WBOS
IATA code for Logan International Airport) | |
Technical information[1] | |
---|---|
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 23439 |
Class | B |
ERP | 18,500 watts |
HAAT | 224 meters (735 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°20′50.4″N 71°4′57.2″W / 42.347333°N 71.082556°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live Listen live (via TuneIn) |
Website | rock929rocks |
WBOS (92.9
WBOS has an
History
Early years
On April 1, 1960, WBOS-FM
WBOS-AM-FM were owned by the Champion Broadcasting System with studios at 790 Commonwealth Avenue.Most of the AM station's programming was beautiful music, but when the AM side began to broadcast ethnic programming, the FM side continued to play beautiful music, which was branded on both AM and FM as "Boston's Music Theatre". In 1975, WBOS[a] changed to a hodgepodge format which did not gain much of an audience.
Disco
In 1978, Boston radio personality Ron Robin, disappointed that the airtime for his weekly
The success of that show led to WBOS hiring Robin, and a rapid expansion of the disco programming, first to seven nights a week from 8:00 p.m. to midnight (April 1978), and then to 24/7 in September 1978. For a brief time in late 1978 and early 1979, "Disco 93" WBOS was one of Boston's most popular radio stations. But when WXKS-FM came on the scene with a highly promoted disco format, including big promotions and hiring away some WBOS disc jockeys, WBOS' ratings suffered.
WRKO midday legend J.J. Wright (later at WODS) was one of the original disco DJs for WBOS when the station went round-the-clock disco in 1978. Longtime, sought-after producer Jack King (WBIM-FM, WVBF, and WBZ) created, wrote and engineered most of the station's disco specials at the time. King was there at the beginning of the station's format change to disco and worked closely with Robin to 'keep the beat going' into the late 1970s and early 1980s. When WBOS changed to adult contemporary music, the duo went to WBZ Radio for a long, successful stint there.
Adult contemporary
In January 1980, the station flipped to an adult contemporary format which was a little less "adult" and a little more "contemporary", but that format would only run for two years.
Rock
In January 1982, WBOS flipped to a short-lived attempt at an
.Country
On July 14, 1983, WBOS' format was abruptly changed to country music, and was moderately successful for several years. It was the only FM country station in the Boston market at the time.
Program director and morning personality Dean James, along with general sales manager Dave DiGregorio, worked to bring country to the mainstream in Boston, a city with little history as a country music stronghold. The country format ran for six years.
Adult album alternative
On April 27, 1989, at 3:00 p.m., WBOS dropped country and adopted an
In April 2005, WBOS made changes to play more music and decrease the amount of talk. The station's morning show, hosted by Bill Abbate and Kristin Lessard, was abruptly cancelled to make way for the DJ-free "All Music Mornings". "It's putting the station somewhat back to where it started in terms of its ideals. Listener perception is that radio plays too many commercials and that DJs can be boring and irrelevant," said Buzz Knight, operations manager for WBOS. Knight said that WBOS would be "the cool station for people over 30".
In September 2007, George Knight began hosting morning drive on the station, but that would be short lived. That same month, owner Greater Media registered domains that showed that the station was possibly flipping to sports talk as 92.9 The Ticket, complete with a logo and a slogan, "Boston's Only FM Sports Station". The station was rumored to flip on October 1 of that year, but never materialized. WBMX (now WBZ-FM) and WMKK (now WEEI-FM) eventually flipped to the sports format over the next five years.
Alternative rock
On February 1, 2008, at 5:00 p.m., the station saw its biggest change since flipping to AAA in 1989, as the format switched to
On July 13, 2016, WBOS rebranded as "Alt 92-9".[9] The station slowly added more air personalities back to the station during this time.
In July 2017, WBOS began carrying the Dave and Chuck The Freak morning show out of sister station WRIF.[10] That same year, the station began broadcasting Boston Bruins hockey games that conflict with New England Patriots games, the arrangement followed Beasley's acquisition of WBZ-FM, the flagship station for both teams.
Classic rock
On April 11, 2019, at 10:30 a.m., following the "Dave & Chuck the Freak Morning Show" (and after playing "Bury a Friend" by Billie Eilish), WBOS flipped to classic rock, branded as "Rock 92-9". The first song on "Rock" was "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" by AC/DC.
The change followed a transition from a classic rock-classic hits hybrid to a more conventional classic hits format at sister station WROR-FM, leaving space for a competitor to market powerhouse WZLX.[11] The station brought back two DJs previously heard on WBCN during its later rock years: Adam 12 hosts midday, and Hardy hosts afternoons.
Owners
WBOS was originally owned by Boston businessman Herbert Hoffman. In the 1980s, he sold it to Sconnix, which later sold it to Ackerley Media in 1988. The station was sold to Granum Communications in 1992, which merged with
On July 19, 2016, Beasley Media Group announced it would acquire Greater Media and its 21 stations (including WBOS) for $240 million.[12] The FCC approved the sale on October 6, 2016, and the sale closed on November 1, 2016.[13]
HD Radio
WBOS broadcasts using the iBiquity HD Radio digital broadcasting system, and had an HD secondary channel called "The Coffee House", which launched in early 2006. This format consisted of "the acoustic, unplugged side of triple A" by using the "station's archive of live and in-studio performances", and emphasized "singer-songwriters, folk music and unplugged versions of songs by core WBOS artists".[14]
The "Coffee House" format was later replaced with Radio You Boston, featuring content programmed by college-aged residents of the Boston area. It was later re-branded as Local 92.9, and featured local music artists from the Boston area.
On July 3, 2017, Beasley announced that
Past personalities
- J. J. Wright
- Ron Robin
- Vinnie Peruzzi
- Jack King
- Neal Robert
- Charles Laquidara
- Barry Scott of The Lost 45s
- Dick Pleasants
- Maria Morgan
- Carolyn Morrell
- Liz Solar
- Bill Smith
- Cliff Nash
- Loretta Crawford
- Kevin Malvey
- Bill Abbate
- Kristin Lessard
- Amy Brooks
- Melissa Gaudette
- Gerrie Burke
- John Laurenti
- Eduardo Nash
- Joanne Doody
- PD-George Taylor Morris
- Robin Young
- Julie Devereaux
- Dave DiGregorio
- Keith Murray
- David O'Leary
- Hutch
- Dominic Lewis
- PD-Chris Hermann
- PD-Shirley Moldanado
- PD-Jim Herron
- Matt Phipps
- George Knight
- Bob Bayne
- Kevin Collins
- Bobby V – Bob Vartanian
Trivia
- WBOS was also the call sign of a shortwave radio station operated by Westinghouse's WBZ affiliate during the 1940s. (The 92.9 frequency now occupied by WBOS was one of the early frequencies used by WBZ's FM station in the 1950s).
- Arnie Ginsburg was the nighttime host on WBOS (AM), one of Boston's first rock-and-roll DJs. However, by the time the FM station signed on, his show had moved to WMEX 1510 AM.
- Charles Laquidara hosted a show from Maui entitled WBOS Backspin during the spring of 2006. The show aired commercial-free on weekdays, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., live.
- Studio 7 is the recording area where common heard artists on the station record and play some of their songs live. Since 1992, Tweeter Center, etc.
- Mellencamp's Jack and Diane live version has been recorded at Studio 7.[citation needed]
Notes
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBOS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "WBOS-FM 92.9 MHz - Brookline, MA". radio-locator.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ "Broadcasting Yearbook" (PDF).
- ^ "WBOS history cards" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ "WBOS CHANGES TO ALBUM CLASSICS - The Boston Globe (Boston, MA) | HighBeam Research". February 20, 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ "WBOS Changes to Album Classics". April 27, 1989.
- ^ "Find Another Country".
- ^ "Archive" (PDF).
- ^ "WBOS Relaunches".
- ^ "WRIF's Dave & Chuck The Freak To Syndicate To Boston". radioinsight.com. July 21, 2017.
- ^ Beasley media Launches Rock 92.9 Boston Radioinsight – April 11, 2019
- ^ Beasley Acquires Greater Media
- ^ "BEASLEY CLOSES ON GREATER MEDIA PURCHASE; MAKES MULTIPLE STAFF MOVES". November 1, 2016.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (January 19, 2006). "Greater Media, Emmis Unveil HD2 Strategies". Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- ^ "Bloomberg Moving".
External links
- WBOS data
- WBOS in the FCC FM station database
- WBOS in Nielsen Audio's FM station database