NESN Announces Plans in Celebration of the Network’s 40th Anniversary Year

NESN announces today to commemorate the network’s 40th anniversary beginning on Thursday. The celebration will begin on Thursday, 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 Bruins and Red Sox live game telecasts on Thursday, March 21st. The Bruins game against the 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 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. 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.