A week after being honored for his longevity as the University of Maine hockey team’s radio voice, Dan Hannigan will make the transition to television this weekend.

He and business partner Eric Frede will begin the second season of the “America East on Campus,” a show they produce for America East, on the New England Sports Network Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Hannigan and Frede, both former sports directors at Bangor TV station WVII (Channel 7), co-own Cod Rock Media promotions, a Kittery-based business that produces training, fund-raising, marketing and promotional audio and video presentations.

The show’s first episode features two UMaine athletes already familiar to many local fans: senior guard Kevin Reed and senior forward-center Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa.

The half-hour special examines Reed’s offseason of rehabilitation for a broken foot and his unique relationship with a teammate who also happens to be his brother-in-law: Mark Socoby. It also takes a look at Hugstad-Vaa’s singing ability and possible pursuit of a recording contract.

“We go beyond stats,” said Hannigan. “The idea is to have people coming away from the show saying ‘Well, I didn’t know that.'”

Saturday’s show – the first of at least five and possibly six – will also feature previews of the men’s and women’s conference basketball season with top teams and players. It will be replayed Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. The second episode will air Jan 13.

Frede and Hannigan are also busy working on another show (“Hartford Hawks Basketball with Jen Rizzotti”) which also airs on NESN. A replay of the first of the three-episode series airs Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

“It’s been an interesting experience because we did the Hockey East show and the America East shows, but this is just one school we’re focusing on for this one,” said Hannigan, who stressed it is not another coach’s show. “This is a more feature-based approach with more production value.”

Frede is also the studio host and reporter for NESN’s Boston Bruins telecasts.

Black Bear broadcast barrage

After several years of limited regional and even local TV exposure, the UMaine men’s basketball team will enjoy a bumper crop of it this season.

The Black Bears will appear on NESN a record six times in January and February. The TV coverage comes from America East’s effort to raise its visibility by producing its own 56-game basketball TV package with ESPN Regional Television and selling the broadcasts to regional and national satellite and/or cable carriers like NESN, CN8, Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, Time Warner and ESPN Fullcourt.

“In the past we’d come up with a schedule and ask NESN if they could pick any games up. This time we looked at NESN’s schedule first and plugged our games in those open spots to get more on,” America East commissioner Patrick Nero explained.

The result is a 124 percent increase in televised games.

“I would say I’m thrilled with the growth from last year to this year,” Nero said. “I believe we had 25 games on last year.”

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net