‘CBS Mornings’ moving out of Times Square

CBS News is reportedly planning to uproot its “CBS Mornings” team by ditching the show’s high-profile Times Square studio, The New York Post reports. 

“CBS Mornings,” which is the latest in a series of low-rated morning programs created by the network over the years, currently broadcasts from what’s sometimes called Studio 1515 in Times Square, borrowing the numerals from the street address 1515 Broadway.

The network is planning to ditch those digs, however, in favor of relegating the show to Studio 57 back at the CBS Broadcast Center, sharing space with “CBS Evening News.”

‘CBS This Morning’ headed to Times Square this fall

“Mornings” moved into Studio 1515 in 2021 when the show changed names from “CBS This Morning” to “CBS Mornings” and relaunched with some talent an d other changes.

According to Post sources, the change is largely being driven by the appeal of cost savings.

By moving the show out of the satellite complex inside the Paramount Global building, the network could save by maintaining one less active studio. While it’s likely that at least some of the crew would still be needed to work the morning shift over in Studio 57, CBS could likely combine some of the management and operations roles to help reduce payroll, though no plans were announced. 

The network also stands to reduce costs by cutting down on studio maintenance and utilities as well as moving the show into a complex that, while often labeled labyrinthine, has more infrastructure in place that can be shared among the multiple programs produced from the broadcast center.

There’s also the possibility the old studio space could be rented out or repurposed by Paramount in a way that doesn’t eat up as much ongoing expenses.

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The move is perhaps not surprising given that, when CBS opted to move “Evening News” back to New York from Washington, D.C., it invested in an LED volume in Studio 57 as the home of the revamped broadcast. This means the space can be transformed almost instantly into a myriad of different looks, either by incorporating background graphics or full-scale virtual set extensions like “Evening” is.

In fact, it’s possible, though not confirmed, that “CBS Mornings” could carry over a lot of its current look, including the skyline background used behind anchors Gayle King, Nate Burleson and Tony Dokupil (whose chair is occupied by fill-in anchor Vladimir Duthiers, above) which is a simplified VSE being fed to a smaller sized video wall in Times Square. 

For specific segments, “Mornings” often fills its multiple video walls with topical graphics, which could would continue to be possible at the broadcaster center since the show would essentially be moving from a space with multiple smaller video walls to one with three large-scale installations. 

Even the faux gray hardwood floor look used at 1515 could be replicated, thanks to the LED floor tiles installed at 57.

One of CBS’s morning predecessors, “The Early Show,” operated a remote studio from starting from 2008. The space was located in a ground-floor space at the General Motors Building near Grand Army Plaza in New York.

Two versions of “CBS This Morning” also aired on CBS previously, both calling the broadcast center home.

CBS’s original decision to switch to the Times Square studio location, which was originally created for coverage of the 2020 election, was a bit puzzling considering the space has sweeping views of the bustling square outside its windows. 

The set itself is mostly enclosed and cannot easily take advantage of the windows as backgrounds. Most of the time, CBS covers the windows with large, billboard-style printed panels advertising the network name, so there is at least some visibility and brand recognition benefits from it.

However, unlike ABC’s “Good Morning America” down the street in Times Square or NBC’s “Today” in Rockefeller Plaza, the CBS studio does not have direct access to the ground level, meaning opportunities for anchors and segments to interact with crowds is very limited.

Both ABC and NBC’s morning shows occupy two-story complexes, one of which is at street level. “Today” has used its space since 1994 and often has anchors interact with fans gathered on the plaza. It also frequently produces entire segments and mini-concerts from the space.

“GMA” has largely reduced its use of the space outside its doorstep over the years. As originally built, the space included a ground-floor broadcasting space with custom-designed segments of windows that could be moved.

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“GMA” will also be moving out of Times Square later in 2025, headed to an enclosed studio at the new Disney building at 7 Hudson Square. As changes were made to its space over the years, many of the windows there are now completely or partially blocked.

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