Television studio complex in Los Angeles, California
Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, United States. The facilities are located at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and Charles Luckman,[1] Television City opened in 1952 as the second CBS television studio complex in Southern California, following CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of the San Fernando Valley, which continues to house additional production facilities and the network's Los Angeles local television operations (KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV). Since 1961, Television City has served as the master control facility for CBS's west coast television network operations which were previously based at CBS Columbia Square. In 2018, CBS sold Television City to the real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners while continuing to exclusively lease its space.
Since its opening, numerous TV shows, specials and events have been broadcast live or recorded at Television City over the years, including many shows not aired on CBS. It has also been the production site of several films such as the 1996 feature That Thing You Do!, starring Tom Hanks and Liv Tyler. During the opening credits of many of the shows recorded here, a voice-over announced the phrase "from Television City in Hollywood". The complex currently houses a total of eight separate studios. The facility infrequently conducts backstage tours led by a CBS page.
History
CBS planned to move most of its entertainment operations to the Los Angeles area in 1950. As they needed additional space beyond its Columbia Square complex on Sunset Boulevard, CBS purchased the property at Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard that year. Hiring architect William Pereira, the company reportedly spent $7 million on the studio.[2] Television City opened on November 16, 1952. It was built on the site of a former football field and race track, Gilmore Stadium. Before the stadium, it was an oil field.
Initially, the four original studios were equipped with RCA TK-10 monochrome cameras. Studio 43 was equipped with RCA TK-40/41 color cameras in 1954, with cables allowing any of the original four studios to use those cameras. In 1956, Studio 41 was equipped with RCA TK-41s. However, CBS color broadcasts decreased in frequency until the following decade, when the 1964 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella was recorded—the last known use of the RCA color cameras. CBS programs were, in general, in black-and-white until Norelco PC-60 color cameras were installed starting in late 1964.[3]
Studio 33 was the home of the long-running CBS game show The Price Is Right, the HBO late night talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, The Carol Burnett Show for its entire 1967–1978 run and The Red Skelton Show prior to that (1953–1970), as well as the notable game shows Match Game (the 1973–82 Gene Rayburn-hosted version, and the 1998 version), The $25,000/$100,000 Pyramid (the 1980s run), Hollywood Squares (hosted by Tom Bergeron), Wheel of Fortune from 1989 to 1995, the 1986–1989 revival of Card Sharks, the 1983–86 version of Press Your Luck, and the 1988–1995 run of Family Feud. During the April 9, 1998, episode of The Price Is Right (which was commemorated as its 5000th episode), CBS dedicated Studio 33 as the "Bob Barker Studio" in honor of the show's long-time host and executive producer.
When it became standard for sitcoms to tape in front of a studio audience in the 1970s, many shows were recorded on soundstages at Television City, such as All in the Family, Maude, and Good Times. The ABC sitcoms Three's Company and Welcome Back, Kotter were also taped at Television City.
CBS Television City is also home to CBS's visual effects studio, CBS Digital, and the CBS Records music label. "Television City" is a registered trademark of CBS for its TV production facilities.
In September 2017, CBS investigated selling the property due to a development boom in the Fairfax District.[4] As a result of this possibility, the city of Los Angeles is taking steps (as of May 2018) to officially declare the facility a historic and cultural monument.[5] CBS Corp. sold Television City to Los Angeles real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners for $750 million in a deal finalized in mid-December 2018. The deal gives the buyer the right to use the Television City name. CBS programs produced at Television City, including The Price Is Right, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Late Late Show with James Corden, will continue to be based at Television City, as well as the headquarters of the CBS international unit.[2]
Architecture
The stark modern architecture at Television City consists of black and white planes meeting at razor-sharp corners, with accents of dazzling red, the work of Pereira & Luckman of Los Angeles. The studio facility was built to handle the larger production needs for the network, most of which took place at the rather cramped CBS Columbia Square. The building's black and white color scheme was also used to identify areas where it was designed to be expanded. Black walls and glass walls indicated "temporary" structure that could be removed during expansion, while white areas were "permanent".[6]
The building initially held four soundstages (Studios 31, 33, 41, and 43), but a renovation in the late 1980s added two new soundstages to the east of the original building (Studios 36 and 46), plus additional office/storage space and technical facilities. Later, another renovation further added two more studios (Studios 56 and 58) in what had been rehearsal halls in the original building. The original plans for Television City called for 24 soundstages, before CBS executives decided to settle with just the initial four.
In 2021, Hackman announced plans for a major, $1.25 billion redevelopment of the facility, which will expand Television City to at least 15 soundstages, and add additional office space. Parts of the expansion will be built atop existing parking lots, which will be converted to parking garages. The four original studios and its architectural qualities will be preserved.[7] In March 2023, due to the redevelopment, Fremantle announced that The Price is Right would relocate to a newly-leased facility in Glendale after having filmed at Television City for 51 consecutive seasons. Other programs currently filmed at Television City will also relocate elsewhere; The Late Late Show with James Corden was already scheduled to end entirely in April 2023.[8][9]
