"The Boston Globe Red Sox Game Day Live" will be an hourlong look into news developments surrounding the team and, according to the network, a closer look at the inner workings of the club. In addition to pre- and postgame programs, NESN will add new regular features. "Face The Nation" will feature team executives fielding questions; "The Monday Conversation" where Heidi Watney will do an in-depth player interview; and "Just a Bit Outside" will profile players off the field; and "Opposite Field" will offer insights from opposing clubs.

"It's part of our effort to reenergize and enhance our coverage of the Red Sox," said Joel Feld, NESN's executive vice president of programming and executive producer. "Reenergizing the pregame show is all a part of that. Giving the show a name change and new graphics, new music, and a new approach, it's all part of the effort [to improve] the coverage of the team."

Feld wants the network to take a fresh and more comprehensive approach to giving viewers what they crave.

"In part, it's about the Red Sox and NESN working even more closely than we have in the past to deliver deeper access to the team," said Feld. "That's really part of the initiative. That includes regularly scheduled conversations with the players and important newsmakers and news stories, enhancements like maybe having the opportunity to mike one of the players during batting practice and play that back during the pregame show. We will be working more closely with the team and trying to deliver deeper access."

Feld said the team was more than amenable to NESN's objectives and encouraged the increase in profile, which is already the highest among the four Boston pro sports teams.

"Part of our effort this year is to create more scripted storytelling and using our talent more, particularly our reporters," said Feld. "Heidi and Naoko [Funayama] and Kathryn [Tappen] will go out and shoot and create more scripted stories."

Funayama and Tappen will jump aboard once their Bruins responsibilities are over.

In addition to the NESN talent, the Globe's writers will also figure prominently in the Sox coverage.

"The Globe is still obviously a big part of the show," said Feld. "The writers will still contribute on a regular basis. We're looking for more news reporting from them as well. They're clearly a big part of what we're trying to do."

Tom Caron will continue as host of the pre- and postgame shows but others will be utilized more as well.

"[Play-by-play man] Don Orsillo will have more of a role in the pregame show, he hasn't really had a role in the pregame show prior to [this year]," said Feld. "[Color man] Jerry [Remy] has had a role in the pregame show but we're going to increase their contributions. Heidi will serve as our primary Red Sox reporter. We're trying to draw from our talent in a greater way to make more contributions to the program. We're now fortunate enough to have two Hall of Famers as analysts on our pre- and postgame shows, so that's a good thing. Both Dennis [Eckersley] and Jim [Rice] are going to have expanded roles in the show as well. Both will do a few more games than they did last year. It was time to freshen up the show. Any good show needs an opportunity to take a look at it and reenergize it and enhance it and we thought this was a good time. It's very exciting."

Although the network aired "Face the Nation" last season, Feld said NESN was recommitting to it on a more regular basis.

"We introduced 'Face the Nation' last year but we probably presented it in more of an irregular way," said Feld. "Sometimes it would be on Tuesdays, sometimes Thursdays, and once in a while, we might miss a week. This year we're really focused on making sure we produce a feature every day that will run the same day every week. So people can come to expect that."

In addition to all the new features, some of the looks will remain the same.

"We'll be back on Yawkey Way for home games," said Feld. "Last year, we experimented with being out on the right-field roof for some pregame shows and we're going to expand that commitment this year on selected summer days. We'll be on Yawkey Way for most of the season but we're also going to some of the shows from inside the ballpark."