ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT AND THE INSIDER MOVE HEADQUARTERS TO BRAND NEW STATE OF THE ART SOUNDSTAGES AT CBS STUDIO CENTER

Syndicated newsmagazines will be produced in HD starting tonight, September 8

(Los Angeles, CA, September 08, 2008) - Today Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, will begin broadcasting their 28th and 5th seasons, respectively, from two brand new, custom-built stages and production center at CBS Studio Center. Entertainment Tonight and The Insider also mark a milestone in television history as the first syndicated newsmagazines to be produced in HD.

After 25 years based at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, ET and The Insider will now broadcast from one of the largest HD production facilities in the country. The new studio includes two soundstages, each measuring 12,000 square feet (up from 8,200 at Paramount); 28 new non-linear edit bays with cutting-edge Avid-based technology; two new HD Master control rooms; nine graphics work stations; three promo creation rooms; two voice over rooms with three voice over booths; an expansive newsroom of 1400 square feet; separate talent suites; and several storage facilities housing a historic videotape library.

"It's one thing to convert to HD. It's entirely another to uproot your entire base of operations and move 10 miles, said Linda Bell Blue, executive producer of Entertainment Tonight and The Insider. "Our custom built newsroom, stages, and production facilities have been built from the ground up to help the ET and The Insider staff lead the way into the next generation of newsmagazines."

Over 125 miles of coax and fiber cable was used to complete the new space. The newsroom, three times its former size, was specially built to accommodate ET and The Insider's staff of 200, previously housed in two separate sound stages. The newsroom took over the famed Todd A-O scoring stage where countless films have been scored since the 1980s.

ET and The Insider's two cutting-edge sets are specifically designed for the HD wide screen experience and feature four 103-inch plasma displays, a walkway between the two sets and LED lighting to set different moods. These new sets, designed and built by Steve Bass, designer for past Emmy and Grammy awards shows, "will take everyone's breath away," said Linda Bell Blue.

The shows will also be moving into digital format, while continuing to use their combined tape vault of roughly 500,000 tapes. 350,000 tapes will be stored on-site at CBS Studio Center until they are converted into digital format. Tapes will no longer be used in the field and will be replaced by optical disks. Staff will be able to view footage digitally at their desks on flat screen computer monitors and HD Samsung TVs.

The new facility also includes room for an expanded web staff, as both shows increase their 24/7 news coverage online. Among the changes, ET and The Insider's online staff has been substantially increased and new deals with MSN for ET and Dotspotter for The Insider raise the bar for the newsmagazine's online coverage.

Currently in its 28th season, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT is produced and distributed by CBS Television Distribution and is taped in Studio City, Calif. Linda Bell Blue is executive producer. Mary Hart is anchor; Mark Steines is co-anchor. Jann Carl is primary substitute anchor and weekend anchor; Kevin Frazier is weekend anchor and correspondent. Leonard Maltin is film historian/correspondent. Cojo and Thea Andrews are correspondents.

Currently in its 5th season, THE INSIDER is produced and distributed by CBS Television Distribution in Studio City, Calif. Linda Bell Blue is Executive Producer. Lara Spencer is Anchor; Pat O'Brien, Victoria Recano, Cojo, and Cheryl Woodcock are Correspondents.