KING moved into its new building Monday in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle.
The Tegna-owned NBC affiliate’s old building was originally build as the corporate headquarters for King Broadcasting — with over 200,000 square feet, it literally has space fit for a king — so the new building is a more reasonable 48,000.
The station had looked all around and even outside of Seattle, specifically for an already existing building, and decided on a spot in the Home Plate Center across from Safeco Field. The space gives them high ceilings and the opportunity to have a glass-front, ground-level studio facing the baseball stadium.
“Scouting a new location for The Home Team was a huge responsibility, but from our first visit to Home Plate Center, we knew where we wanted to be,” said Ray Heacox, president and general manager. “More specifically, we knew exactly where our future studio would be. It’s a dynamic space that will energize our staff and give the community never-before-seen access to local news in the market.”
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The new building also has much more flexibility as to where they can broadcast from—it has two studios on Floor 1, two newsroom stand-up areas each on Floors 2 and 3, a rooftop area and a spot on the complex’s outdoor plaza.
Whereas departments were previously separated, now, for instance, content producers are all on the same floor, departments were moved onto the same systems and there are ample open collaborative spaces and rooms. In addition, the studio features the Microsoft Surface Hub, collaboration device with an 84-inch, 4K touch-screen display.
“This technology is so much faster and more responsive than the production elements we’re used to,” said Cheryl Carson, news director. “The Surface Hub is a game changer for KING 5 News and we’re very excited the team at Microsoft is trusting us to share it with you.”
