CBS Studio Center is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. It is one of two production facilities in Los Angeles owned by Paramount Global, the other being the studios of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. The lot has 18 sound stages from 7,000 to 25,000 square feet (700 to 2,300m2), 220,000 square feet (20,000m2) of office space, and 223 dressing rooms. It is the headquarters of CBS Studios but is not open to the public for tours. The triangular site is bisected by the Los Angeles River.
Mack Sennett, a silent film producer and director, came to the San Fernando Valley and opened his new movie studio at this location (at what is now Ventura Boulevard and Radford Avenue) in May 1928. He previously operated a smaller studio on Glendale Boulevard in Echo Park (then called Edendale) where he produced films featuring the Keystone Kops, Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Buster Keaton, W. C. Fields, and Fatty Arbuckle.
Five years after creating the Studio City lot, Sennett was forced to file for bankruptcy and the studio lot was sold to Mascot Pictures. Mascot, which specialized in serials, renamed the studio after itself. By 1935, another film company, Monogram Pictures, along with Mascot and Consolidated Film Corporation merged to form Republic Pictures Corporation. The studio lot was renamed Republic Studios. The new studio specialized in B-movies, including many Westerns starring the likes of Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and John Wayne, all of whom gained their first breaks with Republic.
In the 1950s, Republic leased studio space to Revue Productions, which filmed many early television series on the lot (including early episodes of Leave It To Beaver) before Revue's owner, MCA acquired Universal Pictures and moved Revue's television production to Universal City. Also, Four Star Productions leased the lot for many of its series like The Rifleman, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, and The Big Valley. Republic Pictures ceased production in 1958 and Victor M. Carter became its president in 1959. Carter built Republic into a diversified business with foci outside of the television and film business, and so began leasing its lot to CBS.
In 1963, CBS Television became the primary lessee of the lot. Almost immediately after leasing the Republic Pictures lot, CBS began to locate its network-produced filmed shows there, including Gunsmoke, My Three Sons, and Gilligan's Island. (The Wild Wild West followed in 1965). The Gilligan's Island lagoon was located at the northwestern edge of the lot; it was paved in the mid-1990s to make room for a new parking structure. While under lease, the facility was renamed the CBS Studio Center. The network finally purchased the 70-acre lot outright from Republic in February 1967, for $9.5 million. That same month, Republic also sold its film library. CBS built new sound stages, office buildings, and technical facilities. To make up for these investments, CBS began to rent its studio lot to independent producers, and the newly created MTM Enterprises (headed by actress Mary Tyler Moore and then-husband Grant Tinker) became the Studio Center's primary tenant, beginning in 1970.
Moore's memorable sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show began filming here in 1970. Later, its spinoffs Rhoda, Phyllis, and Lou Grant were shot in the facility. In July 1982, CBS formed a partnership with 20th Century Fox to share ownership of the Studio Center, thus once again renaming, this time as CBS/Fox Studios. However, that relationship was short-lived as Fox sold its interest of the Studio Center to MTM, and it became CBS-MTM Studios. In March 1992, the studio once again became CBS Studio Center, when MTM (which was later purchased by 20th Century Fox's parent company, News Corporation) sold its interest in the studio lot to CBS.
From 1991 to 1996, American Gladiators was videotaped at CBS Studio Center. The original "Gladiator Arena" (Stage 3) remains preserved in its original form in its original location, with tours and group events available.
Today, the studio is one of the most active in the city for producing sitcoms. It is also the base for "Semester in L.A.", a six-week course by Columbia College Chicago.[2]
Since 2007, the Studio Center serves as the home to CBS's Los Angeles flagship TV station KCBS-TV, along with sister station KCAL-TV, as they vacated Columbia Square to move into a newly built, digitally-enhanced office and studio facility located where the house for the CBS reality series Big Brother once stood. The CBS Studio City Broadcast Center also houses the Los Angeles bureau of CBS News, which is shared with the KCBS/KCAL local newsroom, and on occasion, the CBS Evening News is anchored from Los Angeles.[3]
In 2008, Entertainment Tonight and The Insider moved from Paramount lot to the Studio Center, as CBS took ownership of the series after its spin-off from Viacom.
A re-merged ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) announced in 2021 that it intended to sell the facility as part of a corporate effort to focus on content.[4] In November 2021, ViacomCBS announced that the studio would be sold to Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management for $1.85 billion.[5][6]
Backlot
CBS Studio Center has three backlot areas. The first is the New York Street. During the shooting of Seinfeld in the mid-1990s, a New York Street was built to facilitate the filming of exterior shots.[7]
The second area is the Central Park area. The area features grass, trees, paths, and can also be filled with water to create a pond or swamp.[8]
The third area is the Residential Street. Actually, composed of two streets the largest house is currently used on the ABC sitcom American Housewife.[citation needed]
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global. It is the fifth oldest film studio in the world, the second oldest film studio in the United States, and the sole member of the "Big Five" film studios located within the city limits of Los Angeles.
Sumner Murray Redstone was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate. He was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation of Viacom which was dissolved in 2019 and was the majority owner and chairman of the National Amusements theater chain. Through National Amusements, Redstone, up until his death, was, and his family remains, majority voting shareholder of mass media conglomerate ViacomCBS, in turn, the parent company of the Paramount Pictures film studio, the CBS television network, and various cable networks. According to Forbes, as of April 2020, he was worth US$2.6 billion.
Republic Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City and a movie ranch in Encino. It was best known for specializing in Westerns, serials, and B films emphasizing mystery and action. Republic was also notable for developing the careers of John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers. It was also responsible for the financing and distribution of a few A films directed by John Ford during the 1940s and early 1950s and one Shakespeare film, Macbeth (1948), directed by Orson Welles. Under Herbert J. Yates, Republic was considered a mini-major film studio.
KCAL-TV is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV. Both stations share studios at the CBS Studio Center on Radford Avenue in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, while KCAL-TV's transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.
CBS Studios is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the original incarnation of the Paramount Television studio.
KCBS-TV is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent outlet KCAL-TV. Both stations share studios at the CBS Studio Center on Radford Avenue in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, while KCBS-TV's transmitter is located on the western side of Mount Wilson near Occidental Peak.
Big Ticket Television, Inc. is an Emmy Award-winning American production company. Big Ticket is a subsidiary of CBS Studios, a division of Paramount Global. It is best known for producing the syndicated mainstay Judge Judy from 1996 to 2021.
CBS Columbia Square was the home of CBS's Los Angeles radio and television operations from 1938 until 2007. Located at 6121 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, the building housed the CBS Radio Network's West Coast facilities, as well as CBS's original Los Angeles radio stations, KNX and KCBS-FM. KNXT-TV, Channel 2 moved into the complex in 1960, and the CBS Television Network's West Coast operations were based there until it moved to the larger CBS Television City in November 1952. After its purchase by CBS in 2002, KCAL-TV moved to the Square from studios adjacent to CBS's corporate sibling Paramount Pictures. Between 2004 and 2007 all of these operations moved to other facilities in the Los Angeles area.
Brian Levine, known professionally as Brian Robbins, is an American film executive, actor, and filmmaker who is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon. He also serves as Chief Content Officer, Kids & Family, Paramount+.
Nickelodeon Animation Studio is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global. It has created many original television programs for Nickelodeon, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Rugrats and Avatar: The Last Airbender, among various others. Since the 2010s, the studio has also produced its own series based on preexisting IP purchased by Paramount Global, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winx Club. In November 2019, Nickelodeon Animation Studio signed a multiple-year output deal for Netflix, which will include producing content, in both new and preexisting IP, for the streaming platform.
Sharon Tay is an American journalist and former host of two programs on the MSNBC network and formerly a news reporter for KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV in Los Angeles before getting laid off in 2020 after 13 years with the networks.
The CBS Broadcast Center is a television and radio production facility located in New York City. It is CBS's main East Coast production hub, similar to CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles as the West Coast hub. The Broadcast Center is one of two production facilities in Manhattan owned by Paramount Global, the other being the studios for MTV located in the company's headquarters at One Astor Plaza.
Paramount Global Distribution Group is a multinational television production-distribution arm owned by Paramount Global through its CBS Media Ventures division. It was formed in 2006 by Viacom as CBS Paramount International Television, through the merger between two television companies, CBS Broadcast International and Paramount International Television. Since September 26, 2006, the company has been part of the CBS Television Distribution Group. In May 2009, CBS Paramount International Television was renamed CBS Studios International. In 2019, it became ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group.
Spelling Television Inc. was an American television production company that went through several name changes. It was originally called Aaron Spelling Productions, then Spelling Entertainment Inc. and eventually part of Spelling Entertainment Group. The company produced popular shows such as The Love Boat, Dynasty, Beverly Hills, 90210, 7th Heaven, Melrose Place and Charmed. The company was founded by television producer Aaron Spelling on October 25, 1965. The company is currently an in-name-only unit of CBS Studios. A related company, Spelling-Goldberg Productions, co-existed during a portion of the same time period and produced other well-known shows such as Family, Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch, and Fantasy Island but these series are not part of the modern day library now owned by Paramount Global. Another related company, The Douglas S. Cramer Company co-existed during a portion of the same time period, produced shows like Wonder Woman, Joe and Sons, and Bridget Loves Bernie and television films like Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway.
CBS Media Ventures, Inc. is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount Global.
Cinema Center Films (CCF) was the theatrical film production company of the CBS Television Network from 1967 to 1972. Its films were distributed by National General Pictures. The production unit was located at CBS Studio Center in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. and produced 30 films.
CBS Films Inc. was an American film production and distribution company founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of CBS Corporation and was considered a mini-major studio up until 2019.
Paramount Global is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. It was formed on December 4, 2019 as ViacomCBS Inc. through the re-merger of the second incarnation of CBS Corporation and the second incarnation of Viacom. On February 16, 2022, during its Q4 earnings presentation, the company announced that it would change its name to Paramount Global.
The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006, due to the Viacom split.
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