Times Square Studios

Times Square Studios (TSS) is an American television studio owned by The Walt Disney Company, located on the southeastern corner of West 44th Street and Broadway in the Times Square area of the borough of Manhattan. The studio is best known as the production home of ABC News' Good Morning America (GMA), a morning news and talk program, segments for other ABC News programs, and various programs on ESPN.

This article is about the Disney Company's production facilities. For the daytime division of the Disney-ABC Television Group, see Times Square Studios (division).
Not to be confused with MTV's studios across the street at One Astor Plaza.
Times Square Studios
Viewed from Times Square
Alternative namesTSSL
General information
LocationManhattan, New York City
Address1500 Broadway
Current tenants-Good Morning America
Assorted other ABC News and ESPN programs (see article for others)
Inaugurated1999
OwnerThe Walt Disney Company
Design and construction
ArchitectWalt Disney Imagineering

Background
Studio exterior 3 years after 2007 refurbishment, January 2010

Times Square Studios is on the site of the former Hotel Claridge, built in 1911. In 1972, the hotel was demolished and the current structure, which housed the National Theater,[1] and a Beefsteak Charlie's restaurant, was built. The theater closed in 1998.

The New York Times felt that Times Square Studios was meant to be a response to the "Window on the World" Studio 1A NBC had launched at Rockefeller Center for its morning show Today in 1994—which marked an era of dominance for the program over ABC's competing Good Morning America. It was argued that Disney needed its own on-air showpiece in a prominent location, and that "a dynamic Manhattan street scene is now considered an essential production element for a morning show".[2]

The facility was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, Disney's design and development arm, and its senior vice president of concept design Eddie Sotto. The team also worked with Roger Goodman, ABC's vice president for special projects, on its facilities for Good Morning America. Sotto stated that the design of the building was meant to symbolize a "looking glass" and the idea of "media as architecture". The facade of the building also features a video screen and a pair of news tickers, both of which are upgraded with state-of-the-art display technology every few years.[2]

Alongside ABC News productions such as Good Morning America, Disney also intended to lease space at the studio for other productions.[2]

Productions at Times Square Studios
Exterior (looking east from Broadway) of the Times Square Studios (April 2004).

References
  1. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1853
  2. Carter, Bill (1999-09-18). "Part ABC Studio, Part Disney Billboard". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-12-05.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.