Industry Dirt: April

In this issue, we take a look at what happens if Netflix purchases the Radford Studio Center, explore the “everything under one roof” real estate trend, share some interesting available spaces, and a whole lot more.

Enjoy!

-Ted Simpson and Myles Vargas-Smith

REAL ESTATE IMPLICATIONS OF NETFLIX PURCHASE OF RADFORD STUDIO CENTER

Netflix is nearing a deal to buy the historic Radford Studio Center lot, a purchase that would give the entertainment giant ownership of a major Los Angeles production campus.

Goldman Sachs, which took over the property earlier this year, is expected to sell the property for roughly $330 million, a source familiar with the deal tells The Hollywood Reporter, describing the agreement as “all but done.”

The sale is the first deal of its kind involving a major production campus in more than five years. It’s expected to establish a baseline that lenders can rely on when renewing loans for comparable properties. “This is going to set the bar,” the source adds.

The buy could shake up Netflix’s base of operations in Los Angeles. For years, it has been the anchor tenant at Sunset Studios, making the ICON building its L.A. headquarters and occupying the EPIC and CUE buildings as part of the complex on Sunset Boulevard. (source: The Hollywood Reporter)

Ted’s Take

The real (real estate) question: Will Netflix leave Hollywood entirely and, by doing so, hurt its biggest landlord, Hudson Pacific Properties (HPP)?

Netflix is currently HPP’s largest tenant, paying roughly $27 million annually for the ICON, CUE, and EPIC buildings at Sunset Bronson Studios.

Given that Radford has so much excess vacant office space and the right to build another 2M SF, Netflix must plan to consolidate everything there. Studio City is central, clean, and safe—the opposite of central Hollywood.

So, in 3-5 years, Hollywood will lose its largest user on top of an already high vacancy situation. Netflix’s largest landlord, Hudson Pacific, whose stock is down over 90%, may not be able to release all that space.

The context has shifted rapidly in the last 60 days. In February 2026, Netflix officially walked away from the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) deal after Paramount Skydance swooped in with a superior offer. Instead of buying a legacy studio giant, Netflix is now "bottom-fishing, "buying distressed physical infrastructure at a massive discount.

To sum it all up:

• The Expiration Wall: Netflix’s Hollywood leases are coterminous, meaning they all expire in 2031. By acquiring the 55-acre Radford lot (which has 22 stages and over 1M SF of space), Netflix is building a "lifeboat." They no longer need to renew with HPP in 2031; they can consolidate their entire West Coast operation in Studio City.

• The "Lease vs. Own" War: For a decade, Netflix and Apple TV+ were the white knights for Hollywood landlords, leasing every available square inch. Now, the streamers are becoming their own landlords. Between Radford in LA, Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, and their massive Albuquerque hub, Netflix is becoming an infrastructure owner, not a renter.

• The "Valley Shift": Radford is in Studio City (the San Fernando Valley). If Netflix moves its center of gravity there, it weakens the "Hollywood Proper" submarket. We are seeing geographic decentralization, with production following the owned lot rather than the historic Hollywood ZIP code.

REAL ESTATE TRENDS: EVERYTHING UNDER ONE ROOF

The Thesis: Entertainment companies are paying huge daily rental rates for studios, when they could bring everything in-house.

Companies are beginning to look to fit their entire office + studio operations (and sometimes tech infrastructure, too) under one roof.

It provides easy studio access and saves money on rentals. Plus, some tenants even rent their space for extra cash flow.

Currently, the market is full of 2nd-generation studio/soundstage leasing opportunities. Everywhere from Culver City to Hollywood, over to Burbank. Some of these buildings are also available for purchase.

At the moment, rental rates are favorable, and only minor build-out modifications are required.

In fact, over the last 12 months, we’ve helped 3 of our clients with this exact setup:

• Moonbug Entertainment – 3,000 SF sound stage + 2,000 SF insert stage; 25,000 SF of total space in Hollywood.

• Confidential digital entertainment & mobile game development co – 5,000 SF sound stage; 23,000 SF of total space in Culver City.

• AMV Digital Media – 3,000 SF insert stage; 15,000 SF of total space in Marina del Rey. Costar actually featured us for our work on the AMV transaction. You can read the article here.

We helped AMV renew its 12,000 SF space at 12950 Culver Blvd. in Marina del Rey, which included the 3,000 SF insert stage. The stage is critical to AMV’s business as they use the facility as a production-heavy hub, supporting live broadcasts, streaming events, and postproduction work with infrastructure that includes dark fiber connectivity, satellite capacity, and redundant power systems that can’t easily be replicated elsewhere. You can read the whole article here.

If you’re looking for a similar “everything under one roof” setup, reach out.

By helping our clients through these transactions, we’ve developed a deep knowledge base of what’s available in the market, including unlisted opportunities.

LEASING ACTIVITY

Fulwell is looking to sublease one of its floors at Columbia Square (1500 N. El Centro Ave, Los Angeles).

Brian Robbins’ Big Shot Animation leased the former Fender Guitar “shed” building at Columbia Square (1525 N. Gower).

Hasbro is moving from Burbank to the Courtyard Building at The Lot at Formosa.

Hartbeat is expanding in the Formosa South building at The Lot at Formosa.

Staud Clothing is leasing the Live Nation/Ticketmaster space in the West Building at The Lot at Formosa.

Hallmark Media took 60,000 SF at the Media District at 3300 W. Olive Ave., Burbank.

Innovative Dreams in Manhattan Beach, a new production services company, opened a virtual production stage and R&D lab at the MBS Media Campus.

Quixote, long one of Hollywood’s most recognizable production services brands, is scaling back a major piece of its soundstage footprint as parent company Hudson Pacific Properties looks to cut costs and refocus its studio strategy amid the ongoing production slowdown. In a note to clients and partners, Quixote’s leadership said the company has made “the difficult decision” to begin winding down most of its soundstage business in Los Angeles and Atlanta area operations, including its main commercial studio in West Hollywood. The company also said it will wind down its Atlanta operations.

LEASING OPPORTUNITIES - FOX STUDIO LOT

6555 Barton Ave

The former Verve Talent Agency space is available immediately:

RSF: 25,056, divisible
Sublease term: through September 30, 2034
Monthly base rent per RSF: $5.75, FSG
Parking: 3/1000 at prevailing building rates

Notes:

• Full plug-n-play space designed by Rios

• 41 shared-seat screening room available

Reply to this email if you’d like a tour.

Fox Studio Lot

There’s a new collection of spec suites and bungalows available at the FOX Studio Lot in Century City.

Due to the sensitivity of this being a corporate HQ Studio Lot, the focus on leasing these spaces is for production/post-production, showrunners, and similar types of entertainment companies.  

Tenants at the FOX Studio Lot benefit from access to all of the components needed to support a stand-alone studio operation: Production services, stages, theaters/screening rooms, dressing rooms, edit bays, and scoring stages, along with on-lot amenities such as the Commissary Dining Room, Commissary Grill, Moe’s Cafe, Bluestone Lane, The News Cafe, and catering/special events support.

In addition, should your client need stage space, we can share availability.

The asking rental rate is $8.00-$8.50, FSG. And furniture can be made available. Additional availability of up to 15k on the Lot as well.

 Building 12 – 4,687 SF

Three-story suite, recently delivered with hardwood floors, glass-front private offices, conference rooms, high ceilings, private restrooms, a kitchen/bar area, and a private outdoor balcony. Formerly occupied by Ryan Murphy.

• Building 12 - Virtual Tour

Building 31 – Full-Floor Spec Suites

Two newly delivered full-floor suites, each featuring 4 private offices, 1 large conference room, polished concrete floors, exposed ceilings, direct elevator access, and private restrooms.

• Floor 2 – 2,262 SF Virtual Tour

• Floor 3 – 2,264 SF Virtual Tour

Bungalow 664 – 1,170 SF

Recently renovated bungalow with hardwood floors, high ceilings, 4 private offices, a large conference room, private restrooms, and a kitchen.

• Bungalow 664 - Virtual Tour

Bungalow 43 – 980 SF

Traditional studio bungalow, recently renovated with new carpet and paint, featuring 3 private offices, a conference room, private restroom, pantry kitchen, and reception area.

• Bungalow 43 - Virtual Tour

Reply to this email if you’d like a tour.

M&A

Universal Music Group received an unsolicited offer of $64 billion from Bill Ackman’s New York investment firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, to acquire its business in a cash and stock bundle. If Universal Music Group takes the offer, it will merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings to form a Nevada corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange by the name of “New UMG,” with an expected year-end closing date. Shareholders will receive $11.55 billion in cash or $6.20 per share. They will also receive 0.77 shares of New UMG stock for each share of the dual-headquartered label company, which operates primarily out of Santa Monica. (source: Los Angeles Business Journal)

ODDS & ENDS

Last year, 45% of all U.S. films and scripted television shows were shot internationally, up from about 33% in 2022. The LA Times looked at who’s winning the global production race.

Sony Pictures is laying off hundreds of employees across its film studio, TV studios, and corporate, as CEO Ravi Ahuja refocuses the entertainment company on certain core growth areas while pulling back in other places. A source describes the move as being about strategy, not cost-cutting.

Meow Wolf, the immersive, experiential entertainment company building fantastical storytelling-led installations in cities across the U.S., has found a new CEO after a nearly year-long search. Matthew Henick, most recently senior VP at The Trade Desk and a veteran of Deep Voodoo, Meta, Epic Games, and BuzzFeed, will lead the company, which is behind installations like Omega Mart in Las Vegas. Meow Wolf is set to open a new experience in Los Angeles later this year, set in a former movie theater. It is planning an exhibition in New York in 2027.

Thanks for reading. If you want me to look into something or have some ideas for the newsletter, let me know, and I’ll get right back to you.

Ted Simpson
Founder and CEO
Commercial Real Estate Advisors
(c) +1 310.384.6512 |(e) [email protected]
CA DRE License #0109718

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you with your real estate.

1. A new home for your business. So, you want to move, but you don’t know the market. I can help.

2. Time to renew your lease? Don’t quite trust your landlord? Consider me your personal polygraph. BTW, I recommend starting the lease renewal process six months out at a minimum.

3. Sublease your space. You’ve outgrown your space and need to move but don’t want to pay two rents? I got you.