Just a thought

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · May-31-11, 12:41 AM

This is random, and not begun with any information from anywhere. Someone, in the thread on Dan Gilbert, had asked what firms would be interested in coming downtown. I would like to mention one category of business I would LOVE to see come downtown: broadcasters.

I realize that at this point that is a pipe dream. Most broadcasters have invested millions in recent years in modern studios and equipment; those are expenditures that are not likely to want to repeat soon. But I think that Fox 2/FSN, WXYZ, and CBS & Clear Channel stations would be huge assets to the city. In addition to being highly visible operations, with hundreds of employees, they operate 24 hours a day. They are also the types of businesses that bring visitors to the city [[corporate suits, advertisers, consultants, lawyers, etc all do extensive and regular business with broadcasters). They also would be great at building out "signature" spaces. I've envisioned WXYZ going into the old Free Press building; the Fox properties moving into the base of a Quicken Loans building at the Statler site on Grand Circus Park; CBS's TV & radio stations moving into the mostly empty warehouse portion of Ford Field; and Clear Channel's stations could move into the top floors of the First National building.

Fun to think about it. As I do with Detroit's sports teams, I hope that one day all the area broadcasters are downtown. Anyone know any station execs? As the late Rod Roddy would have said, Come On Down!

PS On a practical note, being downtown seems to make a lot of sense for those stations with news and sports operations. More time is spent covering news in Detroit than in any other city in the SE Michigan.

PPS Kudos to WDIV and any other broadcasters in Detroit already!

**davewindsor** · June-01-11, 09:36 AM

Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

I would like to mention one category of business I would LOVE to see come downtown: broadcasters.

I think it just comes down to taxes. If you live in the city, you pay an additional 2% city income tax. If you're a high paid employee or TV exec making a million bucks a year, why would you want to pay another $20,000 a year in personal income taxes? Just take a look at how quickly the film industry scrambled out of Michigan when the film tax incentives were slashed.

**Bham1982** · June-01-11, 09:40 AM

These companies are in a war for talent. Apparently they've decided that downtown is at a competitive disadvantage.

It could be because of the income tax, the parking hassles, the relative geographic isolation, and the distance from where employees live. Probably a combination of these factors.

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · June-01-11, 08:39 PM

I agree, taxes are certainly the biggest single hurdle. Moving an existing business downtown is giving a pay cut to everyone who works for you. Unemployment would plummet in Detroit if they eliminated the city income tax.

**slick** · June-03-11, 10:57 AM

It was back in the late 50's or early 60's when WXYZ moved from downtown to Southfield, a big hoopla about moving to broadcast house. They have been there ever since.

Not sure about CBS, Channel 50 has always been in Southfield. All the transmitters are located there, why not the studios.

**iheartthed** · June-03-11, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by Bham1982

These companies are in a war for talent. Apparently they've decided that downtown is at a competitive disadvantage.

It could be because of the income tax, the parking hassles, the relative geographic isolation, and the distance from where employees live. Probably a combination of these factors.

Actually, they aren't in a war for talent. Broadcast media has been shedding jobs like crazy for the past 5 or so years. Most of this is a result of consolidation of operations.

**Detroitnerd** · June-03-11, 11:15 AM

I've often heard that Southfield is slightly higher than the rest of the metro region, which is why they placed their towers out there. So that's a benefit. I guess for a broadcaster with a serious news component, I guess it makes sense to be nearest the news, wherever that is.

**313WX** · June-03-11, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

I think it just comes down to taxes. If you live in the city, you pay an additional 2% city income tax. If you're a high paid employee or TV exec making a million bucks a year, why would you want to pay another $20,000 a year in personal income taxes? Just take a look at how quickly the film industry scrambled out of Michigan when the film tax incentives were slashed.

The taxes themselves aren't the problem. Millions of people pay these the same or higher taxes just to work in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and New York.

The problem is there's no advantage to paying the 2% taxes in Detroit. Why would you make a long commute through blighted neighborhoods just to be greeted with a city center that's lacking any street life you would expect in a major american city and is filled with bland surface lots and abandoned skyscrapers, which to most is considered blight? The quality of life sucks quite frankly. They already have that in the suburbs for free.

**Fnemecek** · June-03-11, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

I've often heard that Southfield is slightly higher than the rest of the metro region, which is why they placed their towers out there. So that's a benefit. I guess for a broadcaster with a serious news component, I guess it makes sense to be nearest the news, wherever that is.

It is. Downtown Detroit is 576 ft. above sea level. Southfield is at 715 ft.

Of course, one of the main reasons why their towers are in Southfield is that the area is more central to the entire Detroit media market. If they were to broadcast from downtown, a decent amount of their signal would be put out over the Detroit River and much more of it into Windsor, which doesn't factor into how they get paid by advertisers.