New England Cable News to End?

[bostonmediaguy 124]

Another regional cable news channel is likely coming to an end. New England Cable News (NECN) is being dropped from Comcast cable systems on July 1.

 

Comcast owns the channel and I believe that there is very little original programming airing; it's most simulcasts of WBTS/Boston (NBC O&O) newscasts, recorded lifestyle programming, and infomercials.

 

While owner Comcast is dropping it from their systems, the article notes that other providers haven't announced its removal, so it may live on a bit longer.

[TheRolyPoly 2600]

It needs to end and that's from someone who has LOVED and ADORED NECN.

 

It hasn't been the same since their Hearst days when the channel was much more managed and ACTUALLY focused on New England stories compared to just Boston.

 

Today, NECN only airs news on weekdays. Weekends is mainly focused on lifestyle programs, outside of weekend mornings and even then, hours were crap. The last regional newscasts are 7-10, 11-11:30am, 12-2 and 3-4pm. WBTS' news are airing from 5-7am, 2-3, 4-6:30, and 7-7:30pm. So much for New England news...

 

New England is a VERY UNIQUE region and it did deserve its own regional cable news channel. It sucks that NBC ruined it and I hope that NBC doesn't get into the 24-hour local news game ever again (and I'm not talking about streaming).

[mre29 1566]

NECN isn't even on Spectrum here in my part of CT, so I haven't been able to watch it since we moved from NH over a year ago.

 

3 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

It hasn't been the same since their Hearst days when the channel was much more managed and ACTUALLY focused on New England stories compared to just Boston.

 

Today, NECN only airs news on weekdays. Weekends is mainly focused on lifestyle programs, outside of weekend mornings and even then, hours were crap. The last regional newscasts are 7-10, 11-11:30am, 12-2 and 3-4pm. WBTS' news are airing from 5-7am, 2-3, 4-6:30, and 7-7:30pm. So much for New England news...

 

I imagine Comcast not wanting to run newscasts from stations they don't own (Tegna's WCSH/WLBZ, Sinclair's WJAR, Nexstar's WWLHearst's WPTZ), but you'd think they'd at least run newscasts from their other New England-based station -- WVIT here in CT. To say nothing of, oh.... Telemundo Boston.

 

Makes you wonder what would've happened if Hearst owned stations in more than just 4 of the 9 DMAs...

 

2 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

New England is a VERY UNIQUE region and it did deserve its own regional cable news channel. It sucks that NBC ruined it and I hope that NBC doesn't get into the 24-hour local news game ever again (and I'm not talking about streaming).

 

I think streaming (via apps or the FAST services) is the closest they'll likely get anytime soon, especially since NBC Nonstop didn't work out in the long run.

 

 

[TheRolyPoly 2600]

I just realized that half of the 12 hours its airs news on weekdays is on Boston (6:30 and 7:30pm repeats of the 6 and 7pm news are on there too) with the other half on New England.

 

So much for New England news when you don't even focus on the region half the time on weekdays.

 

Either become Boston Cable News or just shut it down entirely. IMO, I'm on the latter. NBC damaged the channel too much for it to be saved.

 

I wouldn't want Boston news if I lived in Pittsfield, Mass. or New Haven or even in Presque Isle, yet, NBC doesn't care.

 

I've been very very fortunate to have watched NECN from the late 90s to the mid 2010s. IMHO, the golden era of the network was the 2000s. As I've said, Hearst was better at managing this channel than NBC ever has.

 

Also, going into speculation territory here but, I think Hearst should reacquire 50% of the channel and hope that NBC will divest its other 50% to Gray since they own stations in 5 out of the 9 DMA's (only conflict would be Burlington but that's a minor thing). I know that will never happen but imagine if it did.