80 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 cable giant has owned NBC through NBCUniversal since buying a controlling stake in 2011?

Comcast bought out General Electric's remaining share in 2013, and 30 Rockefeller Plaza was renamed the Comcast Building.

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

Parent company RCA sold color sets, so NBC had every reason to shout about its color schedule.

How many feathers did the original 1956 NBC peacock have?

The 1986 redesign trimmed it to six feathers, one for each of the network's divisions.

In NBC's 1986 six-feather peacock, each colour stood for a division. Which one was yellow?

Sports is 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?

A popular legend says the letters stand for the initials of an early NBC shareholder, but the notes were in use long before that story appeared.

In 1950 the NBC chimes became the first of what kind of trademark granted by the USPTO?

Chimes were originally a technical cue telling engineers when to switch stations between the Red and Blue network feeds.

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

It rang out after the Pearl Harbor attack and on D-Day.

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?

The FCC had ordered RCA to divest one of its two networks; Blue 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?

Noble then bought the rights to the 'American Broadcasting Company' name for his new network.

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

About 1,000 viewers within 40 miles of the Empire State Building transmitter saw it; RCA put television sets on sale the very next day.

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

It began as a radio show; 13 moderators have hosted it since Martha Rountree opened the first episode.

Who co-created NBC's Sunday-morning political interview show in 1947 and hosted it first?

Kristen Welker became the second woman to moderate the show when she took over in September 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.

From 1953 to 1957 the Today show featured a regular named J. Fred Muggs. What was he?

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?

The window studio echoed the show's 1950s origins, when passers-by could watch Garroway through the glass.

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

Only seven comedians have hosted the show in more than 70 years.

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

Allen had been given a Sunday primetime show and needed help; Kovacs took two nights a week.

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.

Whom did NBC name as Johnny Carson's successor in 1992, a choice blamed for losing Letterman?

Letterman launched the Late Show on CBS the following year, opposite his old network.

Which host has fronted NBC's Late Night the longest, for almost 16 years?

O'Brien was a little-known Simpsons writer when he got the job in 1993.

Late Night with David Letterman debuted in 1982 in the 12:35 a.m. slot vacated by what?

Tom Snyder's interview show was axed and 34-year-old Letterman got the 12:35 a.m. hour.

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

Lorne Michaels created the show, and Dick Ebersol helped develop it for NBC.

SNL's Studio 8H was built in 1933 as the world's largest radio studio for which conductor?

The NBC Symphony Orchestra moved in in 1937; the room was converted for television in 1950.

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

Writer Herb Sargent coined the term for the cast that included Belushi, Aykroyd, Radner and Chase.

From 1994 NBC branded its strongest night of comedies as 'Must See TV'. Which night was it?

Friends, Seinfeld and ER anchored the block, and the tag was later stretched to Tuesdays too.

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?

He had left Boston, and the bar from Cheers, after the end of his marriage to Lilith.

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

NBC ordered only four more episodes at first; the show took off once it followed Cheers on Thursdays.

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

The finale drew an estimated 76.3 million viewers, 58 percent of everyone watching TV that night.

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

She later moves on to Bloomingdale's and Ralph Lauren; Café Nervosa is the coffee shop in Frasier.

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?

Steve Carell's Michael Scott ran the Scranton branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company for seven seasons.

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

Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope was a mid-level bureaucrat in the town's parks department.

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

It was originally called The Girlie Show, and the series 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?

All four lead actresses won Emmys, something only four sitcoms in history have managed.

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

Its roll-call sign-off, 'Let's be careful out there', became a national catchphrase.

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

Aaron Sorkin's drama won four straight Outstanding Drama Series Emmys from 2000 to 2003.

The Cosby Show is one of only two sitcoms to finish number one in the Nielsens for five seasons. Which is the other?

Cosby's lead-in also rescued Family Ties and Cheers, both of which had premiered to poor ratings in 1982.

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

The title refers to the 1859 Comstock Lode silver strike beneath the town.

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

East Coast viewers missed Oakland scoring two touchdowns in the last minute; the switchboard meltdown 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?

The campaign's shooting-star logo won a Peabody Award in 1993 and is still parodied today.

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

The Winter Games joined the deal from 2002, and the network first covered an Olympics in Tokyo in 1964.

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

The loss deepened a slump under Fred Silverman that a parody song summed up as 'The Peacock's dead, so thank you, Fred'.

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

It ended American Idol's eight-year run at the top and repeated the feat for years afterwards.

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

Michaels had come over from ABC's Monday Night Football with John Madden when the package launched in 2006.

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?

'Mr. Television' was so popular that restaurants reportedly emptied on Tuesday nights.

Howdy Doody host Bob Smith's 'Buffalo Bob' nickname referred to Buffalo Bill and to what else?

The puppet show ran on NBC from 1947 to 1960 and was used to sell RCA colour sets in the late 1950s.

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

It made just 79 episodes, then found 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?

Susan Stafford turned the letters; contestants spent their winnings 'shopping' for prizes on the network version until 1989.

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

The 2022 revival then broke the tie, and the franchise's SVU spin-off has run even longer.

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

Mariska Hargitay has played Olivia Benson since the very first episode.

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

It is home to Engine 51, Truck 81, Rescue Squad 3 and Ambulance 61.

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

It was briefly announced as 'The Voice of America' before NBC realised that name belonged to a government broadcaster.

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

It was NBC's answer to Survivor, adapted from a Dutch series called Now or Neverland.

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

NBC cut ties with host Donald Trump in June 2015 over remarks he made announcing his presidential run.

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

The rescue gave Captain Holt and the 99th Precinct three more seasons, ending in 2021.

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

Dan Fogelman's drama jumped between the present and set moments in the family's past each episode.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been televised nationally on NBC since which year?

The parade itself dates from 1924, and its 100th edition falls in 2026 because it was cancelled during World War II.

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

That is how Universal Pictures and the Law & Order studio ended up under the peacock.

Which conglomerate bought RCA, and NBC with it, for $6.4 billion 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?

Only I Dream of Jeannie and Convoy were still in black and white; the rival networks did not go all-colour until 1966–67.

Which anthology series jumped from ABC to NBC in 1961 because NBC could afford to air it in colour?

ABC's Leonard Goldenson admitted his network lacked the money and equipment to match the offer.

Which NBC entertainment president, appointed in 1981, is credited with its 1980s ratings turnaround?

Tartikoff famously showed patience with low-rated newcomers; Cheers ranked near last in its first season before becoming a juggernaut.

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

Local stations saw their late newscasts crater, and the reshuffle pushed Conan O'Brien out of The Tonight Show within months.

Days of Our Lives, on NBC from 1965 to 2022, is set in the fictional city of Salem in which state?

After 57 years the soap moved to the Peacock streaming service, leaving NBC without a daytime serial.

Which banana importer was among NBC's early owners alongside GE, Westinghouse and AT&T?

RCA formed NBC in 1926 as the first major US broadcast network.

MSNBC was created in 1996 as a joint venture between NBC and which company?

NBC's news division had moved into cable in 1989 with the launch of CNBC.

Which two US states have no locally licensed NBC affiliate?

They are served by New York's WNBC and Philadelphia's WCAU.

How many owned-and-operated stations does NBC have?

Its affiliates cover almost every US TV market, and some stations reach Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.

In which HD format is NBC's master feed transmitted?

Nineteen affiliates nonetheless pass the feed on in 720p.

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?

It had been the network's last remaining soap opera.