{{Short description|Television production facility in California}} {{About|the former NBC facility|the former studio facility partnership between Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures|Warner Bros. Studios Burbank}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox building | name = The Burbank Studios | former_name = NBC Studios (1952–2014) | status = Complete | image = The burbank studios alameda.jpg | image_size = | caption = | address = {{nowrap|3000 West Alameda Avenue}}<br />Burbank, California<br />91505 | coordinates = | completion_date = 1952 | architect = | owner = {{ubl | NBC {{small|(1952–2008)}} | Worthe Real Estate Group {{small|(2008–2023)}} | Warner Bros. Discovery {{small|(2023–2024)}} | Worthe Real Estate Group, QuadReal Property Group, Stockbridge Capital Group {{small|(2024–present)}} }} | cost = | floor_area = | floor_count = 6 | references = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/341386 |title=Emporis building ID 341386 |work=Emporis}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> | building_type = Television Studios Complex | roof = | elevator_count = | structural_engineer = | main_contractor = | developer = Radio Corporation of America }} [[File:Radio City West.JPG|thumb|NBC Radio City Hollywood was located at Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, 1937–1962; in 1968, it was replaced by Home Savings and Loan headquarters.<ref name="martinturnbull/nbc-sunset-vine">{{cite web |last1=Turnbull |first1=Martin |title=A collection of photos of the NBC radio and television studios on the northeast corner of Sunset Blvd and Vine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles |url=https://martinturnbull.com/2017/05/31/a-collection-of-photos-of-the-nbc-radio-and-television-studios-on-the-northeast-corner-of-sunset-blvd-and-vine-street-hollywood-los-angeles/ |website=Martin Turnbull .com |access-date=4 November 2023 |date=31 May 2017 |quote=NBC moved out of the studios in 1962 and relocated to Burbank. The building was demolished in 1964 to make way for a bank.}}</ref><ref name="jhgraham/6285-sunset-2">{{cite web |title=6285 Sunset Part 2: NBC Radio City West |url=https://jhgraham.com/2020/11/24/6285-sunset-part-2-nbc-radio-city-west/ |website=J. H. Graham .com |access-date=4 November 2023 |language=en |date=25 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="jhgraham/6285-sunset-1">{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=J. H. |title=6285 Sunset Part 1: Carpenter's Drive-In |url=https://jhgraham.com/2020/11/23/6285-sunset-part-1-carpenters-drive-in/ |website=J. H. Graham .com |access-date=4 November 2023 |language=en |date=24 November 2020}}</ref>]]
'''The Burbank Studios''' (formerly known as '''NBC Studios''') is a television production facility located in Burbank, California, United States. The studio is home to ''Days of Our Lives'', ''Extra'', the ''IHeartRadio Theater'', and was formerly home to Blizzard Arena (home of the Overwatch League).
==History== ===NBC Radio City Hollywood=== <!-- {{anchor|NBC Radio City Hollywood}} --> NBC Radio City Hollywood,<ref name="westmb/Network/NBC/Hollywood">{{cite web |title=NBC Radio City Hollywood |url=https://westmb.org/L_Networks/L_Networks_-_NBC_-_Hollywood.html |website=westmb.org |publisher=Western States Museum of Broadcasting |access-date=4 November 2023}}</ref><ref name="pcad/4032">{{cite web |title=National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA |url=https://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/4032/ |website=pcad.lib.washington.edu |publisher=Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD) |access-date=4 November 2023}}</ref> located at Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, opened in 1938 and served as headquarters to the NBC Radio Networks' West Coast operations. It served as a replacement for NBC Radio City San Francisco, which had been in service since 1942. Since NBC never owned a radio station in Los Angeles, the network's West Coast programming originated from its San Francisco station (KPO, which later became KNBC, and is now KNBR). NBC radio network programming was carried on KFI in Los Angeles.
The architect for the distinctive Streamline Moderne building at Sunset and Vine was John C. Austin.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://archive.org/details/internationaldir0008unse/page/40/mode/2up?q=%22austin+company%22| volume=8| page=41| year=1994| editor-last=Kepos| editor-first=Paula| title=International Directory of Company Histories| chapter=The Austin Company| publisher=St. James Press| location=Detroit| isbn=978-1-5586-2323-1| access-date=24 June 2022}}</ref>
In January 1949, NBC launched its newest television station for Los Angeles, KNBH (Channel 4; now KNBC) from Radio City; the radio studios were later equipped for live television broadcasting in the transition phase from radio broadcasting. However, as television production was increasing for NBC, the network and its then-parent the Radio Corporation of America, decided to build a television studio, nicknamed NBC Color City, that would be exclusively equipped for color television broadcasting. For many of the same reasons why CBS eventually built Television City in the early 1950s to replace its Columbia Square, the television facilities at Radio City gradually became too small for NBC to produce its television broadcasts.
===NBC Color City Studios Burbank=== thumb|The Burbank Studios administrative building in 2015 RCA's decision to expand television studio facilities required moving to the real estate market in the San Fernando Valley-Burbank area, with land purchased from Jack Warner.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/thomas-w-sarnoff| title=Thomas W. Sarnoff| newspaper=Television Academy Interviews| date=October 22, 2017| access-date=June 24, 2022}}</ref> The newly-renovated NBC Color City Studios opened in March 1955, as the first television studio designed specially for the origination of color television broadcasting, although their rivals, ABC and CBS would gradually add color broadcasting to their studio facilities in later years.
KNBC moved to a new building in 1962. In 1964, the Radio City Hollywood building was demolished, as NBC moved more of their West Coast television operations to the Burbank facility. The site is now occupied by a bank.
This studio hosted production of many of NBC's game and variety shows from the 1950s through the 1990s, including ''Hollywood Squares'' from 1966 to 1980, ''Wheel of Fortune'' from 1975 to 1989, ''Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in'' from 1968 to 1973, and ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' beginning in 1972. The latter two shows would frequently reference their home in "Beautiful Downtown Burbank" though ''Tonight'' would invariably begin each episode with the technically incorrect announcement, "From Hollywood..." During the late 1960s, Carson's ''Tonight Show'' would move for periods to Burbank, using studio 1. After the permanent move to Burbank in 1972, Bob Hope's shows taped in studio 1, with ''The Tonight Show'' taking a hiatus while Hope produced his specials. In 1971, President Richard Nixon announced Henry Kissinger's secret negotiations with Zhou Enlai and his impending visit to China from the studio.<ref>{{cite book| last=Graff| first=Garrett M.| year=2022| title=Watergate: A New History| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jtoYEAAAQBAJ&q=kissinger| edition=1st| location=New York| publisher=Avid Reader Press| page=78| isbn=978-1-9821-3918-6| access-date=24 June 2022}}</ref>
thumb|Studio 11, formerly the home of ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' and ''The Jay Leno Show'' ''The Tonight Show'' would stay in Burbank through Johnny Carson's retirement, during Jay Leno's tenure as host until the end of his first run in 2009, when it moved to an all-digital studio on the Universal lot in 2009 for the short-lived ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien''. The show moved back to the Burbank Studios when Leno returned as host of ''The Tonight Show'' on March 1, 2010. The show used studio 11 until Leno resigned as host on February 6, 2014. After that, ''The Tonight Show'' moved back to New York City's Rockefeller Center when Jimmy Fallon replaced Leno as host, marking the end of the 42-year era in which the show had recorded in Southern California.<ref name="npr">{{cite news| last=Memmott| first=Mark| url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/04/03/176139405/its-set-jimmy-fallon-to-replace-jay-leno-on-tonight-show-in-spring-2014| title=It's Set: Jimmy Fallon To Replace Jay Leno On 'Tonight Show' In Spring 2014| date=3 April 2013| work=Must Reads| access-date=2013-08-22| publisher=NPR}}</ref>
===NBC's move to Universal City=== In October 2007, NBC announced plans to move most of its operations from Burbank to a new complex across the street from Universal Studios in Universal City.<ref name="variety">{{cite news| title=NBC moving from Burbank to L.A.| url=https://variety.com/2007/scene/markets-festivals/nbc-moving-from-burbank-to-l-a-1117973843/| last=Schneider| first=Michael| magazine=Variety| date=10 October 2007| access-date=2013-08-22}}</ref> It would retain offices at the Burbank site until May 2013, though the studio complex was sold to Catalina/Worthe Real Estate Group in 2008,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Press |first=Paul Bond, The Associated |date=2008-04-24 |title=Developer buys NBC's Burbank site |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/developer-buys-nbcs-burbank-site-110225/ |access-date=2025-12-19 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> with NBCUniversal leasing space until 2013. The former Technicolor building on the Universal lot now serves as the home of NBC's West Coast operations.<ref name="reporter">{{cite news| title=NBCUniversal to Build New Broadcast Center| url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbcuniversal-broadcast-center-278091| last=Miller| first=Daniel| date=4 January 2012| newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter| access-date=2013-08-22}}</ref> KNBC-TV and NBC News' Los Angeles bureau, along with Telemundo station KVEA, began broadcasting from Universal Studios on February 2, 2014.
The Burbank facility was one of the few television-specific studio facilities in Hollywood that offered tours to the general public until it ended on July 6, 2012.<ref name="flint">{{cite news| title=The Morning Fix: Big web for 'Spider-Man' and 'Ted.' WikiLeaks race| date=6 July 2012| url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-xpm-2012-jul-06-la-et-ct-morningfix-20120706-story.html| last=Flint| first=Joe| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| access-date=2013-08-22}}</ref>
On March 13, 2014, Lawrence O'Donnell announced that his MSNBC program would move to the NBC News Los Angeles bureau to Universal City and that it was the last nationally-televised program to be broadcast live from NBC's Burbank studio.
In 2014, the studio was renamed as The Burbank Studios, removing the NBC name entirely.
===After NBC=== On October 2, 2017, Studio 1 became the official home of Blizzard Arena Los Angeles and the Overwatch League, marking the Burbank Studios' first esports broadcast. The inaugural season began on January 10, 2018, in which over 437,000 viewers tuned in live on opening night via Twitch and MLG.tv streaming platforms.<ref name="espn 2018 Jan 17">{{cite news| title=Overwatch League outperforms Thursday Night Football livestream on opening day| date=17 Jan 2018| url=https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/22132542/overwatch-league-outperforms-thursday-night-football-livestream-opening-day| last=Wolf| first=Jacob| work=ESPN| access-date=2018-02-23}}</ref> The final match was played on September 15, 2019, before the league moved to a traditional sports home-and-away format.
On April 15, 2019, WarnerMedia (now Warner Bros. Discovery) announced that it would purchase The Burbank Studios. The transaction was completed in late 2023.<ref>{{cite press release| url=https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2019/04/15/warner-bros-will-be-long-term-and-sole-tenant-of-new-iconic-frank| title=North America Home| publisher=Warner Media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418145923/https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2019/04/15/warner-bros-will-be-long-term-and-sole-tenant-of-new-iconic-frank |archive-date=2019-04-18 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-warner-bros-burbank-studios-gehry-design-ranch-sale-20190415-story.html| title=Warner Bros. Plans to buy Burbank Studios and occupy new Frank Gehry 'iceberg' towers| first1=Meg| last1=James| first2=Roger| last2=Vincent| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=April 15, 2019| access-date=2024-08-16}}</ref>
On July 15, 2024, it was announced that Worthe Real Estate Group, QuadReal Property Group and Stockbridge Capital Group would reacquire The Burbank Studios as part of a years-long deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. The three companies paid $375 million for the 27-acre film studio campus in the Burbank Media District in Southern California, property records showed. Representatives announced the deal but did not disclose the value of the sale.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://commercialobserver.com/2024/07/la-warner-bros-discovery-worthe-burbank-studios/| title=Warner Bros.' Iconic Burbank Studios Traded Back for $375M| work=Commercial Observer| first=Greg| last=Cornfield| date=July 15, 2024| access-date=2024-08-16}}</ref>
==Geography== The Burbank Studios is located on West Alameda Avenue, in Burbank, California. It lies across the street, on Bob Hope Drive, from Johnny Carson Park, the busiest park in Burbank.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Burbank+Studios/@34.1554881,-118.335174,340m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x3a51ffd1600e0c4d!8m2!3d34.1546644!4d-118.3341049 |website=Google Maps |title=The Burbank Studios}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Johnny+Carson+Park/@34.1551988,-118.3326244,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x6eb1d812f3b4aec6!8m2!3d34.1542843!4d-118.3299207 |title=Johnny Carson Park (34.1551988,-118.3326244) |website=Google Maps}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.burbankca.gov/web/parks-recreation/johnny-carson-park |title= Johnny Carson Park; 400 S. Bob Hope Drive; Burbank; CA; 91505 |website=Burbank, California Parks and Recreation}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/tn-blr-me-park-20160628-story.html |title=After more than a year of renovating, curtain rises on Burbank's Johnny Carson Park |first=Kelly |last=Corrigan |date=1 July 2016 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.seeing-stars.com/Immortalized/JohnnyCarsonPark.shtml |title=Johnny Carson Park |website=Seeing Stars: Where the Stars are Immortalized |year=1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://theburbankstudios.com/map.html |website=Burbank Studios |title=Map}}</ref>
==See also== * 30 Rockefeller Plaza * NBC Tower * NBC Radio City Studios
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== * [https://theburbankstudios.com/ Official website]
{{Warner Bros.}} {{NBC Universal}} {{The Tonight Show}} {{Burbank, California}} {{Authority control}} {{Coord|34|09|14|N|118|20|01|W|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burbank Studios}} Category:NBC buildings Category:NBC Category:Warner Bros. Studios Category:2014 mergers and acquisitions Category:2023 mergers and acquisitions Category:2024 mergers and acquisitions Category:Television studios in the United States Category:Buildings and structures in Burbank, California Category:Former Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiaries