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Broadcasting House, Belfast is the headquarters building from which BBC Northern Ireland operates many of its broadcasting services. The building is located on Ormeau Avenue in Belfast city centre, at the junction with Bedford Street. Public tours of the building are available.
Contents
Map of Broadcasting House, Ormeau Ave, Belfast BT2 8HQ, UK
History
The six-storey building was designed in 1936 by James Millar from Glasgow in neo-Georgian style, steel framed with reinforced concrete floors and roof and a facing of sand-faced bricks. Work started in 1938 and continued despite World War II to opening in May 1941. It featured a concert hall and several radio studios (television took until 1953 to reach Northern Ireland). In 1975 an eight-storey extension was built on Ormeau Avenue and in 1984 a three-storey extension, for the expanding news and current affairs service, was added in Linen Hall Street West.
BBC Broadcasting House in Belfast has many radio studios, some self operated, some manned, used for the BBC's main local radio station in Northern Ireland - BBC Radio Ulster, as well as being used by the BBC for other radio productions. There is also a news studio for radio news bulletins, a newsroom which provides news gathering for both television and radio news services for BBC Northern Ireland, along with production offices, make up, green room, dressing rooms and hospitality/cafeteria services.
Broadcasting House is linked by satellite and cable to the whole BBC network, and is able to link to broadcasters around the world through the BBC's global link ups.
BBC Broadcasting House in Belfast has two main television studios named Studio B and Studio 1. Studio B is a 2,000 Sq Ft studio home to BBC Northern Ireland's local news programme "BBC Newsline", as well as home to other news/politics/current affairs programming. Studio 1 is a 2,200 Sq Ft studio and is used for small productions. It can accommodate an audience of around 100 if needed, and is ideal for small productions, interviews and is also used for media training purposes. There is also a small presentation studio and a small CSO studio used for small news bulletins, weather, or single camera interviews.
BBC Northern Ireland's main 5,000 Sq Ft television studio called Studio A is not based at the BBC Broadcasting House, but is located a number of streets away at BBC Blackstaff House on Great Victoria Street in Belfast.