The history of NBC daytime goes back to the earliest days of television. Dozens of shows have come and gone from the airwaves since the network’s first regular daytime broadcasts in the 1940s, but two shows have stood the test of time and continue to run on the network today.
The first main show on NBC daytime is The Today Show. One of the highest rated NBC daytime shows and one of the most important TV shows in history, it began on January 14, 1952 as a two-hour show with anchor Dave Garroway. Its format blended news reports, interviews, weather reports and gimmicks, such as a chimpanzee named J. Fred Muggs. Garroway hosted the show until 1961, when his poor health forced him to step down. After a brief replacement by John Chancellor, Hugh Downs took over the show in 1962, hosting until 1971, replaced by Frank McGee, who died in 1974. Jim Hartz took over until 1976, when Tom Brokaw stepped into the position. He stayed with Today until 1982 when he became host of NBC Nightly News. Bryant Gumbel replaced him, anchoring the show until 1997, when Matt Lauer, the show’s current co-anchor, took over.
During Downs’ tenure as host, an ambitious woman named Barbara Walters became an on-air personality, eventually rising to the rank of co-anchor, which she held until her departure for ABC News in 1976. Walters was the first woman to co-anchor a network news show. Jane Pauley replaced her, lasting until 1990, when NBC made the controversial decision to replace her with the younger Deborah Norville. The changes proved unpopular with viewers, and Katie Couric replaced Norville in 1991. Couric left in 2006 to anchor the CBS Evening News; Meredith Vieira replaced her, holding the co-anchor position until 2011, when Ann Curry briefly took over. In 2012, NBC made yet another controversial decision to replace Curry with Savannah Guthrie.Today made more history in 2000 when it expanded to three hours. In 2007, it added yet another hour with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.
The one other show that constitutes NBC’s daytime line-up is the soap opera Days of Our Lives, which has run continuously since November 8, 1965 and remains one of the highest rated NBC daytime shows. Soap operas, which got their name from the fact that they used to be produced and sponsored by soap companies, used to be a huge staple of networks’ daytime lineup. However, numerous factors, including the increasing number of women in the workplace, the networks’ coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995, and the co-opting of its multi-layered storytelling techniques by primetime drama, soaps have virtually vanished from the airwaves. Days is one of the lucky four still airing as of 2012. The very first NBC soap was a 15-minute show in 1949, These Are My Children. Past NBC soaps of note include Young Doctor Malone (1958-1963), The Doctors (1963-1982), Another World (1964-1999), Somerset (1970-1976), Santa Barbara (1984-1993) and Passions (1999-2007).
Game shows are still a large part of the overall TV landscape, but NBC has not aired them since 1991, when it canceled the daytime version of Wheel of Fortune, which started on the network in 1975 with Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford, who were later replaced by Pat Sajak and Vanna White. Notable game shows in the history of NBC daytime include the original Price is Right with Bill Cullen (1956-1963), the original Match Gamewith Gene Rayburn (1962-1969), the original Let’s Make a Deal with Monty Hall (1963-1969), and the original Jeopardy! with Art Fleming (1964-1975), as well as Concentration (1958-1973), The Hollywood Squares (1966-1980), Sale of the Century (1969-1973 and 1983-1989), Scrabble (1984-1990) and Super Password (1984-1989).
While NBC has allowed its affiliates to take over the post-2:00 P.M. daytime schedule and choose their own programming, the network still has a few reminders of its past history in daytime television. The two shows that constitute NBC’s daytime lineup have been a part of television history for decades and show no signs of stopping any time soon.
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The first main show on NBC daytime is The Today Show. One of the highest rated NBC daytime shows and one of the most important TV shows in history, it began on January 14, 1952 as a two-hour show with anchor Dave Garroway. Its format blended news reports, interviews, weather reports and gimmicks, such as a chimpanzee named J. Fred Muggs. Garroway hosted the show until 1961, when his poor health forced him to step down. After a brief replacement by John Chancellor, Hugh Downs took over the show in 1962, hosting until 1971, replaced by Frank McGee, who died in 1974. Jim Hartz took over until 1976, when Tom Brokaw stepped into the position. He stayed with Today until 1982 when he became host of NBC Nightly News. Bryant Gumbel replaced him, anchoring the show until 1997, when Matt Lauer, the show’s current co-anchor, took over.
During Downs’ tenure as host, an ambitious woman named Barbara Walters became an on-air personality, eventually rising to the rank of co-anchor, which she held until her departure for ABC News in 1976. Walters was the first woman to co-anchor a network news show. Jane Pauley replaced her, lasting until 1990, when NBC made the controversial decision to replace her with the younger Deborah Norville. The changes proved unpopular with viewers, and Katie Couric replaced Norville in 1991. Couric left in 2006 to anchor the CBS Evening News; Meredith Vieira replaced her, holding the co-anchor position until 2011, when Ann Curry briefly took over. In 2012, NBC made yet another controversial decision to replace Curry with Savannah Guthrie.Today made more history in 2000 when it expanded to three hours. In 2007, it added yet another hour with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.
The one other show that constitutes NBC’s daytime line-up is the soap opera Days of Our Lives, which has run continuously since November 8, 1965 and remains one of the highest rated NBC daytime shows. Soap operas, which got their name from the fact that they used to be produced and sponsored by soap companies, used to be a huge staple of networks’ daytime lineup. However, numerous factors, including the increasing number of women in the workplace, the networks’ coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995, and the co-opting of its multi-layered storytelling techniques by primetime drama, soaps have virtually vanished from the airwaves. Days is one of the lucky four still airing as of 2012. The very first NBC soap was a 15-minute show in 1949, These Are My Children. Past NBC soaps of note include Young Doctor Malone (1958-1963), The Doctors (1963-1982), Another World (1964-1999), Somerset (1970-1976), Santa Barbara (1984-1993) and Passions (1999-2007).
Game shows are still a large part of the overall TV landscape, but NBC has not aired them since 1991, when it canceled the daytime version of Wheel of Fortune, which started on the network in 1975 with Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford, who were later replaced by Pat Sajak and Vanna White. Notable game shows in the history of NBC daytime include the original Price is Right with Bill Cullen (1956-1963), the original Match Gamewith Gene Rayburn (1962-1969), the original Let’s Make a Deal with Monty Hall (1963-1969), and the original Jeopardy! with Art Fleming (1964-1975), as well as Concentration (1958-1973), The Hollywood Squares (1966-1980), Sale of the Century (1969-1973 and 1983-1989), Scrabble (1984-1990) and Super Password (1984-1989).
While NBC has allowed its affiliates to take over the post-2:00 P.M. daytime schedule and choose their own programming, the network still has a few reminders of its past history in daytime television. The two shows that constitute NBC’s daytime lineup have been a part of television history for decades and show no signs of stopping any time soon.
Do you have a TV show, movie or webisode idea? Click here
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