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The Burbank Studios

Coordinates: 34°09′14″N 118°20′01″W / 34.15389°N 118.33361°W / 34.15389; -118.33361
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This article is about the former NBC facility. For the former studio facility partnership between Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, see Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank.

The Burbank Studios
Map
Former namesNBC Studios (1952–2014)
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeTelevision Studios Complex
Address3000 West Alameda Avenue
Burbank, California
91505
Completed1952
Owner
Technical details
Floor count6
Design and construction
DeveloperRadio Corporation of America
References
[1]
NBC Radio City Hollywood was located at Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, 1937–1962; in 1968, it was replaced by Home Savings and Loan headquarters.[2][3][4]

The Burbank Studios (formerly known as NBC Studios) is a television production facility located in Burbank, California, United States. The studio is home to Days of Our Lives, Extra, the IHeartRadio Theater, and was formerly home to the Blizzard Arena (home of the Overwatch League).

History

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NBC Radio City Hollywood

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NBC Radio City Hollywood,[5][6] located at Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, opened in 1938 and served as headquarters to the NBC Radio Networks' West Coast operations. It served as a replacement for NBC Radio City San Francisco, which had been in service since 1942. Since NBC never owned a radio station in Los Angeles, the network's West Coast programming originated from its San Francisco station (KPO, which later became KNBC, and is now KNBR). NBC radio network programming was carried on KFI in Los Angeles.

The architect for the distinctive Streamline Moderne building at Sunset and Vine was John C. Austin.[7]

In January 1949, NBC launched its newest television station for Los Angeles, KNBH (Channel 4; now KNBC) from Radio City; the radio studios were later equipped for live television broadcasting in the transition phase from radio broadcasting. However, as television production was increasing for NBC, the network and its then-parent the Radio Corporation of America, decided to build a television studio, nicknamed NBC Color City, that would be exclusively equipped for color television broadcasting. For many of the same reasons why CBS eventually built Television City in the early 1950s to replace its Columbia Square, the television facilities at Radio City gradually became too small for NBC to produce its television broadcasts.

NBC Color City Studios Burbank

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The Burbank Studios administrative building in 2015

RCA's decision to expand television studio facilities required moving to the real estate market in the San Fernando Valley-Burbank area, with land purchased from Jack Warner.[8] The newly-christened NBC Color City Studios opened in March 1955, as the first television studio designed specially for the origination of color television broadcasting, although their rivals, ABC and CBS would gradually add color broadcasting to their studio facilities in later years.

KNBC moved to a new building in 1962. In 1964, the Radio City Hollywood building was demolished, as NBC moved more of their West Coast television operations to the Burbank facility. The site is now occupied by a bank.

This studio hosted production of many of the best-remembered game and variety shows from the 1950s through the 1990s, including Hollywood Squares from 1966 to 1980, Wheel of Fortune from 1975 to 1989, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in from 1968 to 1973, and The Tonight Show beginning in 1972. The latter two shows would frequently reference their home in "Beautiful Downtown Burbank" though Tonight would invariably begin each episode with the technically incorrect announcement, "From Hollywood..." During the late 1960s, Carson's Tonight Show would move for periods to Burbank, using studio 1. After the permanent move to Burbank in 1972, Bob Hope's shows taped in studio 1, with The Tonight Show taking a hiatus while Hope produced his specials. In 1971, President Richard Nixon announced Henry Kissinger's secret negotiations with Zhou Enlai and his impending visit to China from the studio.[9]

Studio 11, formerly the home of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Jay Leno Show

The Tonight Show would stay in Burbank through Johnny Carson's retirement, Jay Leno's ascendency to host until the end of his first run in 2009, when it moved to an all-digital studio on the Universal lot in 2009 for the short-lived The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. The show moved back to the Burbank Studios when Leno returned as host of The Tonight Show on March 1, 2010. The show used studio 11 until Leno stepped down as host on February 6, 2014. After that, The Tonight Show moved back to New York City's Rockefeller Center when Jimmy Fallon replaced Leno as host, marking the end of the 42-year era in which the show had recorded in Southern California.[10]

NBC's move to Universal City

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In October 2007, NBC announced plans to move most of its operations from Burbank to a new complex across the street from Universal Studios in Universal City.[11] It would retain offices at the Burbank site until May 2013, though the studio complex was sold to Catalina/Worthe Real Estate Group in 2008, with NBCUniversal leasing space until 2013. The former Technicolor building on the Universal lot now serves as the home of NBC's West Coast operations.[12] KNBC-TV and NBC News' Los Angeles bureau, along with Telemundo station KVEA, began broadcasting from Universal Studios on February 2, 2014.

The Burbank facility was one of the few television-specific studio facilities in Hollywood that offered tours to the general public until they ceased July 6, 2012.[13]

On March 13, 2014, Lawrence O'Donnell announced that his MSNBC broadcast that night would be the last nationally-televised program to be broadcast live from NBC's Burbank studio, with the move of the NBC News Los Angeles bureau to Universal City.

After NBC

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On October 2, 2017, Studio 1 became the official home of Blizzard Arena Los Angeles and the Overwatch League, marking the Burbank Studios' first esports broadcast. The inaugural season began on January 10, 2018, in which over 437,000 viewers tuned in live on opening night via Twitch and MLG.tv streaming platforms.[14] The final match was played on September 15, 2019, before the league moved to a traditional sports home-and-away format.

On April 15, 2019, WarnerMedia (now Warner Bros. Discovery) announced that it would purchase The Burbank Studios. The transaction was completed in late 2023.[15][16]

On July 15, 2024, it was announced that Worthe Real Estate Group, QuadReal Property Group and Stockbridge Capital Group would reacquire The Burbank Studios as part of a years-long deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. The three companies paid $375 million for the 27-acre film studio campus in the Burbank Media District in Southern California, property records showed. Representatives announced the deal but did not disclose the value of the sale.[17]

Program history

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Today, the studio houses Days of Our Lives (the last remaining NBC series in production there) and the IHeartRadio Theater. Programs produced here over the years include:

Program Network/Station Years Taped Studio Notes
The All-New Jeopardy! NBC 1978–1979 3 The present-day syndicated version of the show (which began in 1984) is taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City.
All Star Secrets NBC 1979
All That Nickelodeon 2019–2020 9 Reboot series
The Andy Williams Show NBC 1962–1967; 1969–1971 4
An Evening with Fred Astaire
(TV special) 		NBC 1958 2
Baffle NBC 1973–1974
Battlestars NBC 1981–1982; 1983 3
The Big Game NBC 1958 4
Blank Check NBC 1975 4
Blockbusters NBC 1980–1982; 1987 1, 2, 3, 4
Bullseye Syndication 1980–1981 3, 4
Card Sharks NBC 1978–1981 3, 4 CBS and first syndicated version taped at Television City from 1986 to 1989, second syndicated version taped at Tribune Studios from September to December 2001, ABC version taped at Television City in 2019 and CBS Studio Center in 2020
Celebrity Sweepstakes NBC, Syndication 1974–1977 9
Chain Letter NBC 1966
Chain Reaction NBC 1980 2, 4 USA Network version taped at CFCF-TV in Montreal, Quebec from 1986 to 1991; GSN version taped at Sony Music Studios in New York City from 2007 to 2008 and at an unknown location from 2015 to 2016
Channel 4 News KNBC 1962–2014 5"N", 10 KNBC moved to a studio near Universal Studios Hollywood in 2014
Chico and the Man NBC 1974–1978 3
Classic Concentration NBC 1987–1991 3
Cousins for Life Nickelodeon 2018 9
C.P.O. Sharkey NBC 1976–1978 3
Days of Our Lives NBC, Peacock 1965–present 9, 2 & 4 The series moved to NBC's streaming service Peacock starting in September 2022.
The Dean Martin Show NBC 1965–1974 2
Dream House NBC 1983–1984 3
Dog Eat Dog NBC 2002–2003 1
The Don Knotts Show NBC 1970–1971 2
Danger Force Nickelodeon 2020–2022 11
The Don Rickles Show NBC 1968–1969 2
Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special
(TV special) 		NBC 1968 4
The Ellen DeGeneres Show Syndication 2003–2008 11 Production moved to Warner Bros. Studios in 2008
Extra Syndicated 2019–present Newsroom
The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder Paramount+ 2021 9
Family Feud Syndication 2000-2003
Fight Back! with David Horowitz Syndication 1980–1992 5"P" Studio used for Horowitz' prior show "Consumer Buyline" from 1976–1980. "Fight Back!" stopped taping in-studio starting with the 1987–1988 season.
The Flip Wilson Show NBC 1970–1974 2
Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music
(TV special) 		NBC 1965 4
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air NBC 1993–1996 11
The Funny Side NBC 1971–1972
Game Shakers Nickelodeon 2015–2018 9
Generations NBC 1989–1991 11
Go NBC 1983–1984 2
The Gong Show NBC, Syndication 1976–1978 3
Henry Danger Nickelodeon 2014–2019 11
High Rollers NBC 1974–1976; 1978–1980 3 1987–88 version taped at Television City
Hit Man NBC 1983 4
Hollywood Squares NBC, Syndication 1966–1980; 1986–1987 1, 3, 4 Production moved prior to 1987–1988 season; 1998–2004 version taped at Television City
Hot Potato NBC 1984 2
The Howie Mandel Show Syndication 1998–1999 1
iHeartRadio Theater The CW 2013–present 3
In the House NBC, UPN 1995–1999
I'll Bet NBC 1965
It Could Be You NBC 1956–1961
It Pays to Be Ignorant Syndication 1973–1974
It Takes Two NBC 1969–1970
It's Anybody's Guess NBC 1977 3
It's Your Bet Syndication 1969–1973
The Jay Leno Show NBC 2009–2010 11
The John Davidson Show Syndication 1980–1981 2
Just Men! NBC 1983 2
Late Night with David Letterman NBC 1985 11
Late Night with Conan O'Brien NBC 1999 1
Last Call with Carson Daly NBC 2005–2009 9
Let's Make a Deal NBC, Syndication 1963–1968; 1984–1985; 2003 1, 4 CBS version tapes at Raleigh Studios from 2015 onwards; formerly taped at the Tropicana Resort & Casino from 2009 to 2010 and at Sunset Bronson Studios from 2010 to 2014
Letters to Laugh-In NBC 1969 2
Lotsa Luck NBC 1973–1974
Match Game–Hollywood Squares Hour NBC 1983–1984 3
Make Your Own Kind of Music NBC 1971
The Midnight Special NBC 1972–1983 2, 4
Mindreaders NBC 1979–1980 3, 4
The Nat King Cole Show NBC 1956–1957 2
Night Court NBC 1984–1991 Production moved to Warner Bros. Studios in 1991–92
Overwatch League ABC, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2[18] 2018–2019 1
PDQ Syndication 1965–1969
Password Plus NBC 1979–1982 1, 2, 3, 4
People are Funny NBC 1956–1961; 1984 3
People Will Talk NBC 1963 3
Punky Brewster Syndication 1987–1988 11
Real People NBC 1979–1984
The Robert Irvine Show The CW 2016–2018 1
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In NBC 1968–1973 3
Sale of the Century NBC, Syndication 1983–1989 3
Saturday Night Live NBC 1982 1 For the season premiere of Season 8 (1982-83), host Chevy Chase performed the cold open and all his other sketches from Burbank via satellite. His segments were done from the then-set of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; at Studio 8H in New York, a TV monitor was set up on each stage where Chase's Burbank-originated image appeared as the rest of the cast performed as usual, in person.
The Sammy Davis Jr. Show NBC 1966 2
Sanford and Son NBC 1972–1977 3
Santa Barbara NBC 1984–1993 11
Saved by the Bell NBC 1989–1993
Saved by the Bell: The New Class NBC 1993–2000
Scrabble NBC 1984–1990; 1993 2, 3
Sonny with a Chance Disney Channel 2009 11
Super Password NBC 1984–1989 1, 3 2008 incarnation known as Million Dollar Password taped at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York City, then CBS Studio Center
Supermarket Sweep Pax TV 2001–2003 11
Three for the Money NBC 1975
This Is Your Life NBC 1958–1961 3
Time Machine NBC 1985
To Say the Least NBC 1977–1978
To Tell the Truth NBC, Syndication 1990–1991; 2000–2002 1, 11
Tomorrow NBC 1973–1974; 1977–1979 1, 5
The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson NBC 1972–1992 1[19]
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno NBC 1992–2009; 2010–2014 1, 3,[20][21] 11[22] Since 2014 as The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon taped at Rockefeller Center NBC Studios in New York City
True Crime News Syndicated 2024–present 1
Truth or Consequences NBC 1960–1965 1, 3
Twenty One NBC 2000 1
Vicki! Syndication 1992–1994 3
The Weakest Link NBC, Syndication 2001–2003 1
The Weird Al Show CBS 1997–1998 11
Welcome Back, Kotter ABC 1975–1976 Pilot recorded at CBS Television City; Seasons 2 to 4 recorded at ABC Television Center
What's This Song? NBC 1964–1965
Wheel of Fortune NBC, Syndication 1975–1989 2, 4 Taped at CBS Television City from 1989 until 1995. Since 1995, has been taping at Sony Pictures Studios
Wordplay NBC 1986–1987 4
You Bet Your Life/The Groucho Show NBC 1960–1961 3
You Don't Say! NBC 1963–1969 3
Your Number's Up NBC 1985 2

Geography

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The Burbank Studios is located on West Alameda Avenue, in Burbank, California. It lies across the street, on Bob Hope Drive, from Johnny Carson Park, the busiest park in Burbank.[23][24][25][26][27][28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Emporis building ID 341386". Emporis.[dead link]
  2. ^ Turnbull, Martin (May 31, 2017). "A collection of photos of the NBC radio and television studios on the northeast corner of Sunset Blvd and Vine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles". Martin Turnbull .com. Retrieved November 4, 2023. NBC moved out of the studios in 1962 and relocated to Burbank. The building was demolished in 1964 to make way for a bank.
  3. ^ "6285 Sunset Part 2: NBC Radio City West". J. H. Graham .com. November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  4. ^ Graham, J. H. (November 24, 2020). "6285 Sunset Part 1: Carpenter's Drive-In". J. H. Graham .com. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "NBC Radio City Hollywood". westmb.org. Western States Museum of Broadcasting. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  6. ^ "National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA". pcad.lib.washington.edu. Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD). Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  7. ^ Kepos, Paula, ed. (1994). "The Austin Company". International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 8. Detroit: St. James Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-5586-2323-1. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  8. ^ "Thomas W. Sarnoff". Television Academy Interviews. October 22, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  9. ^ Graff, Garrett M. (2022). Watergate: A New History (1st ed.). New York: Avid Reader Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-9821-3918-6. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Memmott, Mark (April 3, 2013). "It's Set: Jimmy Fallon To Replace Jay Leno On 'Tonight Show' In Spring 2014". Must Reads. NPR. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  11. ^ Schneider, Michael (October 10, 2007). "NBC moving from Burbank to L.A." Variety. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  12. ^ Miller, Daniel (January 4, 2012). "NBCUniversal to Build New Broadcast Center". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  13. ^ Flint, Joe (July 6, 2012). "The Morning Fix: Big web for 'Spider-Man' and 'Ted.' WikiLeaks race". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  14. ^ Wolf, Jacob (January 17, 2018). "Overwatch League outperforms Thursday Night Football livestream on opening day". ESPN. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  15. ^ "North America Home" (Press release). Warner Media. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019.
  16. ^ James, Meg; Vincent, Roger (April 15, 2019). "Warner Bros. Plans to buy Burbank Studios and occupy new Frank Gehry 'iceberg' towers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  17. ^ Cornfield, Greg (July 15, 2024). "Warner Bros.' Iconic Burbank Studios Traded Back for $375M". Commercial Observer. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  18. ^ "Overwatch League comes to ESPN, Disney and ABC". ESPN. July 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  19. ^ Sweeney, Don (2006). Backstage at The Tonight Show: From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-58979-303-3.
  20. ^ Sweeney, Don (2006). Backstage at The Tonight Show: From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-58979-303-3.
  21. ^ Abramson, Albert (September 15, 2007). The History of Television, 1942 to 2000. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3243-1.
  22. ^ Carter, Bill (November 4, 2010). The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-44342-2.
  23. ^ "The Burbank Studios". Google Maps.
  24. ^ "Johnny Carson Park (34.1551988,-118.3326244)". Google Maps.
  25. ^ "Johnny Carson Park; 400 S. Bob Hope Drive; Burbank; CA; 91505". Burbank, California Parks and Recreation.
  26. ^ Corrigan, Kelly (July 1, 2016). "After more than a year of renovating, curtain rises on Burbank's Johnny Carson Park". Los Angeles Times.
  27. ^ "Johnny Carson Park". Seeing Stars: Where the Stars are Immortalized. 1999.
  28. ^ "Map". Burbank Studios.
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34°09′14″N 118°20′01″W / 34.15389°N 118.33361°W / 34.15389; -118.33361

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