| The Burbank Studios | |
| Former Name: | NBC Studios (1952–2014) |
| Status: | Complete |
| Address: | Burbank, California 91505 |
| Completion Date: | 1952 |
| Floor Count: | 6 |
| References: | [1] |
| Building Type: | Television Studios Complex |
| Developer: | Radio Corporation of America |
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 the Blizzard Arena (home of the Overwatch League).
NBC Radio City Hollywood,[2] [3] 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.[4]
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.
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.[5] The newly-christened 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 the best-remembered 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 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.[6]
The Tonight Show would stay in Burbank through Johnny Carson's retirement, Jay Leno's ascendency to 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 stepped down 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.[7]
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.[8] 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, 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.[9] 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 they ceased July 6, 2012.[10]
On March 13, 2014, Lawrence O'Donnell announced that his MSNBC broadcast that night would be the last nationally-televised program to be broadcast live from NBC's Burbank studio, with the move of the NBC News Los Angeles bureau to Universal City.
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.[11] 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.[12] [13]
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.[14]
Today, the studio houses Days of Our Lives (the last remaining NBC series in production there) and the IHeartRadio Theater. Programs produced here over the years include:
| Program | Network/Station | Years Taped | Studio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The All-New Jeopardy! | NBC | 1978–1979 | 3 | The present-day syndicated version of the show (which began in 1984) is taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. |
| All Star Secrets | NBC | 1979 | ||
| All That | Nickelodeon | 2019–2020 | 9 | Reboot series |
| The Andy Williams Show | NBC | 1962–1967; 1969–1971 | 4 | |
| An Evening with Fred Astaire (TV special) | NBC | 1958 | 2 | |
| Baffle | NBC | 1973–1974 | ||
| Battlestars | NBC | 1981–1982; 1983 | 3 | |
| The Big Game | NBC | 1958 | 4 | |
| Blank Check | NBC | 1975 | 4 | |
| Blockbusters | NBC | 1980–1982; 1987 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
| Bullseye | Syndication | 1980–1981 | 3, 4 | |
| Card Sharks | NBC | 1978–1981 | 3, 4 | CBS and first syndicated version taped at Television City from 1986 to 1989, second syndicated version taped at Tribune Studios from September to December 2001, ABC version taped at Television City in 2019 and CBS Studio Center in 2020 |
| Celebrity Sweepstakes | NBC, Syndication | 1974–1977 | 9 | |
| Chain Letter | NBC | 1966 | ||
| Chain Reaction | NBC | 1980 | 2, 4 | USA Network version taped at CFCF-TV in Montreal, Quebec from 1986 to 1991; GSN version taped at Sony Music Studios in New York City from 2007 to 2008 and at an unknown location from 2015 to 2016 |
| Channel 4 News | KNBC | 1962–2014 | 5"N", 10 | KNBC moved to a studio near Universal Studios Hollywood in 2014 |
| Chico and the Man | NBC | 1974–1978 | 3 | |
| Classic Concentration | NBC | 1987–1991 | 3 | |
| Cousins for Life | Nickelodeon | 2018 | 9 | |
| C.P.O. Sharkey | NBC | 1976–1978 | 3 | |
| Days of Our Lives | NBC, Peacock | 1965–present | 9, 2 & 4 | The series moved to NBC's streaming service Peacock starting in September 2022. |
| The Dean Martin Show | NBC | 1965–1974 | 2 | |
| Dream House | NBC | 1983–1984 | 3 | |
| Dog Eat Dog | NBC | 2002–2003 | 1 | |
| The Don Knotts Show | NBC | 1970–1971 | 2 | |
| Danger Force | Nickelodeon | 2020–2022 | 11 | |
| The Don Rickles Show | NBC | 1968–1969 | 2 | |
| Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special (TV special) | NBC | 1968 | 4 | |
| The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Syndication | 2003–2008 | 11 | Production moved to Warner Bros. Studios in 2008 |
| Extra | Syndicated | 2019–present | Newsroom | |
| Paramount+ | 2021 | 9 | ||
| Family Feud | Syndication | 2000-2003 | ||
| Fight Back! with David Horowitz | Syndication | 1980–1992 | 5"P" | |
| The Flip Wilson Show | NBC | 1970–1974 | 2 | |
(TV special) | NBC | 1965 | 4 | |
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | NBC | 1993–1996 | 11 | |
| The Funny Side | NBC | 1971–1972 | ||
| Game Shakers | Nickelodeon | 2015–2018 | 9 | |
| Generations | NBC | 1989–1991 | 11 | |
| Go | NBC | 1983–1984 | 2 | |
| The Gong Show | NBC, Syndication | 1976–1978 | 3 | |
| Henry Danger | Nickelodeon | 2014–2019 | 11 | |
| High Rollers | NBC | 1974–1976; 1978–1980 | 3 | 1987–88 version taped at Television City |
| Hit Man | NBC | 1983 | 4 | |
| Hollywood Squares | NBC, Syndication | 1966–1980; 1986–1987 | 1, 3, 4 | Production moved prior to 1987–1988 season; 1998–2004 version taped at Television City |
| Hot Potato | NBC | 1984 | 2 | |
| The Howie Mandel Show | Syndication | 1998–1999 | 1 | |
| iHeartRadio Theater | The CW | 2013–present | 3 | |
| In the House | NBC, UPN | 1995–1999 | ||
| I'll Bet | NBC | 1965 | ||
| It Could Be You | NBC | 1956–1961 | ||
| It Pays to Be Ignorant | Syndication | 1973–1974 | ||
| It Takes Two | NBC | 1969–1970 | ||
| It's Anybody's Guess | NBC | 1977 | 3 | |
| It's Your Bet | Syndication | 1969–1973 | ||
| The Jay Leno Show | NBC | 2009–2010 | 11 | |
| The John Davidson Show | Syndication | 1980–1981 | 2 | |
| Just Men! | NBC | 1983 | 2 | |
| Late Night with David Letterman | NBC | 1985 | 11 | |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | NBC | 1999 | 1 | |
| Last Call with Carson Daly | NBC | 2005–2009 | 9 | |
| Let's Make a Deal | NBC, Syndication | 1963–1968; 1984–1985; 2003 | 1, 4 | CBS version tapes at Raleigh Studios from 2015 onwards; formerly taped at the Tropicana Resort & Casino from 2009 to 2010 and at Sunset Bronson Studios from 2010 to 2014 |
| Letters to Laugh-In | NBC | 1969 | 2 | |
| Lotsa Luck | NBC | 1973–1974 | ||
| Match Game–Hollywood Squares Hour | NBC | 1983–1984 | 3 | |
| Make Your Own Kind of Music | NBC | 1971 | ||
| The Midnight Special | NBC | 1972–1983 | 2, 4 | |
| Mindreaders | NBC | 1979–1980 | 3, 4 | |
| The Nat King Cole Show | NBC | 1956–1957 | 2 | |
| Night Court | NBC | 1984–1991 | Production moved to Warner Bros. Studios in 1991–92 | |
| Overwatch League | ABC, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2[15] | 2018–2019 | 1 | |
| PDQ | Syndication | 1965–1969 | ||
| Password Plus | NBC | 1979–1982 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
| People are Funny | NBC | 1956–1961; 1984 | 3 | |
| People Will Talk | NBC | 1963 | 3 | |
| Punky Brewster | Syndication | 1987–1988 | 11 | |
| Real People | NBC | 1979–1984 | ||
| The Robert Irvine Show | The CW | 2016–2018 | 1 | |
| Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | NBC | 1968–1973 | 3 | |
| Sale of the Century | NBC, Syndication | 1983–1989 | 3 | |
| Saturday Night Live | NBC | 1982 | 1 | For the season premiere of Season 8 (1982-83), host Chevy Chase performed the cold open and all his other sketches from Burbank via satellite. His segments were done from the then-set of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; at Studio 8H in New York, a TV monitor was set up on each stage where Chase's Burbank-originated image appeared as the rest of the cast performed as usual, in person. |
| The Sammy Davis Jr. Show | NBC | 1966 | 2 | |
| Sanford and Son | NBC | 1972–1977 | 3 | |
| Santa Barbara | NBC | 1984–1993 | 11 | |
| Saved by the Bell | NBC | 1989–1993 | ||
| NBC | 1993–2000 | |||
| Scrabble | NBC | 1984–1990; 1993 | 2, 3 | |
| Sonny with a Chance | Disney Channel | 2009 | 11 | |
| Super Password | NBC | 1984–1989 | 1, 3 | 2008 incarnation known as Million Dollar Password taped at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York City, then CBS Studio Center |
| Supermarket Sweep | Pax TV | 2001–2003 | 11 | |
| Three for the Money | NBC | 1975 | ||
| This Is Your Life | NBC | 1958–1961 | 3 | |
| Time Machine | NBC | 1985 | ||
| To Say the Least | NBC | 1977–1978 | ||
| To Tell the Truth | NBC, Syndication | 1990–1991; 2000–2002 | 1, 11 | |
| Tomorrow | NBC | 1973–1974; 1977–1979 | 1, 5 | |
| The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson | NBC | 1972–1992 | 1[16] | |
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | NBC | 1992–2009; 2010–2014 | 1, 3,[17] [18] 11[19] | Since 2014 as The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon taped at Rockefeller Center NBC Studios in New York City |
| Truth or Consequences | NBC | 1960–1965 | 1, 3 | |
| Twenty One | NBC | 2000 | 1 | |
| Vicki! | Syndication | 1992–1994 | 3 | |
| The Weakest Link | NBC, Syndication | 2001–2003 | 1 | |
| The Weird Al Show | CBS | 1997–1998 | 11 | |
| Welcome Back, Kotter | ABC | 1975–1976 | Pilot recorded at CBS Television City; Seasons 2 to 4 recorded at ABC Television Center | |
| What's This Song? | NBC | 1964–1965 | ||
| Wheel of Fortune | NBC, Syndication | 1975–1989 | 2, 4 | Taped at CBS Television City from 1989 until 1995. Since 1995, has been taping at Sony Pictures Studios |
| Wordplay | NBC | 1986–1987 | 4 | |
| You Bet Your Life/The Groucho Show | NBC | 1960–1961 | 3 | |
| You Don't Say! | NBC | 1963–1969 | 3 | |
| Your Number's Up | NBC | 1985 | 2 | |
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.[20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]