Last fall, CBS put its Television City compound in West Los Angeles on the market, saying that it was worth a lot of money that could be “used better elsewhere.” Other film and TV companies that own vast studio lots in the same area, such as 21st Century Fox, Viacom and Sony, should follow suit. 

These properties, which date to the early days of Hollywood a century ago, are now worth hundreds of millions if not more than a billion dollars each. With the companies facing a sharp slowdown in their businesses, it’s time those riches were realized. Selling the properties could give the companies an infusion of cash. They could either move further out in the L.A. area or rent production facilities as other companies do.