Would WBZ Radio Have To Move?

[Tilden]

With iHeart taking over WBZ Radio will they have to move out of the Soldiers Field Road home they have been in for over 50 years. Would hope they could make some arrangement with whoever owns the building ( Maybe Harvard University I read once) to stay there. Guess much depends on what if anything iHeart does to the format. The cross promotion with Ch 4 has to help iHeart in the long run. All wait and see.

 

[gr8oldies]

I'd venture to guess if iHeart has other stations in the market. If that's the case, I'd guess sooner or later they'll all co-locate

 

[raccoonradio]

iHeart studios are mostly on Cabot Rd in Medford kind of across the street from the former Kiss 108 bldg which I think has Total Traffic.WJMN may be off in Waltham, but Wiki says Medford. Strictly Boston, not counting Worc, they will have WRKO, WBZ and WXKS AM and will sell WKOX off...and in addition to WJMN, there's WKAF, WZLX, WBWL and WXKS-FM.

Might they lease the current WBZ AM studios for awhile or find somewhere else?Maybe the former WMEX ones in Quincy?

Entercom loses WKAF but gains WODS, WBMX and WMJX.The first two, and WZLX and WBZ-FM are currently in the old ch 38 bldg.Beasley on Morrissey Blvd loses magic but gets Sports Hub.

 

[frankberry]

Only my guess but I'm betting that they will move the WBZ-AM studios to a property which is owned by iHeart or at least one which is occupied by other iHeart stations in the cluster.

 

[TheBigA]

With iHeart taking over WBZ Radio will they have to move out of the Soldiers Field Road home they have been in for over 50 years.

I think that's connected to the employment changes they have to make. CBS has been trying to consolidate its locations. So if a CBS station has been sold, they will likely have to move out within a year, so the Entercom stations can move in. With iHeart enlarging its Boston footprint, they may need a bigger place than they have now.

 

[MarcB]

I'm not sure, but if they're leasing their current studios they may have to wait until their lease is up. If they vacate before their lease is up they may have to pay a penalty.

 

[CTListener]

(deleted)

 

[Wbzfm2010]

I'm trying to figure out if the sports hub will have to move? They have the tv simulcasts going might they stay untill Beasley can find a space in a space they own?

 

[TheBigA]

I'm sure all of this has been spelled out in the contract. Both WBZ-AM and WBZ-FM will likely move at some point. In the same way, I'm sure agreements were worked out for use of the call letters. No doubt the close proximity between AM and TV meant for a lot of cross-pollination, and that will have to be worked out as well. That kind of thing was also an issue when ABC sold off its radio division ten years ago. Co-located radio-TV transactions are a bit more complicated to handle than radio only.

 

[raccoonradio]

Fybush's North East Radio Watch said there could be a time when 83 Leo Birmingham Pkwy will have 4 stations under 3 owners there; 98.5 from Beasley, 100.7 from iHeart and 103.3 and 104.1 from Entercom...then eventually some will move.

 

[raccoonradio]

Tom Taylor newsletter--WBZ 1030 employees told station move, "presumably" to Cabot Rd Medford, will be in 6-9 months

 

[Voicetrack of Reason]

I recall a similar consolidation situation in another major market. There were some staffers who went from having an office to being banished to "cubicle city" with everyone else. There were others who went from having an office, to having a drawer in the shared producer's bullpen. I am sure this won't be any better.

 

[TheBigA]

There were others who went from having an office, to having a drawer in the shared producer's bullpen. I am sure this won't be any better.

I have a friend who had a similar experience last year, and he doesn't work for a radio company. He went from a private office to a central work area. No one other than the CEO has a private office. The concept was to encourage employee interaction. Very Californian. Most high tech companies there operate that way.

 

[wharlow171]

I know Entercom is across the street from the Sportshub. When Kirk went to protest Felger he walked over there from WEEI. They also sometimes refer to them as the people across the street

 

[raccoonradio]

Well, if the street is the Mass Pike..in the video he walks out of Guest St, turns right on what I think is Market St, walking over the Pike, then Sports Hub etc studios are there at 83 Birmingham Pkway.0.4 miles? WGBH is Entercom's neighbor on Guest St.