History of NBC in Timeline
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is a major American commercial broadcast television and radio network. As the flagship property of NBC Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal (a subsidiary of Comcast), it stands as the first and oldest major broadcast programming network in the United States. Alongside Universal Studios, it represents one of NBCUniversal's two main flagship subsidiaries, making it a key player in the media and entertainment landscape.
1953: Official American Broadcaster of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Since 1953, NBC has been the official American broadcaster of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1954: Creation of Tonight Starring Steve Allen and Home
In 1954, Weaver created Tonight Starring Steve Allen, the first program in the Tonight Show franchise, and the show Home for NBC.
1955: Creation of Wide Wide World and NBC Monitor
In 1955, Weaver created the show Wide Wide World for NBC. He also developed NBC Monitor, a weekend-long magazine-style block for NBC Radio.
1956: KUAM-TV becomes an NBC affiliate
In 1956, KUAM-TV in Guam became an NBC affiliate.
1966: WMGM-TV Affiliates with NBC
From 1966 to 2014, WMGM-TV in Atlantic City was an in-state affiliate of NBC in New Jersey.
1973: Paramount Skydance owns the rights to the pre-1973 NBC's in-house programming library
Paramount Skydance currently owns the rights to the pre-1973 NBC's in-house programming library.
1975: Michaels assembles cast for NBC's Saturday Night
In 1975, Michaels assembled a talented cast for the show originally called NBC's Saturday Night.
1975: End of NBC Monitor
In 1975, NBC Monitor, a weekend-long magazine-style block on NBC Radio, ended after running for 20 years.
1976: NBC purchases rights to Saturday Night Live name
In 1976, NBC purchased the rights to the name Saturday Night Live from ABC.
March 26, 1977: NBC officially adopts Saturday Night Live title
On March 26, 1977, NBC officially adopted the title Saturday Night Live for its show.
1979: Debut of Real People
In 1979, Silverman pioneered the reality television genre with the debut of Real People.
1979: Reintroduction of the peacock logo
In 1979, Silverman reintroduced the peacock as NBC's corporate logo.
1981: Development of The Smurfs animated series
In 1981, Silverman oversaw the development of an animated series based on The Smurfs.
1982: Tartikoff and Tinker turn network fortunes around
By 1982, Tartikoff and network president Grant Tinker gradually turned the network's fortunes around.
1985: NBC regains top position
By 1985, Brandon Tartikoff helped get NBC back on top.
1986: Current NBC Logo Introduced
Since 1986, NBC has been using a stylized peacock logo.
February 1991: Johnny Carson announces retirement plans
In February 1991, Johnny Carson informed Brandon Tartikoff of his plans to retire during a lunch meeting. Only Tartikoff and Bob Wright were aware of this before the public announcement.
1993: General Electric acquires Super Channel
In 1993, General Electric, then-NBC's parent company, acquired Super Channel and relaunched the Pan-European cable network as NBC Super Channel.
1993: Launch of Canal de Noticias NBC
In 1993, NBC launched Canal de Noticias NBC, a 24-hour Spanish-language news channel serving Latin America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
1996: NBC Super Channel Renamed NBC Europe
In 1996, NBC Super Channel was renamed NBC Europe, although it was almost always referred to on-air as simply "NBC".
February 2, 1997: Meet the Press Airs in High-Definition
On February 2, 1997, Meet the Press was the first regular series on a major television network to produce a high-definition broadcast, airing in the format over WHD-TV in Washington, D.C.
July 1998: NBC Asia replaced by National Geographic Channel
In July 1998, NBC Asia was replaced by a regional version of the National Geographic Channel.
April 26, 1999: NBC Launches Simulcast Feed in High Definition
On April 26, 1999, NBC officially began its conversion to high definition with the launch of its simulcast feed, NBC HD, and The Tonight Show became the first HD program to air on the NBC network.
1999: Closure of Canal de Noticias NBC
In 1999, Canal de Noticias NBC shut down due to the channel's inability to generate sustainable advertising revenue.
1999: NBC Europe ceases broadcasting
In 1999, NBC Europe ceased broadcasting in most of Europe outside of Germany and was relaunched as a German-language technology channel aimed at a younger demographic, with the new series NBC GIGA as its flagship program.
1999: NBC Launches NBCi Web Portal
In 1999, NBC launched NBCi (briefly changing its web address to "www.nbci.com"), a heavily advertised online venture serving as an attempt to launch a web portal, partnering with Xoom.com, e-mail.com, AllBusiness.com, and Snap.com.
April 2000: NBC Purchases GlobalBrain
In April 2000, NBC purchased GlobalBrain, a company specializing in search engines, for $32 million.
2000: Seven Nightly News ends title
Around 2000, Seven News local newscasts stopped being titled Seven Nightly News.
2002: NBC Gradually Converts Programming to High Definition
Beginning with the 2002-03 season, NBC gradually converted much of its existing programming from standard-definition to high definition.
2003: NBC Assumes Rights to Miss Universe and Miss USA Pageants
In 2003, NBC assumed the rights to the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants as part of a deal brokered by Donald Trump, the owner of the Miss Universe Organization, granting NBC half-ownership of the pageants.
2004: Availability in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Since 2004, NBC's programming has been available in the U.S. Virgin Islands on WVGN-LD in Charlotte Amalie.
2005: Holiday Specials Still Presented in Standard Definition
Certain holiday specials produced prior to 2005, such as its annual broadcast of It's a Wonderful Life, continue to be presented in 4:3 SD, although some have been remastered for HD broadcast.
2005: NBC affiliation with KKHJ-LP
In 2005, NBC affiliated with KKHJ-LP in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
2005: NBC GIGA relaunched as Das Vierte
In 2005, the channel NBC GIGA was relaunched again as the free-to-air movie channel Das Vierte.
February 2007: Kevin Reilly signs new contract with NBC
In February 2007, Kevin Reilly signed a new three-year contract with NBC.
May 2007: Kevin Reilly terminated as president
In late May 2007, Kevin Reilly was terminated from his position as president of NBC.
October 29, 2007: Hulu Launches in Private Beta Testing
On October 29, 2007, Hulu launched in private beta testing, offering full-length episodes of most of NBC's programming through the streaming service.
2007: Acquisition of the rights to the National Dog Show
In 2007, NBC acquired the rights to the National Dog Show, which airs following the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade each year.
2007: NBC Discontinues Televised Broadcasts of Miss Teen USA
In 2007, NBC declined to renew its contract to carry Miss Teen USA, effectively discontinuing televised broadcasts of that event until 2023.
2007: NBCi.com Mirrors NBC.com
In mid-2007, NBCi.com began to mirror the main NBC.com website.
2008: Knight Rider Reboot
NBC.com and certain other partner websites provide complete back catalogs of most of its current series as well as a limited selection of episodes of classic series from the NBCUniversal Television Distribution program library, including the short-lived 2008 reboot of Knight Rider.
2009: GIGA Television shuts down as TV station
In 2009, GIGA Television, which had been spun off as a separate digital channel, shut down as a TV station.
2009: NBC and Seven use "Like it Like That" in promos
In 2009, NBC and Seven both used the Guy Sebastian single "Like it Like That" in image promos for their respective summer schedules.
2009: Same-Day Rebroadcast of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
In 2009, NBC began airing a same-day rebroadcast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade telecast, replacing its annual Thanksgiving afternoon airing of Miracle on 34th Street.
2009: Solar TV broadcasts The Jay Leno Show
In 2009, Solar TV began broadcasting The Jay Leno Show in the Philippines.
2009: Digital television transition impact
In 2009, signal coverage for NBC network programs in areas near the Canada-United States border was somewhat reduced due to the lower radiated power required to transmit digital signals after the digital television transition.
May 2, 2010: Meet the Press Converts to HD
On May 2, 2010, Meet the Press became the last NBC News program to convert to HD.
2010: NBCi.com Redirected to NBC.com
In 2010, NBCi.com was eventually redirected to the NBC.com domain.
2010: Solar TV ends broadcast of The Jay Leno Show
In 2010, Solar TV stopped broadcasting The Jay Leno Show.
July 2011: Netflix Loses Rights to Newer NBC Episodes
In July 2011, Netflix lost the right to carry newer episodes of NBC programs during their current seasons, retaining only cataloged episodes.
September 2012: NBC Completes Conversion to High Definition
In September 2012, NBC completed its conversion to high definition with the launch of NBC Kids.
2012: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Rerouted
In 2012, Macy's chose to reroute the Thanksgiving Day Parade out of the view of CBS' cameras, as NBC held exclusive rights to broadcast Broadway and music performances during the parade.
2012: End of NBC affiliation with KKHJ-LP
In 2012, NBC's affiliation with KKHJ-LP in Pago Pago, American Samoa, ended.
2013: Das Vierte shuts down
At the end of 2013, Das Vierte shut down, having been acquired by Disney, which replaced it with a German version of Disney Channel.
2013: Live Musical Adaptations Aired
Since 2013, NBC has aired live musical adaptations with major stars in lead roles, which have proven to be rating successes and a nostalgic tribute to the early days of television.
2014: Christmas Holiday Specials Debut
During the Christmas holiday season of 2014, NBC debuted How Murray Saved Christmas, an animated musical adaptation of the children's book of the same name, and Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas, a stop-motion animated special based on the 2003 live-action film Elf.
2014: WMGM-TV Ends Affiliation with NBC
From 1966 to 2014, WMGM-TV in Atlantic City was an in-state affiliate of NBC in New Jersey, but it ended its affiliation in 2014.
2014: NBC held rights to two of the three pageants
From 2003 to 2014, NBC held rights to two of the three pageants organized by the Miss Universe Organization: the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants.
2014: VSB-TV ends operations
In 2014, VSB-TV, which carried NBC's entire program lineup, ended operations.
February 18, 2015: NBC Begins Providing Live Programming Streams
On February 18, 2015, NBC began providing live programming streams of local NBC stations in select markets to authenticated subscribers of participating pay television providers, initially including all eleven NBC-owned-and-operated stations.
June 29, 2015: NBCUniversal Relinquishes Rights to Miss Universe and Miss USA
On June 29, 2015, NBCUniversal relinquished the rights to Miss Universe and Miss USA as part of its decision to cut business ties with Donald Trump and the Miss Universe Organization due to controversial remarks he made about Mexican immigrants.
February 2016: WRAL-TV Re-joins NBC
In February 2016, WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina, re-joined NBC and began broadcasting at 1080p via WNGT-CD, serving as an ATSC 3.0 multiplex for the Raleigh area.
2016: Controversial Remarks by Donald Trump
In 2016, during the launch of his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump made controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants, leading NBCUniversal to cut business ties with him and the Miss Universe Organization.
2017: NBC affiliates stop distribution in Colombia
In early 2017, NBC affiliates stopped being distributed in Colombia due to concerns about broadcasting rights outside their original local coverage area.
2018: WRAL-EX Experimental Station Goes Off-Air
In 2018, WRAL-EX, an experimental station that transmitted limited NBC programming in UHD, went off-air as part of the FCC's repacking process.
2018: NBC Purchases Nashua Station
In early 2018, NBC purchased the Nashua station (formerly WYCN-CD) after the FCC spectrum auction.
2018: NFL Game Telecasts Streamed on NBC
In the 2018 season, a change to the NFL's mobile rights agreement allowed NBC's NFL game telecasts to be streamed through network websites and apps.
April 2019: Report on NBC's Reputation Management
In April 2019, reports from the Huffington Post and Wired indicated that NBC had engaged a firm to enhance its reputation by advocating for modifications to Wikipedia articles pertaining to NBC, Nextdoor, and other entities.
2019: WYCN-LD Relocated to Providence
In 2019, NBC relocated WYCN-LD to Providence, Rhode Island, to serve as a Telemundo station for that market.
2023: Televised Broadcasts of Miss Teen USA resume
NBC discontinued televised broadcasts of Miss Teen USA in 2007, but the broadcasts resumed in 2023.
December 31, 2024: KXGN-TV Drops NBC
On December 31, 2024, KXGN-TV in Glendive, Montana dropped NBC from its DT2 subchannel.
2025: NBCUniversal Ownership stake in Hulu expires
From 2007 to 2025, NBCUniversal was a part-owner of Hulu. They offered full-length episodes of most of NBC's programming through the streaming service.
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