Seven Network consolidates Sydney operations in new broadcast facility

Australia’s Seven Network has recently achieved the first milestone in a major relocation process that began in 2018.

After broadcasting for nearly two decades from their iconic broadcast facility at Martin Place in Sydney’s Central Business District, the 7 News Sydney team successfully moved to a new, state-of-the-art studio in South Eveleigh in late June 2023.

Set Design

Seven News Sydney

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This initial relocation represents the first phase in Seven Network’s plan to centralize its on-air operations in the region.

With the 7 News team now operational in their new setting, the national shows produced out of Sydney, including “Sunrise,” “Weekend Sunrise” and “The Morning Show,” are next in line for the move, which is scheduled to be completed in late July 2023.

Martin Place first went online for Seven in 2004 and provided a streetside studio for the morning news broadcasts with the evening newscasts coming from a smaller set inside the studio. The move will bring Seven’s entire Sydney operation under one roof for the first time in 40 years, according to a statement from Seven West Media’s James Warburton, with the broadcaster spanning seven floors.

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The move, according to Warburton, is not just about more space but also improved functionality and fostering better cooperation and communication among teams. The new facility aims to provide this by locating all of the editorial teams newsroom operations on a shared floor of the South Eveleigh facility.

At the local level, 7 News Sydney went live from its new home at South Eveleigh on June 26, 2023.

The set, from Mark Dyson of Pitch Design, includes over 430 square feet of LED video walls including a primary arcing display that wraps the set and a mobile vertical display for bump shots and top-of-the-hour teases. Overall, the studio reflects the bold angles and bright palette from the broadcaster’s current motion graphics package, which debuted in 2022.

The set is shared between the Sydney news programming and national news bulletins including “The Latest” and “7 Morning News.”

The new studio is purpose-built for broadcast and is roughly five times the size of the old Martin Place studio, which had an awkward layout as it was in a former retail location.

Multiple programs will originate from the studio with each having a dedicated set, unlike the previous location which required constant moving of set pieces due to limited studio floor space. The facility also includes two production control rooms.

Studio technology includes Vinten robotic camera pedestals and camera heads, CueScript prompters and Sony cameras, with a full lighting package from ARRI including ARRI Orbiter and ARRI SkyPanel LEDs.