CBS Television City

Where else but America would a television research facility be promoted as a tourist attraction – one which draws over 1.1 million people every year?

Tucked behind the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is CBS’s Television City: a state-of-the-art research centre that plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of the network and its offerings.

Promoted as a way to “play a TV programmer for a day”, the facility offers people the chance to voice their opinions on the network’s program pilots. Everything from Survivor to The Amazing Race and The Big Bang Theory has been tested here – with people scoring a program’s appeal on high-tech test pads and monitors.

Until recently, Television City served primarily as a giant test-tube for the network’s programmers.  

But as new digital technologies - such as personal video recorders (PVRs) and 3D TVs - promise to transform the television industry, CBS has also been transforming its consumer research to stay on the cutting edge of all things TV.

While Television City’s mission is still the same - namely gathering people’s opinions - CBS is now testing technology-based products to determine how they can serve as platforms for TV, from the latest games consoles, to iPhones, to notebooks to PVRs.

David Poltrack, executive VP of research and planning for CBS says, “With the changing media landscape, we’re changing with it.

“When we started, it was TV shows. Now in addition to our programming, we test internet sites, commercials, media products. More and more that’s the direction we’re going in - advertising and new technology testing."

CBS chose Las Vegas as the site for its research centre due to the ease of accessing a broad cross-section of consumers. Each year, the facility draws over a million visitors, with around 70,000 choosing to participate in research testing sessions.

3D TV is the next frontier for the research centre. CBS will soon open a dedicated area within Television City for consumers to interact with Sony 3D technology. The plan is to replicate the in-home experience and to monitor and analyse the way consumers use and react with the devices in a ‘real-life’ setting.

Poltrack says the 3D TV revolution is garnering a lot of attention and says if advertisers want to test their 3D advertising, “This is going to be the place to do it.”

So if you are ever in Las Vegas, make sure you drop by CBS Television City – who knows, you may just help green light the next big thing in TV.

Sources: Advertising Age (“At CBS Television City, Tube-Watching is a Science”), Las Vegas Review Journal (“More than just TV: CBS Television City expands to test other media products”, Sonya Padgett).

Published March 2010