From http://www.bangornews.com

By Andrew Neff, Of the NEWS Staff
Last updated: Friday, October 3, 2003
WABI-TV deal with UM revised
NESN, Hockey East force changes


One network's finished broadcast schedule is another's cause for
revision.The recently signed broadcast agreement between New England
Sports Network and Hockey East means Bangor television station WABI
(Channel 5) will have to get out the liquid paper and go back to the
drawing board.


Hockey East and NESN are back together again six years after the end of
a 13-year run. Fox Sports Net New England wrested Hockey East broadcast
rights away from NESN in 1997, but NESN is back in the picture with a
deal calling for nine Hockey East regular season telecasts and four
playoff games.

Because of Hockey East's rules regarding TV exclusivity, which prevent
stations from airing Hockey East games during the same time period
another HE telecast is being aired by the league's regional carrier,
the NESN deal meant the loss of four WABI games.

"They're doing games from January though March and they're taking one
of our games [Boston College at Maine] and blacking out three others on
nights they're doing another game at the same time as ours," said WABI
program director Steve Hiltz.

Hiltz said his station has filled two of the holes on the schedule with
non-league games - Dartmouth at Maine Dec. 13 and Sacred Heart at Maine
on Jan. 10 - but he is still three short of the station's 15-game
broadcast goal for UMaine sports.

"We're interested in some more football and we're looking at the hockey
schedule for more opportunities, but we've been over it with a fine
tooth comb already and we need to sit down and talk," Hiltz said. "As
far as basketball, we have an eye toward it, but it still remains
difficult because of weekend conflicts with the NFL and other things.

"I would say we'll be very lucky to get to the 15-game goal we had
originally."

NESN is airing the HE games in a game-of-the-week format with each
broadcast on Fridays at 7 p.m. Maine will appear at least once on NESN,
although the finalized schedule has not yet been released.


Fox Nets Celtics coverage

Fox Sports Net New England hits the hardwood in earnest Wednesday as
the regional sports network starts its 23rd broadcast season with the
Boston Celtics.

FSNNE's Wednesday night (7 p.m.) game is the first of eight preseason
telecasts. The network will also air 78 regular season games.

Another long-running association - the broadcast duo of Celtic Hall of
Famer Tom Heinsohn and Mike Gorman - continue the longest-running
on-air announcing team run in the country as they enter their 23rd
season together. The duo began their announcing careers together in
1979 by calling Providence College basketball games.


CSTV looks at Brooks

College Sports Television will premier an original series titled
"Coach" tonight as a lead-in to its college hockey broadcast coverage.

The 24-hour satellite sports network will air the special on former
college and NHL hockey coach Herb Brooks, who led the U.S. Olympic
"Miracle on Ice" team to a gold medal in 1980.

The half-hour special, which starts at 7 p.m., will lead in to CSTV
Primetime, a live studio show on which former Brooks player Mike
Eruzione will be a guest. The broadcast of the 8 p.m. St.
Lawrence-Miami (Ohio) hockey game follows.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600, or [log in to unmask]