NBC planning 24-hour local news channel

NEW YORK, May 7 (UPI) -- NBC Universal Wednesday announced it plans to establish a 24-hour local news channel in New York.

The media giant said NBC's flagship station, WNBC, is to transform its 30 Rockefeller Center facility into a multimillion dollar content center.

This follows the creation of a content center for NBC News in Manhattan and the planned West Coast News and content center in Los Angeles.

NBC said it will remain 30 Rock's largest tenant and the home of NBC News, NBC Sports, NBC Entertainment and WNBC.

All other business operations, however, will move to a new facility, as will employees currently at three additional Manhattan sites, next year.

"This is the next step in WNBC's mission to diversify its operations and become the leading multi-platform content provider for the New York market," John Wallace, president of the company's local media division, said in a statement. "In order to remain successful, local stations must put the appropriate weight on the additional platforms beyond their core television station. Consumers are demanding relevant content, round-the-clock, on the platform of their choice. This new structure better positions us to meet that demand in a way that's synonymous with the WNBC brand."