CBS sells Studio Center complex

CBS has reached a deal to sell its CBS Studio Center facility.

ViacomCBS had first announced it was exploring the possibility of selling the facility in August 2021.

It is located in Studio City, California and is often referred to as “CBS Radford Lot” but is not to be confused with CBS Television City, which is a separate property the company sold in 2018 and is now known as simply “Television City.”

Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management are paying a combined $1.85 billion for the 55 acre property. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

Hackman was the purchaser of Television City, for which it paid $760 million.

This marks the third major real estate sale ViacomCBS has done in the past few years.

It sold the iconic CBS headquarters Black Rock in New York in August 2021, but has a short term leaseback agreement for space in the building, though plans call for consolidating operations at ViacomCBS’s headquarters (which was Viacom’s previous headquarters) near Times Square.

This building, also known as One Astor Plaza and 1515 Broadway, includes a second floor studio that was once home to MTV’s “Total Request Live” and now serves as the home base for “CBS Mornings” and “The Daily Show.”

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CBS also owns a complex of buildings on 57th street in New York that’s known as the CBS Broadcast Center. It’s currently home to CBSN and shows such as “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Inside Edition” and “The Drew Barrymore Show.” The primary CBS News newsroom is also in the building. 

Back in the L.A. area, the network owned CBS station KCBS and independent KCAL will remain at the Studio Center facility through a long term leaseback arrangement.

Various ViacomCBS divisions will also continue to use the space on shorter term leases as needed. The facility includes 22 soundstages that are used for a variety of productions for multiple networks and content providers, including the Paramount produced “Entertainment Tonight” and CBS’s “The Talk.”

CBS still uses space at Television City for “The Price is Right,” “The Young and the Restless” and “The Late Late Show with James Corden.”

It’s not uncommon for networks to lease studio space from other networks or property owners, as availability of soundstages can fluctuate as series are canceled and renewed. For example, for its original run, NBC’s “Will & Grace” was produced at CBS Studio Center as is ABC’s “The Conners.” 

ViacomCBS will also have access to its Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles, which is or has been the home base for shows including “The Doctors,” “Dr. Phil,” “This Is Us,” “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “The Blacklist” as well as countless film productions.