EXCLUSIVE: NBCU Memo Confirms Sale of Burbank Lot
Several NBC Universal Divisions to Move to Universal, Most Not Until 2011
By Robert Marich & Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/25/2008 12:05:00 AM
Developer M. David Paul/Worthe Real Estate Group purchased NBC Universal’s 34-acre Burbank, Calif., lot, according to an April 24 internal memo acquired by B&C.
According to the memo, at this time. among the groups moving from Burbank to the company’s Universal location are the local NBC and Telemundo stations, NBC Network News on the West Coast, newsmagazine Access Hollywood, NBC Television Entertainment Group, NBC Agency and all in-house promotional productions, as well as some smaller departments.
The memo said the “sale transaction was structured to provide maximum flexibility for our operations during this transition, so we will lease back portions of the Burbank property until the new facility is ready.”
The memo added that many of the moves “will not be happening before 2011 at the earliest, with the exception of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, which will move to Universal Stage One in 2009.”
The sale is in line with plans announced last October, in which the company said it would sell the lot and lease back portions.
The sale was planned as part of NBCU’s move to consolidate operations at the Universal location, including a new state-of-the-art complex targeted to open in 2011.
The sale closes the book on NBC’s Burbank location, which was made famous by Johnny Carson's snarky references during his tenure as host of The Tonight Show.
