Red Sox reporter Guerin Austin has left NESN after six years, with the network not renewing her contract

For the past six years, Guerin Austin has been a prominent figure at NESN, starting as the Bruins’ reporter there and then moving to work as the in-game reporter for Red Sox broadcasts. But as Chad Finn of The Boston Globe wrote Tuesday, Austin has exited the network following the expiration of her contract:

NESN is parting ways with Guerin Austin, who spent six years at the network and is best known for her work as the Red Sox in-game reporter.

“Working for the Bruins and the Red Sox was a dream come true and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity,” said Austin in a text. “The interaction I had with the fans is what made this experience truly memorable.

“I appreciate the players, the coaching staff and all of their families who gave me access and time so I could share their stories with the viewers. I’m really excited about the next chapter, but I’ll miss seeing everyone at Fenway.”

A NESN spokesperson confirmed that Austin’s contract recently expired.

“We are grateful for Guerin’s contributions to the broadcast during her time at NESN,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Austin also discussed this on Twitter:

Jahmai Webster, who had occasionally filled in for Austin from 2017-20, is expected to replace her on a full-time basis this year, as per Finn. He tweeted about that Tuesday:

There are other changes going on at NESN too, including long-time Red Sox analyst Steve Lyons (most recently a part of their studio group) leaving. And the network is not alone there; we’ve seen many regional sports networks (particularly NBC’s) reducing their focus on in-game reporting, and there have been several discussions about downsizing, debt loads, and more. And there are plenty of long-time in-game reporters from RSNs leaving, including Alana Rizzo with the Dodgers/SportsNet LA. We’ve also seen other RSNs, especially MASN, cut down their pre-game and post-game coverage of the teams they broadcast. So it’s not unprecedented to see a RSN moving on from some prominent and established voices at this time. But it’s still notable to see a popular and prominent reporter like Austin exit after an expired contract.

[The Boston Globe; photo via Jody Ryan on Twitter]