'' is an
American Morning News And Talk Show airing weekday mornings on the
NBC Television Network . It is the second-longest running American television series, behind the
Meet The Press , also aired on NBC.
''Today'' is also tape-delayed and aired on Australia's
Nine Network . Additionally, a show of the same name airs on rival network
Seven . Though the American version ranks top in the ratings, the Australian version of ''Today'' lags behind rival show
Sunrise . Ironically, "Sunrise" has virtually copied the American ''Today'' format while the Australian version bears little resemblance.
''Today'' has been the highest-rated morning news and talk show in the United States since the week of
December 11 ,
1995 .
When ''Today'' started in 1952, it was seen live only in the ,
2000 . In some markets (such as
Rochester, New York , on
WHEC-TV ), the third hour of ''Today'' is tape-delayed by an hour and airs at 10 AM.
''Today'' was the first of its genre when it signed on with original host
Dave Garroway . The show blends national news headlines, in-depth interviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks (including the presence of the
Chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs as the show's mascot during the early years), and local news updates. It has spawned several other shows of a similar type, including
ABC 's ''
Good Morning America '',
CBS 's ''
The Early Show ''. In other countries the format was copied - in
Canada with ''
Canada AM '' on
CTV .
The show broadcasts from Studio 1A in
Rockefeller Center ,
New York , just across the street from NBC headquarters at the
GE Building . The studio is located right next to the street and many times the hosts do the
Weather or other events from outside. ''Today'' moved to the current streetside studio in the mid-1990s, providing a link to the show's 1950s street-level set at the old RCA Exhibition Hall, also Rockefeller Plaza. However, when major events happen in Washington during the morning, like
Presidential Inauguration s, the show broadcasts from NBC studios in Washington.
Since the premiere of the 1990s set, the morning shows of each of the major broadcast and cable-news networks has moved streetside -- including two of ''Today'''s Rockefeller Center neighbors,
Fox News 's ''
Fox & Friends '' and
CNN 's ''
American Morning ''. (In summer 2005, CNN reversed the trend, moving its morning show indoors and uptown to the
Time Warner Center at
Columbus Circle .) ABC's ''
Good Morning America '' broadcasts from
Times Square Studios in
Times Square .
''Today'' was the brainchild of
Pat Weaver , who was then vice-president of
NBC . He was president of the company from
1953 to
1955 (during which time ''Today'''s late-night companion, ''
The Tonight Show '' , premiered), and then served as
Chairman Of The Board for another year.
,
Matt Lauer and
Al Roker on the set of ''Today''.]]
The show is currently hosted by
Katie Couric and
Matt Lauer .
Al Roker does national weather updates, signaling the ten-second cutaway to local forecasting with the outcue, "Here’s what’s happening in your neck of the woods."
Ann Curry reads news headlines.
Natalie Morales is a national correspondent and co-host of the 3rd hour of the program,
Gene Shalit is the entertainment critic, and
Peter Greenberg is the travel editor. Roker, Curry, and Morales interview guests and take part in other segments in addition to their weather and news duties during the 9am hour. Also, former "Today" weatherman
Willard Scott sends birthday wishes to centenarians twice weekly and occassionally subs for Roker.
NBC News White House correspondent
David Gregory has recently been added as substitute host for Matt Lauer.
Weekend Today host
Campbell Brown often subs for
Couric .
Bob Dotson ,
Jamie Gangel , and
Melissa Stark are National Correspondents for ''Today''. Stark also acts as host of
MSNBC Live .
Kelly O'Donnell covers the day's events at the
White House while
Tim Russert (host of NBC's ''
Meet The Press '' on
Sunday mornings) offers commentary on current political news (
MSNBC 's
Chris Matthews sometimes subs for Russert).
One popular monthly feature is "Spanning the World" with
WNBC-TV sports anchor
Len Berman . "Spanning" is a reel of odd and interesting sports highlights from the past month, with a recorded introduction and closing by
Don Pardo . This segment also airs on WNBC-TV's 6 PM and 11 PM newscasts on a monthly basis.
Jean Chatzky , editor-at-large for Money Magazine, provides weekly financial segments.
The hosts of the show include the following:
Joe Garagiola also hosted the show twice, first from 1967-1973 and then again in the early
1990s .
In 1999, NBC created two
Brand Extension s for ''Today''. One was ''
Early Today '', a newscast replacing ''
NBC News At Sunrise '' that originally focused on business and financial news before switching to general news; it continues to air on many
NBC affiliates. Also, ''Later Today'', a
Talk Show that was intended to air immediately following the then two-hour ''Today'', was launched with hosts
Jodi Applegate ,
Florence Henderson and
Asha Blake . Sagging ratings for that show caused its cancellation in
2000 and replacement by a third hour of ''Today''.
On
December 11 ,
2005 , the show marked its 10th year of placing first in the ratings.
On
April 5 ,
2006 , Katie Couric announced that she would leave ''Today'' and NBC at the end of May to become the anchor and managing editor of the ''
CBS Evening News ''. The following day, on
April 6 , NBC announced that
Meredith Vieira would replace Couric as co-host of ''Today''. Couric's chair will be filled by various hosts until Vieira takes over, which is tentatively scheduled for September 2006 (see below).
Beginning in
2004 , there were rumors that the hosts of ''Today'' were in the midst of a feud. Reports say that this was due to Katie Couric's prominence in the show and the general perception that she is the only person who can guarantee high ratings for the news program. Some report also suggest that Couric has become a bit too proud (some say obnoxious) because of this, and began to offend Lauer and the rest of the hosts. In addition, a few one-show victories by rival ABC program ''
Good Morning America '' has fueled rumors of a feud, and some even went so far to suggest that Couric might be replaced in the near future. Couric has denied these reports, and says she has been rather hurt by them.
Such a feud, if one existed, ''may'' have been a factor - but by no means the main factor - leading to speculation of Couric leaving ''Today'' for the anchor chair of the ''
CBS Evening News '', as well as a place on ''
60 Minutes '', following her NBC contract expiry on May 31, 2006. While previously assumed that NBC would not allow outside negotiations before the end of April, this clause was apparently waived, and Couric officially announced the move on ''Today'' at 7:30am EDT, April 5, 2006—her fifteenth anniversary on the show.
While an announcement from CBS was expected later in the week, Lauer convinced Couric to formally reveal her destination: "Well I know it's the worst kept secret in America, but I'm going to be working on the ''CBS Evening News'' and ''60 Minutes''..."
{Link without Title} There have been some doubts as to how Couric will do on
CBS 's evening newscast since people identify her as a morning anchor. Couric's last day on ''Today'' is expected to be May 26, the Friday following the end of May
Sweeps .
The day after Couric's announcement, Meredith Vieira announced on ABC's ''
The View '', where she currently serves as a host, that she will take over as Lauer's co-anchor in September, despite numerous in-house candidates such as
Campbell Brown , Ann Curry and
Natalie Morales . Meanwhile, Lauer's future on the program has been secured for the foreseeable future; he has signed through 2011, and has reportedly gotten a sizeable salary increase.
{Link without Title}
The Sunday edition of
NBC News ' ''Today'' premiered on
September 20 ,
1987 . Five years later, on
August 1 ,
1992 , the Saturday edition made its debut, expanding the broadcast schedule of the ''Today'' franchise to seven days a week. The program is broadcast from
Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza in New York. However, when major events in Washington happen during the morning hours, the program is broadcast from NBC studios in Washington.
The weekend broadcasts continue the ''Today'' tradition of covering breaking news, interviewing newsmakers, reporting on a variety of popular-culture and human-interest stories, covering health and finance issues and presenting the latest weather reports. In addition, the show offers visitors to New York City a chance to observe firsthand the workings of a live television broadcast with its windowed studio on Rockefeller Plaza. Interaction with the crowd outside the studio is a major part of the program.
Weekend editions are tailored to the priorities and interests of weekend viewers—offering special series such as "Saturday Today on the Plaza," featuring live performances by the biggest names in music and Broadway outside the studio throughout the summer.
Lyne Pitts is the executive producer of ''Weekend Today''.
''Weekend Today'' is currently hosted by
Lester Holt and
Campbell Brown with weather reports from
Janice Huff on Saturdays and
Sean McLaughlin on Sundays.
MSNBC 's
Amy Robach ,
Alison Stewart and
Kristine Johnson ,
Today Show Correspondents
Natalie Morales and
Melissa Stark , and
CNBC 's
Carl Quintanilla report the daily news headlines from the newsdesk.
The program is watched by more viewers than
ABC 's ''Good Morning America Weekend'' and
CBS 's ''Saturday Early Show''.
On bombings on
July 7 ,
2005 , ''Today'' remained on the air for six hours, from seven AM to one PM EDT.
