ViacomCBS Sells Black Rock

[TheBigA]

There was a time when the headquarters of the three major networks were located a few blocks from each other. NBC was located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and was known as 30 Rock. The ABC headquarters on Avenue of the Americas was called Hard Rock (because of its rock formatted radio stations). And CBS was known as Black Rock because it was made of black stone. Today, ViacomCBS sold off that building as part of its downsizing.

ViacomCBS Sells Black Rock Building in New York to Harbor Group for $760 Million

Harbor Group International, a privately owned real estate investment and management firm, announced Monday it has entered an agreement with ViacomCBS to purchase the CBS Building in New York City f…

variety.com

It was built when CBS was a very different company, owning the TV network, radio network, stations, and Columbia Records. In fact at one time WCBS-AM was in the building, so Bill Paley could keep an eye on it. They sold the record label in the 80s. Sold all of the radio a few years ago. They sold Television City in LA last year. So the landscape is very different today.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

I get it though given that CBS's main operations for New York are at CBS Broadcast Center and at one Astor Plaza for management. Basically CBS is adapting to the current business climate.

ViacomCBS - Wikipedia

CBS Broadcast Center - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Likewise for CBS Los Angeles Operations they used to be at Television city, Miracle Mile (Now Audacy Los Angeles offices)and Columbia Square until the main CBS operations for Los Angeles and additional studio space on Melrose Ave at Paramount became the main west coast operations for CBS.

 

[TheBigA]

I get it though given that CBS's main operations for New York are at CBS Broadcast Center and at one Astor Plaza for management. Basically CBS is adapting to the current business climate.

The CBS Broadcast Center on W57th is apparently on the block as well.

ViacomCBS Moves Closer to A Broadcast Center Sale?

ViacomCBS could make a move to sell its CBS Broadcast Center at 524 W57th St. on Manhattan's west side and potentially has plans to downsize its workforce into Viacom-occupied properties, sources tell GlobeSt.com.

www.globest.com

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

The CBS Broadcast Center on W57th is apparently on the block as well.

ViacomCBS Moves Closer to A Broadcast Center Sale?

ViacomCBS could make a move to sell its CBS Broadcast Center at 524 W57th St. on Manhattan's west side and potentially has plans to downsize its workforce into Viacom-occupied properties, sources tell GlobeSt.com.

www.globest.com

I remember CBS News specifically was moving CBS This Morning to the former MTV TRL Room on Times Square. I knew CBS News and CBSN also have offices in Washington D.C. for the reason of the move though.

‘CBS This Morning’ Will Move to Times Square Studio in Fall (EXCLUSIVE)

It’s just the latest salvo in TV’s never-ending morning-news wars: CBS’ Gayle King is about to stroll into territory long dominated by ABC’s Robin Roberts. Starting this fall, “CBS This Morning” wi…

variety.com

CBS Buys Extell Development’s 500 West 57th for $27M

CBS Broadcasting bought a seven-story property at 500 West 57th Street from Extell Development Company for $26.7 million.

commercialobserver.com

Also in the past 6 months CBS has got another property on 500 West 57th Street for office space at that location.

I forgot to mention Studio City the West Coast offices of CBS News, CBS Sports and KCBS2/KCAL9 offices are the main west coast operations for CBS.

I get it though given that CBS's main operations for New York are at CBS Broadcast Center and at one Astor Plaza for management. Basically CBS is adapting to the current business climate.



Likewise for CBS Los Angeles Operations they used to be at Television city, Miracle Mile (Now Audacy Los Angeles offices)and Columbia Square until the main CBS operations for Los Angeles and additional studio space on 5515 Melrose Ave at Paramount became the main west coast operations for CBS.

 

[davideduardo]

For years I worked at 485 Madison, the original Paley HQ when he moved to NYC. It was actually kinda' emotional to think about.

 

[TheBigA]

I knew CBS News and CBSN also have offices in Washington D.C. for the reason of the move though.

They sold the DC bureau several years ago. The building was demolished and they are now tenants in the new building

https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/07/cbs-sells-d-c-bureau-to-the-developer-that-will.html

 

[TheBigA]

For years I worked at 485 Madison, the original Paley HQ when he moved to NYC. It was actually kinda' emotional to think about.

While the offices were at 485, the studios were actually located at Grand Central Station:

CBS and New York's Grand Central Terminal by Richard Wirth - ProVideo Coalition

When I was in elementary school I occasionally suffered from childhood ailments that kept me home from school. If I felt well enough to come downstairs I would take my usual position on the sofa so I could watch whatever was on television during the daytime hours. I can remember an announcer at...

www.provideocoalition.com

They stayed there until moving to the Broadcast Center on W57th in 1965.

 

[seatownmedia]

Large studios in big cities are a thing of the past. If not, will soon be. The same content today can be produced in smaller studios in smaller cities with lower overhead. The one exception might be SNL.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Large studios in big cities are a thing of the past. If not, will soon be. The same content today can be produced in smaller studios in smaller cities with lower overhead. The one exception might be SNL.

How does one define smaller cities for film and TV content. Does this mean doing a show on Atlanta, Nashville, Toronto and Vancouver areas to avoid the high costs of doing a show in New York or the LA area like Century City, West LA and San Fernando Valley.

Or does smaller city mean being in the outer suburban areas. Case and Point Mare Island over in Vallejo ,CA is used as a filming center and is used as a place where "San Francisco-Oakland" area scenes are filmed. This also reduce costs in filming in San Francisco itself.

The main offices of Netflix is in Los Gatos, CA (San Jose area) but that's to please investors. Or the Main offices of Amazon is in Seattle.

But back to the studio downsizing at CBS. How much of this is that CBS has to keep an eye on Netflix and Amazon and how they expand their audiences. It won't shock me is Amazon or Netflix makes a move and get some of former CBS offices for productions though. Or are we talking about construction on the New Gray Television offices in Atlanta where WGCL and WPCH could move to if the Meredith deal is finalized.

https://jobs.netflix.com/location?slug=los-gatos-california

Film Mare Island creating one-stop film-making shop

Mare Island and Vallejo have pretty much anything and everything a film production company needs, and Mark Walter of Film Mare Island says he’s determined to bring whatever may be missing to…

www.timesheraldonline.com

 

[seatownmedia]

How does one define smaller cities for film and TV content. Does this mean doing a show on Atlanta, Nashville, Toronto and Vancouver areas to avoid the high costs of doing a show in New York or the LA area like Century City, West LA and San Fernando Valley.

Or does smaller city mean being in the outer suburban areas. Case and Point Mare Island over in Vallejo ,CA is used as a filming center and is used as a place where "San Francisco-Oakland" area scenes are filmed. This also reduce costs in filming in San Francisco itself.

Film Mare Island creating one-stop film-making shop

Mare Island and Vallejo have pretty much anything and everything a film production company needs, and Mark Walter of Film Mare Island says he’s determined to bring whatever may be missing to…

www.timesheraldonline.com

I think you answered your own question here.

 

[TheBigA]

Large studios in big cities are a thing of the past. If not, will soon be. The same content today can be produced in smaller studios in smaller cities with lower overhead. The one exception might be SNL.

I think the issue here for CBS has more to do with excess real estate. From an accounting POV it makes more sense to lease than it does to own. In the cases I mentioned, CBS is leasing back space in each of the buildings they've sold.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

ViacomCBS Mulls Sale of CBS Studio Center, the Network’s ‘Radford Lot’ Headquarters

ViacomCBS’ sell-off of its iconic real estate properties may next include the CBS Studio Center, popularly known as the “CBS Radford lot,” in Studio City. In a memo to staffers, C…

variety.com

CBS is in talks to sell their Studio City offices where KCBS-TV, KCAL-TV and CBS News Los Angeles offices are located. This comes as the Black Rock offices are sold. The only office in Los Angeles CBS Owns for now is 5515 Melrose Ave where the Paramount Studios and the former offices of KCAL-TV are located.

The news comes following last week’s sale of CBS’ iconic New York headquarters, the Black Rock skyscraper, for $760 million to real estate investment firm Harbor Group International. In Los Angeles, CBS Corp. sold its similarly iconic Television City property in the Fairfax district to real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners for $750 million in 2018.

CBS’ entertainment division had long been based out of Television City, but moved to the Radford lot in 2008. KCBS, which had been based at Columbia Square, and KCAL, which moved in with KCBS when the stations became a duopoly, decamped for the Radford lot in 2007. In recent years, CBS Radford expanded and built new structures, including its CBS Television facilities, to handle the addition of the TV stations, the entertainment division and the addition of shows such as “Entertainment Tonight.”

https://www.seeing-stars.com/TVstudios/KCAL.shtml

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/ParamountStudios.shtml

Here is CBS remaining office they directly own in Los Angeles. However CBS has had separate stints with the Paramount/Former KCAL9/KHJ9 studios on Melrose. CBS had a previous stint managing the Paramount studio and in both cases it was because Viacom had a deal with CBS under the Redstones management.

 

[Don CT]

Seems studio space is in high demand. Why not lease the space to Netflix or Amazon. Studio City supposedly needs a lot of work. Isn't it still viable for CBS to want to own it.

They have a 5 year lease at Studio City, where do they go after that.

 

[TheBigA]

Seems studio space is in high demand. Why not lease the space to Netflix or Amazon.

Because they already have their own buildings.

Here's Netflix:

Netflix Inks Hollywood Office Tower Lease for 200,000 Square Feet

Netflix will take over most of the Icon office tower in Los Angeles, slated to be completed in late 2016, announcing a long-term lease for about 200,000 square feet in the building at Sunset Bronso…

variety.com

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Seems studio space is in high demand. Why not lease the space to Netflix or Amazon. Studio City supposedly needs a lot of work. Isn't it still viable for CBS to want to own it.

They have a 5 year lease at Studio City, where do they go after that.

https://deadline.com/2021/10/netflix-studio-new-jersey-fort-monmouth-production-1234863121/

Netflix is in the process of getting a New Jersey office

https://nypost.com/2021/10/26/viacomcbs-mulled-sale-of-nyc-broadcast-center-in-bid-to-raise-cash/

And CBS had talked about selling Broadcast center.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://nypost.com/2021/10/26/viacomcbs-nears-sale-of-cbs-studios-lot-in-la-as-it-pares-real-estate-holdings/

CBS current status in the Studio City sales talks. This is the one where CBSN Los. Angeles, KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV are located.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

CBS Studio Center to Sell for $1.8 Billion

Two real-estate firms have combined to buy Los Angeles real-estate, WSJ reports

sg.news.yahoo.com

Here is an update of CBS selling their Studio city offices. CBS Studio City is where KCAL-TV/KCBS-TV/CBSN Los Angeles and the West Coast offices of CBS News are located.

A pair of real-estate firms have come together to buy CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles for more than $1.8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management LLC posted the (gigantic) winning bid. While the deal is not yet signed, the agreed-upon price was more than $500 million beyond what the studio was projected to sell for just a few months ago.

CBS Studio Center includes 18 sound stages and more than 210,000 square feet of office space. “Seinfeld” and “Gunsmoke” are among the classic series that were shot there.


CBS appears to be having an everything-must-go sale on real estate. In 2019, CBS Corp. sold Television City to Hackman Capital for $750 million. CBS recently agreed to sell its Black Rock headquarters in New York City for $760 million to Harbor Group International (HGI). That’s one way to raise a ton of capital.

 

[Mikey Radio]

CBS appears to be having an everything-must-go sale on real estate. In 2019, CBS Corp. sold Television City to Hackman Capital for $750 million. CBS recently agreed to sell its Black Rock headquarters in New York City for $760 million to Harbor Group International (HGI). That’s one way to raise a ton of capital.

Anyone know why CBS is selling off so many of their once storied properties? First Television City, then its Black Rock headquarters in NYC and now Studio City. That's a lot of property they've been divesting themselves of!

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Anyone know why CBS is selling off so many of their once storied properties? First Television City, then its Black Rock headquarters in NYC and now Studio City. That's a lot of property they've been divesting themselves of!

Well CBS owns the Paramount Lot at 5515 and 5555 Melrose Ave for now in Los Angeles and where CBS has their local O&O's and CW affiliates around the USA. What is uncertain for now is if KCAL-TV, CBSN Los Angeles, CBS News and KCBS-TV would stay at Studio city in the San Fernando Valley or Move to the Paramount Lot on Melrose. (Note KCAL-TV was previously on the Paramount Lot at on 5555 Melrose Ave in the 1990's when it was owned by Disney and Young Broadcasting) This was prior to KCAL-TV having to move the entire news operations to the KCBS-TV offices which was then located in Columbia Square two decades ago. Then CBS News, KCAL and KCBS left Columbia Square in 2007 and moved to their current location at Studio City.

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