The studio facilities at Telemedia in Rivonia, north of Johannesburg, developed
primarily as an extension of the company’s core business in the supply, installation
and maintenance of broadcast equipment. Yet, what began as more of a side
service has shown impressive growth, prompting continuous expansion.
Founded in 1981, Telemedia divides its business into six focus areas: broadcast
fibre network, projects, sales, SNG microwave services, teleport facilities and
transmission services, which include studios.
The Telemedia campus is well equipped to handle production and broadcast on site,
complete with a sophisticated network of fibre, microwave and teleport facilities, as
well as a range of broadcast equipment from lights to cameras. It seems only
natural therefore, that it would end up playing host to a number of productions.
Its oldest resident is the horseracing channel, Tellytrack, whose set occupies
Telemedia’s first studio space of 100m2. The channel runs for 18 hours a day from
this hub, which is referred to as the Studio Domestic. Alongside the main set, which
includes the presenter desk and a smaller chat show style setup, are fully equipped
control rooms and voice recording booths. The control rooms handle not only the
live studio work, but also the numerous feeds coming in from racing events across
Sub Saharan Africa and abroad. The audio booths enable the provision of fresh
commentary, often in a different language, to accompany the footage being fed into
the studio before it is sent out to the channel’s many dedicated viewers.
The long residency of Tellytrack is consistent with Telemedia’s preferences
regarding its studios. While Telemedia will certainly do its best to accommodate
short-term clients, the company prefers to lease studios on its premises for longer
periods of time. This saves on costs and lightens the logistical load. Telemedia is
therefore a good base for long-running shows, with studio requirements that are
likely to remain relatively constant, which need a permanent or semi-permanent
home. The facilities are also ideally suited to emerging broadcasters for DVB-T
muxes.
Not far from Studio Domestic, also in the original Telelmedia building, is the second
studio, built as its business in this sector began to expand and become more viable.
This space provides seating for an in-studio audience. Telemedia is relatively
flexible in terms of how much is provided for its clients. It can either offer just the
shell or it can fully equip the production with all necessary gear.
Just a short walk down the road from the Telemedia hub is its new studio building,
operational since early 2014. This houses two studios: downstairs is the largest
facility the company has (180 square metres), which currently hosts the SABC chat
show Mzansi Insider. Upstairs is the domain of Gareth Cliff’s operation Cliff Central.
Cliff and his team customised the space they found to their own needs, to the
extent that they turned the original facility completely around.
The space originally intended as the studio is now a large, open-plan space
complete with desks and couches for the company’s creatives and executives. The
actual studio is now situated in the much smaller area that was originally intended
as an equipment room. This is indicative of the kind of flexibility that Telemedia can
offer its long-term clients.
Just next door to Cliff Central is a building containing a number of much smaller
studio spaces which are generally rented out to smaller-scale productions on a
short-term basis. Here Telemedia can offer only the shell or a fully equipped FCC.
In the same building are several playout facilities – many of which are utilised by
churches. Here content is downloaded from locations overseas and packaged for
broadcast to local audiences.
Much of the content is being received or sent using store and forward techniques
over wide band internet fibre connections.
Only a year after the new studio was launched, it seems that further growth is on
the cards. Telemedia’s facilities are currently around 90 percent occupied, meaning
that more space will soon be needed.
Plans are currently underway to add more facilities on the seemingly ever
expanding Telemedia campus.
