Atlanta CBS takes a seat in another temporary location in its game of ‘musical studios’

Atlanta’s WGCL is temporarily anchoring newscasts from a tent-like glass-enclosed structure at a new film and television production facility that’s being developed by parent Gray Television — all as part of a complex series of studio shifts that will eventually result in the station moving back into its normal studio home with a new set. 

WGCL, CBS 46, is located at 425 14th Street Northwest and will remain there for the foreseeable future. However, the station opted to move out of the studios on 14th Street for a week, moving to a temporary setup on the grounds of Assembly Atlanta.

Assembly Atlanta, which is currently in various stages of construction, is a mixed-use development headed by Gray that will include film and television production facilities for rent. Both Atlanta and Georgia, like many cities and states, often offer tax incentives for TV and film productions to shoot there. The development, which may include residential, retail and dining venues, will join Tyler Perry Studios and Trilith Studios as part of a larger effort to make Atlanta a production destination. 

There are no immediate plans for WGCL to move to Assembly Atlanta, but it is likely Gray’s corporate headquarters will call the location home. 

The station, however, is calling the grounds home for the week of Aug. 9, 2022, setting up in a temporary structure often used for special events around sports and hospitality – with construction views in the background.

The station created multiple venues inside the temporary structure, which features large walls of windows.

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Prior to this, the station had been anchoring from the newsroom, which remains operational, while also using a smaller set from Broadcast Design International that was installed this summer.

That set, in turn, is slated to become the permanent home of Telemundo Atlanta (WKTB-CD), which is owned by Gray and airs on a subchannel of WGCL. 

WGCL will then move to a yet-to-be-installed set, also from BDI, but that isn’t expected until October 2022, according to NewscastStudio sources.

In addition to Assembly Atlanta, Gray appears to be investing heavily at WGCL, given that Atlanta is home to the group’s headquarters and also is the largest market it owns a station in. 

In addition to the new studio sets, the station is also expected to expand its staff and add newscasts.

CBS News and Stations, meanwhile, has been producing a newscast for the Atlanta market out of its Dallas properties on its owned CW affiliate WUPA. That broadcast – recently rebranded as “Atlanta Now News at 10 on Atlanta’s CW” – airs at 10 p.m. local time and does not directly compete with WGCL’s local news.