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| Columbia Broadcasting System studios | |
|---|---|
| Name | Columbia Broadcasting System studios |
| Caption | CBS Broadcast Center, Manhattan |
| Location | New York City; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Miami |
| Established | 1927 |
| Owner | Paramount Global |
Columbia Broadcasting System studios are the broadcast and production facilities historically associated with the Columbia Broadcasting System network. Founded during the late 1920s radio expansion, the studios have served as hubs for radio, television, and digital production for national and regional programming across the United States, hosting a wide array of performers, producers, and technical staff.
From the network's formation during the 1920s in the United States and the tenure of executives such as William S. Paley and Edward R. Murrow, the studios evolved through the Great Depression, World War II, and the Television Age of the 1950s. Growth in the 1940s and 1950s paralleled the rise of programs featuring stars like Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Ed Sullivan, and Walter Cronkite, who performed and broadcast from flagship facilities. The postwar era brought expansion into Hollywood with studios near Sunset Boulevard and into regional centers including Chicago and Atlanta. Corporate reorganizations involving Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Viacom, and later Paramount Global altered ownership, while landmark broadcasts—coverage of events such as the Nuremberg trials, the Kennedy assassination, and the Apollo 11 moon landing—relied on the studios' production capacity and personnel such as Fred Friendly and Don Hewitt.
The principal complex in Manhattan, known as the Broadcast Center, sits near Lincoln Center and has housed operations for network news, daytime programming, and live variety shows. West Coast production has centered around studio complexes in Hollywood and the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles, proximate to Universal Studios and Burbank. Midwestern operations include facilities in Chicago once shared with affiliates like WBBM-TV; Southeastern transmissions have used centers in Atlanta near Georgia State University and CNN Center adjacency. Regional studios collaborated with affiliates such as WCBS-TV, KCBS-TV, KCAL-TV, WBBM-TV, and WFOR-TV. On-location units have deployed remote trucks and mobile units to cover events at venues such as Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, Dodger Stadium, and the Democratic National Convention.
Studios produced seminal television series and newsmagazines including 60 Minutes, The CBS Evening News, The Ed Sullivan Show, I Love Lucy, The Twilight Zone, and Survivor iterations. Radio-era programming included broadcasts like Amos 'n' Andy and Your Hit Parade. Daytime and late-night outputs encompassed The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show, The Price Is Right, and The Young and the Restless (syndication partnerships). Sports productions aired from studio control rooms for events such as Super Bowl coverage, World Series telecasts, and U.S. Open (tennis). Specials and award broadcasts utilized studios for events like the Primetime Emmy Awards, Tony Awards, and election-night coverage alongside networks such as NBC and ABC during cooperative arrangements.
Studios pioneered advancements in live broadcast techniques, multicamera setups influenced by directors like Desi Arnaz and engineers collaborating with corporations such as RCA, Bell Labs, and Hewlett-Packard. Early adoption of videotape technology followed experiments by engineers like Ampex teams; satellite uplinks coordinated with firms like Intelsat enabled global transmission during moments such as the Apollo program reporting. Control rooms integrated automation systems from vendors including Grass Valley Group and routing matrices by Sony and Thomson. The facilities implemented stereophonic audio, color broadcasting standards set after NTSC approval, and later transitioned to high-definition workflows aligned with ATSC standards. Remote-production vehicles used camera chains from Panasonic and ARRI lenses with outside-broadcast coordination techniques traced to pioneers such as Roone Arledge.
Management structures reflected executive leadership from figures like William S. Paley, Frank Stanton, and later executives at ViacomCBS and Paramount Global. On-air talent rostered anchors and hosts including Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Katie Couric, Oprah Winfrey (syndication collaborations), and entertainers such as Carol Burnett, Johnny Carson (guest appearances), and Neil Diamond (performances). Producers and directors associated with studio outputs include Don Hewitt, Ed Sullivan (producer-host), Larry King, and creative teams behind dramas and soap operas like Charlie Ebersol. Technical staff unions and guilds such as the SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees played roles in staffing and labor negotiations.
Studio buildings vary from purpose-built complexes like the Broadcast Center to converted theaters along Broadway and soundstages in Culver City. Architects and firms contributing to studio design referenced modernist and industrial typologies similar to works by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe-influenced designers and preservation efforts coordinated with entities such as the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and local Historic preservation organizations. Landmark status and adaptive reuse have affected properties in Manhattan, Studio City, and Hollywood, leading to restorations that balance historic soundstage acoustics with retrofitted HVAC, seismic upgrades, and modern broadcast infrastructure while engaging stakeholders such as municipal planning departments and cultural institutions like the Museum of Television and Radio.
Category:Broadcasting studios