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TV studio buildings.

(September 2005)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
HU
huddy
TROGGLES posted:
gerryuk posted:
Is Yorkshire Television's Leeds centre bigger than Granada in Manchester?
How many studios do they both have, does Yorkshire now make more programmes for the ITV network in Leeds than Granada does in Manchester?
I have seen many pics of the Granada centre in Manchester but cant find any decent pics of the Yorkshire centre in Leeds to compare.
If anyone has any pics of the Yorkshire centre in Leeds please upload them on here thanks.

Its arguable who produces more - in terms of hours of programmes its a close call. If you count Emmerdale & Countdown its proberbly Yorkshire. YTV is split in two with the link road down the middle. The high profile bit to the left (the pictures were in this thread somewhere) is the bit everyone thinks of as Yorkshire TV , If I remember it was 4 studios, presentation, canteen etc - and lots of pastel coloured corridoors as it was the Bruce Gyngell era when I was there. It was always fruit and yoghurt in the canteen too! & I seem to remember dusty bin was painted on the studio door. They record Countdown from that same studio.
The rather boring building to the right is production offices for YTV and independants,they also doubled for Inspector Frosts offices and police station. Heartbeat & the Royal's offices were there. The calendar newsroom is in there along with the scenery dock it was all hidden away round the back. Emmerdale interiors are in there now too. The outside set being on the Harewood house estate.


Just to flesh out Troggles excellent discription, the main building use to have five studios (1-5), one continuity (never used as such), studio two for Calendar (I've been told it no longer exists - confirmation welcome) and three studios (3,4 & 5) for network production. Also here was the scene dock and garage for the OB units (I haven't been inside for some years, so forgive meif this has now changed).

Accross the road use to be Leeds City Ice Rink until urchase in 1989 as the YTV News Centre. At the time YTV was thinking about/producing regional news for radio and other broadcasters. It's quite a huge thing and also now contains the regional production studios. You can also see it on Holiday Undercover.

The Emmerdale production centre is also here (Studio 1) and a huge expanse of car park at the rear.

In addition YTV has further premises accross the road to facilitate it's production for other broadcasters. There is also the mill at Farsley, seven floors of 'studio' space where Heartbeat and The Royal are based. This was opened in 1989.

YTV and Granada's drama department's are now lumped together as the Northern Drama Division, and hence most of it is under the head of Keith Richardson. As he's based in Leeds, most production now takes place at Kirkstall Road.
BO
BOL I0X
A bit of a request... but does anyone have any screenshots or mocks or whetever that shows the inside of Television Centre?
NG
noggin Founding member
Steve D posted:
noggin posted:
LF Barfe posted:
noggin posted:
Late 80s I think. Southampton moved


The last South Today from South Western House was on 7/9/1991. Interesting points about Link, Noggin. When they went under was that the end of Britain as a producer of broadcast cameras? By the looks of the pic on TV Ark, South Western House was still using EMI 2001s at the time of closure - mind you, in 1991, so was EastEnders.


Ah - it was later than I thought! For some reason I have 1989 knocking around in my head!


You're partially right. 1989 was when radio moved out of the old hotel and into the new building. You'll remember that Solent worked with some of the most archaic kit in the Corporation. The old studios only had one self-op desk (I think there were quite a few rotary faders still around - cue the elastic band trick for cross-fades!) and they had no stereo capability, making them the last station to originate VHF mono.


Isn't Radio Norfolk (or is it Suffolk) still mono - or is it only mono on some transmitters?
NG
noggin Founding member
BOL I0X posted:
A bit of a request... but does anyone have any screenshots or mocks or whetever that shows the inside of Television Centre?


Have a look here - might be of interest :

BBC Resources Virtual Studio Tours
SP
Steve in Pudsey
huddy posted:
studio two for Calendar (I've been told it no longer exists - confirmation welcome)


I think I remember reading that Studio 2 became the Transmission Suite that handles pres/playout for the northern regions
AN
Andrew Founding member
Steve in Pudsey posted:
huddy posted:
studio two for Calendar (I've been told it no longer exists - confirmation welcome)


I think I remember reading that Studio 2 became the Transmission Suite that handles pres/playout for the northern regions

I was under the impression that there was now only 2 network production studios at YTV, numbered studios 3 & 4.

This PDF shows a good map of where YTV's buildings are
http://www.itvregions.com/NR/rdonlyres/BBE39A0C-B273-4FC3-AE76-240D36708945/0/ITVYorkshireMap.pdf
LF
LF Barfe
noggin posted:
Isn't Radio Norfolk (or is it Suffolk) still mono - or is it only mono on some transmitters?


Radio Norfolk is originated in stereo, and goes out that way on 95.1MHz from Stoke Holy Cross. The west of the county is served by 104.4MHz from Great Massingham, which rebroadcasts Stoke Holy Cross, but the reception was never good enough for stereo, so it was picked up in mono and broadcast that way. That may have all changed now, as Great Massingham is being tooled up for DAB and Radio Norfolk has put another tx in at West Runton, on 95.6MHz.
MD
Mr D'Arcy
Found this list of old and new TV addresses on the Royal Society of Television's website, hope you find it useful.

TV Studios
SD
Steve D
noggin posted:
Isn't Radio Norfolk (or is it Suffolk) still mono - or is it only mono on some transmitters?


It might be the case for some transmitters, although I listened to Norfolk (and I'm sure Suffolk) in stereo when in East Anglia during the Summer. Perhaps I should have qualified my original post. What I meant was that the old Radio Solent studios were the only ones left on the network which weren't stereo capable.
MA
mattlock
Where in the building would YTV presentation have been in the days of Redvers and co?
NF
NewForest lad
http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvforum/uploads/dsc06212_mer_independent_companies600_size.jpg

MERIDIAN boards outside main entrance



http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvforum/uploads/dsc06222_mer_front.jpg

This is the front once again!

http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvforum/uploads/dsc06246_mer_waterside.jpg

From the roadside
IS
Inspector Sands
Jez posted:

Westcountry's presentation came from HTV at Culverhouse from when they launched in 1993 I think. However Westcountry had their own announcer .


Yes, because Westcountry had less time to get ready for transmission (due to the legal injunction against the franchise decision brought by TSW) they went for a smaller out-of-town building rather than one in the centre of Plymouth as they originally wanted. And to save more time they decided to out-source transmission to HTV who had excess capacity in Cardiff.

Everything was done from Cardiff except for the announcer, who was in Westcountry's centre outside Plymouth. They had a 2-way videolink so the director/TC and announcer could see each other. IIRC There was only one announcer shift a day and they'd pre-record the links for the next morning,

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