The parent of several Christian radio networks and podcasts is moving its headquarters from California to Nashville — and hunting for land to build an office campus that could hold a few hundred employees, reports the Nashville Business Journal.
Educational Media Foundation, currently located outside Sacramento, announced its forthcoming arrival March 24. The 39-year-old nonprofit, which generates more than $200 million of annual revenue, is the parent of contemporary Christian radio stations K-LOVE and Air1, as well as AccessMore podcasting and a film and publishing arm named WTA Media.
The foundation is the region's newest California transplant, adding to an exodus that the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated as people and businesses sought to flee high-tax, dense coastal markets. The Greater Nashville region, particularly Williamson County, already is home to much of the Christian music and entertainment industry, including record labels and publishers.
"We've been coming here for some time. Now we've reached the tipping point to bring it all here," CEO Bill Reeves told The Tennessean, which noted that he's lived in the area for much of the last quarter-century.
Educational Media Foundation employs almost 500 people around the U.S., broadcasting on signals in all 50 states. Reeves told The Tennessean that 300 of those jobs are located at the California office and will be impacted by the move.
In a press release, the foundation said it would make the move over three years. Some California employees, though, will begin moving into the foundation's existing area offices this summer, or temporary space the company is looking to lease.
The foundation is in the final stages of picking land for its office campus and selecting architects and builders, the company said in its press release. No further details were provided.
The foundation is negotiating incentives with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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