NBC 5's "Studio 5"

[lazynetjunkie 34]

I don't remember exactly how long WMAQ's lease on the Studio 5 space is but I'm just curious to how many of you think WMAQ will continue to lease the Studio 5 space when the lease is up?

 

 

I just think WMAQ holding on to Studio 5 is just a big money drainer at this point with ALOT (and I mean ALOT) of the station's resources going into that leased space. Eversince ABC 7's streetside studio made its debut, people just stopped coming to Studio 5. I don't even think WMAQ wants people to even go anywhere near the studio during newscasts anymore because of how far away from the windows they now place those metal barricades. All the windows inside the studio were pretty much blocked up with plants and greenery so you can't even see out the windows anymore during the newscasts. So really, what's the point of even having Studio 5 anymore?

 

WMAQ is really big on the whole TV station cost cutting bandwagon so why continue to let so many dollars drain away with that space? Dollars that could be used to revamp the whole newsroom studio to be better suited for ALL their newscasts.. Heck, WMAQ has plenty of empty studio space inside their own building so why not even use one for a nice large morning show set?

 

The whole streetside studio fad has gone away for the most part in Chicago. The only time people go to CBS 2's windows are when there's some event going on at Daley Plaza. It just happens that ABC 7's streetside studio is at a convenient location where LOTS of city visitors/tourists just happen to walk by everyday.

 

 

I just honestly think when their lease is up on that space, they should just dump it and go back to the NBC Tower.

[Weeters 1812]

That purple lightbox behind the desk is ugly. But Studio 5 is nicer looking than the dark boring newsroom.

 

It's a lose/lose situation.

[lazynetjunkie 34]

That purple lightbox behind the desk is ugly. But Studio 5 is nicer looking than the dark boring newsroom.

 

It's a lose/lose situation.

 

 

The lightbox isn't purple anymore. They changed the lightbox graphic a couple months after they added it to something nicer. It's actually a bright blue now. They did make changes to the Studio 5 set after Chicago Scenic built it.

 

It is a lose/lose.. But the money going into that studio is equivalent to having multiple numbers of on-air talent. A nice Clickspring remodel of the newsroom in the tower would really brighten it up. Chicago doesn't have any sleek hard-edged modern news sets yet so it would be something nice they could have.

[Jase 823]

I think they have too much invested in it to leave. This is year 7 (I believe), so either they renewed the lease in '07- '08 (year 5) or likely will in '12-'13 (year 10). Given all the never-ending construction work on the plaza, they probably pay less now than they did in year 1 (if there was some type of clause in the contract concerning plaza construction of course).

 

Plus, I think they like being the first Chicago station to have a street-side studio even though both WLS & WBBM studios are better. I agree the newsroom could use an upgrade, but they would have to re-do WSNS's newsroom also to have a cohesive look. You're talking about some serious $$$$ they likely won't ever spend.