Was Anyone Out There Watching Last Night?

189 Pages·2014·0.84 MB·English

by  Tanya Lee Lovejoy

Southern Illinois University Carbondale
OpenSIUC
Dissertations Theses and Dissertations
8-1-2012
"Was Anyone Out There Watching Last Night?":
The Creation and Early History of New England
Sport Network, 1980-1989
Tanya Lee Lovejoy
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at:http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations
Recommended Citation
Lovejoy, Tanya Lee, ""Was Anyone Out There Watching Last Night?": The Creation and Early History of New England Sport Network,
1980-1989" (2012).Dissertations.Paper 546.
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“WAS ANYONE OUT THERE WATCHING LAST NIGHT?”:
THE CREATION AND EARLY HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND SPORTS NETWORK,
1980-1989

by

Tanya L. Lovejoy

B.A., University of Southern Maine, 2001
M.A, San Francisco State University, 2006

A Dissertation
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Doctor of Philosophy degree

Department of Mass Communication and Media Arts
in the Graduate School
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
August 2012
Copyright by Tanya L. Lovejoy, 2012
All Rights Reserved
DISSERTATION APPROVAL

“WAS ANYONE OUT THERE WATCHING LAST NIGHT?”:
THE CREATION AND EARLY HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND SPORTS NETWORK,
1980-1989

by

Tanya L. Lovejoy

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

in the field of Mass Communication and Media Arts

Approved by:

Dr. William Babcock, Chair

Dr. William Freivogel

Dr. Jacob Podber

Dr. Deborah Tudor

Dr. Bobbi Knapp

Graduate School
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
April 25, 2012
AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF

Tanya L. Lovejoy, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Mass Communication and Media Arts,
presented on April 25, 2012, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

TITLE: “WAS ANYONE OUT THERE WATCHING LAST NIGHT?”: THE CREATION
AND EARLY HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND SPORTS NETWORK, 1980-1989

MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. William Babcock

In the United States, regional sports networks broadcast games of home teams to
audiences in specific communities, or geographical areas. Ownership of regional sports network
by sports teams presents a unique type of vertical integration. Regional sports networks use
distinctive programming to connect to local sports culture. This dissertation explores the
historical significance of New England Sports Network (NESN), a team created, owned and
operated regional sports network, which broadcasts Boston Red Sox baseball games and Boston
Bruins hockey games throughout the New England region. Using elements of cultural studies,
specifically political economy and textual analysis, this dissertation examines the impact of the
ownership structure of NESN on NESN programming and how NESN uses programming to
connect to local sports culture. This dissertation employs the theoretical frameworks of the
sports/media complex and the base and superstructure model to support the argument that
regional sports networks function not only on an economic level, but on a political economic and
cultural level as well.
Historically, NESN is the first successful team created, owned and operated regional
sports network. NESN’s creation established a new form of sports media ownership where sports
team owners could essentially form private media corporations to increase earnings and extend
operations across industries. NESN utilizes specific visual and aural techniques to differentiate
NESN programming from other national and regional sports broadcasters. NESN also uses the
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same techniques to connect to local sports culture and to the everyday lives of sports consumers.
The televised sports text offers NESN a space where the network can function on both a political
economic and cultural level. Additionally, NESN presents a real world example of how the
sports/media complex has become a more intricate theoretical framework.

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this dissertation to my grandfather, Leslie L. Hurd. Although he passed away
nineteen years ago, he was the most passionate and devoted Boston Red Sox fan I ever knew.
Like many Red Sox fans of his generation, he was unable to see his beloved team win the 2004
World Series after an eighty-six year deficit. Also, to the best of my knowledge, because my
grandfather never subscribed to cable, he never watched NESN and always remained a loyal
viewer of WSBK-TV.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to acknowledge those who were involved in guiding and supporting me
through the dissertation process. First and foremost, I would like to thank my dissertation
advisor, Dr. William Babcock. While most of our conversations focused on this project, we
always seemed to end up discussing baseball. Being a Cleveland Indians fan he was able to
sympathize with a Boston Red Sox fan, and as a dissertation chair, he always made sure I was
heading in the right direction with this project and with my academic career. Second, I would
like to thank my committee members – Dr. William Freivogel, Dr. Jacob Podber, Dr. Deborah
Tudor, and Dr. Bobbi Knapp. I also wish to express gratitude to the professors whose guidance
in the classroom helped contribute to the completion of this project – Dr. Eileen Meehan, Dr.
Novotny Lawrence, and Dr. Michele Torre. Throughout the dissertation process, there have been
many other professors, colleagues and faculty members who have assisted me in a number of
ways, from humorous conversations to discussions on surviving the academic world. I would
especially like to thank Ms. Linda Gassel, who without her assistance I think I would have spent
more time being lost and confused during the entire process. I would also like to thank my
family, particularly my parents, who have always supported me and encouraged me to do what I
love. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my husband, Chris, for his immense patience and
endless support.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................i
DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................... iv
CHAPTERS
CHAPTER 1 – Introduction ............................................................................................. 1
CHAPTER 2 – Literature Review .................................................................................. 14
CHAPTER 3 – Methods ................................................................................................ 44
CHAPTER 4 – The History: Cable, Satellite, Sports, and NESN ................................... 57
CHAPTER 5 – Analysis & Findings: NESN and the Sports/Media Complex................113
CHAPTER 6 – Conclusion .......................................................................................... 151
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 161
VITA .................................................................................................................................... 179

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1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
On March 21, 1984, New England Sports Network (NESN), a regional sports network
created, owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox baseball team, the Boston Bruins hockey
team, and local television broadcaster, WSBK, went on the air (Craig, 1984b). Since 1984, there
have been seven team owned and operated regional sports networks on the air in the United
States (Walker & Bellamy Jr., 2008). NESN is the first team created, owned and operated
regional sports network, and, as of today, continues to televise Red Sox and Bruins games, as
well as other sports related programming, to cable subscribers in Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. What is the historical significance
of NESN? More specifically, how has the ownership structure of NESN impacted NESN
programming? Additionally, how has NESN used its programming to connect to local sports
culture?
Sports teams may have created regional sports networks solely for economic reasons.
However, the creation of regional sport networks by sports teams has had an impact on the
overall sports media industry. Regional sports networks utilize programming to connect to local
communities or specific geographical areas, and are usually associated with a particular team, or
teams. For most sports consumers, those teams are already an important part of local sports
culture. A team that creates and maintains a regional sports network in a specific community is
connecting to the everyday lives of sports consumers through television programming that
centers on the home team, or teams. NESN will serve as a case study for this dissertation.
This dissertation focuses on the creation and early history of NESN from 1980 to 1989.
These years cover the creation of the network prior to its debut in 1984 as well as the first five