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Channel Nine has left the building

TV Tonight takes a stroll through the former GTV9 site at Bendigo Street Richmond, on its last day of ownership under Channel Nine.

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As of 12pm today, GTV9 at 22 Bendigo Street Richmond is no more.

The site is now under the management of the Lend Lease property group.

This ends the reign of the Television City era, which began in 1955 as GTV9, after the building was previously used by Heinz and, originally, the Wertheim Piano Factory (1908).

Bendigo Street was the home of numerous shows from In Melbourne Tonight to the revived Hey Hey it’s Saturday, with stars too numerous to mention.

Whilst the original exterior red-brick building has a Heritage Listing, the interior -including the famed Studio 9- does not. These will make way for apartments.

Today TV Tonight took a stroll through what remained of the studios and offices.

Studio 9 is but an empty shell of its former glory. Studios 1 and 4 are little more than junk.

The corridors no longer shine with a galaxy of stars. The board room table is awaiting collection (now owned by Daryl Somers). There’s no 9 lit up behind the reception anymore. Equipment has been ripped from the editing suites, and lights from the studio grids. Nobody queuing in the cafeteria.

GTV9 is now located at 717 Bourke Street in the Docklands precinct.

Here are some photos of Bendigo Street taken on its final day under Nine ownership.

You can also see images of what Lend Lease has in store for the property here.

TV Tonight was the final guest to sign the gatehouse visitor’s book.

36 Responses

  1. At the lack of any other way to contact Channel 9 via web or email.

    I wanted to provide feedback on channel 9. I believe the company who has the rights to broadcast NRL games should be required to do so in high definition. It is a constant frustration for me and I have received similar feedback from others. If the decision is made to broadcast in standard definition by channel 9 then it should also be available on Fox Sports simultaneously.

    As for the decision to delay the broadcast of the game due to the royal wedding, the NRL should have some say in this. If channel 9 delays broadcast then another channel should be allowed to broadcast it live. Channel nine has royal wedding coverage on GEM from 7pm and will be playing the same coverage on Channel 9 at the expense of the football. They have the ability to run these events on separate channels without affecting either program.

    I hope the NRL takes this into account when awarding the next round of television rights.

  2. My husband and I met there, our kids grew up being the handy and well behaved ‘extras’ (or even cameramen) when needed for any shows we worked on and we all knew every nook and cranny of the place. Made lifelong friends there and have the grey hairs to prove how darn hard we (willingly) worked alongside the best TV production team in the world!

  3. I only worked there for a year in 1988 but every day I had the feeling that I was working somewhere special. So much of what I watched growing up in Melbourne was produced in that building and it was a magical feeling to eventually be a part of it. A very sad day to see it all in ruins. Not at all a dignified way for the old place to go. 🙁

  5. Some of us are more than a little sad to see the Fun Factory close its doors. I had the pleasure of working there from 1967 to 1989, during what could arguably be said to be the “Heyday” of live television. There was no finer training ground for television production in this country then, and there’s certainly nowhere like it today.
    Alas!

  7. What a shame, many fond memories of 20 years under the mast from 59 – 79 and then again as Head of Production in 1984/85.
    Studio 9 what a great studio it has been, and what fantastic shows that came out of there.
    However 9 is not the same anymore and for that matter none of the networks are. It used to be fun but after 54 years I am also calling it quits at the end of the year.

    John.C

  8. I worked at 9 for a year and actually went for a wander under the building, where the old foundations that supported the old soup boilers were housed. How many have done that I wonder?

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