CBS earlier this year mulled selling its sprawling New York-based CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, sources told On The Money.
A source told The Post that the company had “looked at” selling the Broadcast Center — located at 524 West 57th St. between 10th and 11th Avenues — in late 2019, when it initially put Black Rock up for sale in late 2019.
Instead, as ViacomCBS eyed its real estate portfolio for possible sources of cash to fund its streaming ambitions, it settled on selling Black Rock — its granite New York headquarters on 52nd Street — and its CBS Studios Center lot in Los Angeles, dubbed the “Radford Lot.”
“The company has another Hollywood studio already,” a source said, pointing to Paramount Pictures.
Had CBS sold its Broadcast Center, originally a converted milk processing plant that it bought from Sheffield Farms in 1952, it would lose its strong presence in New York. A source said that execs at CBS were “worried” about the optics of moving out of the city, especially since it sold off Black Rock.
That could change, however, as ViacomCBS looks to shore up costs and make the company more attractive for a potential sale.
It wasn’t be the first time CBS thought about celling the Broadcast Center, which has been home to shows like “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” “Desus & Mero,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and up until recently, “CBS This Morning” (now called “CBS Mornings”).
An insider told The Post that under former CBS president David Rhodes, the network had talked about selling the property but it was vetoed by then-CEO Les Moonves.
But now, with a shortage on production space and sky-high demand for movie and TV shows thanks to the burgeoning streaming industry, the Broadcast Center is likely worth a pretty penny.
“The Broadcast Center is a dumpy, falling down dairy plant next to a methadone clinic,” said one source. “But selling it would be lucrative. CBS owns the entire block.”
A CBS spokesperson declined to comment.
