The CBS Broadcast Center is a television and radio production facility located on the West Side of Midtown

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It is CBS's main East Coast production hub, similar to

CBS Studio Center Radford Studio Center, alternatively CBS Studio Center, is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, United States. The lot has 18 sound stages from , of office spac ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

as the West Coast hub. The Broadcast Center is one of three production facilities in Manhattan utilized by

Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

. The other two are the Ed Sullivan Theater, which hosts ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

'', along with the Times Square studios for ''

CBS Mornings ''CBS Mornings'' is an American morning television program which is broadcast on CBS. The program debuted on September 7, 2021, and airs live every weekday from 7:00a.m. to 9:00a.m., EST. It is hosted by Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, Nate Burleson, ...

'', located in the company's headquarters at

One Astor Plaza One Astor Plaza, also known as 1515 Broadway and formerly the W. T. Grant Building, is a 54-story office building on Times Square in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Designe ...

Description

The nearly block-long facility at 524 West 57th Street in the

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

section of

serves as the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

and its live streaming news channel, and is the main broadcast facility for CBS News,

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

, New York City flagship O&O station

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–lic ...

and CBS-owned independent station WLNY. In 2001, BET previously used studios for '' 106 & Park'' and other in-studio shows (both BET and CBS were part of Viacom until their 2006 separation by the Viacom/CBS split, later re-merged in 2019).

CBS Media Ventures CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Paramount Domestic Television and CBS Television Distribution) is the television broadcast syndication arm of CBS Studios, a division of the CBS Entertainment Group, in turn a division of Paramount Global, ...

's nationally syndicated newsmagazine ''

Inside Edition ''Inside Edition'' is an American tabloid television program that is distributed in Broadcast syndication, first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine progr ...

'' is also produced at the Broadcast Center. The Broadcast Center is also the production base for

CBS News Radio CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

. The network's Master Control (aka Central Control) on the first floor also serves as the routing center for other programming distributed by Westwood One (formerly Dial Global). The radio network's flagship station WCBS (AM) was housed in the Broadcast Center from 2000 (moving from Black Rock, CBS's corporate headquarters at 51 West 52nd Street) until 2011 when it relocated to 345 Hudson Street in lower Manhattan, billed on-air as "The Audacy Hudson Square Broadcast Center." In addition to the Broadcast Center, CBS has one other major studio in Manhattan — the Ed Sullivan Theater (CBS-TV Studio 50) at 1697 Broadway, the home of ''

''. The General Motors Building (CBS-TV Studio 58), on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

and 58th Street, was the home of ''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999, to January 7, 2012, replacing the original incarnation of '' CBS This Morning'', and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the n ...

'' until December 31, 2011. ''The Early Show''s successor, the second incarnation of ''

CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987 to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012 to September 6, 2021. On November 1, 1999, the original incarnation was repla ...

'' (predecessor of ''

''), premiered from newly constructed Studio 57 at the Broadcast Center on January 9, 2012. The ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featu ...

'' moved into Studio 57 from Studio 47 (previously sharing space with the CBS News newsroom) in December 2016. From December 2019 to January 2025 CBS Evening News broadcast out of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, moving back to the broadcast center in 2025. ViacomCBS announced in May 2021 that ''CBS This Morning'' would vacate the Broadcast Center for the MTV Studios. The move was completed on September 7, 2021, when ''CBS This Morning'' rebranded to ''

''.

History

Early history

The building in which the Broadcast Center is located formerly served as a dairy depot for Sheffield Farms. CBS purchased the site in 1952. The Center opened as the CBS Production Center in the late 1950s, when the network's master control, film and videotape facilities, and four studios were located in the

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

building. CBS began using the 57th Street facility regularly for TV in 1963. The radio network, with offices at 1 East 53rd Street and studios at 49 East 52nd Street, near the old CBS corporate headquarters at 485

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

, moved to the Broadcast Center in July 1964, while the television network's master control moved from Grand Central to the Broadcast Center in late 1964. The company spent $14.5 million to create what was, at the time, "the largest 'self-contained' radio and television production center in the United States and the most modern broadcasting plant of its kind in the world," as the ''New York Tribune'' put it in 1961. From the 1950s to 1970s, another prominent CBS stage in New York was Studio 52 (now the disco-theater

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

) at 254 West 54th Street, around the corner from Studio 50. CBS also leased the

Himan Brown Himan Brown (July 21, 1910 – June 4, 2010Himan Brown obituary.< ...

studios at 221 West 26th Street, now Chelsea Studios, for several shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

CBS Broadcast Center and soap operas

Until January 2000, the Broadcast Center was home to CBS-TV's soap opera ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'', which moved to JC Studios in Brooklyn. Former serials ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation '' Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ...

'', ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show f ...

'', ''

The Edge Of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American mystery crime drama soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network for most of its ...

'' before moving to ABC in December of 1975 '' Love is a Many Splendored Thing'', '' Secret Storm'', and '' Where the Heart Is'' were also produced at the Broadcast Center. After a 37-year absence, ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' returned to the Broadcast Center in September 2005, after 17 years at EUE/Screen Gems studios, 222 East 44th Street and 20 years at the CBS/Himan Brown studios at 221 West 26th Street. The show had been produced in Studio 45 at the CBS Broadcast Center from 1965 to 1968 before moving to West 26th Street. ''GL'' used Studios 42 and 45 until its final broadcast on September 18, 2009.

''"From the ABC Broadcast Center..."''

In 1996,

Brillstein-Grey Entertainment Brillstein Entertainment Partners (formerly known as Brillstein/Grey Entertainment and Brillstein/Grey Communications) is a talent management firm and television production company formed by the 1986 addition of Brad Grey to The Brillstein Compa ...

produced '' The Dana Carvey Show'' at the Broadcast Center for ABC. As a jab at CBS ( ABC's competition), the show's opening credits had a man with a paper version of the ABC logo on a ladder outside of the Broadcast Center covering over the CBS Eye logo while the announcer proclaimed "From the ABC Broadcast Center...".

Recent history

In early 2012, it was announced '' The Nate Berkus Show'' would not be renewed. After a few months it was announced that

Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator who anchors the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at CNN, Cooper serves as a correspondent for ''6 ...

's talk show would move into Studio 42 leaving its home in the Time Warner Center. Also in 2012, CBS acquired the Riverhead,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

-licensed

WLNY-TV WLNY-TV (channel 55), branded on-air as New York 55, is an independent television station licensed to Riverhead (CDP), New York, Riverhead, New York, United States, serving the New York City television market. It is owned by the CBS News and Sta ...

(Channel 55, cable channel 10), setting up a duopoly with WCBS-TV. Following the merger, CBS moved that station's employees to the CBS Broadcast Center. Their former Melville facility was maintained as the WCBS/WLNY Long Island bureau offices until 2020 when it was taken over by an independent production company. WLNY currently carries one program from Broadcast Center: a 9pm newscast with WCBS's news personnel from Broadcast Center. ''Live from the Couch'', a morning show airing parallel to ''CBS This Morning'' on WCBS, was broadcast on WLNY from 2012 until early 2014, when it was canceled due to low ratings. HBO satire show ''

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American news satire late-night talk show hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in the end of April 2014 on HBO and currently has ...

'', Showtime talk show '' Desus & Mero'' are also recorded at the Broadcast Center. TBS news satire show '' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee'' recorded from the Broadcast Center from its 2016 premiere until the pandemic, before moving to home taping for several months. After that, the latter show moved to Connecticut and a smaller studio without an audience. On March 12, 2020, one day after

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

was declared a pandemic, the CBS Broadcast Center was closed for

disinfection A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than ...

after two employees tested positive for COVID-19. Production of WCBS newscasts was assumed by

KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS Los Angeles, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship station of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the n ...

, while ''CBS This Morning'' was moved to CBS News's Washington studio (used for the ''

'' since December). The Broadcast Center reopened on a limited basis on March 14, 2020, starting with the Saturday edition of ''CBS This Morning'' from Studio 57; on March 18, ViacomCBS announced that its operations would again temporarily relocate from the Broadcast Center, with ''CBS This Morning'' moving to the set of ''

'' at the Ed Sullivan Theater and KCBS-TV again producing WCBS-TV's newscasts. From March 20, WCBS-TV newscasts were presented from the studios of

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

broadcaster

YES Network The Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) is an American pay television regional sports network owned by Yankee Global Enterprises (the largest shareholder with 26%), Main Street Sports Group (which owns 20%), Amazon (which owns 15% ...

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, before moving back again to the Broadcast Center, beginning on April 17 with the morning newscast. On the June 21, 2020, broadcast of 60 in 6, Seth Doane partially covered the Broadcast Center's exposure to COVID-19 in a piece titled ''CBS News Battles COVID-19''. The piece mentions that CBS News flew in staffers, including those located in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in early March 2020 to begin filming promotional material for 60 in 6, which brought COVID-19 positive individuals in close contact with CBS employees which resulted in the shutdown of the CBS Broadcast Center.

Potential sale

In June 2023, CBS chief George Cheeks told staff that the company was exploring a sale of the building. At the time, the building covered and had large amounts of

air rights In real estate, air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the Earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by oth ...

, which permitted the development of skyscrapers on the site. The Broadcast Center remains one of the last major pieces of CBS real estate still owned by Paramount; the company previously sold the CBS Building (also known as Black Rock), as well as

Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is a 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. ...

in Los Angeles. By January 2024, CBS was also looking for an investment partner to buy a minority stake in the CBS Broadcast Center. CBS still had not found a buyer or partner .

Studios

* 33: ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'', former home of The ''CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite'' * 41: '' The Drew Barrymore Show'' * 42: ''

'', also used as the 2024 vice presidential debate spin room * 43:

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

(CBS co-productions of NCAA March Madness coverage with TNT Sports) * 44: CBS Sports Network * 45: CBS Sports (mostly

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

) / ''

CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (frequently shortened to ''Sunday Morning'') is an American television newsmagazine that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and E.S. "Bud" Lamoreaux III, and originally hosted by Ch ...

'' (for special editions), former home of ''Inside Edition'', also used for the 2024 vice presidential debate * 46:

& WLNY * 47: ''

'' * 55: ''CBS News 24/7'' (10 a.m. ET), ''Inside Edition'' & weather reports (Virtual/Augmented Reailty Studio) * 57: '' CBS News 24/7'' / '' CBS News Mornings'' / ''CBS Morning News'' / '' CBS News Roundup'' / '' CBS Weekend News'', former home of ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cbs Broadcast Center CBS television studios Recording studios in Manhattan Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Mass media company headquarters in the United States Television studios in the United States Entertainment companies based in New York City Grand Central Terminal 57th Street (Manhattan)