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‘Tis the season … for recollection, review, and resolutions.
The year 2005 was a significant one in the local, regional and national telecommunications arena.
There were many milestones, developments, benchmarks, and advances made in the radio, television, telephone and Internet fields as they pertain to sports.
On the local front, Bangor TV station WABI (Channel 5) scored another statewide first when it aired all three state championship high school football games live on the same day in November. The ambitious venture was met with plenty of support, appreciation and fanfare, and seems like a good bet for a repeat.
Bangor all-sports radio station WZON (620 AM) aired its 3,000th live, locally produced sportscast this month. It’s quite an accomplishment considering many doubted the viability of an all-sports radio station in a media market ranked 155th nationally by ACNielsen ratings back in 1994 when owners Stephen and Tabitha King switched the format to all-sports. Bangor has since moved up to No. 151 and The Sports Zone also has been growing in an upward direction.
Bangor TV station WVII (Ch. 7) once again tried to broadcast New England Patriots preseason games live and once again was thwarted by archaic NFL broadcast exclusivity rules limiting broadcasts to home markets no more than 50 miles beyond the host team’s home city. So, once again, WVII aired the games on a tape-delayed basis. One of these years, the station’s pass attempt might be completed.
Regionally speaking, Fox Sports Net New England started celebrating its 25th year of broadcasting the Boston Celtics. It’s quite a milestone, in this modern era of monopolistic mega-media corporations, massive mergers and specialized cable and satellite TV-radio stations and networks, for one entity to have a partnership with a professional franchise in one of the “big four” sports leagues that has been such a long, continuous relationship.
New England Sports Network debuted two new regional sports conference shows focusing on Hockey East and America East, both of which have received positive responses from viewers and advertisers alike.
NESN also made news on the local and regional fronts when Addison native Barry Alley won a New England Emmy Award for photography work done on a network special about Celtics founder, executive, and former coach Red Auerbach.
Cable sports network giant ESPN made local, regional and national news when it aired a live segment of its trademark SportsCenter show from the annual Machias Blueberry Festival as part of its SportsCenter Across America promotion.
Longtime Aroostook county resident, Madawaska High School graduate and Thomas College alumna Tiffany Nelson made multiple appearances on ESPN and ESPN2 as her professional 9-ball pool (billiards) career has vaulted her into the Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s top 25 rankings.
Bangor native Marcus Davis appeared on the second installment of Spike Network’s Ultimate Fighter UFC reality show series and lasted until the midpoint of the season before being eliminated.
Both Major League Baseball and minor league baseball fully dove into the Internet with the majors adding radio and TV Web casts and Web streaming capability to its site. Its minor-league counterpart’s Web site underwent a complete overhaul with the same capabilities and features to make it more fan-friendly.
Here’s hoping 2006 holds more technical advances, groundbreaking moments and pleasant surprises for every couch potato and network-station official in Maine, New England, and the U.S.
Have a safe, happy, and successful New Year!
Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net
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