NBC building new media center for Boston properties

NBCUniversal will break ground on a new, combined media center for its Boston area properties next week, reports Patch.

The new location, located in Needham, a Western suburb of Boston, will take over the former General Dynamics building.

The move will put the company’s O&O WBTS, Telemundo Boston WNEU, its cable network NECN and NBC Sports Boston a bit South of WCVB, the market’s Hearst-owned ABC affiliate. 

Currently WBTS, WNEU and NECN operate from Newton, while NBC Sports Boston is in Burlington. Cox Media’s Fox affiliate WFXT is in Dedham. 

WBZ, the market’s CBS O&O, operates from Allston, which puts it closest to downtown Boston of the market’s four major network affiliated stations. 

Independent WHDH, which was previously the market’s NBC affiliate and offers a news-heavy schedule, is located in the heart of downtown Boston.

According to the the Patch report, NBC has agreed to provide an employee shuttle bus service from the Newton Highlands train station, as well as offering internships to local students.

This creates a nearly eight acre special “media economic opportunity area.”

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The network will also be charged with creating a plan for on-air placement of the Needham Crossing logo and provide resources and space for entrepreneurial start-up businesses.

According to Patch, an NBCUniversal representative also suggested the possibility of a cluster of media facilities similar to the one NBC created in Stamford for NBC Sports.

NBC has developed similar projects to centralize its regional operations in the Los Angles, Dallas and Miami metropolitan areas.