NBC-TV, Burbank closing...The end of an era; CBS Television City is next

"NBC FLIES THE COOP"
Variety, Oct.11, 2007

After 50 years, NBC is returning to Los Angeles.
The Peacock is expected to announce today that it plans to sell a large portion of its longtime 34-acre Burbank home and move across the street from Universal Studios, which the company acquired as part of its Universal purchase in 2004.
The network, as well as its West Coast news operations and local stations KNBC and KVEA, are expected to move to the new complex in 2011. Thomas Properties is developing the site, which would be located on Lankershim Boulevard where an MTA Red Line subway stop and parking lot now stand. News first leaked Tuesday afternoon on local real estate blog Curbed LA.
Most affected by the move: Burbank, the frequent butt of jokes by NBC stars through the years, including "Tonight Show" hosts Jay Leno and Johnny Carson -- who memorably made fun of "beautiful downtown Burbank." (NBC said it will still maintain some offices in the city.)
With most of the NBC's Burbank lot set to be sold, the Peacock is said to be readying a new home for Leno successor Conan O'Brien, who will host "The Tonight Show" from Universal Studios' Stage One starting in 2009.
After the NBC move, Burbank will still be home to two broadcast networks, ABC and the CW. Not far away, CBS is readying a move from the Fairfax district to Studio City, on its Radford lot.
Before moving to Burbank in the early 1960s, NBC's West Coast headquarters were on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. That building, dubbed NBC Radio City, was demolished in 1964. A Washington Mutual bank now sits on the site.
NBC is touting the new site as "green" friendly, pointing particularly to its location above a subway as one way to encourage public transit use. New building will also be equipped for high definition broadcast.
"The West Coast news headquarters is an incredibly exciting project on the horizon that will set a new standard for newsgathering and environmental design," said NBC News prexy Steve Capus.
"Today, as we cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art facility at our world headquarters in New York, we look to Los Angeles as an extension of that -- giving us a world-class facility on both coasts, allowing for better collaboration among all our West Coast newsgathering operations and better serving our viewers both locally and nationally."
Date in print: Thurs., Oct. 11, 2007, Los Angeles

-Steve D.

 

So Leno will still host the Tonight Show from there until his reign ends?


Evan

 

You could almost walk between the two sites. What do you suppose - about three miles?

I wonder what will be done with that big plot of land? Warner Brothers & Disney are still right there.

 

They're building - refurbishing an old stage actually - Conan's new studio directly across from my building.

 

Another end of an era....

 

Well, after all..."There's A Tavern In The Town."

 

I always thought the expression "beautiful downtown Burbank" came from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.

Paul

 

great memories, Steve. I take it you were a local Burbank boy at the time?

 

The saddest thing for me is that it's now official that Conan will be doing the show from LA as opposed to staying in New York...

 

Yes it did. Gary Owens, the announcer for Laugh-In, always made that announcement at the beginning of every show - "From beautiful downtown Burbank, it's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In". I have fond memories of watching this show every week. I never made it to downtown Burbank myself, though.

 

Kind of surprising.
BTW, is Universal City part of Los Angeles? I thought it was unincorporated like East LA or Marina Del Rey....part of the county with no city.

 

Like Steve Hoffman, I also spent many happy hours both visiting as a teen and later working at NBC Burbank.

Don't know if anyone noticed, in the body of the Variety article was this sentence: " Not far away, CBS is readying a move from the Fairfax district to Studio City, on its Radford lot."
I'm sure this doesn't refer to the recent move of KCBS/KCAL from Columbia Square in Hollywood. The Fairfax district is the home of CBS Television City. Could this landmark network broadcast center also be slated for the wrecking ball? It's located on very prime real estate, ripe for the condo crazed developers in L.A.

-Steve D.

 

You had some great childhood experiences around there Steve.

This breaks my heart, I'll probably never get to see the old NBC studios. At this rate, I'll probably never get to see CBS' Television City either.

Columbia Square is gone, NBC 'Color City' is next. Sad. Very sad.

dan c

 

Great photos.

NBC's long-gone Radio City was quite a wonderful piece of architecture, wasn't it?

It's amazing to me that it only survived less than 30 years! They never gave it a chance to become 'historic'.

dan c

 

Video report from KNBC:
http://video.knbc.com/player/?id=165801

Gee, 'content center' just doesn't have the same romantic ring as 'Color City' does it?

dan c

 

My prediction: Conan will never step foot on that stage.

 

It was. They're not attributing the quote to him. That's just how burbank is referred to.

Carson used to say, "they roll up the sidewalks by 10 o'clock"

Johnny carson park is right there. Bob hope blvd will seem like an odd name for the street to newcomers now.

Jeff

 

Why do you think that? There have been rumors the NBC is having second thoughts about letting Jay Leno retire, and are willing to pay multi millions to Conan to let him go.

Evan

 

I have a friend who works close to the business that says they've been trying to enlist others. Jimmy Fallon is up on their list, They've considered the American Idol guy (?) as well as Carson Daly, but how seriously, I'm not sure.

Leno'e mediocre tenure will be easily forgotten....Supposedly no one at NBC has even spoken to him about any of this, he's reading it all in the papers like Letterman had to do back in the day.

NBC must be a great place to work///

Funny they don't consider a woman .I say shake it up a bit by giving it to Amy Pohler, Amy Sodaris or Sarah Silverman (I know...just an example)

They'll go the safe route a la Brian Williams, Meredith Veira ,etc.

Party on Wayne.

 

Yeah, I find it hard to believe they'd settle on Conan considering how he has been treated by the network throughout his tenure on Late Night.

Supposedly this is set in stone; time will tell.

Evan

 

Tina Fey would be a stellar choice: witty, literate, urbane