History of NBC News in Timeline
NBC News is the news division of NBC, operating under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of Comcast. Rebecca Blumenstein is the president of NBC News, overseeing various operations. The NBCUniversal News Group includes MSNBC, a 24-hour cable news channel, CNBC and CNBC World for business and consumer news, Noticias Telemundo for Spanish-language news, and Sky News in the United Kingdom.
June 1940: NBC Televises Republican National Convention
In June 1940, NBC televised 30¼ hours of coverage of the Republican National Convention live from Philadelphia, using relays to New York and upper New York State for rebroadcast, marking one of the first "network" programs of NBC Television.
1941: W2XBS Renamed WNBT
In 1941, NBC's flagship station in New York City, W2XBS, was renamed WNBT. The station operated on channel one.
1944: No Live Telecasts of Conventions
Due to wartime and technical restrictions, there were no live telecasts of the 1944 conventions, although films of the events were reportedly shown over WNBT the next day.
1948: NBC Television Newsreel Aired
In 1948, NBC Television Newsreel aired filmed news highlights with narration. Later in 1948 when sponsored by Esso sponsored news features
1948: NBC Coverage of Truman's Victory
In 1948, NBC teamed up with Life magazine to provide election night coverage of President Harry S. Truman's victory.
1949: Camel News Caravan Renamed
In 1949, the program NBC Television Newsreel was renamed Camel News Caravan when John Cameron Swayze was added as an on-camera anchor.
1955: NBC Coverage of Montgomery Bus Boycott
In 1955, NBC provided national coverage of Martin Luther King Jr.'s leadership of the Montgomery bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
October 29, 1956: The Huntley–Brinkley Report Debut
On October 29, 1956, NBC's The Huntley–Brinkley Report debuted.
April 1962: Walter Cronkite Anchored CBS News
Beginning in April 1962, Walter Cronkite anchored CBS News.
November 22, 1963: NBC Reports JFK Assassination
On November 22, 1963, NBC interrupted programming to announce that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas, Texas, and later carried 71 hours of uninterrupted news coverage of the assassination and funeral.
1968: Reuven Frank becomes president
1969: NBC Earned Emmy Award for First Moon Landing Coverage
In 1969, NBC's coverage of the first Moon landing earned the network an Emmy Award.
1973: Richard Wald becomes president
1977: Lester Crystal becomes president
1979: William J. Small becomes president
December 1983: NBC News Overnight canceled
1983: Tom Brokaw Sole Anchor
In 1983, Tom Brokaw became the sole anchor of NBC Nightly News.
1985: Lawrence Grossman becomes president
1986: NBC Wins Top Spot
In 1986, NBC won the top spot in the Nielsens for the first time in years.
1987: NBC Wins Top Spot
In 1987, NBC won the top spot in the Nielsens for the first time in years.
1987: NBC Radio Network purchased by Westwood One
In 1987, the original major NBC Radio Network was purchased by Westwood One, as General Electric divested properties not related to the NBC television network.
1988: Michael Gartner becomes president
1989: Brokaw witnesses fall of Berlin Wall
In 1989, Tom Brokaw was the only American television news correspondent to witness the fall of the Berlin Wall.
1993: Andrew Lack becomes president
1993: Dateline NBC Broadcast GM Trucks Report
In 1993, Dateline NBC broadcast an investigative report about the safety of General Motors (GM) trucks, which was later found to be rigged. GM filed an anti-defamation lawsuit against NBC, which publicly admitted the tests were rigged and settled the lawsuit with GM on the very same day.
1996: Nightly News Moved Into First Place
In late 1996, Nightly News moved into first place in the ratings.
1997: Canal de Noticias, NBC closed
In 1997, the Canal de Noticias, NBC, a 24-hour news service for Latin American viewers, closed.
1998: NBC Nightside replaced by NBC All Night
In 1998, NBC Nightside was replaced by NBC All Night, which consisted of reruns of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
1999: CNN Radio replaced NBC Radio and Mutual
2000: Seven Nightly News Name Change
Around 2000, Seven Network's local newscasts, previously known as Seven Nightly News since the mid-1980s, underwent a name change.
2001: Neal Shapiro becomes president
2003: Brian Williams Inaccurate Story About Iraq Invasion
In February 2015, NBC suspended Brian Williams for six months for telling an inaccurate story about his experience in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
December 2004: Brian Williams Assumed Primary Anchor Duties
In December 2004, Brian Williams assumed primary anchor duties of NBC Nightly News when Brokaw retired.
2004: Nightly News and Today on ETC
Nightly News and Today were both previously aired on ETC from 2004 to 2005.
2005: Steve Capus becomes president
2005: Nightly News and Today on 2nd Avenue
Nightly News and Today were both previously aired on 2nd Avenue from 2005 to 2007.
January 1, 2007: Poker After Dark added to NBC All Night
From January 1, 2007, Poker After Dark was added to NBC All Night.
2007: Nightly News and Today on 2nd Avenue
Nightly News and Today were both previously aired on 2nd Avenue from 2005 to 2007.
June 2008: Death of Tim Russert
After the sudden death of Tim Russert of Meet the Press in June 2008, Tom Brokaw took over as an interim host.
December 14, 2008: David Gregory Becomes Moderator of Meet the Press
On December 14, 2008, David Gregory became the new moderator of Meet the Press.
2008: Nightly News moved to C/S 9
From 2008 to 2011, Nightly News was later moved to C/S 9 (later Solar TV).
2009: NBC Established Leadership
By 2009, NBC had established leadership in network news, airing the highest-rated morning, evening, and Sunday interview news programs.
September 23, 2011: Poker After Dark left NBC All Night
On September 23, 2011, Poker After Dark left NBC All Night.
2011: Nightly News and Today
From 2008 to 2011, Nightly News was later moved to C/S 9 (later Solar TV) while Today retains it separately on 2nd Avenue until 2011
December 2013: Early Today dropped from 9TV
In December 2013, Early Today was dropped from 9TV in the Philippines, and replaced by repeats of Inside Edition.
2013: Dial Global rebranded as Westwood One
In 2013, Dial Global rebranded itself as Westwood One.
2013: John Lapinski Director of Elections
In 2013, John Lapinski replaced Sheldon Gawiser as Director of Elections.
2013: "Scherzo for Today" Replaced
In 2013, Today replaced "Scherzo for Today," the third movement of "The Mission," with a new theme by Alan Gubman.
August 10, 2014: David Gregory's Last Broadcast
David Gregory's last broadcast of Meet the Press was on August 10, 2014.
August 14, 2014: Chuck Todd to Take Over
On August 14, 2014, NBC announced that Chuck Todd would take over as the 12th moderator of Meet the Press.
September 7, 2014: Chuck Todd Took Over
On September 7, 2014, Chuck Todd took over as the 12th moderator of Meet the Press.
September 2014: Today dropped from 9TV
In September 2014, Today was dropped from 9TV in the Philippines to make room for children's programming.
2014: Sexual harassment during the 2014 Winter Olympics
In 2014, an unidentified female NBC employee reported that Matt Lauer had sexually harassed her during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, which continued after their return to New York, leading to his termination in 2017.
February 2015: Brian Williams Suspended
In February 2015, NBC suspended Brian Williams for six months for telling an inaccurate story about his experience in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was replaced by Lester Holt on an interim basis.
March 2015: NBC Nightly News dropped from 9TV
In March 2015, NBC Nightly News was dropped from 9TV in the Philippines due to Brian Williams' firing and the network's rebranding to CNN Philippines.
April 2015: NBC Revised Kidnapping Account
In April 2015, NBC had to revise the kidnapping account of Richard Engel and his crew, following further investigations that suggested they were taken by a Sunni criminal element rather than a loyalist Shia group.
June 18, 2015: Holt Becomes Permanent Anchor
On June 18, 2015, it was announced that Lester Holt would become the permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News, and Brian Williams would move to MSNBC.
2015: Election team gets permanent space
In 2015, the election team's decision desk group was given its first permanent space at 30 Rockefeller, replacing the News Sales Archives.
November 2016: NBCUniversal to purchase stake in Euronews
In November 2016, NBCUniversal announced its intention to purchase a 25% stake in Euronews.
November 29, 2017: Matt Lauer terminated after sexual harassment report
On November 29, 2017, Matt Lauer's employment was terminated by NBC News following a report from an unidentified female NBC employee alleging sexual harassment during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and subsequent harassment in New York.
2017: Ronna McDaniel chairwoman of the Republican National Committee
In 2017, Ronna McDaniel was the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
April 2018: Ronan Farrow wins Pulitzer Prize for Weinstein story
In April 2018, Ronan Farrow's story on Harvey Weinstein, which NBC News had initially rejected but was later published in the New Yorker Magazine, won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
2020: Ronna McDaniel made false claims of voter fraud
In 2020, Ronna McDaniel, then chairwoman of the RNC, made false claims of voter fraud after Joe Biden won the presidential election.
2020: Ronna McDaniel backtracks on claims about the election
In 2020, after being hired by NBC during an interview on Meet the Press, Ronna McDaniel retracted her previous claims and acknowledged that Joe Biden won the 2020 election 'fair and square'.
2021: The Overview launched on Peacock
In 2021, the Stay Tuned team launched The Overview on Peacock.
March 2024: NBC News hires Ronna McDaniel
In March 2024, NBC News hired Ronna McDaniel, the former chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, stirring controversy due to her past support for Donald Trump and false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
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