A£3m media facility, known as the Wescom Media Centre (WMC), is due to open in west London next month, writes Barbara Marshall
A £3m media facility, known as the Wescom Media Centre (WMC), is due to open in west London next month, writes Barbara Marshall.

Based in the Westec building in Hanger Lane, the 2,045 sq m (22,000 sq ft) set-up will initially include two television studios, post-production and play-out facilities. There are also plans to install a newsroom and media asset management system.

The centre is owned by Wescom Holdings whose interests span theme parks specialist Integrated Solutions Group, aquarium joint-venture Marinescape Europe and broadcast systems integrator Professional & Broadcast Digital Systems (PBDS).

Heading up WMC, as director of production, is Erfan Arab, a former presenter and broadcaster who has worked for the BBC, MBC, Al-Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV. Arab said: 'London is an important and popular media base for many international broadcasters and news organisations. We believe there is a good opportunity to provide a comprehensive range of production facilities and services for hire to this market, particularly in news, current affairs and light entertainment.'

Two Middle Eastern broadcasters have already signed contracts with WMC and, according to Arab, the BBC has also shown an interest in the facility.

The first phase of the development includes a 120 sq m (1,300 sq ft) studio and a smaller, 36 sq m (400 sq ft) studio, both with dedicated galleries. The six-camera Studio 1 is based around a Snell & Wilcox SD 1524 vision mixer and a 48-channel Calrec audio desk. Work is also under way to fit out an online edit suite, two offlines and a graphics suite.

The first Pro-Bel Sirius router from Chyron will form the backbone of the complex.

The second phase will include playout facilities, initially for two channels although the current two megabyte T1 link could be replaced by a multiplex if there is the demand, according to commercial director of engineering John Reid.

The design and system engineering for the project is being handled by PBDS, which has overseen many studio and outside broadcast installations in Russia, the Middle East and Asia, including a recent $16m (£10.2m) news project in Moscow ( Broadcast, 28.9.01). Reid, a former BBC planning engineer, has moved across from PBDS to head up WMC's technical operations. Dyna Fyaz is facilities manager.

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