I think the main advantage that the NESN contract
gives to HE is the increased exposure of college
hockey within HE's principal recruiting area (New
England).  I'm no HE historian, but it seems to me
that outside of BU and BC the other HE programs
had relatively low "market presence" among young
hockey players until HE began its saturation
bombing of local media in the late 80's.  Programs
like Lowell (especially), Providence, and Maine
have definitely had their reputations improved by
association with the two Boston favorites.  This
appears to me a similar effect as that undergone by
the "fodder" programs in the Big East basketball
conference, each of which by now has taken its
turn at the head of the class and recruits extemely
well within the Big East TV broadcast territory.
 
One problem for the ECAC, then, is that neither our
league nor our recruiting base are as concentrated
as Hovckey East's, so a deal like that
with EMPIRE doesn't give you the bang of the
NESN deal.  NESN is also a very special
commodity because it carries the Red Sox and
Bruins so a large number of households not only
have it but are used to turning to it -- the
cross-fertilization of college hockey in general and
HE in particular is obvious.
 
Given that I don't think SC or ESPN-2 give a rat's
ass about the ECAC, I would argue that the most
effective carrier for the ECAC would be... NESN
again!
 
Either that or CBC  :^)
 
 
Greg
Malden, MA
Let's Go Red!