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AT&T 3 to televise Beanpot on Cablevision of Boston

It was a save and a beauty for AT&T 3 Broadband -- there will be television coverage of the annual Beanpot Hockey Tournament this year.

The February 5 and 12 telecasts of the Beanpot, one of college hockey's most storied tournaments, was in jeopardy because of the recent sale of a television station.

Originally, WHUB-TV Channel 66 in Boston was scheduled to televise the games as part of a package of BU hockey and basketball telecasts. But the station, which had been owned by USA Network, has been sold to Univision. USA Network's senior management decided to discontinue its local broadcast programming effective February 1 -- four days before the tournament's semifinals.

	Hockey captain Carl Corazzini (CAS'01) shows BU's sixth straight Beanpot trophy to fans at the FleetCenter last year. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

Currently, AT&T 3 Broadband reaches 1.3 million homes, as far west as Springfield, as far south as New Bedford, and as far east as Cape Cod and the Islands. The company recently purchased Cablevision of Boston, and is scheduled to begin its programming on March 1. However, AT&T 3 Broadband has been granted special permission to televise the 49th annual Beanpot in February, allowing the estimated 200,000 homes in Boston and Brookline that receive Cablevision to watch, bringing the total number of homes to 1.5 million.

AT&T 3 Broadband will be carried on Channel 3 beginning March 1, but the Beanpot will be on Channel 13 in Boston and Brookline. The games will be televised via satellite to BU alumni clubs in 31 locations nationwide.

The first-round matchup February 5 will pit Harvard and Boston College at 5 p.m. Boston University, with a record 6 straight Beanpots and 23 overall, will take on Northeastern at 8 p.m. AT&T 3 Broadband will also televise the championship game on February 12 at 8 p.m. The 5 p.m. consolation game will not be aired.

Two other games originally scheduled to air on WHUB-TV Channel 66 -- the February 3 BU men's basketball game vs. Northeastern, as well as the Februrary 17 BU men's hockey game vs. Providence -- will not be televised.

"We are extremely thrilled about our televising the Beanpot," says R. B. Lerch, vice president of original programming at AT&T 3 Broadband. "We certainly have experience in carrying hockey as we cover the Lowell Lock Monsters and the Springfield Falcons. The Beanpot is a historic tournament, and it is an honor for us to be carrying such a prestigious event." The network is an exclusive regional programming channel.

Don Orsillo and Andy Brickley will handle the play-by-play and color, respectively, for the Beanpot.

For information on BU alumni club telecast locations, visit www.bu.edu/alumni/beanpot.

26 January 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations