New England Cable News maintains a remote camera in the television studio of Suffolk University in downtown Boston. New England Cable News is available across New England in 3.7 million homes and produces several original programs.
Overview
NECN was launched March 2, 1992, as a joint partnership between Continental Cablevision (now part of Comcast) and the Hearst Corporation.[1] On June 18, 2009, Hearst sold its stake in NECN to Comcast, which began to operate it as a division of the Comcast Sports Group and Comcast SportsNet.[2]
When Hearst owned a stake in NECN, it used the resources of several New England stations owned and operated by Hearst Television to assist in news coverage of the region. The Hearst stations include Boston ABC affiliate WCVB-TV (early in NECN's existence, the network rebroadcast WCVB's 6:00p.m. newscast at 8:00p.m.,[1] an arrangement discontinued in 1998[3]); New Hampshire's ABC affiliate WMUR-TV; ABC affiliate WMTW in Portland (NECN and WMTW both maintained bureaus in the Time and Temperature Building in downtown Portland, though the operations were physically separate and NECN used its own news vehicles in Maine); and WPTZ and WNNE, Vermont's two NBC affiliates. Other partnerships NECN maintained in its early years included WGGB-TV in Springfield, Massachusetts, WGME-TV in Portland (prior to Hearst's 2004 purchase of WMTW), WTNH in New Haven, Connecticut, WPRI-TV in Providence, Rhode Island, and The Boston Globe.[3]
Before its merger into the NBC Owned Television Stations, NECN was a training ground for local news reporters. Some of the better-known reporters who got their start at NECN include ABC's Dan Harris, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, and CNBC's Maya Kulycky. Several of Boston's current television reporters and anchors also began at NECN. Conversely, NECN has also employed some of the long-lived veterans of the Boston television market, including R. D. Sahl, Tom Ellis and Chet Curtis.
In addition to its cable production operations, NECN began to produce a 10:00p.m. newscast for Boston Fox affiliate WFXT, known as Fox 25 News at 10:00 on September 7, 1993.[4] Shortly after Fox Television Stations bought WFXT from the Boston Celtics, it chose not to renew the contract with NECN upon its expiration on October 1, 1995 (the station would launch its own news operation a year later);[5] the next day, the newscast moved to UPN affiliate WSBK-TV and was renamed UPN 38 Prime News.[6] The 10:00p.m. newscast left the air on October 4, 1998, when WSBK canceled it to focus on sports and entertainment programming; WSBK's Boston Bruins telecasts continued to include NECN-produced news inserts during the 1998–99 season.[7] During the 2000s, NECN partnered with Charter Communications to produce Worcester News Tonight for its Charter TV3 channel.[8]
Comcast systems carry NECN as part of its limited basic tier, usually on a low and prime channel position (channel 6 in most Metro Boston communities). It is also seen on Verizon FiOS on channel 13 as part of local Digital, and on RCN on channel 318 as part of its Signature package. Most other cable TV systems in New England carry NECN, with the exception of Cox. The service is not available on satellite.
On January 18, 2010, NECN began broadcasting in high definition. Most Boston-area Comcast subscribers can watch NECN-HD on Channel 840. Verizon carries NECN-HD on channel 513, also as part of local digital, while RCN subscribers can watch NECN-HD on channel 618.
In July 2013, as part of a corporate reorganization resulting from Comcast's purchase of NBC Universal, NECN was moved into the NBC Owned Television Stations division—aligning it with NBC and Telemundo's owned-and-operated stations, although Boston's NBC affiliate WHDH was not owned by the network.[9] On January 1, 2017, low-power station WBTS-LD became Boston's new NBC O&O, replacing WHDH as its affiliate; it shares studios and resources with NECN.[10]WNEU, the Telemundo O&O for Boston, has also shared resources with NECN since launching a news operation in 2015.[11] Under NBCUniversal management, NECN also began sharing resources with the other NBC affiliates in New England: WVIT in New Britain, Connecticut (an O&O), WWLP in Springfield, Massachusetts, WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, and WCSH in Portland, Maine (and its Bangor semi-satellite, WLBZ), along with maintaining its existing relationship with WPTZ.
In December 2013, Time Warner Cable announced that NECN would be dropped from its lineups in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts by the end of the year.[12] The future of the Portland, Maine bureau was called into question.[13] The decision was widely criticized by Time Warner Cable customers, who solicited the intervention of public officials on their behalf. TWC subsequently decided to continue carrying NECN.[14]
In 2016, NECN became one of the first regional cable networks to be available on the now defunct PlayStation Vue (and the first to be on an over-the-top Internet television service). Due to how PlayStation Vue defined each region it served, it also extended the network's reach into the New York Tri-State area. It was later added to more streaming television services such as FuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, and Sling TV.
In December 2016, Charter Spectrum dropped NECN from its basic tier, although it remains available on its digital tiers.
In late December 2022, as part of cost-cutting measures, NBCUniversal announced the closure of the NECN Vermont bureau at the end of the year.[15][16]
WMTW is a television station licensed to Poland Spring, Maine, United States, serving the Portland area as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside CW affiliate WPXT. The two stations share studios on Ledgeview Drive in Westbrook; WMTW's transmitter is located in West Baldwin, Maine.
WBZ-TV is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent WSBK-TV. Both stations share studios on Soldiers Field Road in the Allston–Brighton section of Boston. WBZ-TV's transmitter is located on Cedar Street in Needham, Massachusetts, on a tower site that was formerly owned by CBS and is now owned by American Tower Corporation.
WHDH is an independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by Sunbeam Television alongside Cambridge-licensed CW affiliate WLVI. WHDH and WLVI share studios at Bulfinch Place in downtown Boston; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WHDH's spectrum from the WHDH-TV tower in Newton, Massachusetts.
WFXT is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with the Fox network and owned by Cox Media Group. Its studios are located on Fox Drive in Dedham, and its transmitter is located on Cabot Street in Needham. WFXT is the largest Fox affiliate by market size that is not owned and operated by the network, although it was previously owned by Fox on two occasions.
NBCUniversal Media Group is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2004 to 2019.
WCAU is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo outlet WWSI ; it is also sister to regional sports network NBC Sports Philadelphia.
WCVB-TV is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place in Needham, Massachusetts, and its transmitter is located on Cedar Street, also in Needham, on a tower shared with several other television and radio stations.
WSBK-TV is an independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS outlet WBZ-TV. The two stations share studios on Soldiers Field Road in the Allston–Brighton section of Boston. WSBK-TV's transmitter is located on Cedar Street in Needham, Massachusetts, on a tower site that was formerly owned by CBS and is now owned by American Tower Corporation.
WWSI is a television station licensed to Mount Laurel, New Jersey, United States, serving as the Philadelphia-area outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC outlet WCAU ; it is also sister to regional sports network NBC Sports Philadelphia.
WMUR-TV is a television station licensed to Manchester, New Hampshire, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate to most of New Hampshire. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on South Commercial Street in downtown Manchester, and its transmitter is located on the south peak of Mount Uncanoonuc in Goffstown.
WPXT is a television station in Portland, Maine, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Poland Spring–licensed ABC affiliate WMTW. The two stations share studios on Ledgeview Drive in Westbrook; WPXT's transmitter is located in West Baldwin, Maine.
WNEU is a television station licensed to Merrimack, New Hampshire, United States, serving as the Boston-area outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside Nashua, New Hampshire–licensed Class A NBC station WBTS-CD, which shares spectrum with Boston-based PBS member station WGBX-TV to provide full-market coverage.
WYCN-LD is a low-power television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language network Telemundo. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group, the station has studios on Kenney Drive in Cranston, Rhode Island, and its transmitter is located on East Main Street in Norton, Massachusetts.
KBLR is a television station licensed to Paradise, Nevada, United States, broadcasting the Spanish language Telemundo network to the Las Vegas area. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group, KBLR maintains studios at the Neonopolis complex on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, and a transmitter on Black Mountain near Henderson.
WNNE, branded The Valley CW, is a television station licensed to Montpelier, Vermont, United States, serving the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market as an affiliate of The CW Plus. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Plattsburgh-licensed NBC affiliate WPTZ. WNNE and WPTZ share studios on Community Drive in South Burlington, Vermont, with a secondary studio and news bureau on Cornelia Street in Plattsburgh; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WPTZ's spectrum from an antenna on Vermont's highest peak, Mount Mansfield.
KDEN-TV is a television station licensed to Longmont, Colorado, United States, serving as the Denver area outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group, KDEN-TV maintains studios at the Comcast Media Center on East Dry Creek Road in Centennial, and its transmitter is located in rural southwestern Weld County.
NBC Sports Boston is an American regional sports network owned by the NBC Sports Group unit of NBCUniversal, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports events throughout New England with a major focus on Boston area teams, as well as several original analysis, magazine and entertainment programs. It is available on cable providers throughout Massachusetts, eastern and central Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.
WBTS-CD is a Class A television station licensed to Nashua, New Hampshire, United States, serving as the NBC outlet for the Boston area. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Merrimack, New Hampshire–licensed Telemundo station WNEU ; it is also sister to regional cable news channel New England Cable News (NECN) and regional sports network NBC Sports Boston. The four outlets share studios at the NBCU Boston Media Center on B Street in Needham, Massachusetts.
NBC Owned Television Stations is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees the NBC owned-and-operated television stations, Cozi TV network, LXTV and Skycastle Entertainment, its in-house marketing and promotion company. NBCUniversal's Telemundo owned-and-operated stations are held in the separate Telemundo Station Group.
Telemundo Station Group is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees their Telemundo owned-and-operated television stations and the TeleXitos network. The NBC owned-and-operated stations are held in the separate NBC Owned Television Stations division.
2 Still on the air, but no longer carrying a dedicated news format.
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