NBCUniversal Announces Creation of NBC Boston

The new station will launch on Jan. 1, 2017

NBC Universal, the parent company of necn, has announced its plans to launch an NBC-Owned Station in Boston on Jan. 1, 2017.

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NBC Boston, necn and Telemundo Boston will share brand new studios, an expanded newsroom, advanced newsroom systems and new state-of-the-art control rooms.

Additional newsroom personnel will also be hired with the aim of providing blanket coverage from all six states in New England. NBC Boston and Telemundo Boston will primarily focus on covering the Boston market, while necn will keep its regional focus.

The new NBC-owned Station, NBC Boston, will be a broadcast channel available to over the air viewers as well as cable subscribers.

The new station has already begun lining up programming, with Harry Connick Jr.’s new daytime entertainment show, Harry, anchoring NBC Boston’s daytime lineup, as well as the popular Access Hollywood Live, which will air weekday afternoons, and Access Hollywood to air in the evenings before NBC’s primetime programming. When NBC Boston launches next year, it will also air the full lineup of NBC network programming, including NBC News’ TODAY, Nightly News with Lester Holt, popular primetime shows like The Voice and late night’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in addition to local news, weather and information.

"We so look forward to delivering Boston area viewers the best local news, weather and information along with the NBC news, sports, primetime and late night programming they already know and enjoy," said Valari Staab, president of NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations.

Necn also announced that it has added a trio of new hires to its roster, including veteran New England meteorologist Pete Bouchard and journalists Joy Lim Nakrin and Melody Mendez. Bouchard started Jan. 11 on necn, and Nakrin and Mendez will start this spring.

Bouchard joins necn from WHDH in Boston, where he was chief meteorologist for more than 13 years. He has also worked as a meteorologist at WPXT and WGME in Portland, Maine, WFXT in Boston and WVII in Bangor, Maine.

Mendez will serve as a weekday morning anchor beginning at the end of March. She most recently served as the morning anchor at WFLD in Chicago. She has also worked at KDVR in Denver, Colorado, KOMO in Seattle, Washington, WICD in Champaign, Illinois, and WBBJ in Jackson, Tennessee.

Nakrin will make her necn debut in early May as an afternoon anchor and evening reporter. For the last two years, she was an anchor and reporter at WFXT in Boston. Before that, she worked at KSTP in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut.

Other journalists from necn and Telemundo Boston will also appear on NBC Boston.

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