NBCU Plans Local News Net, New Facility in New York

NEW YORK, May 8: NBC
Universal is looking to further build its presence in New York City, unveiling
plans for a 24-hour local news channel as well as its intentions to build a new
office to house divisions that can no longer be accommodated at 30 Rockefeller
Center.

The new facility will
consolidate three other NBC Universal offices in Manhattan, as well as some
business operations currently at Rockefeller Center. NBC will remain the
largest tenant at 30 Rockefeller Center, which will be home to NBC News, NBC
Sports, NBC Entertainment (Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O'Brien) and WNBC. The new office is expected to open in
2009. Initial plans for the new building include a childcare facility, a
conference center, a healthcare and fitness center and an employee commissary.
In keeping with NBCU's Green is Universal initiative, the new facility will
incorporate many of the latest environmentally sound practices.

In addition, NBCU’s
flagship WNBC station is planning to launch a 24-hour local news channel in New
York, and is transforming its base at 30 Rockefeller Center into a
multimillion-dollar, multiplatform content creation center. The new step for
WNBC follows the creation of a content center for NBC News in Manhattan and the
planned West Coast News and Content Center in Los Angeles. This summer, WNBC
will begin construction on the content center, which will serve as the hub for
the new 24-hour digital station, slated for a fall debut.

—By Mansha Daswani