Hearst passes NECN torch to Comcast

Hearst Corp., which co-owned NECN with Comcast, sold its half to the cable giant at midnight. Comcast officials, who had been visiting NECN’s Newton studios in recent weeks to finalize the deal, did not disclose details of the acquisition.

With the move, Comcast said that longtime newsman Charles J. Kravetz, the station’s general manager and president, who is also NECN’s founding news director, is being replaced by Bill Bridgen, the executive vice president and general manager of Comcast SportsNet New England, based in Burlington. Bridgen, a former lawyer who has been at Comcast since 2005, will oversee the management and responsibilities of both networks.

“It has been an enormous privilege to launch NECN and help it grow into a respected and vital source of news for Boston and New England,’’ Kravetz said in a release. “I have great faith that the future with Comcast will be bright.’’

Comcast operates 20 regional sports, entertainment, and news networks nationwide. NECN will be folded into Comcast’s programming division and be operated under Comcast Sports Group.

Bridgen said there are no other immediate staff or programming changes for NECN. But a local TV industry official with information about NECN’s operations, who did not want to be named, said the network’s operations will continue as is for 60 to 90 days. After that, the official said, there may be some “organizational efficiencies’’ that could lead to small job cuts for the 150-member workforce.

“When you couple the operations of Comcast SportsNet and NECN, I think there will be operational efficiencies that will rise from them,’’ Bridgen said in an interview yesterday. “We intend to use New England Cable News and their news expertise to facilitate the launch of news on Comcast SportsNet. It’s one of the reasons why we are buying the asset.’’ Bridgen, who formerly ran HRTV (HorseRacing Television, a cable and satellite channel), also added that he is looking to broadcast NECN in high definition.

NECN, which is partially funded by Comcast cable subscriptions and ad revenue, reaches 3.7 million viewers throughout New England. Before this week’s sale, corporate decisions at the station were made by a six-member board - three from Hearst and three from Comcast. This year, Hearst had been buying remaining interest in TV stations it did not own while removing itself from other partnerships with other media properties.

“The sale of our share was a strategic move benefiting both Hearst and Comcast,’’ said Paul Luthringer, a Hearst spokesman, in a statement.

Some media observers said the sale of NECN will be good for the New England station. Comcast has been establishing a firmer foothold in New England this past year, including rolling out a Hispanic programming package in Boston and Brookline in February and a Red Sox On Demand channel for New England Comcast customers.

“It probably means it will be kept going by an organization with more resources at its disposal,’’ said Bob Zelnick, a media professor at Boston University. “They never developed an exciting treatment of the news. The association with Comcast probably gives them a better shot at developing that kind of persona that translates into a larger audience.’’

Philip S. Balboni, who founded NECN in 1992 as a joint venture between Hearst and Continental Cablevision, formerly based in Boston, agrees that the sale could be good for the station.

“Comcast has the desire and the resources to invest significantly in NECN,’’ said Balboni, who left NECN to launch Globalpost.com, an international news website this year. “I want to be optimistic that the great values that we created there will continue and the wonderful team will continue as well.’’

Johnny Diaz can be reached at jodiaz@globe.com.