77 Fun Facts About NBC

NBC was founded in 1926 as a division of which company?

RCA kept a 50 percent stake, and regular broadcasts began on 15 November 1926.

Which company bought a controlling stake in NBCUniversal in January 2011?

Comcast took a 51 percent controlling stake in NBCUniversal in January 2011 and bought out the remaining share in 2013; 30 Rockefeller Plaza was renamed the Comcast Building in 2015.

NBC's peacock logo was introduced in 1956 to promote what?

Color broadcasting: the bird debuted in 1956 as an on-air emblem for NBC's color programs, at a time when the network's parent company was selling color television sets.

How many feathers did the original 1956 NBC peacock have?

The original 1956 bird had eleven feathers; the 1986 redesign cut it to six, one for each division of the network at the time.

Which division did yellow represent in NBC's six-feather 1986 logo?

News was yellow in the 1986 six-feather logo; Sports was orange, Entertainment red, Stations purple, Network blue and Productions green.

NBC's 1976 trapezoid 'N' logo was nearly identical to which broadcaster's, which sued?

NBC settled by handing the Nebraska public network more than $800,000 of broadcasting equipment plus $55,000 to design a new logo.

The famous three-note NBC chimes sound which notes?

The chimes are G, E, C — a G3 followed by E4 and C4 — an identification signal first heard on NBC radio in the late 1920s and standardised in the early 1930s.

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll starred in which NBC radio serial from 1929?

Amos 'n' Andy, voiced by Gosden and Correll, joined NBC's Blue network in August 1929 and became one of the biggest hits of early network radio.

A four-note variant known as 'the fourth chime' was reserved by NBC for what?

The fourth chime signalled events of extreme urgency, calling staff in for urgent bulletins; it was sounded after the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941 and again on D-Day in June 1944.

According to network lore, how did NBC's early Red and Blue radio networks get their colour names?

The Red Network carried sponsored entertainment; the Blue Network mostly aired unsponsored news and cultural shows.

NBC's Blue Network was sold off in 1943 and became which rival network?

ABC: after the FCC ordered NBC's owner to divest one of its two chains, the Blue Network was sold in 1943 and formally became the American Broadcasting Company on 15 June 1945.

Edward J. Noble, who bought NBC Blue for $8 million in 1943, had made his fortune selling which product?

Edward J. Noble made his fortune with Life Savers candy, the ring-shaped mints whose rights he bought in 1913, before paying $8 million for NBC's Blue Network in 1943.

On 30 April 1939, NBC's World's Fair camera made who the first US president to appear on television?

Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the New York World's Fair on 30 April 1939 before NBC's camera, reaching roughly 1,000 viewers within 40 miles of the Empire State Building transmitter.

Which NBC program, first aired in 1947, is the longest-running program on American television?

Meet the Press premiered on NBC television on 6 November 1947, two years after starting on radio, which makes it the longest-running program in American television history.

Who co-created NBC's long-running political interview program in 1947 and moderated it first?

Martha Rountree created the program with Lawrence Spivak and moderated it from its 1947 debut into the 1950s; Kristen Welker became the second woman to moderate it in 2023.

Who is Meet the Press's longest-serving moderator, on the job from 1991 until his death in 2008?

Russert had been NBC's Washington bureau chief; his whiteboard 'Florida, Florida, Florida' became an election-night icon in 2000.

Which NBC executive dreamed up Today in 1952 and also created The Tonight Show?

Weaver's other creations included the radio show Monitor; his daughter is the actress Sigourney Weaver.

What kind of creature was J. Fred Muggs, a Today show regular in the 1950s?

J. Fred Muggs was a chimpanzee who joined Today a year after its 1952 launch; his antics drew viewers but exasperated the staff, especially host Dave Garroway.

Today's street-side studio at Rockefeller Center, opened in 1994, is Studio what?

Studio 1A, the glass-walled street-level studio on Rockefeller Plaza, opened in June 1994, echoing the 1950s when passers-by watched Dave Garroway through the window of the show's original storefront studio.

Who was the first host of The Tonight Show when it debuted in 1954?

Steve Allen hosted the first network Tonight broadcast on 27 September 1954, after fronting a local late-night version on New York's WNBT, and stayed until January 1957.

Who shared Tonight hosting duties with its first host during the 1956–57 season?

Ernie Kovacs hosted Tonight on Mondays and Tuesdays in 1956–57 while the show's original host, newly given a Sunday primetime series, kept only Wednesday through Friday.

In 1972 The Tonight Show left New York for a studio in which California city?

On air it was announced as coming from 'beautiful downtown Burbank', though NBC also called it Hollywood.

Who succeeded Johnny Carson as Tonight Show host in 1992, a choice blamed for losing Letterman?

Jay Leno took over Tonight in May 1992; the passed-over David Letterman left for CBS and launched the Late Show opposite him in August 1993.

Late Night with David Letterman debuted in 1982 in the late-night slot vacated by what?

The Tomorrow Show, Tom Snyder's interview program, was cancelled in January 1982, and 34-year-old Letterman inherited its post-Tonight slot on 1 February 1982.

Who hosted the very first episode of Saturday Night Live in October 1975?

George Carlin hosted the first episode in October 1975, delivering several stand-up monologues; Lorne Michaels created the show, which Dick Ebersol had developed for NBC.

What nickname was given to the original Saturday Night Live cast?

Writer Herb Sargent coined 'The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players' for the 1975 cast, which included John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner and Chevy Chase.

On which night did NBC run its 'Must See TV' comedy block in the 1990s?

Thursday was Must See TV night: Friends and ER anchored the lineup from 1994, and the tag was later stretched to other nights as well.

Which Cheers spin-off later won a then-record 37 Emmys?

Frasier took Outstanding Comedy Series five years running; The Tortellis lasted a single season.

After leaving Boston, Dr Crane hosts a call-in psychiatry show on which fictional Seattle radio station?

KACL is the fictional Seattle talk station where Dr Crane hosts his call-in show; he had left Boston, and the Cheers bar, after his marriage to Lilith ended.

The 1989 pilot for Jerry and Larry David's sitcom about a New York comedian aired under what title?

The pilot aired as The Seinfeld Chronicles in July of that year; NBC then ordered only four more episodes, and the show took off once it was scheduled after Cheers in 1993.

Which NBC sitcom, ending in 1998, was the last US series to finish its final season as Nielsen's number one?

Seinfeld's 1997–98 season finished first in the Nielsen ratings, and its finale on 14 May 1998 drew an estimated 76.3 million viewers.

In Friends, Rachel's first job is as a waitress at which coffee house?

Central Perk is the Manhattan coffee house where Rachel waits tables in the early seasons before moving on to Bloomingdale's and Ralph Lauren.

ER, which ran on NBC from 1994 to 2009, was created by which best-selling novelist?

Crichton wrote the original screenplay in 1974, drawing on his own time as a medical student.

Who adapted the British series The Office for NBC and later co-created Parks and Recreation?

Greg Daniels developed the American version of The Office for NBC in 2005 and went on to co-create Parks and Recreation, which premiered in 2009.

Parks and Recreation is set in the fictional town of Pawnee in which state?

Pawnee is a fictional town in Indiana, forever feuding with neighbouring Eagleton; Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope was deputy director of its parks department.

In 30 Rock, Liz Lemon is head writer of a fictional NBC sketch show called what?

TGS with Tracy Jordan began as The Girlie Show and was renamed when Tracy Jordan joined the cast; 30 Rock was loosely based on Tina Fey's years at SNL.

The Golden Girls, which ran on NBC from 1985 to 1992, was set in which city?

The Golden Girls was set in Miami, where the four women shared a house on Richmond Street; all four lead actresses won Emmys for their roles.

Which NBC police drama won eight Emmys for its 1981 debut season, a record until The West Wing?

Hill Street Blues took eight Emmys for its 1981 debut season, a first-season record until The West Wing beat it in 2000; Sergeant Esterhaus's 'Let's be careful out there' became a catchphrase.

The West Wing followed the two-term administration of which fictional president?

Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, served two terms on The West Wing, which won four straight Outstanding Drama Series Emmys from 2000 to 2003.

Which sitcom matches The Cosby Show's record of five seasons as Nielsen's number one show?

All in the Family topped the Nielsens for five straight seasons from 1971–72 to 1975–76, a run The Cosby Show matched with five straight number-one seasons starting in 1985–86.

Bonanza's Cartwrights ran the Ponderosa ranch near which Nevada town?

Virginia City, boom town of the 1859 Comstock Lode silver strike, lay beside the Cartwrights' Ponderosa on Lake Tahoe's Nevada shore; 'bonanza' is a miner's word for a rich vein.

In 1968 NBC infuriated football fans by cutting away from a Raiders–Jets game to air which film?

NBC switched to the TV movie Heidi at 7 p.m. Eastern, so viewers missed Oakland scoring two touchdowns in the final minute to beat the Jets 43–32; the outcry changed how networks handle overruns.

NBC Nightly News' theme 'The Mission', used since 1985, was composed by which film composer?

Williams is better known for the themes to Star Wars, Jaws and Indiana Jones.

Which two-anchor evening newscast did NBC Nightly News replace in 1970?

Chet Huntley in New York and David Brinkley in Washington had signed off nightly with 'Good night, Chet' and 'Good night, David' since 1956.

NBC's 'The More You Know' public service spots began in 1989 with which anchor recording the first one?

Tom Brokaw, then NBC's evening anchor, recorded the campaign's first spot; its shooting-star logo became a widely parodied emblem.

NBC has held the US rights to every Summer Olympics since which Games?

The 1988 Seoul Games began NBC's unbroken run of Summer Olympics; the Winter Games joined the deal from 2002, and the network had first covered an Olympics in Tokyo in 1964.

NBC scrapped 150 hours of coverage after the US boycotted which Olympics?

The 1980 Moscow Games: after the US boycott NBC dropped its planned 150 hours of coverage, a blow that deepened the network's ratings slump under president Fred Silverman.

In 2011–12 which NBC show became the first sports program to be the year's most-watched on US network TV?

Sunday Night Football topped the 2011–12 season, ending American Idol's eight-year reign as television's most-watched show, and held the top spot for more than ten consecutive seasons.

Who replaced Al Michaels as play-by-play voice of NBC's Sunday NFL package after Super Bowl LVI in 2022?

Mike Tirico took over play-by-play on NBC's Sunday NFL package for the 2022 season; Al Michaels, who had arrived with John Madden from the Monday night package in 2006, moved to Amazon's NFL coverage.

Who composed 'Roundball Rock', the theme of the NBA on NBC?

Tesh hummed the melody into his own answering machine from a French hotel room so he would not forget it.

Which comedian's Texaco Star Theater, launched on NBC in 1948, became television's first major hit?

Milton Berle, 'Mr. Television', hosted Texaco Star Theater from June 1948; it was so popular that restaurants and theatres reportedly emptied on Tuesday nights.

Howdy Doody host Bob Smith's 'Buffalo Bob' nickname came from what?

Bob Smith was born in Buffalo, so the nickname marked his hometown in New York State; Howdy Doody ran on NBC from December 1947 to September 1960.

NBC cancelled the original Star Trek in 1969 after how many seasons?

Star Trek ran three seasons, from September 1966 to June 1969, making 79 episodes before finding its real audience in syndication.

Who hosted the original NBC daytime version of Jeopardy!, which debuted in 1964?

Griffin created the show; Fleming hosted every version until 1979, before Trebek's syndicated era began in 1984.

Before Pat Sajak, who was the original host of NBC's daytime Wheel of Fortune in 1975?

Chuck Woolery hosted Wheel of Fortune from its January 1975 debut until 1981, with Susan Stafford turning the letters; Pat Sajak replaced him at the end of 1981.

Law & Order's 20 seasons tied which show as the longest-running US prime-time drama in 2010?

Gunsmoke ran 20 seasons on CBS from 1955 to 1975; Law & Order reached its own 20th season in 2009–10 to tie that record, and its 2022 revival later took it past 20.

Which NBC drama, begun in 1999, is the longest-running live-action US prime-time series?

Law & Order: SVU premiered in September 1999 and passed its parent show's 20 seasons in 2019; Mariska Hargitay played Olivia Benson from the first episode onward.

Chicago Fire, the first show in NBC's Chicago franchise, follows the crews of which fictional station?

Firehouse 51 houses Engine 51, Truck 81, Rescue Squad 3 and Ambulance 61; the series premiered in October 2012 and spawned Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med.

NBC's singing contest The Voice, launched in 2011, is based on a format from which country?

The Voice adapts John de Mol's format The Voice of Holland, first aired in the Netherlands in 2010; NBC briefly announced it as 'The Voice of America' before noticing the government broadcaster of that name.

Who hosted the stunt show Fear Factor during its original NBC run from 2001 to 2006?

Joe Rogan, then best known as a stand-up comedian and sitcom actor, hosted Fear Factor from its 2001 debut; the format was licensed from Endemol's Now or Neverland.

The Apprentice, which ran on NBC from 2004 to 2017, was created by which British producer?

Mark Burnett, the London-born producer behind Survivor, created The Apprentice, which premiered on NBC in January 2004; NBC cut ties with host Donald Trump in June 2015 over remarks at his campaign launch.

Which sitcom did NBC pick up in May 2018, one day after Fox cancelled it?

Brooklyn Nine-Nine was cancelled by Fox on 10 May 2018 and picked up by NBC the next day; the rescue gave Captain Holt's 99th Precinct seasons six through eight, ending in 2021.

NBC's This Is Us (2016–2022) followed which clan across several decades?

The Pearsons — Jack, Rebecca and their children Kevin, Kate and Randall — were the family of Dan Fogelman's drama, which jumped between present and past each episode.

In which year did NBC begin its national telecasts of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

NBC's national telecasts began in 1953; the parade itself dates from 1924 and was cancelled from 1942 to 1944 during World War II, so its 100th edition falls in 2026.

In 2004 NBC merged with the entertainment assets of which French company to form NBC Universal?

Vivendi's Universal Entertainment assets — Universal Pictures, its television studio and cable channels such as USA — combined with NBC in May 2004 to form NBC Universal, with Vivendi keeping a 20 percent stake.

Which conglomerate bought NBC's parent company, and NBC with it, for $6.4 billion in 1986?

General Electric paid $6.4 billion for NBC's parent in 1986; GE had been one of NBC's original co-owners in 1926, so it was regaining control rather than gaining it.

With 95 percent of its prime-time schedule in colour by autumn 1965, NBC billed itself as what?

NBC called itself 'The Full Color Network' for 1965–66, when only I Dream of Jeannie and Convoy remained in black and white; the rival networks did not go all-colour until 1966–67.

Which anthology series moved to NBC from a rival network in 1961?

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color debuted on NBC on 24 September 1961 after leaving its previous network, whose chief Leonard Goldenson conceded he lacked the money and colour equipment to keep Disney.

In 2009 NBC gave Jay Leno a nightly prime-time show at what hour, dropping it after affiliates complained?

The 10:00 p.m. show ran from September 2009 to February 2010; affiliates saw their late newscasts crater, and the reshuffle forced his successor out of The Tonight Show within months.

Who voiced the 'Like sands through the hourglass' opening narration of Days of Our Lives?

Macdonald Carey, who played patriarch Dr Tom Horton, recorded the opening narration, 'Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives', which the show kept using after his death in 1994.

Family Ties, which debuted on NBC in 1982, was set in which Ohio city?

Family Ties was set in Columbus, Ohio, where ex-hippie parents Steven and Elyse Keaton raised young Republican Alex, played by Michael J. Fox, across seven seasons from 1982.

In 1996 NBC launched a 24-hour cable channel as a joint venture with which company?

Microsoft and NBC launched MSNBC on 15 July 1996 as a cable channel paired with a website; Microsoft later sold its stake in the channel, and the web partnership ended in 2012.

Which NBC medical drama of 1982–88 was set at a struggling Boston teaching hospital?

St. Elsewhere was set at St. Eligius, a run-down Boston teaching hospital; it ran on NBC for six seasons from October 1982 and gave Denzel Washington his breakthrough role as Dr Philip Chandler.

Which Aaron Sorkin drama about a late-night sketch show lasted one NBC season in 2006–07?

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Aaron Sorkin's backstage drama, premiered in September 2006 in the same season as the similarly themed 30 Rock and was cancelled after 22 episodes.

Which NBC anthology series, introduced by Rod Serling from 1970 to 1973, followed his Twilight Zone?

Night Gallery, which Rod Serling introduced from a gallery of macabre paintings, ran on NBC from 1970 to 1973; its 1969 pilot included a segment directed by a young Steven Spielberg.

In which year did NBC launch the business news channel CNBC?

It marked the news division's first expansion into cable.

When Days of Our Lives left NBC's daytime schedule in 2022, to which streaming service did it move?

Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service, took over Days of Our Lives from September 2022, ending the soap's 57-year run on NBC's daytime schedule.