Fox Sports New England (FSNE) "outraged Boston
University followers and other viewers" Sunday by "pulling
the plug" on its coverage of the Boston Univ-St. Lawrence
Univ. NCAA Men's hockey tournament quadruple overtime game
to "fulfill its commitment to show a Celtics blowout loss in
Milwaukee," according to the BOSTON HERALD's Jim Baker, who
noted that FSNE's contract with the Celtics "precluded
staying" with the hockey. But Baker wrote, "Most galling
... was FSNE's failure to warn [viewers] between periods
that an abrupt cutoff was coming or to explain why. ... Can
you imagine the outrage if CBS, citing other commitments,
told its NCAA hoop audience that it was bidding bye-bye
before a finish?" (BOSTON HERALD, 3/27). FSNE GM David
Woodman "apologized to viewers" yesterday, saying, "It was
the rarest of circumstances. No one could predict a hockey
game would go for six hours. ... Unfortunately, we had a
scheduling conflict. But that doesn't mean we were
slighting college hockey fans." In Boston, Howard Manly
reports that "irate viewers flooded FSNE's telephones," even
though the hockey game "pulled only" a 0.55 rating. The
Celtics-Bucks game earned a 1.1 (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/28).
HOCKEY NOTES: During its NHL coverage on Sunday, ABC
switched viewers from a Rangers-Red Wings game, with the Red
Wings winning 7-1, to a tied Avalanche-Stars game. Marla
Drutz, Programmer for ABC Detroit affil WXYZ, called the
move a "good national decision," but "a lousy local
decision." Drutz said WXYZ received "scores of calls" from
angered viewers (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 3/28)....In N.Y., Jason
Diamos writes that the Rangers "have been so bad that ABC
announced yesterday that it has scratched Saturday's
Rangers-Bruins game in Boston from its broadcast schedule."
The game is now scheduled to air on MSG (N.Y. TIMES, 3/28).
