EUE/Screen Gems Studios announced the opening of its third studio complex in the U.S., a two-stage, 88,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art production facility in Miami. The new studio was built by the Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) as a public-private partnership with EUE/Screen Gems Studios. Chris Cooney, COO of EUE/Screen Gems Studios, and Pierluigi Gazzolo, president, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Americas and executive VP, Nickelodeon International, said Viacom will launch a multiplatform hub at the new studios for Viacom and VIMN global entertainment brands including Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.
Since March 2014, EUE/Screen Gems Studios has worked with the Miami Omni CRA to transform a dilapidated building into state-of-the-art studios that will anchor revitalization of the Omni neighborhood in central Miami.
“We are grateful for the vision and investment from Omni CRA to build a top-tier studio and postproduction facility here in Miami,” said Cooney. “This is a groundbreaking partnership for us and for Viacom, designed to capitalize on the best of Miami—its terrific talent pool and Viacom’s expertise in production. EUE/Screen Gems Studios brings a high level of service skills to facilitate their production. The City of Miami and specifically the Omni CRA is able to kick start an exciting redevelopment of the district as a hub for the creative arts.”
With Nickelodeon’s multilingual hits including Every Witch Way and Thalia in the Kitchen produced in Miami in collaboration with the U.S. and local Latin American teams, Viacom wanted to expand production capabilities in Miami. The studio location offers access to a highly skilled, multi-lingual talent pool necessary for creating global productions in multiple languages. Viacom will start at the studios in November.
The facilities include two 15,000-square-foot sound stages with 40 feet to the grid and 88,000 square feet of production space that has been outfitted to create a variety of content simultaneously, from daily scripted series, music specials and game shows to short form content for mobile, digital and on-air platforms.
Economic revitalization and the creation of hundreds of well-paying jobs were key focuses for Pieter Bockweg, executive director of the Omni CRA. “Together, the Viacom announcement and the launch of the film and television studio, provide another major commercial component necessary to make the Omni a thriving entertainment district, where people can live, work and play.”
“Building on the strength of the Miami brand and leveraging our popular location as a top destination for business and pleasure, the film studio will attract new opportunities and employ hundreds locally. The establishment of the Viacom International Studios in Partnership with EUE/Screen Gems Studios will develop Miami’s creative industry, one of the fastest growing and most exciting sectors of south Florida’s economy,” said Marc D. Sarnoff, City of Miami commissioner and chairman of the OMNI CRA.
