WNBC is “soft-launching” its new studio this week.
After months of planning and construction, the WNBC news team finally began working out of the new studio last Saturday. The space, which includes an 82-inch interactive touchscreen and an integrated weather center, is located just down the hall from NBC’s “Nightly News” set at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
WNBC had planned to unveil its new studio earlier this year but a host of issues bumped the debut to April. In February, there were reports that the station had completely scrapped the initial design and was starting again from scratch. A WNBC spokesperson explained to TVSpy that the floor tiles weren’t adhering properly so workers had to move everything out and redo the floors, giving station management an opportunity to fine-tune the design.
The centerpiece of the studio’s design is a series of five 103-inch plasma displays mounted behind the anchor desk that display shots of the New York City skyline, including images from several live cameras mounted on the building.
The firm behind WNBC’s new studio, Clickspring Design, is responsible for the sets of a number of NBC properties, including “Nightly News,” “Rock Center,” “Meet the Press,” WCAU in Philadelphia, and WRC in D.C.
WNBC had previously been broadcasting out of a studio adjacent to its newsroom.
On a recent morning, WNBC anchor Michael Gargiulo could be found going over some notes at the anchor desk following the station’s a.m. newscast. Asked about how it felt to finally be in the new studio, Gargiulo sighed, and then with a big smile said, “It’s great.”