Atlantic Broadband drops Celtics network

Comcast SportsNet New England gets the ax; nine new channels are added

Atlantic Broadband’s decision to ax the Comcast SportsNet New England channel right in the middle of a hot Red Sox streak and just before the Boston Celtics start their season has some customers madder than Patriots coach Bill Belichick after a blown play.

Atlantic substituted nine new sports and entertainment channels, including CBS Sports Network, which features University of Connecticut coverage, and MSG, which includes broadcasts of New York-oriented sports teams. The channel changes went into effect Sept. 15.

But Roger Evans, a Celtics fan from East Lyme and Atlantic customer, questioned the move, saying he believes southeastern Connecticut is more oriented toward Boston than New York.

“I’m not happy, and I’m not going to be alone,” Evans said. “What you’ve done is make the people in eastern Connecticut, many of whom are Boston sports fans, dissatisfied.”

In addition to its broadcast of most Celtics games, Comcast SportsNet carried sports talk shows focusing on the Patriots and Red Sox. The Red Sox are currently in the midst of an 11-game winning streak, while the Patriots have won all three regular-season games so far this year without star quarterback Tom Brady, who is about to end a four-game suspension for his part in the Deflategate controversy.

Evans said he has tried to complain to Atlantic with little success. He believes the decision was largely an economic one rather than being related to what customers want.

But Chap Hanley, Atlantic’s vice president and general manager, said in response to questions from The Day that dropping Comcast SportsNet was more than a financial decision.

“We carefully evaluated customer viewership patterns and interests,” he said in an email. “What we learned is that customers watch Comcast SportsNet far less than other networks and even many other general entertainment channels.”

Hanley noted that Comcast SportsNet does not cover any Red Sox, Bruins or Patriots games. The Bruins and Red Sox are carried on NESN, which Atlantic retained in its channel lineup, and the Patriots are broadcast on various national networks also available on the cable service.

Atlantic made the changes, Hanley said, after conducting detailed analysis and research into viewership patters. Connecticut customers, he said, are more interested in sports teams other than the Celtics; the rate of UConn Huskies interest was, in fact, double the percentage saying they wanted to see basketball’s most illustrious franchise.

“We understand that some customers will be disappointed with the change, but we are confident that most will be pleased with these enhancements,” Hanley said.

Celtics fan Evans is not among the pleased. But he says the monopoly that cable companies have in certain markets makes it hard to find an alternative.

He could call Dish, Evans said, but having a satellite receiver on a condominium “looks like hell.” He added that Frontier Communications doesn’t serve TV customers in his part of East Lyme.

“I don’t have a lot of options,” he said. “If you’re a fan of the Celtics, you’re out of luck watching all of the games.”