Saban Media Center

The fully-modernized space features the most advanced digital screening technologies available. It provides an ideal environment for premieres, seminars and symposiums for exchanging ideas and pioneering innovations, as well as events and gatherings to honor professional skills.

Groundbreaking: January 2015
Completed: June 2016
Architects: Gensler, a global architecture, design and planning firm. Gensler is Building Design's World Architecture 100 2018 #1 Overall, #1 Most Admired US Firm, #3 Most Admired Global Firm
Designer: F. Dagdagan Designs
Builders: MATT Construction, master builders who have worked on some of L.A.'s most iconic venues including The Broad, The Petersen Automotive Museum and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

Size: 61,410 square feet

• Building 42,226 square feet
• Garden and Plaza 19,184 square feet

Features and Amenities:

• State-of-the-art theatre
• Subterranean green room
• Production and edit bays
• Multi-purpose conference center
• New offices for the Television Academy Foundation
• Hall of Fame Sculpture Garden
• Plaza and event space

The Build Required:

• 16,754 construction workers

• 131,769 staff hours
• 250,000 feet of A/V cabling which would stretch from North Hollywood to Hollywood – 5 times

Unique Design Feature:

• 18-foot cantilevered second floor wraps around the structure and floats above the first level
• The LEED-certified building features HVAC energy conserving equipment, passive solar cooling and rainwater retention in the garden areas

Founding Sponsors:
Cheryl & Haim Saban and The Saban Family Foundation
Dick & Noelle Wolf and the Wolf Family Foundation
Dolby Laboratories

21st Century Fox * Netflix * Time Warner│HBO│Turner│WB * The Walt Disney Company and its family of networks including ABC and ESPN

Creative Artists Agency * Entertainment Partners * EY
Grass Valley, A Belden Brand * Lucy Hood & Rob Biniaz
ICM Partners * LG Electronics USA * Ryan Murphy & David Miller
Jonathan Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim * NEP Group, Inc. * PRG
Richard T. "Dick" Robertson * Bruce & Ande Rosenblum
United Talent Agency * WME

SPACES

Netflix Lobby
The 4,533 square foot, wrap-around, column-free Netflix Lobby is the pre-function space for the Academy's member events. It features:

• Massive floor to ceiling windows
• Stunning LG 9-screen wrap-around video wall, with 3 x 3 stacks of 55" super-narrow bezel LED displays
• 30-foot Reception Counter/Bar, the focal point of the south-facing lobby area
• Three 65" 4K UHD Smart OLED TVs by LG behind the bar

Wolf Theatre
The centerpiece of the Saban Media Center is one of the most technologically advanced screening facilities in the world. Its design reflects the Academy's storied history while showcasing new and evolving technologies. The 595-seat, 11,198 square foot theatre features:

• Dolby's latest, award-winning audio and imaging solutions, Dolby Atmos and Dolby VisionTM
• 4K/3D digital projection system
• 113 total speakers from JBL and Meyer
• 61 speaker locations
• LFE screen channel
• 55 surrounds (side, rear, and overhead)
• Each 5 screen channel is made up of 8 x Line Array speakers
• Screen LFE channel is made up of 12 x sub bass speakers
• Additional 6 x sub bass speakers in the side walls for surround speaker bass management
• Massive 62' x 32' curved screen
• Top-of-the-line, generously-sized, ergonomic seats by internationally-renowned seating manufacturer, Figueras
• Stadium seating configuration gives every seat a perfect sight-line

Green Room
This contemporary, new space is a high-tech retreat for performers, talent, panelists, executives and celebrities prior to Television Academy events. It features:

• Dolby Atmos and Dolby VisionTM
• 9.1.4 speaker arrangement including Martin Logan speakers
• Marantz AV8802A Dolby Atmos processor
• Niles Audio SI-1650 for power amplification
• LG 65" OLED model featuring Dolby Vision technology

Lucy Hood Conference Center
Named for former Television Academy President Lucy Hood, a digital visionary who passed away in April, 2014, just nine months into her tenure. The Center is an ideal space for gatherings and professional development programs, and features:

• Four-screen welcome panel featuring 2 x 2 stacks of 55" super-narrow bezel LED displays by LG
• The Governors Room, a 3,000 square foot multi-purpose meeting room with
• Two 98" Elegant advanced Ultra HD large screens by LG
• A Media Lab
• Prep kitchen facilities

Landscape Garden and Plaza
The 19,184 square foot landscaped garden and plaza is a multi-purpose space designed to host large events, featuring:

• Television Academy Plaza:
• A central green and drought-resistant garden, anchored by a massive 18-foot-tall Emmy. The 1750 pound golden replica depicts the winged muse of art holding an electron-encircled atom. Cast in pure silicon bronze in 1987, it was nearly a year in the making, created by 45 separate craftsmen.
• An elliptical driveway and drop-off area for red carpet gala events
• Hall of Fame Sculpture Garden showcasing busts and artworks of television's legends and icons, past and present
• Hundreds of low-water plants including centuries, trumpet creepers, rosemary and slender sedge
• A wide selection of trees including crepe myrtle, birch, California sycamores, London plane and date palms

Office Space
The Saban Media Center is the new home for the Academy Foundation offices and the heart of the Foundation's educational programs and outreach for Television's next generation of leaders.

Significant Dates

• 1987 — The Television Academy announces it will be the new anchor tenant of "The Academy" complex to be built at the corner of Lankershim and Magnolia in North Hollywood, CA.
• January, 1988 — Groundbreaking of new Television Academy complex.
• May, 1991 — The Television Academy moves into its new North Hollywood headquarters.
• April, 1997 — The Academy purchases the adjacent 600-seat theatre and conference room, and renames it the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in tribute to the founder of ABC who provided $1MM towards the purchase.
• November, 2004 — The Television Academy purchases the office building it has occupied for 13 years.
• March, 2014 — The Television Academy announces its "New Look – New Vision – New Destination Campaign" —a $40 MM capital campaign to redevelop its NoHo Arts District theatre and campus, and build an endowment for the educational programs of its Foundation.
• November, 2014 — Dismantling of the Academy Theatre begins.
• January, 2015 — Groundbreaking for the new media center.
• September, 2015 — The Television Academy announces the naming of the Saban Media Center in recognition of Cheryl and Haim Saban and The Saban Family Foundation's lead gift to the New Destination Campaign.
• June, 2016 — The Saban Media center opens with a gala in celebration of the Television Academy's 70th Anniversary.

updated 1.25.18