\n\tThere are maybe two things that everyone in Boston can agree upon and they are: a) Go Sox and b) Benedict Cumberbatch\u2019s accent in Black Mass was fahkin awful. In the most parochial place that ever was or ever will be, authenticity functions as a means of psychic gatekeeping, and someone who doesn\u2019t speak the lingua Francona isn\u2019t someone who\u2019s worth listening to when the game\u2019s on.<\/p>\n
\n\tRegional accents are being slowly genericized into a sort of gloppy Americanese, but Massachusetts will surrender its non-rhoticity the day they bulldoze the last Cumby\u2019s, which is to say: Never gonna happen. Outsiders are to be viewed with skepticism, if not outright contempt, and while there are no shortcuts to legitimacy, a shared dialect goes a long way toward boosting the credibility of the people who talk about the hometown team for a living.<\/p>\n
\n\tNESN CEO David Wisnia<\/a> gets that, even if he\u2019s a transplant from Los Angeles. (Whatever. Jeremy Renner\u2019s from Modesto or someplace like that and his accent in The Town is unimpeachable.) Since taking the reins at the RSN in October 2024, Wisnia has done his bit to boost in-game deliveries\u2014the Red Sox closed out last season up 46% in average household ratings\u2014while spearheading an efficiency review that gave way to the relaunch of NESN<\/a>\u2019s direct-to-consumer service.<\/p>\n \n\tWhile Wisnia took on the role as the RSN model seemed poised to collapse into the Charles River, NESN continues to flourish under his leadership. And he never stops looking for ways to make the on-screen product really pop. It\u2019s largely escaped detection outside the 617 area code, but NESN has stealthily developed arguably the most homegrown MLB crew on TV, so much so that just about everyone who covers the Sox was brought up within a 150-mile radius of Fenway Park.<\/p>\n \n\tIf it probably goes without saying that the Jerry Remy-Dennis Eckersley battery was NESN\u2019s gold standard (right up there with WSBK-TV\u2019s classic Sean McDonough-Bob Montgomery booth), the RSN has found a winning combination in play-by-play voice Dave O\u2019Brien and a rotating cast of color analysts that includes Lou Merloni, Will Middlebrooks and Kevin Millar. O\u2019Brien\u2019s a Quincy guy (unless you\u2019re referring to Jack Klugman, that\u2019s \u201cQuin-zee\u201d), Merloni hails from Framingham, and Texas-born Middlebrooks gets a pass because he won a ring with the Sox in 2013.<\/p>\n \n\tThe studio is also crammed with locals, as Milton\u2019s Rich Hill and Hyde Park\u2019s Manny Delcarmen keep things lively alongside fellow former Sox hurler Jonathan Papelbon, while Worcester product J.P. Ricciardi\u2019s career has taken him from the front office (Jays\/Mets\/Giants) to the analyst\u2019s chair. NESN\u2019s latest hire is Bethel, CT\u2019s Matt Barnes, aka Matty Backpacks, winner of Game 1 of the 2018 World Series.<\/p>\n \n\tAs Wisnia sees it, stacking the deck with Bay Staters is a means toward reinforcing the bond between the fan and the franchise. \u201cWe\u2019ve been very intentional in our approach to local,\u201d Wisnia said in a recent phone interview. \u201cThese are voices who grew up with this team in their living rooms, and our viewers have responded to that. We\u2019ve put a tremendous amount of resources and made a strategic bet on connection and deep storytelling; at a time when national broadcasts are increasingly homogenized, NESN continues to build something unique.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tGiven that an abiding love for the Sox is not so much shared as it is hardwired into one\u2019s genetic code, Wisnia says there\u2019s \u201ccomfort in hearing these voices and seeing these faces on our air \u2026 and that local perspective, that lived experience, that cultural fluency becomes a competitive advantage for us. It provides a distinction that is becoming increasingly important, especially as media consumption continues to fragment.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tJust as every Bostonian zooming east on the Mass Pike knows he\u2019s home as soon as the Pru looms into view, Wisnia believes the familiar carries a positive charge, one that is almost infectiously transferrable. \u201cThere\u2019s a fondness, there\u2019s a warmness,\u201d Wisnia said. \u201cWhen people tune into NESN, they\u2019re getting a taste of home cooking that isn\u2019t replicable anywhere else. And that is really significant when the fan base in question is as passionate as they are here.\u201d<\/p>\n