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Fountain studios closing.


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Old 05-12-2016, 20:47
Mark C
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That's the first time I have heard of those studios!
What programmes have been made there?
They're used for educational use, media style studies. I was involved with building very similar sized and equipped studios at a Uni in the London area. Used for recordings of bands, and discussion programmes typically. No where near large enough, or resourced for X Factor or similar LE shows, but perfectly good for smaller scale stuff, particularly good for BBC and ITV regional discussion progs, might even manage Question Time too
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Old 06-12-2016, 12:56
NoEntry2k
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Even with the closure of Fountain Studios, there are still many others left in London.
Other than News cupboards in Birmingham, I can't think of any studios there. Ridiculous for a city of over 1m people. The Midlands is very badly served.
The ‘London-centric’ness of television production/studios has started to decrease again in recent years (largely due to the creation of MediaCity in Manchester), but if you think we’re ever going to be in a situation where media production/studios are evenly spread throughout the UKs major cities you’re going to be very disappointed.
There will always be central hub, and that’ll always likely be London. It’s just more convenient to have as many facilities close to each other as possible. And we’re not alone – major television production in the US is largely restricted to LA and New York.

However I take your point about Birmingham being underrepresented, I’d have thought it would have been a good location for something, mostly because it’s not that far from London.
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Old 06-12-2016, 13:27
ftv
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Pebble Mill was one of the BBC's busiest production centres and the exact reasons for closing it were never clear, particularly as the BBC had just spent £2 million refurbishing it. They then spent a similar sum on regenerating Studio D at Elstree - you can do the sums yourself. There had been plans to add a second drama studio - C - to Pebble Mill but they never came to fruition. Later some factual programmes like Countryfile were taken away from Birmingham.
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Old 06-12-2016, 15:20
commseng
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The ‘London-centric’ness of television production/studios has started to decrease again in recent years (largely due to the creation of MediaCity in Manchester), but if you think we’re ever going to be in a situation where media production/studios are evenly spread throughout the UKs major cities you’re going to be very disappointed.
There will always be central hub, and that’ll always likely be London. It’s just more convenient to have as many facilities close to each other as possible. And we’re not alone – major television production in the US is largely restricted to LA and New York.

However I take your point about Birmingham being underrepresented, I’d have thought it would have been a good location for something, mostly because it’s not that far from London.
That's the point though, Birmingham did have two big studio complexes in it, back in the 1970s - 1995ish. Both demolished and replaced with nothing. I do despair that by "out of London" in England it now means Salford to the BBC and almost nothing else. OK ITV have Leeds, but there used to be a far better spread of studios around the whole UK.
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Old 07-12-2016, 06:03
ftv
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The ITV network of the 60s and 70s was very successful in taking production out of London - places like Cardiff,Bristol, Norwich, Southampton,Newcastle,Glasgow,Edinburgh even little Border TV in Carlisle and Channel TV in Jersey all contributed programmes
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Old 07-12-2016, 15:54
emails
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isn't there some sort of tv studio in cheltenham ? i beleave somewhere near chalton kings? or staverton? & what about others private studios that could be well equited for tv production work,could be used to make live or recordable ,broadcastable tv programmes?
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