NBC10 Boston

NBC10 Boston (call sign WBTS-CD, channel 15 and cable channel 10) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, owned and operated by the NBC television network. It broadcasts from studios in Needham—shared with NBC Sports Boston, New England Cable News, and Telemundo station WNEU—and the transmitter of WGBX-TV in the same city.

Beginning in 2015, speculation emerged that corporate parent NBCUniversal was interested in taking the affiliation in Boston from its affiliate of 20 years, WHDH (channel 7), after it expired at the end of 2016. NBCUniversal already owned New England Cable News and WNEU, whose transmitter was in southern New Hampshire. This was confirmed in January 2016, when the network announced it would start a new station, to be branded as NBC Boston, at the start of 2017. WHDH's owner, Sunbeam Television, unsuccessfully sued NBC in an attempt to prevent the network from moving its affiliation. To serve as the broadcast outlet for NBC Boston, NBC acquired WTMU-LP, a low-power station which rebroadcast WNEU, and gave it the new call sign WBTS-LD.

NBC Boston began broadcasting on January 1, 2017, on WBTS-LD and subchannels of WNEU and WMFP to provide full regional coverage. It became NBC10 Boston, reflecting its cable channel, after its first year on air. After the 2017 broadcast incentive auction, NBC acquired an additional low-power TV license in the Boston area, the former WYCN-CD in Nashua, New Hampshire. This license had sold its spectrum and agreed to share a channel with WGBX-TV, a full-power TV station in Boston, giving it a full-market signal; the original WBTS-LD then became WYCN-LD and was moved to Providence, Rhode Island, as a Telemundo station.

NBC10 Boston debuted local newscasts from its first day on air, utilizing the resources of the existing NECN–WNEU operation; NBC hired longtime Boston TV meteorologist Pete Bouchard concurrent with the station's launch. It has generally struggled in local news ratings since its debut.

History

Creation

NBC came into possession of two Boston-market media assets in the 2000s and early 2010s. In 2002, it acquired channel 60 in Merrimack, New Hampshire, then WPXB-TV, from Paxson Communications Corporation. The $26 million transaction came about because NBC had a right of first refusal on the station.[1] Channel 60 became WNEU and was switched from home shopping programming to the NBC-owned Telemundo Spanish-language network.[2] NBC outsourced operations of the new Telemundo station to ZGS Communications, owner of existing Telemundo affiliate WTMU-LP,[3] and the two stations simulcast programming.[4]

News operation

Concurrent with the launch, NBC Boston debuted a full suite of local newscasts. Early reviews found the news effort competitive with Boston's established local TV newsrooms but noted that the style—more in line with traditional major-market network affiliates than the flashy approach characteristic of WHDH—was not innovative and similar to other stations. The staff consisted of a blend of new hires, younger than anchors at other stations, and existing NECN talent, as well as Pete Bouchard[54] and Phil Lipof, previously of WCVB. To the existing resources of NECN and WNEU, NBC added approximately 80 employees, new vehicles for weather coverage, and a leased helicopter.[55][56] A second former WCVB anchor, J. C. Monahan, left that station to join NBC Boston in July 2017.[57]

A year after the switch and launch, NBC10 Boston and WHDH had opposite ratings performances. WHDH had largely maintained its news audience, including first- and second-place finishes in the morning and at 5 and 6 p.m. Meanwhile, NBC10 frequently ranked as the weakest out of Boston's five news-producing stations, though marquee fall network programming provided an improvement in the second half of 2017.

Technical information and subchannels

External links

References

Steve McClellan. NBC acquires WPXB-TV Broadcasting & Cable, September 4, 2002, retrieved June 30, 2024^
ValueVision to acquire Boston's WWDP television station Boston Business Journal, January 16, 2003, retrieved June 30, 2024^
Joint Sales and Time Brokerage Agreement

Launch

On November 1, 2016, NBCUniversal officially announced that it would broadcast its NBC Boston on WBTS-LD and a subchannel of WNEU, as well as details surrounding the station's launch programming and news department. General manager Mike St. Peter pointed out that, although the two stations combined would not have the same over-the-air coverage as WHDH, 97% of viewers in the Boston market were pay television subscribers, and NBC would "continue to look for how we can improve over-the-air service". On November 10, the stations launched a transitional programming service branded as Countdown NBC Boston. Designed to promote the switch and assist viewers in locating NBC Boston's over-the-air channels, the service featured NBC Boston's future syndicated programming, programs from Cozi TV, and newscasts from NECN. The NBC Boston website and social media outlets were also launched at this time.[30] To further improve coverage, on December 12, NBC announced that it had leased a subchannel on WMFP in Lawrence.[31][32]

The NBC affiliation switch in Boston also affected many cable systems in Atlantic Canada, which use Boston-market TV stations to provide the major U.S. networks. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) received an application from Bell Canada to distribute WBTS in November 2016;[33] the request was approved by the CRTC on December 20, 2016, and on January 1, 2017, NBC Boston replaced WHDH on a variety of cable and satellite systems in the region.[34]

NBC Boston assumed the NBC affiliation at 3:00 a.m. on January 1, 2017. The preceding night, its news anchors, Phil Lipof and Shannon Mulaire, led coverage of Boston's First Night New Year's Eve festivities.[35][36][37][38] Analysts described NBC's move as a gamble given the ratings strength of WHDH and the need to educate viewers on where NBC programming could be seen, particularly given that there was no one channel to promote. Promotion ahead of the launch included audio and transit advertising as well as pop-up events where news anchors handed out hot chocolate at shopping centers.[35] The station was rebranded as NBC10 Boston at the start of 2018, emphasizing its cable channel.[39]