Courtesy Boston Herald

(March 19, 2010) In the next couple of months, “SportsDesk,’’ NESN’s signature highlights program for nearly 20 years, will go off the air, replaced on the schedule by an issues-oriented show called “NESN Daily.’’

The reason for the lack of a specific launch date for a program that has been in development for well over a year? Joel Feld, executive vice president of programming at NESN, answers by citing the chemistry of the stars of “Regis and Kelly,’’ which has some similarities in its host/cohost bantering format.

Essentially, NESN has long since found its Kelly Ripa, hiring Newton native Jade McCarthy from NBC affiliate WCAU in Philadelphia in September; she officially began at NESN in January. But a Regis Philbin has been harder to come by.

“We’re still looking for a host to complement Jade,’’ Feld said. “We’re still looking at a variety of different candidates, some candidates more interesting than others.

“It’s crucial that we develop some real chemistry between the host and the cohost.’’

While the show has the other major details in place — it will air live for a half-hour on weeknights in the 11 p.m. slot from a brand-new virtual set, and will have a more highlights-oriented version on weekends — a source with knowledge of the situation said NESN’s unexpected struggle to fill the “Philbin’’ role has led to at least one delay in the launch date. The source said the most recent missed target date was early April. According to Feld, the earliest scenario for a debut is six or seven weeks from now, and that’s only if a host is chosen immediately.

Among those who have auditioned are well-known local personalities Tony Massarotti and Steve Buckley, as well as former ESPN anchor/reporter Andre Aldridge, who is now with NBA TV. “SportsDesk’’ anchors Cole Wright and John Chandler are not candidates, though Feld said there will be plenty of opportunities for them as reporters or weekend anchors with “NESN Daily.’’

The affable but catchphrase-happy Wright replaced the popular Hazel Mae on “SportsDesk’’ in November 2008 to mixed reviews and minimal buzz.

“For those who have been watching closely over the last year, the show has really transformed itself pretty signifantly since Hazel left in July 2008, where at that point it was almost exclusively a highlight-driven show,’’ Feld said. “After Hazel left, it gave us an opportunity to look at ‘SportsDesk’ and say, ‘OK, what are we doing? What can we do to better serve our audience?’

“The show really had begun morphing into an issues, debate, and discussion show centered around sports newsmakers with highlights to support it, as opposed to the other way around.’’

Which is why finding an appealing, knowledgeable host is so important.

“The person we’re looking for . . . obviously it’s very helpful if they have at least some base knowledge of New England sports or are from the New England area, but it’s not a non-starter,’’ said Feld. “They have to be able to think quickly on their feet and work without a teleprompter so that we can create some on-screen debate and discussion between the host and the cohost.’’

Feld said it is not unusual to plug a host into a predetermined format rather than building a show around the personality, as Comcast SportsNet has done with Michael Felger on “Sports Sunday’’ or NESN itself did in June 2007 when it premiered “Globe 10.0’’ with Bob Ryan.

(The irony may be missed by some at the network, but the description of the desired host and format of “NESN Daily’’ sounds like it will borrow liberally from Ryan and the concept of “10.0,’’ which aired for a year and a half on NESN before production was abruptly ceased in December 2008.)

“I would say in this case we had a little bit of a vision to transform ‘SportsDesk’ into a different kind of show,’’ Feld said. “And then we went and found talent or looked to find talent for someone who could execute the format.

“Now, that doesn’t say that after the show develops over time after we launch it that the format and the hosts will sort of meet in the middle someplace, because you do have to modify things as you go along.

“But in this case, we really had a vision for how we wanted to develop a unique daily sports news show and then try to find talent who fit the criteria of what we needed.

“Candidly, we’re taking our time. It’s a big move for us, and you only get one opportunity to launch a show like this, and we’re making sure we’ve got all the right pieces in place before we set a launch date.’’

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