Rangers will feature dedicated NESN 40th anniversary coverage during the pre and postgame shows on NESN. During the Red Sox spring training matchup against the Baltimore Orioles, there will be footage from NESN’s first broadcasted spring training game on March 21, 1984, integrated into the telecast, which will air on NESN+.

NESN will air 40 of the most impactful NESN telecasts over the course of the next year, in commemoration of the network’s 40th anniversary. Those historic telecasts will start in April, airing at 10 a.m. ET on Sundays. There will also be a four-part special, called “NESN Favorites,” highlighting content from the network by decade, starting with the 1980s through the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. The four-part special will feature a 30-minute episode dedicated to each of the four decades. Each episode will consist of archival footage of key moments from the decade with reaction from NESN talent and employees, athletes and legacy sponsors. 

NESN will also feature an editorial oral history on NESN.com spotlighting watershed moments from past NESN broadcasts, re-lived through the eyes of people who covered those moments on the network. In April, NESN will kick off fan engagement with the “NESN Fan Favorites” contest where fans can submit their favorite memory for a chance to win NESN 40 retro-branded merch, and an opportunity for their memory to be shared on NESN platforms.

NESN will feature new “40th Anniversary” branding across the network, including on-air, on NESN.com and on NESN social. Historical footage from the past four decades will be integrated into live Red Sox and Bruins games on the network throughout the NESN 40th anniversary year. 

Fans can watch all of this content on NESN or stream it on the NESN 360 app with a direct subscription or via their TV provider at no additional cost. Visit www.NESN360.com to learn more.

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About the Author

NESN Staff

NESN is consistently one of the top-rated regional sports networks in the country with award-winning Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins coverage. NESN and NESN+ are delivered throughout the six-state New England region and are available anytime, anywhere on any device on the NESN app and at NESN.com. The network is also distributed nationally as NESN National. For the past six years, Forbes Magazine has ranked NESN as one of the 10 Most Valuable Sports Business Brands in the World. NESN.com is one of the country’s most visited sports websites with a state-of-the-art HD studio dedicated to digital video productions. NESN’s social responsibility program, NESN Connects is proud to support and connect its employees with charitable organizations in our communities. NESN is owned by Fenway Sports Group (owners of the Boston Red Sox) and Delaware North (owners of the Boston Bruins).