Dock10 (television facility)

Dock10 (stylised as dock10) is a television facility owner and media services company, located in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Dock10 offers a number of services including post production and The Studios.

dock10
TypePrivate
IndustryMedia & production
FoundedJune 18, 2010 (2010-06-18)[1]
HeadquartersMediaCityUK,
Salford, Greater Manchester
,
United Kingdom
Key people
  • Mark Senior (chief executive)
  • Andrew Culley (CEO)
Services
Revenue£25.5m[2] (2018)
£0.8m[2] (2018)
Total assets£2.89[2] (2018)
OwnerPeel Media Studios Limited[1]
Number of employees
167[2] (2018)
Websitedock10.co.uk

Its studio filming facility is the best-known part of the company, often referred to as The Studios. It was built as a major part of MediaCityUK, a development in Salford, Greater Manchester. The move saw a number of major productions leave London for the first time and head north to Manchester. The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 all relocated the filming of various shows to The Studios. This included established British shows, Match of the Day and Countdown.

Dock10 also offers other media services, such as post production. Their post-production shows include Match of the Day, Blue Peter and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

History

BBC One show Pitch Battle was filmed at Dock10

The idea for MediaCityUK began as early as 2004, when the BBC announced that it was interested in moving hundreds of jobs away from London to another UK city.[3] The Peel Group was involved from the early stages of this move, which resulted in announcing the construction of a 200-acre development in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester. The BBC and The Peel Group announced in 2007 that the construction would begin on the media-based development.[4]

The studio facility is built on the site of the former Manchester Ship Canal docks. Construction of dock10 began in 2007, and it was ready to go on air in January 2011. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in March 2012. The name "dock10" is said to come from a site plan drawn over 100 years ago that stated, "SITE OF FUTURE DOCK NO. 10".[5]

At the heart of the MediaCityUK project was the idea of producing BBC shows outside of London. A studio was then proposed at the site, which was constructed in time for the BBC move in 2011. The new £22 million studio was originally known as MediaCityUK studios, before becoming The Studios. The BBC became the first major tenant of The Studios.[6] The Studios and the media infrastructure were rebranded in 2012 and Dock10 was formed.[7]

In 2013, Dock10 signed its first production deal with ITV.[8] The deal was to use dock10 to record and produce a number of ITV Studios shows, and was extended in 2016 to run until 2018.[9]

By 2016, Dock10 had grown into a major production provider to British-based TV shows. In March 2016, Dock10 announced that it had acquired Edit 19, a Manchester-based visual effects and editing company.[10] Later that year, it announced that it was expanding its post-production facility, offering many services gained from the acquisition of Edit 19.[11]

In May 2017, Dock10 opened a new studio, HQ8, suitable for small sets and green-screen productions. This studio was designed to meet the demands from creative agencies and digital content creators wanting to use professional facilities.[12]

In November 2017, Dock10 announced that it had secured a contract with BBC Creative. This would mean certain BBC promos and branding work would be produced outside of London.[13]

Since the 2018 revival of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the show has been filmed at Dock10. It was previously filmed at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.[14]

In January 2019, ITV Studios announced plans to remain at Dock10 until at least 2021. The extended contract meant the company's shows would continue to be filmed and produced on site, which included shows such as Judge Rinder and (as of May 2019, cancelled) The Jeremy Kyle Show.[15]

The post-production facilities at Dock10 were expanded in 2019 as part of a wider £5 million investment to meet increased demand. The expansion included a new creative production space called The Second Floor, which provides additional space for production companies. The new facilities include fourteen edit suites, audio tracklay, and dubbing suites.[16]

In May 2019, Dock10 announced the launch of a new 4K UHD-ready virtual studio capability using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4. This technology allows programme makers to create photorealistic output in real time.[17]

In August 2019, Dock10 is to host JD Sports inaugural Esports event, JDX, with the semi-finals and finals being hosted at the facility.[18]

For the launch of the 2019-20 football season, BBC Sport announced that its football shows Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2 would be broadcast from a virtual reality studio at Dock10. This studio will also be used by other BBC football programmes including Final Score and Football Focus.[19]

Channel 4 has commissioned a new peak-time Christmas-themed four-part series Buy it Now, to be hosted by Rylan Clark-Neal. Buy It Now is produced by Studio Lambert North and will be filmed at Dock10.[20]

Studio facilities

The studios are owned and managed by Dock10. The company has two major divisions: studios, and post-production. The studios feature eight conventional TV studios, two audio studios, two unique spaces used for television production, digital post-production, and cloud media management services.

Many major productions such as The Voice UK are filmed in HQ1, which is the UK's biggest multi-camera TV studio that can hold live audiences up to 1,000 people. HQ2, HQ3, and HQ4 are the other three large or medium-sized studios on site, with shows such as Match of the Day, The Voice UK, Football Focus, Countdown, Judge Rinder and University Challenge filmed in the four studios.

Shows with a smaller studio requirement, such as Newsround, Blue Peter and Saturday Mash-Up!, use HQ5, HQ6, HQ7 or HQ8. HQ9 and HQ10 are specialist audio studios. The final two studios are large spaces for more open productions. HQ11 is the only outdoor studio on site and with HQ12 is a mezzanine studio, often seen on Watchdog.

Studio specifications
BBC Sport set at Dock10 as seen in March 2019
HQ11 outdoor studio (piazza) seen at night

HQ1

The largest multi-camera TV studio in Britain,[21] HQ1 is 12,500 sq ft (1,160 m2) and has an audience capacity of 1,000. Shows filmed in HQ1 include Pitch Battle, World of Sport Wrestling, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The Voice UK and Still Open All Hours.

HQ2

HQ2 is the second largest multi-camera TV studio on site at 7,650 sq ft (711 m2) with an audience capacity of 600.[21] Shows filmed in HQ2 include Big Friday Wind Up, The £100K Drop, Naked Attraction, Got What It Takes? and A Question of Sport.

HQ3

HQ3 is a 4,800 sq ft (450 m2) television studio which can handle an audience of 200. Shows filmed in HQ3 include Frank Skinner's Opinionated, Match of the Day, Final Score, Justin's House and Something Special.

HQ4

HQ4 is another large multi-camera TV studio at 6,300 sq ft (590 m2), with an audience capacity of 300. Shows filmed in HQ4 include Judge Rinder, Countdown and University Challenge.

HQ5 and HQ6

A small multi-camera TV studio of 1,000 sq ft (93 m2).

HQ7

HQ7 is slightly larger than HQ5 and HQ6 at 1,600 sq ft (150 m2). Shows filmed in HQ7 include Blue Peter and Match of the Day.

HQ8

HQ8 is a small green screen studio of 750 sq ft (70 m2). Behind the scenes segments of Pitch Battle and The Voice UK are filmed in HQ8.

HQ9 BBC Philharmonic Studio

HQ9 is the BBC Philharmonic's specialist orchestral studio at 6,400 sq ft (590 m2) with an audience capacity of 250 people.

HQ10

HQ10 is a multi-purpose audio studio of 1,000 sq ft (93 m2), with an audience capacity of 100. Radio shows recorded here include: Daily Service, BBC Radio drama and Woman's Hour

HQ11 Outdoor Studio

HQ11 is actually a large outdoor space in front of the studio complex, and is claimed to be 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2) with an audience capacity of 5,000.[21] Shows including Blue Peter, Sport Relief and The ITV Leaders Debate 2017 have all used the outdoor space.

HQ12 Open Centre Mezzanine

HQ12 is an indoor mezzanine space at the front of the complex, with external views over HQ11 and the rest of MediaCityUK. It is 4,500 sq ft (420 m2). Shows including Watchdog, The Voice UK and School Report have all used this mezzanine space.

TV credits

Filming

Post-production

See also

References
  1. "DOCK 10 LIMITED". Companies House. companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  2. "DOCK 10 LIMITED Full accounts made up to 31 March 2018". Companies House. companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  3. Breen, Rozina (7 December 2004). "BBC plans for Manchester move". BBC News.
  4. "BBC Salford move gets green light". BBC News. 31 May 2007.
  5. "History of dock10 Manchester MediaCityUK". www.dock10.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  6. "Peel Media secures £22m funding for MediaCityUK studios". Manchester Evening News. 7 February 2011.
  7. Montgomery, Angus (19 September 2012). "MediaCityUK Studios rebranded as Dock 10". Design Week.
  8. "ITV completes phase one of migration in to MediaCityUK" (Press release). ITV. 23 March 2013.
  9. Roue, Lucy (21 June 2016). "dock10 and ITV studios extend contract until 2018". Manchester Evening News.
  10. Begum, Shelina (31 March 2016). "dock10 in deal to acquire Manchester visual effects business Edit19". Manchester Evening News.
  11. Roue, Lucy (1 June 2016). "Dock10 unveils boutique post-production facilities". Manchester Evening News.
  12. "dock10 opens up new studio HQ8". Little Black Book. 30 May 2017.
  13. Strauss, Will (21 November 2017). "Dock 10 wins BBC Creative contract". Broadcast.
  14. Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (7 March 2019). "When is the new series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on TV?". Radio Times.
  15. Bickerton, Jake (31 January 2019). "Dock 10 and ITV Studios extend contract until 2021". BroadcastNow.
  16. Priestley, Jenny (14 February 2019). "dock10 expands post-production facilities". TVB Europe.
  17. Chapman, Stephen (16 May 2019). "dock10 to launch "revolutionary" virtual studio capabilities". Prolific North.
  18. Dams, Tim (28 June 2019). "JD Sports launches esports competition". Broadcast. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  19. Dams, Tim (14 August 2019). "Match of the Day moves into dock10's VR studio". Broadcast.
  20. "Channel 4 commissions peak-time Buy It Now at Christmas with Rylan Clark-Neal" (Press release). Channel 4. 3 September 2019.
  21. Dock10 (26 April 2019). "The Studios Specifications". dock10.
  22. "ITV orders Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow series". British Comedy Guide. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  23. "Tez Ilyas joins Channel 4 with brand new satirical news show filmed at dock10". dock10. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  24. "Channel 4 confirms Tez O'Clock series". British Comedy Guide. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  25. "dock10 Completes Animated Music Videos For Sky Kids". 4rfv. 28 February 2019.
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