NBC Studios (New York City)

The NBC Studios is located in the historic GE Building (on 49th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues) in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. The building houses the NBC television network headquarters, its former parent General Electric, and NBC's flagship station WNBC (Channel 4), as well as cable news channel MSNBC. When NBC Universal relocated to New York, 24-hour cable news television network MSNBC joined the network on that day as well. The new studios/headquarters for NBC News and MSNBC are located in one area.

The first NBC Radio City Studios began operating in the early 1930s, and tours of the studios began in 1933. NBC offered tours until January 2014, when due to extensive studio renovations tours have been suspended until mid-2015.^[1] Because of the preponderance of radio studios, that section of the Rockefeller Center complex became known as Radio City (and gave its name to Radio City Music Hall, a gigantic and renowned venue for theatre and films located in Radio City). Even into the present decade, tickets for shows based at 30 Rock bear the legend "Radio City".

Shows recorded at or broadcast live from NBC Studios

30 Rockefeller Center is the world headquarters of NBC.

Ground-level entrance

Marquee from the side

Among the shows originating at 30 Rockefeller Plaza:

NBC Studio productions

Studio	Production	Notes	Floor
1A	The Today Show	The network's daily morning program is produced at a ground-level windowed studio across 49th Street from the GE Building since the mid-1990s, at 10 Rockefeller Plaza; it was previously broadcast from inside the skyscraper. Studio 1A is a multilevel studio. The studio was also used by WNBC's Live at Five, and MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann.[2] and NBC Nightly News for a short period during decontamination of the broadcast's facilities and offices in October 2001 due to the 2001 anthrax attacks.	Ground floor
2K	MSNBC Secondary HD Control Room	Debuted October 22, 2007, and is the home to MSNBC programs. An MSNBC/NBC News Newsroom connects control room 2K and studio floor 3A.	2nd floor
3A	MSNBC main studios and headquarters	Debuted October 22, 2007, and is the home to many MSNBC programs including the main news desk where MSNBC Live and other MSNBC programs are shot. An MSNBC/NBC News Newsroom connects Studio 3A and Studio 3C. Former home of NBC Nightly News.	3rd floor
3B	NBC Nightly News	Former home of the Huntley-Brinkley Report,[3] the NBC daytime serial The Doctors,[4] the Today Show, Dateline NBC, NBC Nightly News, and coverage of the 2008 presidential election. 3B is the only studio in the building which has kept its original dimensions since it was constructed in 1933.	3rd floor
3C	WNBC	Formerly home of NBC Nightly News from 1999-October 23, 2011, however the studio's size was decreased significantly during a 2007 renovation. Became the home for News 4 New York on April 21, 2012.[5]	3rd floor
3K	Early Today/All In with Chris Hayes/The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell'/"DATELINE"	3K was formed by combining former radio studio 3F and studio 3H. 3H was the first studio in the building to be converted for Television production, being converted in 1935 and serving as NBC Television's lone studio[6] until the conversion of Studio 8G in 1948. Former home of NBC Nightly News, NBC Sports, The Today Show, The Ed Show, and The Howdy Doody Show,[7] green screen room for coverage of 2008 presidential election result program for NBC News/MSNBC.[8]	3rd floor
5B	Radio Central	Studio, control center and production facility for Monitor, NBC's "weekend radio service," NBC Radio News on the Hour and other programs	5th floor
5H/5HN Decommissioned	NBC News "Instant News" Studio	A small studio used for breaking news bulletins during the Huntley-Brinkley era. Cameras in this studio were kept "hot" (on) 24 hours a day in case of an emergency. Most notably, network coverage regarding the John F. Kennedy assassination originated from this studio. It was also used for cut-ins regarding the Gemini 5 spaceflight.[9]	5th floor
6A	The Meredith Vieira Show	A former home of Twenty One,[10] The Tomorrow Show,[11] Late Night with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Dr. Oz Show, and NBC Radio Network programs with studio audiences from 1933 to the 1950s, 6A was the first 30 Rock studio to be converted for high definition television. In August 2013, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon moved into this space while Studio 6B underwent renovations for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[12] Starting September 2014, Meredith Vieira's daytime talk show, The Meredith Vieira Show, originated from this studio.	6th floor
6B	The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon	Also the original home of Broadway Open House,[13] Bob Hope's radio program,[14] television version of Texaco Star Theater,[15] Tonight Starring Jack Paar, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and NBC Nightly News. Former home for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and the former studio for flagship station WNBC. Current home for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.	6th floor
6C	NBC Digital Studios	The current home of such web based shows as "The Untitled News Comedy Show", "Starstruck", and "A Big Life with Sissy Biggers". Was previously home to a small set for WNBC as well as WNBC's Master control.[16]	6th floor
6E	Global Media Insert Studios	Former home of Early Today and MSNBC secondly studio (Ed Show home and Breaking News coverage), called as "Newsnooks". This space was previously a portion of WNBC's Master Control.	6th floor
7E	WNBC newsroom	The WNBC newsroom and home of WNBC's newscasts from 2008 to 2012. During the time WNBC broadcast news from this space, it did so from a small studio built into space that was formerly a conference room. Since WNBC has moved production of newscasts to Studio 3C, the studio space in 7E has been converted into additional office space for the WNBC Newsroom.	7th floor
8A	(Unknown)	A "Studio 8A" is marked on an official drawing[17] of the 8th floor of the building. Judging by the surrounding area, this studio was likely used for audio recording. It's possible this studio was converted to television studio 8B.	8th floor
8B	Decision 2010 Coverage	This studio was used for coverage of the 2010 midterm elections.[18]	8th floor
8G	Late Night with Seth Meyers	A former radio studio converted for Television use in 1948 and went on air April 22 of that year.[19] Former home of The Phil Donahue Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Caroline Rhea Show, The Jane Pauley Show and Football Night in America, as well as the original Concentration and Jeopardy! which recorded their color episodes on alternating days/weeks from 1964 to 1975. NBC Nightly News used this studio during the 2007 renovations of NBC News headquarters, except on some Sunday evenings where, due to football programming, the news was broadcast from Studio 1A. This studio has also been used for Decision 2008 and Decision 2010 election night coverage. Current home for Late Night with Seth Meyers.[20]	8th floor
The GE building as seen from the Citigroup Center at dusk.	8H	Saturday Night Live	Studio 8H was, at the time of construction, the world's largest radio studio. It was converted to television use in 1950 (however, it had hosted television broadcasts prior to conversion, namely for simulcasts of The Voice of Firestone). Former home of Kraft Television Theater and other live dramas, election night coverage, Last Call with Carson Daly, Later with Bob Costas, and the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. Used for offsite coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics and for the "Live Show" and "Live from Studio 6H" episodes of 30 Rock. 8H was also the temporary home to Football Night in America during the 2013 NFL season.	8th floor

Other locations

Some other New York originated programs are/were produced elsewhere in the area, including:

• Ambassador Theater, 215 West 49th Street. Now a theater presenting Broadway shows.

• Brooklyn Studios^[21][22] (now JC Studios), 1268 East 14th Street in Midwood, Brooklyn (many 1950s color "Spectaculars" such as The Esther Williams Aqua Special,Peter Pan; it is also where The Perry Como Show (1960s), Mitch Miller Show (1960s), The Sammy Davis Jr. Show (1960s), Hullabaloo (1965–1966), Kraft Music Hall, The Cosby Show, and Another World were produced. It was the home of CBS's soap opera As the World Turns until the series ceased production in 2010. The studio was equipped for color production when it opened in 1954.^[23] (The silent film-era Vitagraph Studios was located directly across East 14th Street. That property is now occupied by the Shulamith School for Girls.)

• Center Theatre, 1236 Sixth Avenue at West 49th Street (Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle, Your Show of Shows (1950–1954), Voice of Firestone). Demolished in 1954 for U.S. Rubber building.

• Century Theater,^[24][25][26] 932 Seventh Avenue at West 58th Street (Caesar's Hour with Sid Caesar (1954–1957), Mr. Peepers, Treasure Hunt). Leased to Videotape Productions of New York (Videotape Center) 1958-1961. Demolished in 1962 for apartment building.

• Colonial Theater,^[27][28] 1887 Broadway at West 62nd Street (original version of The Price is Right hosted by Bill Cullen, 1953–1963; Colgate Comedy Hour). The studio was the first equipped for color production and originated the first color telecast on November 3, 1953. Demolished 1977.^[29]

• Hudson Theatre,^[30][31] 141 West 44th Street (Tonight hosted by Steve Allen (1954–1957)). The theater still stands as part of the Millennium Broadway Hotel.

• International Theater,^[32] 5 Columbus Circle (Admiral Broadway Review (1949)). Demolished in 1954 for New York Coliseum. CNN Center is now on the site.^[33]

• New Amsterdam Roof Garden Theater, 214 West 42nd Street, now home to Broadway musical productions.

• Ziegfeld Theatre,^[34][35][36] 1341 Sixth Avenue at West 54th Street (The Perry Como Show, Concentration (primetime 1961)). Demolished in 1966 for 49-story office tower.

• 67th Street Studios, 101 West 67th Street (the Knickerbocker Beer Show a/k/a The Steve Allen show) on WNBT-TV (1953-1954) (Direct predecessor to Tonight Starring Steve Allen), (the Home show with Arlene Francis (1954-1957), Concentration (primetime 1958)). Built in 1949 as "9 Television Square" for WOR-TV. Leased to NBC 1953-63, Home to Videotape Center (Videotape Productions of New York studios) (1961-1968—independent production company), Reeves Lincoln Square Studios 1968-70, ABC Studio TV-18/19 (1970 to 1990, production facility for soap opera All My Children, and One Live to Live prior to moving to TV-17). Demolished in 1995. Building originally had three studios, converted to two, later one. The site is now 50-story Millennium Tower apartment building.

• Uptown Studios (now Metropolis Studios), 105 East 106th Street at Park Avenue. "Howdy Doody" first episode in 1947 originated here.

• NBC Universal Network Organization Center, 900 Sylvan Avenue (Route 9W), Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, (home of CNBC and CNBC World).

• WNBC-TV's New York Live formerly (LX: NY) is produced in Studio 51 at nearby 75 Rockefeller Plaza.

See also

• GE Building

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NBC Studios (New York City).

• NBC Television Network
• NBC Universal
• NBC Tower

Coordinates: 40°45′32″N 73°58′44″W / 40.759°N 73.979°W / 40.759; -73.979