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TV studio at Palisades Center has star power

By John Dube

RNN-TV broadcasts daily from Palisades Shopping Center in West Nyack, N.Y.

Who hasn’t seen it. While the talent and crew for NBC’s “Today Show” broadcast each morning from a glass-enclosed studio in the heart of New York City, crowds gather outside to watch and cheer — and become part of the spectacle themselves.

At the Palisades Shopping Center in West Nyack, N.Y., the same concept is being used as part of an unusual lease and service agreement between the mall and a regional broadcaster. It’s helping to build excitement for the regional news programming while giving the shopping center a unique entertainment attraction to coax shoppers through the door.

Recognizing television as the star attraction that it is, Palisades opened its doors in February to Regional News Network (RNN-TV), which is now broadcasting daily from a new state-of-the-art studio inside the center. The arrangement between shopping center and news operation is designed to give RNN access to new potential viewers in the heart of its target marketing area, while helping Palisades cultivate its image as an entertainment and shopping destination.

“The Palisades Shopping Center targets virtually the exact same audience that we do,’’ said Mark French, director of sponsorship for RNN. “What a perfect place to put a TV studio. This location is right in the middle of our coverage area; it’s a great place to help establish the RNN brand among people in this area who may not know what RNN is doing.’’

Management at Palisades — one of the largest shopping malls in the United States, with more than 2 million square feet of gross leasable area — is confident the relationship will be just as beneficial for the mall, so much so that it entered into a unique five-year lease arrangement with RNN that includes both cash and service components.

John Mott, general manager of Palisades, said he could not disclose the exact terms of the lease. But Mott said the relationship with RNN will benefit nearly all of Palisades’ 250 stores, restaurants, movie theaters and entertainment facilities.

“This is an exciting part of our entertainment environment in the food court area. It’s highly visible with its ticker and monitors on both sides.’’

All 250 stores at Palisades have been wired to the studio, allowing RNN to do spot broadcasting from virtually anywhere in the mall — providing exposure for the retailers that ordinarily would be a costly buy. For example, RNN reporters do health reports from a Vitamin World, and sports stories from a Dave & Buster’s sports bar. Man-on-the-street interviews can be easily done from anywhere in the mall’s 800,000 square feet of common area. In addition, retailers can get their message out to shoppers on RNN’s ticker, which encircles the studio displaying headlines and special messages.

“Our new Palisades Center studio gives us the opportunity to really interact and connect with our viewers,’’ said RNN’s French. “People like to watch a live newscast to see how it’s done. It’s exciting to see, especially for the children.’’

RNN first approached Palisades in 1997 with the vision of locating a studio in the mall, which is owned by EklecCo, an affiliate of the Syracuse-based Pyramid Cos.

At that time, the shopping center was still under construction and neither party had a fully developed idea of the concept, according to Mott.

Initially, RNN proposed occupying an in-line or traditional store space on the first level with visual access to the facility from one side only — much like any other store. But the idea evolved during negotiations over a number of months. The second floor was then considered, but insufficient space for the studio’s significant equipment needs killed that idea. Finally, they hit on the idea of building the studio on the fourth floor as a freestanding unit near the food court. With glass on all sides, the entertainment value of the studio shot up, and a deal was struck.

Palisades boasts a diversity of tenants, including large stores such as BJ’s, The Home Depot and Target. It also includes traditional anchors, such as Filene’s, Lord & Taylor and JC Penney.

The mall has a 21-screen Loew’s Theatre (with plans to expand) and nine sit-down restaurants. Other entertainment components include an IMAX theater, Jeepers, a NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway, an NHL-size skating rink, an antique carousel and a 68-foot Ferris wheel.

RNN’s new satellite studio is a 300-square-foot, glass-enclosed facility that overlooks the mall’s food court. It features complete editing and broadcast facilities, large-screen monitors outside the studio that show RNN programming, and tickers surrounding the studio that display news, weather, traffic, stock market and sports headlines.

But perhaps what intrigues shoppers most is the view through the glass of the RNN talent at work in the studio, doing evening broadcasts from the mall.

RNN-TV is a regional broadcast and cable news network serving more than 2.3 million households in the suburban New York, New Jersey and Connecticut markets. The network broadcasts original programming and reporting but also has an agreement with WABC-TV to rebroadcast “ABC World News Tonight’’ and “20/20.’’

RNN’s Palisades facility is its fifth broadcast studio, and with 20 million shoppers visiting the mall in a year, it could soon be one of RNN’s most important. The Palisades Center’s trade area includes four of the 10 wealthiest counties in the United States — New York’s Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, and New Jersey’s Bergen County — the heart of RNN’s target audience.

Palisades Shopping Center, which opened in 1998, had store sales for 1999 of $375 per square foot and $550 million for the shopping center in total. For 2000, Mott said he is projecting $400 in sales per square foot and $620 million in total.

RNN’s plans for the future include adding large-screen monitors at various locations throughout the mall. “We’re examining a lot of exciting opportunities for expanding programming in the mall,’’ said French. “The sky’s the limit.’’