Independent TV Studios
Some of the studios below are loosely associated with the history of ITV or Channel 4. However, they were not directly connected with them – each coming into service for its own unique reason. In some cases they have been around for many years and continue to provide useful facilities to the industry. Sadly, some of the smaller ones are no longer with us – the cost of converting to HD from around 2008 – 2012 forced them to close.
studios listed below in the order they originally opened or are planned to open:
(Riverside Studios are covered on the BBC studios page)
(Fountain and MTV studios are covered on the ITV studios page)
NB – I have where possible given the dimensions of the studios. This can be a bit of a minefield. The BBC’s studios, Fountain, Teddington, Riverside and even Pinewood TV all had their plans drawn in metric 50:1 but for some reason The London Studios (LWT) still used the 1/4 inch to the foot scale until 2014. This slight but significant difference could cause problems if a set moved from one studio to another with plans of a different scale as it might not fit. Fortunately, they did then issue 1:50 plans although the studios themselves were still marked in imperial feet.
Also, for marketing purposes the size of a studio is often quoted wall to wall. However, most of them have fire lanes running round each side so the available space for cameras and sets is somewhat smaller. Where possible I have quoted sizes within firelanes and in feet or ‘metric feet’ where applicable. This curious measurement was adopted by the BBC and is 30cm in length. (If you think back to your old school rulers, they had 12 inches on one side and 30cm, which is very slightly less, on the other.) It does mean that a studio that is marked as 90 metric feet long is actually 88ft 6ins long.
Most TV studios have their length and width within the firelanes clearly marked along the walls and/or on the floor in feet or metric feet or metres in newer studios. This enables the scene crew to put the set up exactly where it was drawn on the designer’s plan. This very useful facility is never seen on film stages which, incidentally, are always still measured in feet and inches.
Copyright information: As on the rest of this website – please do not use or ask permission to use any of these images in books or other publications or on TV programmes or commercially run websites. Many of the illustrations are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders according to the original copyright or publication date as printed on the artwork or publication and are reproduced here for historical reference and research purposes. If you do own the copyright to any image displayed here and wish it to be credited or removed, please contact me and I shall of course be happy to oblige.
An apology – firstly for all those errors which are almost certainly still sprinkled throughout the above. I shall do my best to put them right when I discover them or when somebody contacts me with the facts ! Secondly – I am very aware that I have almost completely ignored sound in all my comments about studio equipment. It’s not that I’m not interested, rather that I am far better informed about cameras and lighting and frankly there is very little information out there about which sound mixer was installed in what studio and when. That’s my excuse anyway.
