Broadcast Facilities

Considering its clean and largely intact I’m susprised there’s no urbex of the facility out there.

If ABW is of any guidance, it’ll take a very long time for the complex to get levelled.

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I’m guessing there is KM’s and KM’s of cabling and asbestos to be carefully removed, and they’re looking for a safe way to do it.

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Sale of TX Australia has been stalled because Seven and Nine are yet to find a bidder willing to pay the right price. Sources said no bidder was willing to offer more than $200 million for the entity.

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Karma for them forcefully acquiring Ten’s stake for $1? :joy:

Question though, why do they want to sell it off? Surely it would keep costs down to keep transmission towers “in house” so to speak? They jointly control playout at NPC, why not keep their transmission JV as part of the package?

Seven wants to sell, but the story indicates that Nine is reluctant due to the possibility of a buyer jacking up transmission costs in the future.

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TXA is a relatively small player compared to others such as BAI and Axicomm. If one of those existing operators were to purchase it they would likely have the economies of scale to run the TXA side of the business cheaper than it is now. That would theoretically allow them to charge Seven and Nine the same ongoing costs as they pay now with a profit margin for the new operator, while Seven and Nine get a cash injection of $100 million each to either reduce their debt (and therefore reduce ongoing interest expenses) or invest in growing their business.

Of course the risk is that they lose some control over their broadcast costs which could easily be jacked up - but even a small increase could be offset by the benefit of having that extra $100 million to play with.

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Prime7’s old Tamworth HQ is up for lease again. It was a car dealership for a little while but not anymore. It does have pics including what looks like was the studio https://www.realcommercial.com.au/for-lease/property-452-462-goonoo-goonoo-road-tamworth-nsw-2340-503717490

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https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/north-shore/abc-artarmon-broadcaster-to-sell-north-shore-studios/news-story/6cb8e3220d2dac6fbf682b24f486950e

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I think there is a mistake in the article. The ABC’s Sydney headquarters has been at Ultimo since June 1991, iirc, which is when ABC Radio moved to Ultimo. ABC Television moved in 2003.

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I wasn’t aware that the ABC even still owned their site at Gore Hill, thought it was sold off years ago.

Certainly the old ABC studios are long gone. Fox Sports/Foxtel and Gravity Media call a modern building within the Gore Hill Technology Park home.

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No mistake in the article, ABC have 2 or 3 studios at Gore Hill, down the bottom of the hill behind the tower, they made/make quite a few shows there, they’re larger studios I believe than at Ultimo, so can fit bigger production & larger audiences in, Post Production is also located here, along with ABC OB Unit.

They are located in Lanceley Place, Artarmon.

See here for more details: https://www.abc.net.au/studiosmediaproduction/

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Yes I’ve seen the facility quite a lot as it’s very close to the Bunnings at Artarmon.

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Yep… seems like a few of us didn’t know these studios existed. I’m really not too sure what’s produced here.

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Didn’t the ABC recently want to reduce its ‘inner city’ stereotype image & establish an office etc out in the western suburbs of Sydney? Perhaps this will be part of the ABC’s cost cutting leading to the establishment of a more multipurpose additional facility out west? I have no idea…

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Unlikely if the plan is to lease the facility back from whoever buys it as mentioned in the TV Tonight article.

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I’m just surprised that they still have ownership (in 2021) for these facilities located in North Sydney. They have two large production studios in both Sydney and Melbourne where the majority of ABC entertainment/ kids / live television shows are made from.

I’m just not sure what the reason or the justification was to still have ownership for a 2nd studio base in North Sydney. Any drama productions etc could easily be produced (or made) within external private production studios located around the country, depending on the demand.

With the ABC tight for money, this is a Big chunk of fat in the budget where money could be redeployed to other areas.

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surprised?

Maybe it’s a case of “use this money or lose it”? It would be good to see more money put towards other things, especially when we are always hearing about how they don’t have any money, then they spend money on a whole heap of unnecessary things.

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One would presume it’s deemed to be required especially if they plan to lease it back. It’s listed on their venue hire page, perhaps it provides a small revenue stream?

If you have time check out the annual reports, might get a mention in there as to what activities require this facility.

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The ABC brought in $3.8 million last financial year from lease and hire revenue, according to the annual report

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Don’t ABC own most of their capital city sites - including Darwin?

I don’t see the point of opening additional sites in other areas of Sydney when they have a massive, purpose-built site in the city. It makes no sense financially.

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