Nippon Television Bancho Studio Building, Television studio building in Nibanchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
The Nippon Television Bancho Studio Building is an 11-story television production facility located in Tokyo's Nibancho district. It contains broadcast studios, office spaces, and technical infrastructure designed to support daily television programming and operations.
The site housed Nippon Television's Kōjimachi annex, where Japan's first commercial television broadcast began on 28 August 1953. The original building had three studios, a Japanese garden and a 154-metre transmission tower with free observation decks. The new Banchō Studio was completed in August 2018 and began operation on 29 January 2019; the old annex was demolished by June 2020.
The name Bancho Studio was chosen by public competition, taken from the surrounding Bancho district, yet on air talent still often call it Kojimachi, after the old headquarters. C1 and C2, each 265 tsubo, inherited the programmes of the former G and K studios; C1 hosts Shoten and Sekai Marumie!, C2 hosts Ito Q!.
The studio is a staff-only production facility and cannot be toured; its light grey panel facade with recessed dark glass bands is seen from the street. It stands in Nibancho, Chiyoda, a short walk from Kojimachi Station; a staff shuttle links it to Nippon Television Tower in Shiodome.
The building's name was chosen through a public competition, and the 'Kojimachi' name was dropped from the studio name, though many TV personalities still call it 'Kojimachi' on air. The C1 and C2 studios each cover 265 tsubo, about the size of three tennis courts, making them the largest in Nippon Television.
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