After falling for the charming city of Montpellier in 2018, France.TV announced its intention to expand its Montpellier studios in 2021. It will double the size of the premises in Vendargues – the creative centre of the popular TV series, Un Si Grand Soleil.
Montpellier has become a thriving production base for France.TV. In 2018, the French broadcasting group moved into a 16,000 m² site in Vendargues, just outside Montpellier, where it has at its disposal "an extraordinary and cutting-edge facility." France.TV produces Un si grand soleil at this location: a daily series broadcast on the France 2 channel with more than 4 million viewers per day (18.7% of viewers).
Emboldened by their success, the group decided to expand the studios in Montpellier. The announcement came in September 2021: "After four successful years of work, we are going to expand the studios further, enabling us to double our shooting space."
Furthermore, the new facilities in "this innovative, modern, large-scale complex, unique in the region" will make it possible for France.TV to produce new content, such as the series Les Pennac(s) and other outside projects, such as the feature film Tu ne tueras plus, produced by Firelight and directed by Cécilia Rouaud. The team will be able to "work on other joint projects and gradually increase the number of films and shows produced."
Work to the expand the studios has already begun: "The space has been redesigned to extend the post-production area to 600 m²," explains Olivier Roelens, executive producer for France.TV. "The new business will create 25 more jobs per day, increasing the number of people working on site daily to 230."
Update: Two new studios were added in the summer of 2022, bringing the total number of studios from two to four. In Studio D (600 m²), a LED video wall was installed to replace the green screens with digital scenery that can move in real time during shooting. "Without even leaving the studio, we can use this to simulate outdoor scenes," he adds. The other studio will have a floor area of 1,130 m².
Montpellier wasn’t just chosen by chance In 2018. Five other sites were being considered before France.TV finally settled on Montpellier. Delphine Ernotte Cunci, CEO of France.TV, explains the decision: "In Montpellier, it is sunny almost every day, which is an important factor when you need to maintain a pace of one show per day. It also has a variety of landscapes, with the sea, mountains, back-country, and more. It also features different architectural styles, from very old to very modern." Lastly, she adds, "Montpellier is an accessible city with a mixed population that represents French society as a whole. This makes it possible for us to tell the stories of today." Clearly, they don’t regret the decision.
The Vendargues studio in numbers
- 2,500 employees work on the production of Un si grand soleil each year. Approximately 230 employees per day over 52 weeks.
- In 2020 the series generated 45,000 days of work for 1,700 inhabitants of the region. More than 600 employees live in the Occitanie region
- Nearly one hundred local performers have been hired since the start of the series
- More than 1,000 extras and 500 technicians have been hired to-date
- Around twenty business partnerships
- 2 studios with a floorspace of 1,130 m² each, entirely dedicated to the daily filming of the series