MSNBC will start broadcasting from NBC News’ new world headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza Oct. 22, officials said Thursday.
MSNBC is moving over to the facility, which has been under construction six months, from Secaucus, N.J., where the cable channel had been based since its launch in July 1996.
NBC News is combining its Manhattan-based operations and MSNBC under one roof in the new headquarters, and making it ready to begin broadcasting from the newly renovated Studios 3A and 3C. As part of the consolidation, NBC News said that “more than 200 miles of cable [have been] pulled, 280 high definition monitors and six high definition projectors installed.”
Studio 3A will debut the morning of Oct. 22 when MSNBC’s Morning Joe will open its broadcast at 6:00 a.m. MSNBC will continue to broadcast from Studio 3A throughout the day, including Countdown with Keith Olbermann in primetime. At 6:30 p.m., Brian Williams will unveil the renovated Studio 3C on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. More than 12.5 hours of live television across NBC News and MSNBC will originate from the two studios daily.
The new facility, with 8,500 square feet of studio space, will serve as a conduit of information, video and graphics for all of NBC News.
In addition to the 280 HDTV monitors and six HDTV projectors, MSNBC’s main anchor platform is motorized on a 50-foot-long track to move throughout the studio; a platform in the center of 3A can be raised up to 52 feet for effects and events; and one wall houses 36 monitors and can be used in a variety of ways for production purposes.
Studio 3A also includes a 31-foot-long catwalk above the main anchor platform for additional options for stand-ups, and offers 61 seats for the newsgathering staffs of the NBC News Desks, NBC News Channel, NBC Satellite Operations and the MSNBC.com East Coast Cover Team.
In addition to the studios, the newsroom will house the editorial and production staffs for nearly all of the NBC News and MSNBC programs, the news desks of NBC News, NBC News’ Specials unit and the East Coast MSNBC.com editorial operation.
“Today, all of NBC News’ home base of operations is finally where it should be - under one roof,” NBC News president Steve Capus said in a prepared statement. “Not only do we have the most advanced technology, the finest achievements in design and a dizzying array of visual enhancements, but most importantly, our greatest asset, the men and women of NBC News, are all in one place. This is our true strength, and will be the key to our continued success for many, many years to come.”
The renovation project began in February, and will see its full completion of office and production facilities in 2008. The completed project will also be home to Dateline NBC, Peacock Productions, NBC News’ educational initiatives including iCue and Channel One, NBC News Radio, and NBC News2Go, among other strategic initiative groups.
Additionally, Thursday NBC News also unveiled the next phase of the project with long-term plans to create a HDTV West Coast News Content center and television production facility in Los Angeles that will house NBC News’ Los Angeles bureau, among other NBC Universal properties. The West Coast News center will be modeled after the NBC News’ World Headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
