WBZ (AM)
WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ may be considered the first licensed commercial radio station in the United States. WBZ moved to Boston in 1931 in a swap with a now-defunct synchronous repeater, WBZA. Its studios are in Allston, Boston.
WBZ radio, which broadcasts at 1030 kHz, is the oldest surviving commercial radio station in New England, as it began broadcasting from Springfield in 1921. WBZ currently runs an all-news format during the day and a talk radio format at night, with hosts including Dan Rea and Jordan Rich. The station has long been one of the highest-rated stations in the Boston area, and covers much of the eastern United States and Canada at night with its 50,000-watt clear-channel signal from its transmitter location in Hull, Massachusetts, which has been used by the station since 1940. For this reason, WBZ is a Primary Entry Point (PEP) for the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The transmitter is a two tower directional array where each tower is 160 meters (520 ft) tall. The signal is intentionally directionalized from its coastal location for maximum power transmitted into the continental United States, giving WBZ outstanding multi-state coverage after sunset. By day, its signal is audible through much of New England and as far west as the Golden Horseshoe in Central Canada.
