[BC] WBZ as a IB

[Dan Strassberg]

I always thought that WBZ's IB status was the result of its having a
synchronized station, WBZA Springfield (which, incidentally, was originally
WBZ). Westinghouse first put WBZ on the air from a Westinghouse factory in
Springfield. A year or so later, a synchronous transmitter was added to
serve Boston and the WBZA calls were assigned here. Next, the call signs
were flipped and eventually the Boston was signal improved while Springfield
remianed 1 kW-U from the original rooftop antenna. Not until Westinghouse
wanted to add its seventh major-market AM did WBZA have to go--because the
acquisition of another station would have put the company over the ownership
cap. IIRC, WBZA bit the dust to allow the purchase of WINS. If I'm right
about that, the sacrifice of the Springfield "station," which generated no
measurable revenue, was one of the smarter moves in US broadcast history. I
can't say for sure that WBZA really was a factor in WBZ's IB status, but I
don't think WBZ was classified or reclassified as a IA until WBZA went
silent. Somebody will surely post the date--which must have been in the late
'50s or early 60s.

--
Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg at att.net
eFax 707-215-6367