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| Broadcast area | Greater Boston |
| Frequency | 92.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Bloomberg 92.9 Boston |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Financial news |
| Subchannels | HD2:Classic rock "Rock 92.9" (simulcast of WRCA) |
| Network | Bloomberg Radio |
| Affiliations | NBC News Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| Operator | Bloomberg L.P. |
| History | |
First air date | April 1, 1960; 65 years ago (1960-04-01) |
Former call signs | WBOS-FM (1960–1969) |
Call sign meaning | Boston (also theIATA code forLogan 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″N71°4′57.2″W / 42.347333°N 71.082556°W /42.347333; -71.082556 (WBOS) |
| Repeater | 1450 WNBP (Newburyport) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaTuneIn) |
| Website | www |
WBOS (92.9MHz, "Bloomberg 92.9") is acommercialFM radio stationlicensed toBrookline, Massachusetts, and servingGreater Boston. WBOS is owned byBeasley Broadcast Group, with studios and offices inWaltham. WBOS airs afinancial newsradio format fromBloomberg Radio.
WBOS has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 18,500 watts. Thetransmitter is on the top of thePrudential Tower in Boston'sBack Bay neighborhood.[2] WBOS broadcasts in theHD Radio hybrid format. The HD2 subchannelsimulcastsWRCA, which carries the formerclassic rock format of WBOS.
On April 1, 1960, WBOS-FMsigned-on,simulcasting most of the programming of itssister station WBOS (1600 AM; nowWUNR).[3] WBOS-AM-FM were owned by the Champion Broadcasting System with studios at 790 Commonwealth Avenue.
Most of the AM station's programming wasbeautiful 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.
In 1978, Boston radio personality Ron Robin, disappointed that the airtime for his weeklydisco music show onWVBF had been cut back, left WVBF and began doing a four-hour Sunday-night disco show for WBOS. Initially, Robin bought the airtime and sold commercials for the show.
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 whenWXKS-FM came on the scene with a highly promoted disco format, including big promotions and hiring away some WBOS disc jockeys, WBOS' ratings suffered.[5]
WRKO midday legendJ.J. Wright (later atWODS) was one of the original disco DJs for WBOS when the station went round-the-clock disco in 1978. Longtime, popular producer Jack King (WBIM-FM, WVBF, andWBZ) 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 toadult contemporary music, the duo went to WBZ radio for a long, successful stint there.
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.[6][7]
In January 1982, WBOS flipped to a short-lived attempt at analbum-oriented rock (AOR) format, programmed for some of that time by legendary Boston rock personalities Jerry Goodwin and Maxanne Satori.[8] However, the rock format did not make any inroads against established rockers likeWBCN,WCOZ, andWAAF.
On July 14, 1983, WBOS' format was abruptly changed tocountry music, and was moderately successful for several years. It was the only FM country station in the Boston market at the time.[9]
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.
On April 27, 1989, at 3:00 pm, WBOS dropped country and adopted anadult album alternative (AAA) format, initially with a bit more of an eclectic focus than most AAA stations at the time, incorporatingclassic rock,soul,R&B, and singer-songwriter cuts into the playlist, along with new releases.[10][11][12] Eventually, the station gravitated more toward current material and new releases. At that time, when CDs were just starting to be used in radio, WBOS promoted itself as the first all-compact disc radio station, eliminating vinyl, and very sparingly using carts for some songs. Unusually, the vinyl themed retro show "The Lost 45s" with Barry Scott aired on Sunday nights after leavingWZLX.
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".[13]
In September 2007, George Knight began hosting morning drive on the station, but that would be short lived. That same month, ownerGreater Media registered domains that showed that the station was possibly flipping tosports 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 (nowWBZ-FM) and WMKK (nowWEEI-FM) eventually flipped to the sports format over the next five years.
On February 1, 2008, at 5:00 pm, the station saw its biggest change since flipping to AAA in 1989, as the format switched toalternative rock and the station rebranded as "Radio 92-9". While George Knight continued to host his popular "Sunday Morning Over Easy" program, and music director Dana Marshall was promoted to program director, the rest of the station's airstaff was let go.[14] AfterWBCN's demise in 2010, WBOS adopted amainstream rock direction, but continued to report onMediabase andNielsen BDS on the alternative panel. This was due to the addition of bands likeDef Leppard andGuns n Roses to the playlist. The move left WFNX once again as Boston's only pure alternative rock station. Around 2012, WBOS reverted to playing mostly alternative tracks, while playing some classic hard rock tracks (but at a very minimal amount), usually from artists/bands such asLed Zeppelin,Van Halen,Aerosmith,AC/DC,Metallica,Pink Floyd,Billy Idol, andGuns N' Roses. By July 2012, WBOS became Boston's only alternative rock station following the closure of WFNX.
On July 13, 2016, WBOS rebranded as "Alt 92-9".[15] 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 stationWRIF.[16] That same year, the station began broadcastingBoston Bruins hockey games that conflict withNew England Patriots games, the arrangement followed Beasley's acquisition ofWBZ-FM, the flagship station for both teams.
On April 11, 2019, at 10:30 a.m., following the "Dave & Chuck the Freak Morning Show" (and after playing "Bury a Friend" byBillie Eilish), WBOS flipped toclassic rock, branded as "Rock 92-9". The first song on "Rock" was "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" byAC/DC.
The change followed a transition from a classic rock-classic hits hybrid to a more conventional classic hits format at sister stationWROR-FM, leaving space for a competitor to market powerhouseWZLX.[17] The station brought back two DJs previously heard on WBCN during its later rock years: Adam 12 hosted middays, and Hardy hosted afternoons, voice-tracking his shift while retaining his primary duties co-hosting the Toucher & Hardy show on sister station WBZ-FM.
On August 20, 2024, Beasley Media Group announced thatBloomberg Radio would take over operations of WBOS by alocal marketing agreement, effective September 3 at 12 p.m., with the station branding as "Bloomberg 92.9 Boston". The classic rock format andDave and Chuck the Freak concurrently moved to WRCA and WBOS-HD2. No on-air talent would transfer, however; Hardy reverted to co-hosting the morning show on WBZ-FM, while Adam 12 would join that program as executive producer.[18]
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 withInfinity Broadcasting in 1996. In 1997, the station was traded toGreater Media.
On July 19, 2016,Beasley Media Group announced it would acquire Greater Media and its 21 stations (including WBOS) for $240 million.[19] The FCC approved the sale on October 6, 2016, and the sale closed on November 1, 2016.[20]
WBOS broadcasts using the iBiquityHD 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".[21]
The "Coffee House" format was later replaced withRadio You Boston, featuring content programmed by college-aged residents of the Boston area. It was later re-branded asLocal 92.9, and featured local music artists from the Boston area.
On July 3, 2017, Beasley announced thatBloomberg Radio programming would be moved fromWXKS to sister WRCA, simulcast on a newFM translator W291CZ, and also carried on WBOS-HD2.[22] Following the 2024 move of Bloomberg programming to WBOS's primary channel, WRCA and WBOS-HD2 inherited WBOS's classic rock programming.[18]
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