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NESN to launch ‘NESN Nation,’ free streaming channel
“In today’s shifting environment it’s critical that we look for ways to reach our viewers where they are and not just limited to the Northeast."
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NESN plans to announce Thursday that it is launching its own free, advertising-supported national streaming channel.
Called NESN Nation, the channel will be available on Prime Video, Roku, Twitch, and Plex, and will launch on other major platforms in the weeks ahead.
Live Bruins and Red Sox games will not air on NESN Nation, due primarily to limitations and geographic parameters of the NHL and MLB’s broadcast rights deals.
But NESN Nation will feature more than 30 hours of live programming a week, including four Red Sox spring training games: February 23, March 2, March 9, and March 23. Those games will be available on all of the aforementioned platforms other than Twitch.
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The latter two spring games will also be available on Samsung TV Plus, which will add NESN Nation in the coming weeks.
“Obviously our rights are limited to our geographical territories, but at the outset we are super excited about launching with four Red Sox spring training games,’’ said David Wisnia, NESN’s president and CEO. “As this continues to evolve, we’ll look at other opportunities with the Bruins regular season, with the Red Sox, or any other live content on the college side to continue to expand our offerings.”
It should be emphasized that NESN Nation is not a replacement for the NESN 360 app or the streaming service or cable provider viewers subscribe to in order to watch Bruins and Red Sox games, but rather a companion or complement, with the purpose of expanding content options to New England sports fans outside of the New England market.
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“In today’s shifting environment it’s critical that we look for ways to reach our viewers where they are and not just limited to the Northeast,’’ said Wisnia. “In the close to four months I’ve been [at NESN], I can’t tell you how many times people outside of Boston, outside of our coverage area, have come to me and said, ‘hey how do I connect with your brands?’ Whether it’s the Red Sox, whether it’s the Bruins or anything else in our arsenal, this is an opportunity to do that.”
Rather than having a grid or menu of content to choose from, as one would on many streaming services, NESN Nation will function as a 24/7, programmed channel.
Programming that will be available in the coming days and weeks includes:
· Live streams of Bruins morning and pregame skates. Those will include morning skates on March 11 and 17, and pregame skates on February 25, March 4, and March 15.
· “Unobstructed Views,” NESN’s alternate, commentary-driven game coverage show featuring Tuukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron and Andrew Raycroft.
· Six Athletes Unlimited women’s basketball games.
· Liverpool FC coverage, including a weekly three-hour block featuring match highlights, recaps, and analysis plus team-produced behind the scenes content.
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· Eight different video-enabled podcasts including “Boston Has Entered the Chat” and “Morning Bru.”
· Original and archived NESN features and documentaries, live press conferences, and other behind-the-scenes programming.
· Live game telecasts from select colleges.
· “This Week in Hockey East,” a league-produced program previewing the most important games of the weekend.
Wisnia noted that viewership on free, advertiser-supported platforms (also known as FAST platforms – Tubi and Pluto are two of the more popular channels) increased 55 percent in 2024, with projections for continued rapid growth in the years ahead.
The “free” aspect has growing appeal to sports fans who have grown increasingly frustrated by rising cable fees and streamers splintering carriage rights so that multiple subscriptions are required to watch, say, every Red Sox game.
“I think it’s a business we want to be in and we need to be in as we look for new growth opportunities,” said Wisnia.
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