New BBC Services studios

Since the 90's we have about 10 new national BBC services...

BBC Three
BBC Four
BBC News 24
CBBC
CBeebies

Five Live
1Xtra
6 Music
BBC 7
Asian Network

My question is, where have they found all the extra studios from? Was TVC just built with enough studios for expansion, or what?

I know the News Centre has been built and this takes care of News 24 and Five Live, but where do all the other radio servies and TV progs come from?

Broadcasting House will cater for some of the sevices. BBC radio comes from here. Then there is the Westminster Sudios, with other places dotted around London probably.

AIUI, BBC7 is played off computer hard disk, so doesn't take up a lot of space. One bay in a racks room maybe.

As for TV studios, most were being used a fraction of the time anyway, so I guess it's just a case of using the existing studios more, rather than building new ones.

Studios are shared, such as Newsnight and Breakfast.

Also, ten or fifteen years ago, much more BBC stuff was made in house than at present.

Take all the Hat Trick stuff nowadays, just as an example, almost all made on the South Bank.

Yep - CBBC comes from a main TV Centre studio at the moment - which CBBC have bought out. Previously it was the home to Newsnight and Newsround before they moved to their current home about 6 years ago. Then the studio was taken out of service for asbestos to be removed and for it to be upgraded from analogue PAL 4:3 to digital component 16:9 production.

CBeebies comes from an area originally built as a music recording studio at TV Centre, then re-engineered as an ad hoc area for virtual production, then The Phone Zone, followed by the launch series of Liquid News moved in, prior to CBeebies moving in.

The News studios moving into the News Centre freed up three studios - two of which were re-equipped and one of which was closed. Liquid News comes from one of these, Treasure Hunt was made there, and News 24 also moved in temporarily to allow for their re-launch.

Radio shows are slightly different - as these can be pre-recorded in home studios, or produced from studios in BBC regional network centres (like Manchester, Bristol and Pebble Mill) as well as studios at the News Centre and Broadcasting House.

Well News 24 is obvious to where that comes from, BBC Four news comes as we know from World news studio.. .

Cbeebies and CBBC will be in the kids section and i can imagine a few spare spaces.

Including a lot of resources are studios which are in continous use, one finishes, next one comes in, and so on and so on.

Five live news centre,

1xtra and BBC 7 will be from B/H - and the other place.

A lot of Asian is done from Birmingham or from other local services serving the national community.

As for three - no idea..

Probably Broadcasting House

Three and Four come from the same place as One and Two. When the new digital transmission/playout area was built in the late 90's they built 4 suites (followed by a spare when Knowledge opened)

Also remember that technology has improved and it takes up less space - also the demise of large telecine and VT areas freed up a lot of technical space

Not quite, they need studio space to record links and make trails. They will also have a studio manager overseeing the stations output. Even though it's played by computer there is still a human interface.

All the digital stations are quite closely affiliated with the other 4 stations and so share admin, buildings and facilities with them. 1Xtra and 6Music are closely affiliated with Radio 1 and 2 respectively, BBC7 with Radio 4 and Sports Extra with Five Live. The Asian Network comes from studios in Leicester and Birmingham with a few programmes from London.

Indeed, it was done on a two year lease. This is up in February and there's talk about moving to a different studio, but I can't honestly see that happening at all, it would be too much hasstle to move both CBBC On-Air and Xchange.

From the deepest recesses of my mind...

1 Xtra is based on the top floor of Yealding House, which is home to Radio One.

6 Music is based in the same offices/production areas/ studios of BH as Radio 2
ditto BBC7 with Radio 4

5 Live Sports Extras studio is just across the corridor from the Five Live main studios in news center at TVC.