BANGOR, Maine — WABI TV5 and The CW sports co-anchor Nick Coit is leaving the Bangor station. His final broadcast will be Thursday night.
Coit’s two-year contract expires Thursday and there were contract discussions but, he said, “it is in my best interest to make the jump.
“I love this job. I love the people up here. It has been awesome,” said Coit, who turns 25 on December 23. “But it’s time to take the next step. I’m young and I have big goals. And I don’t have a personal connection here.”
He said he doesn’t have another job lined up as yet, but he wants to continue as a television sports anchor-reporter .
“I’ve had a couple of opportunities come my way but they haven’t been what I’m looking for,” said Coit, a native of Plymouth, Mass. “I want to keep moving up. I’d like to find a job in a mid-major market. Not a big city but a bigger place (than Bangor).”
The WABI job was the Emerson College graduate’s first on-air gig. He previously had been working as a sports producer at WFXT-TV Fox 25 in Dedham, Mass.
Coit had replaced Prescott Rossi, who left WABI for a job in Rochester, N.Y.
WABI/CW news director Jim Morris said he hoped Coit would stay but understands his decision and respects it.
“He is very talented,” said Morris. “He has done a tremendous job for us. And he is a delight to be around.
“He has been a tremendous asset. He’s very reliable. He’s a great guy. It’s sad to see him go,” said Morris.
Morris said they will fill the position quickly.
Longtime sports director and co-anchor Tim Throckmorton will handle the chores until Coit’s successor is chosen.
Coit said his highlights include covering the University of Maine men’s hockey team, the Senior League World Series in Bangor and the high school basketball tournaments.
“Covering Maine hockey has been so much fun. Everybody loves Maine hockey,” said Coit. “The Senior League World Series is unique. It’s in the middle of summer and I’m a huge baseball fan. The high school basketball tournaments have been really special because I had the opportunity to cover them in the final two years of the Bangor Auditorium.”