ITV abandons the South Bank

Looks like studio 7 is going oh dear

I suppose it would be a bit difficult to leave it there when everything else around it was demolished


Now I think about it I think studio 7, then home to LNN, was the first TV studio I ever went into (apart from the few I'd been in as an audience member). So I've a bit of a soft spot for it

Although after that brief time there the only times I went to the London Television Centre was as audience or production guest... which is like being audience except you get to go to the bar first!

No, it's the question everyone in the industry is asking too! There's a strong feeling this is part of something wider that none of us are aware of.

Five years is a long time in television (who can say what daytime shows will exist in five years time), in business (ITV has potential international buyers swooping around like vultures), and in the wider economy (the true impact of Brexit is yet to hit). So there's a lot of doubt this new building is going to happen at all.

I'm not surprised it's in demand, there's barely any studios left anymore!

I think most people in TV production know the answer though. The land is worth more than the revenue returned running a TV studio operation returns...

I think unless the London property bubble bursts very hard the days of commercial studio operations of the size of TLS in a location like TLS had are over.

It's incredibly sad - but though there is demand for studio capacity, there aren't TV budgets to allow studios to operate at price levels that justifies the cost of the land they are on. Sky had the right idea with Harlequin...

That would mean there creating a new tower block for new people to take over, with the TV operations moving else where?

Suddenly building studios in low-cost areas such as Salford makes sense. I wonder with TLS studios closing if it is enough incentive to get the North London Dinner Table luvvie set to go where the productions are cheaper to make?

Which goes back to my original point which I apologise if I didn't make clear - why move back at all just to fill it with office workers who could do their job from anywhere in London? ITV Daytime is not a big enough part of the business to have the power to dictate where an entire headquarters get based. They're maximising profits for the shareholders and that will influence their decisions over the next five years.

Well back in 2008/09 there had no spare money and the budgets were slashed..

Streamlining, making it more attractive for a takeover.

The SMTV special has been postponed (at least for this year).

Are you sure?