The Tour at NBC Studios — Attraction in New York

If you’re a fan of television or just curious about the magic behind your favorite shows, the NBC Studios Tour at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (commonly known as 30 Rock) is a must-do experience in New York City.

🏛️ A Glimpse into Broadcasting History

NBC Studios has a rich history dating back to the early 20th century. The studios are located in the iconic Comcast Building, formerly known as the GE Building and RCA Building, in the heart of Rockefeller Center. This location has been the birthplace of numerous groundbreaking television programs and has witnessed the evolution of broadcast media from radio to television. 

Studio 8H, one of the most renowned studios within NBC, was originally built in 1933 and was the world’s largest radio studio at the time. It became the home of Saturday Night Live in 1975, a legacy it continues to uphold. 

🎬 The Tour Experience

The tour begins with an engaging 20-minute video that provides an overview of NBC’s history and its impact on television. Following the video, guests are led through various studios, including those used for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Saturday Night Live. While photography is not permitted inside the studios, the opportunity to sit in the very spaces where these iconic shows are filmed is exhilarating.

One of the highlights is the interactive segment where visitors can participate in creating their own television show segment, offering a hands-on understanding of the production process. 

🧭 Practical Information • Location: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112 • Entrance: 6th Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets • Ticket Price: Approximately $48 per person  • Duration: About 1 hour

It’s advisable to book tickets in advance, as the tour can sell out, especially during peak tourist seasons.

🧠 Fun Facts • Studio 8H was the original home of the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini in 1937.  • The first-ever performance of Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” was broadcast from Studio 8H. • The studio underwent a significant renovation in 1975 to accommodate the live broadcast of Saturday Night Live, costing $250,000 at the time. • NBC’s headquarters have been located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza since the 1930s, making it a cornerstone of American television history. 

🧾 Final Thoughts

The NBC Studios Tour offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the world of television production. While photography is restricted, the knowledge gained and the experience of being in the studios where television history is made is invaluable. Whether you’re a long-time fan of NBC programming or a newcomer, this tour provides a unique perspective on the...

My family of 4 attended the NBC Studios tour at 10:30 am with two new pages.

There were multiple issues with this tour. First, the SNL set was closed since the stagehands were putting together set pieces at the time of our tour. However, NBC even closed the upstairs window gallery so guests on the tour could only barely see in the studio prior to moving to the next studio. Then, the floors of both the Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers sets were completely covered with sets/furniture for other shows making the set unrecognizable as not only their sets, but ANY production set since there were dust covers over everything on set, including the audience chairs. They looked more like storage rooms. The control rooms we saw were literally empty…not a soul in sight anywhere. Finally, the final video of Lester Holt was not operational. A manager came up and determined it could not be fixed at that time, and due to the close scheduling of tours, our tour was concluded early.

Additionally, though we certainly understand that pages have to start at some point and may be new at their position, to put TWO new pages on a tour is not fair to the guests. We could tell they were both new because the manager was giving them instructions on how to gather people to the rear of the NBC store and what announcements to make. Throughout the tour, one page was a bit socially awkward and neither of them knew ANY answers to the questions that guests had. Literally none. They kept saying “Good question,” looking at each other, and guessed what the answer could be. Perhaps putting someone with any semblance of experience would be beneficial.

This makes me question why NBC holds tours on a Saturday if nothing is recognizable or open to view what a real tv set looks like. Although we understand that production schedules may change from week to week, it is clear that Saturday is NOT the day to hold a tour, or if you do, hold it with a disclaimer about the lack of activity and at a discounted price. We literally walked into furniture-filled empty studios that were unrecognizable as to what they are during the week, saw a rope covering the window to the SNL set, received no answers to questions on the tour, saw empty control rooms, attempted to watch a broken video of Lester Holt, and saw tons of photos on the walls that we could look up on Google. Many years ago, I remember walking on to the NBC Nightly News set, but you don’t even do that anymore because that studio is now across the street where the Today set is.

I do NOT recommend this tour, at least...

I cannot provide pictures for this review as you are restricted from taking ANY photos of ANYTHING. That is one of my biggest complaints. When I asked why, our tour guide just shrugged her shoulders and said, “There may be celebrities around.” I said...”So?? If they don’t want their picture taken they should be in another line of work.” (We did not see any celebrities, FWIW.) People take pictures of EVERYTHING these days and to be forbidden is absolutely ridiculous. They also need to have words with their security staff. I had two knee braces on, one under my jeans, one over. This guy was an absolute jerk and humiliated me in front of the entire group. He told me, loudly, to step aside and spread my legs. I pointed to my knee brace and said, “that is why the detector is going off.” He ignored me and said, “spread your legs!”, RUDELY. He was not at all compassionate or accommodating. He was treating me like scum because of knee braces. They didn’t treat me like that at THE WORLD TRADE CENTER, ESB or Top of the Rock- the SAME BUILDING as this tour. At all of those places I was treated phenomenally and was told if I needed help, to just ask. That guy needs a 6 month seminar on how to treat people. The tour itself is short. You see three studios (SNL, Jimmy Fallon & Seth Myers) and make a video with the other people on your tour. That was fun BUT I nominated my husband to play the announcer in our skit, WAY BEFORE anyone else showed interest, and the guide ignored me completely and chose some other guy. I was shocked and I actually protested and said I spoke up first and AGAIN she shrugged her shoulders and said, “He raised his hand.” I was standing adjacent to him...he did not raise his hand and I had both of mine raised and pointed at my husband. Our tour guides were Bella & India. They were pleasant but not very knowledgeable or talkative. They didn’t talk on any the elevator rides, or when we were walking around and only had basic knowledge of the 3 shows/studios we visited. No other history, nothing. I think if we had more lively guides it would have been better but I definitely will not spend this much money again...