‘Today’ introduces digital lounge in space once used by Orange Room

NBC News‘ “Today” introduced a new “digital lounge” on Nov. 3, 2026. 

The space, which occupies roughly the same footprint as the Orange Room, which debuted Sept. 16, 2013, is billed as “a space for digital producers to capture content and post on social media throughout the morning,” according to NBC.

It’s located adjacent to Studio 1A.

During a brief introduction to the new concept on Nov. 3, 2026, viewers were treated to a quick pan around the updated space.

It appears the network has retained much of the space’s somewhat unique layout — complete with the oddly angled walls that resulted from the network busting through one of the studio’s original walls into the space next door to pick up some more space for the Orange Room. 

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What’s changed, however, is that the vertically mounted video screens are now gone, replaced by a mix of wood-toned, gray and white walls with vertical slats. 

The space also includes a custom “Today” logo in a neon style, plus open shelving and display alcoves to showcase a variety of decorative accessories and memorabilia. 

The lounge is outfitted with a narrow floating counter that provides a workspace for staffers. A nearby sofa provides additional seating. 

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After debuting the Orange Run with much fanfare in 2013, the space was also used for a variety of purposes — from puppy pen to hurricane center and for the network’s election coverage over the years. 

The network continued to expand spaces to use on its digital and social platforms, adding a streaming booth and “mini room” in 2016. The latter was a rather cramped recreation of the “Today” home base that was meant to be used as space for guests to snap photos of themselves while waiting to make their appearances.

The Orange Room also got updates in 2015 and 2018 with other smaller changes added throughout the years.

Its use gradually diminished over the years and had largely fallen out of favor by 2020, following a larger industry trend away from dedicated social media spaces.

The Orange Room was largely walled off from the main part of Studio 1A after the 2020 election, when NBC added an additional video wall to the space for its coverage of that year’s election that later became part of the permanent “Today” and “Nightly News” set.

In the Nov. 3 preview of the space, the camera revealed a blank solid wall where the opening into 1A was once located. It was not clear if this might be a way to access the main studio area. 

During the space’s on-air debut, the network wheeled the large monitor cart it often uses in the main studio into the lounge, largely obscuring the blank wall. 

It wasn’t immediately clear if the lounge will make on-air appearances on a regular basis or how the team assigned to the space will contribute to the linear broadcast. NBC and other networks have started to show interest in interactive chat-style feeds alongside traditional broadcasts as a way to reach viewers on other screens, but there’s no word how that might look for “Today.”

NCS has reached out to the network for comment.

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In the original Studio 1A design, the wall between the main studio space and the lounge was where a one-on-one interview area was situated, but that moved more toward the center of the rear wall in a 2013 renovation that eliminated the standalone news update desk that had been a longtime fixture of that area. 

The space behind the original wall had been a variety of things throughout the years, including a green room and other backstage areas.