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The new set looks great! It's a bit of a shame that they can no longer interact with a live audience anymore. I guess the rival Today Show will be the sole show that has this card now at 30 Rock. Nonetheless, it's a significant improvement; the studios at 7 Hudson are quite nice. Maybe without the distraction of the street audience and fanfare, it will be a more polished and focused product and environment for employees and stakeholders. The only gripe so far, is that, the show is supposed to represent America, not New York City, and lately ABC's national news shows have been too New York Centric, while I agree that New York is America's largest city and is arguably the crown jewel city for the country, I think they should try to do a dynamic backdrop that shows every city or perhaps do a blend of the skylines of different cities like CNN does for their Morning Show or even Good Morning Britain which does something of that sort to represent America as a whole not just New York. But overall, the studio is incredible, kudos to ABC for fitting all of this into this building it's hard to believe they have all of these large studios in such a small footprint.

Some screenshots from the new GMA studio:

Probably for the same reason restaurants and casinos don't have clocks: so you can't see how late it is.

What we’ve seen so far looks great. The new on-air package borrows a lot from the GMA3 look. I never thought the lighting in TSS was particularly bad but the lighting at 7 Hudson Square is a significant improvement.

I don’t love it. I don’t hate it. It’s just there. Kind of like Scripps as a company.

I'm not sure why the level of surprise here. One of the many reasons for the new building was to provide more studio space for shows originating from NY whether live or taped. It's not unique. Out of 30 Rock right now (which will change somewhat at the end of the year with the Versant spin-off) shows include from NBC: Early Today, Today, NBC News Now (most of the day and early evening), Kelly Clarkson, NBC Nightly News, Tonight with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers; From WNBC: TINY, News4 at 11, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 11, New York Live; From WNJU: Noticiero 47 Telemundo Primera edición, Noticiero 47 Telemundo al mediodiá, Noticiero 47 Telemundo a la 5:30, 6 and 11; From MSNBC: Way too early, Morning Joe, Ana Cabrera Reports, Chris Jansing Reports, Katie Tur Reports, Deadline White House, The Beat with Ari Melber, All in with Chris Hayes, Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell and the 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle. MSNBC shows originating in DC may still use 30 Rock facilities for live/taped interviews during those shows. This does not include weekly shows like Saturday Night Live and Dateline.

So with GMA moving, is it correct ABC7 will have shows produced from 7 Hudson Square from 4am until 7pm (besides for the hour General Hospital at 3pm)?

According to our UK counterparts on Pres Cafe, this picture of the studio was heavily sepia-toned.

Looks like some odd filtering on that studio render. If I imagine how those materials look in real life it’s warm woods. And a lot less cluttered. More inviting and professional. Refreshing from the sensory overload of their prior studios.

ABC News needs MANY new things...

ABC News needs some new creative directors...

That’s exactly what I meant.

Had the same thought... The legacy of GMA pre Times Square was feeling suburban. The original living room set. I get having the NY skyline in the set itself, making it central to the open feels like it's a local NY show. The set itself is a beautiful upgrade, feels like a Soho loft which I guess is the concept they're going for, though almost feels like when you first move in and the furniture hasn't arrived. It could use more furniture and elements to break up the cavern and have cozier feeling shot options. Home base is great - warm, professional, not distracting. They've become more like the layout the Today show used for decades - news desk, NY centric. When Time Square started the two living room chairs were home base, and evolved to be a desk sometime before Charlie left.

This is broadcast design today, empty depthless sets with video walls to offer flexible backgrounds in leiu of furniture. I don't mind video walls when they are used in tandem with actual set pieces. The glossy floor I like, the set of The View set has it too. News/tv is a very copycat industry especially with set design. For example in the 90s GMA much like Today and The View followed the trend of layered living room sets with multiple furniture pieces to mimic a full home. Some call this cluttered, but I like how grand it looks. While that era probably won't return because of cost, I think a good medium is today's The View set. While it's still tons of video walls they add enough furniture to have layered depth of field looking shots that don't make the studio look barren. Still the current GMA set is the best looking morning news set in a long time. The last time I really liked an AM news set was studio 1A in 2013 before they turned it orange.

This is about as generic as you could possibly get I think…

The set layout for GMA3:

WFAA recently launched a 7am stream a few weeks ago (originally during severe weather mornings, now daily). Won’t be surprised if they simulcast it on KFAA, as well.

I was actually thinking the same after I posted my comment. Not only is it spacious in that atrium, but it has a nice, massive picture window view of some of the urban landscape of that area, as well. That atrium reminds me of the upper floor studio across town that had a gigantic picture window view overlooking Columbus Circle that television productions have used over the years.

Nexstar is long overdue for some new packages. While all of their stations up to Media General (sans WAVY) have switched to their packages, there's still a few former Tribune stations with their packages floating around. The only recent package that's halfway decent is the one WXIN has. The others are getting stale. When WFNA launched their 9pm news in 2016, they used the "Triangle" Media General package that was introduced on WNCN for their relaunch pre-CBS. It lasted until WKRG picked up the current CBS package in 2018 and unified all newscasts under the WKRG brand. I wish they would do some more in Youngstown with WYFX's newscasts. They've been unified under the WKBN branding since their Nexstar launch as well.

They can definitely do the concerts in that atrium space they filmed Live with Kelly and Mark the first week they moved to Hudson Square.

Spain.

NBC going away at the end of 2024 was probably the end of their affiliation agreement, and due to the pending wind down of the station operations, dumping NBC was a way to cut costs because of the reverse compensation agreements most network affiliates have. This does beg the question to what the television situation is outside of KXGN. Glendive technically doesn't have an NBC affiliate anymore or even a de facto affiliate as well. Glendive doesn't even appear have a cable company, and DirecTV doesn't even provide local stations for its viewers. Dish supplements KXGN with KOTA (ABC), KEVN (FOX) and no NBC affiliate since KXGN pulled the plug. YouTube TV fills in the gaps with WMAQ out of Chicago, KHMT out of Billings for FOX and a straight ABC feed in Pacific time with ABC News live filling in the gaps. There's still KYUS in Miles City, basically a repeater of Cowles' KULR. It's in the Billings market so adapting it to serve the Glendive audience is still a challenge. I wonder if that would be part of the sale of KXGN since these are the only remaining parts of Stephen Marks' TV station group.

I noticed Sam is on GMA this week and not filling in for anyone. Has he still been on the 10am newscast?

France TF1 + Netflix = A huge landmark deal starting next year will see TF1's live TV channels and on demand content from TF1+ to appear on Netflix. This could be the start of a huge trend worldwide. https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-and-tf1-group-join-forces-to-bring-tf1-to-netflix-members-in-france

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh okay. I got confused. I think he meant 4 am-7 pm, outside of GH on WABC-TV, all coming from 7 Hudson Square. Yes... that is true.

Like in the early years of the Times Square studio era, I wonder if "GMA" will incorporate an outdoor concert series on the rooftop of 7 Hudson Sqaure sometime in the future. Of course, with more space limitations than in Times Square, it would need to be intimate, but I feel that it would be provide the program a great opportunity to showcase some of the gorgeous sights from that roof of Lower Manhattan.

Without question, sets with very little physical elements are the future (whether it's at the national or local level). I think in GMA case, more tighter shots and less wide shots would lessen the studio's cavernous feel. Plus, leaving certain pieces in place (chairs, tables, etc... instead of moving them in/out) would help create some depth. Kudos to them for adding some plants, but a painting, a credenza (or two) and some vases wouldn't have broken the budget...

I will say ESPN's video wall sets are way better done than anything on network or local news.

I like your idea of diverse national landscapes in the video wall. I second that a lot of American media can feel East Coast and more specifically New York and LA centric because that's where shows film. To your point, GMA's past intro made a point to show scenery from the various parts of America like the countryside, the Rocky Mountains, St. Louis etc, which I liked. It was well in line with ABC's middle-America feel at the time.

I agree the new GMA set needed more physical elements. When they're away from the desk, it feels like they are floating/hovering at times and the glossy floor doesn't help matters. I don't like the color palette, but it is what it is. I wonder what CBS Mornings/Plus will look like when they move to Studio 47. I assume, given it's size and AR/VR capabilities; this studio will serve as Election Night HQ, etc.. as well??? I'm curious to see how this set/studio looks in different settings.

I think this is just the reality of broadcast media today. ABC News has generally found the formula for success across their shows so there isn’t much incentive for deviating from it. Especially in a period where cost pressures are as pronounced and the shows continue shedding viewers. It’s notable that they didn’t really acknowledge on-air that they were leaving Times Square until 1-2 weeks before the move. It seemed very lowkey until last week. I set my expectations pretty low from there and in the end I like it more than I expected. That said: 1. I wish there were more physical elements to it. The only permanent fixture looks to be the anchor desk and the all screen format feels like “The Morning Show.” That kitchen set up sucks. 2. The studio looks massive, cavernous even and very empty. Some cooler tones would help. 3. Rooftops on that side of town are tough because of the wind but I really liked how they opened the 8am hour. Studio C is in the basement but how cool would it have been to have a GMA patio or some outdoor element to preserve that TSS element. The best part of all of it is the new logo inspired by one of my favorite visual eras for the show.

I do wonder if they would do a test week with This Week; the thing I like is that the set does have adaptability with the screens, which are much better and clearer (we have yet to see the D&S nightmare palate though that goes with that segment). And it also has 'election night HQ' all over it; just a much more open space overall. And it looks like DeMarco and Eva are gone from GMA3. Bummer on that one. Expected it, but still wanted a few more weeks with them.

Listened to the demo on their press release… This sounds like the result of asking ChatGPT to make you a music package.

I"m surprised it took this long for a station group to embrace such a move. It puts ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates on the same level playing field so they can compete with the FOX/CW/independent stations running local news during this time. With sports pre-emptions happening more often (as TV is putting even more second-rate sports on at primetime), a station can stream at their normal time, and just playback the complete show when the event is over, or regroup if they have to do an abbreviated show on broadcast if they are filling the time for another live event. And with network affiliations becoming more of a gamble, it's an easy move to repurpose the shows should the network drop their station. Plus, not having to wait around for a live show would cut down on overtime. If it was important enough of a story, they would be live with breaking news, anyways.

Pleasantly surprised. This looks great! I love the waxed floor look of Disney's new studios and the warmer lighting on each set. This easily beats the sets of CBS Mornings and Today. It gives KTLA loft vibes. The anchor desk is the biggest improvement, no more infinite hall of mirrors look. I wish there were more physical set pieces instead of a mostly barren floor space but great set none the less.

Yep, Tegna issued a press release today saying that all of it's stations will have 7-9am online-only newscasts by the fall: https://www.tegna.com/tegna-announces-major-local-news-expansion-adding-more-than-100-hours-of-new-daily-programming-across-50-markets/

This is the new reality in pretty much in every market.

45min well spent. Former KNBC Orange County Bureau Chief Vikki Vargas speaks about her time at the station and how the industry has changed.

I sincerely doubt Today leaves 1A. They have a long lease. Plus it’s something to advertise about.

Paramount has started posting sales jobs in Atlanta. Interestingly, no news related jobs.

Is Hearst still moving forward with this supposed new look? It's been nearly a year since it debuted in Fort Myers, yet it has never been rolled out beyond WBBH/WZVN...

It'll be nice to look at different colors besides yellow and blue (along with those awful digital backgrounds/optical illusion blocks of the last couple years), and I suspect despite this shot, the show will not base its entire design color on a 1997 Compaq Presario. I do hope they keep using Ray (their mascot), and there's still a couple of corners to be seen in this design, so hopefully the presentation/interview area will look nice. At least now the weekend crew isn't stuck in the dungeon set and everything's in one building. I'm crossing my fingers the studio is named for Charlie Gibson, not only because it's so deserved, but because having to hear the announcer say 'live from Hudson Square' every day when we barely see the exterior will get generic and dull real quick.

We might actually be seeing a fairly hard reset on the show's design language. Colors can be changes, for sure, but they seem to be committing to a VERY different look. https://pagesix.com/2025/06/13/entertainment/gma-bids-farewell-to-times-square-studios-with-boozy-breakfast-at-irish-pub/

GMA debuts their new studio on Monday https://pagesix.com/2025/06/13/entertainment/gma-bids-farewell-to-times-square-studios-with-boozy-breakfast-at-irish-pub/

WSYX 1988

Just saw the first promo with his image and name included alongside Shirleen, Brittany, Sam and Heather’s for 4:30-7am. These same promos did not include him earlier this week. I guess that makes it official.

The point of this website is for people to offer their personal opinions and critiques on news matters. Notice how I said "I wish" they would change the sets not "they should". Whether or not the corporations who actually make decisions implement them is their business. But you don't have to dismiss peoples opinions by saying their just "armchair critiques" and "whatever decision the company makes is the right one." Otherwise we might as well just close every thread because "whatever decision the network makes is the right decision."

I am shocked. I've always thought of WAGA's, WJW's, and KXAN's teams as the pillar of investigative journalism today. To think WAGA shut theirs down will create a chilling effect across Atlanta. WSB and WANF might scoop them up if they wanted to.

If you like the team, the presentation, etc, not hearing “live from Times Square” is not going to change your viewing habits one iota. No one who watches and likes the program is going to think, “wait, they’re not in Times Square? I’m out.” No one gives the show more credibility or likes the team content better because of being in one location or another. It made for an interesting backdrop at one point, but it’s not like they use it all that much, in any meaningful way.

Update Abilene Christian University (ACU) has allowed KTXS to utilize its facilities to help set up a temporary newsroom on campus. https://ktxs.com/news/abilene/abilene-christian-university-opens-doors-to-ktxs-after-severe-storm-damages-station