History of NBC in Timeline

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is a major American commercial broadcast television and radio network. It is the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division, which is part of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Alongside Universal Studios, NBC is one of NBCUniversal's primary and most well-known subsidiaries. It plays a significant role in the entertainment and media landscape in the United States.

1952: Today Series Created

In 1952, Pat Weaver created the Today series for the network.

1953: NBC becomes the official American broadcaster of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Since 1953, NBC has been the official American broadcaster of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, holding the rights to broadcast Broadway and musical performances during the parade.

1954: Tonight Starring Steve Allen Created

In 1954, Pat Weaver created Tonight Starring Steve Allen, the first program in the Tonight Show franchise.

1954: Home Series Created

In 1954, Pat Weaver created the Home series.

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1955: Wide Wide World Series Created

In 1955, Pat Weaver created the Wide Wide World series.

1955: NBC Monitor Developed

In 1955, Pat Weaver developed NBC Monitor, a weekend-long magazine-style block featuring news, music, comedy, drama and sports, for NBC Radio.

1956: KUAM-TV Became NBC Affiliate

In 1956, KUAM-TV in Guam became an NBC affiliate, carrying the network's entire programming lineup via the East Coast satellite feed.

1966: WMGM-TV affiliates with NBC

In 1966, Atlantic City-based WMGM-TV affiliated with NBC.

1975: Cast Assembled for NBC's Saturday Night

By 1975, Lorne Michaels had assembled a talented cast for NBC's Saturday Night, including Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and others.

1975: NBC Monitor Ended

NBC Monitor, a weekend-long magazine-style block featuring news, music, comedy, drama and sports, which was developed in 1955, ended its run.

1976: NBC Purchased Rights to Saturday Night Live Name

In 1976, NBC purchased the rights to the name Saturday Night Live.

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March 26, 1977: NBC Officially Adopted Saturday Night Live Title

On March 26, 1977, NBC officially adopted the title Saturday Night Live after purchasing the rights to the name.

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1979: Debut of Real People

In 1979, Fred Silverman pioneered the reality television genre with the debut of Real People.

1979: Peacock Reintroduced as NBC Logo

In 1979, Fred Silverman reintroduced the peacock as NBC's corporate logo.

1981: Animated Series Based on The Smurfs Developed

In 1981, Fred Silverman oversaw the development of an animated series based on The Smurfs.

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1982: Turnaround of Network Fortunes

By 1982, Brandon Tartikoff and network president Grant Tinker gradually turned the network's fortunes around.

1985: NBC News Achieves Parity with Competition

By 1985, Fred Silverman revitalized the NBC News division, helping Today and NBC Nightly News achieve parity with their competition for the first time in years.

1985: Seven News Uses "The Mission"

Since 1985, the Seven News division in Australia has used John Williams' "The Mission" as the theme music for its news programs.

1986: NBC introduces current logo

Since 1986, NBC has been using its current logo, which incorporates stylized peacock designs.

1989: Animated Series Based on The Smurfs Ended

The animated series based on The Smurfs ended in 1989. The show began in 1981.

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February 1991: Johnny Carson Announced Retirement

In February 1991, Johnny Carson broke the news of his retirement to Brandon Tartikoff during a lunch meeting.

1993: Canal de Noticias NBC Launched

In 1993, NBC launched Canal de Noticias NBC, a 24-hour Spanish-language news channel serving Latin America, basing its news schedule on the "wheel" format used by CNN.

1993: General Electric Acquires Super Channel

In 1993, NBC's parent company, General Electric, acquired Super Channel and relaunched the Pan-European cable network as NBC Super Channel.

1994: NBC Asia Launched

In 1994, NBC Asia launched, distributing to various countries in Asia and featuring NBC's news programs, The Tonight Show, Late Night, and Saturday Night Live.

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1996: NBC Europe Renamed

In 1996, NBC Super Channel was renamed NBC Europe, although it was commonly referred to as "NBC" on-air.

February 2, 1997: Meet the Press produces a high-definition broadcast

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

In July 1998, NBC Asia was replaced by a regional version of the National Geographic Channel.

April 26, 1999: NBC launches NBC HD

On April 26, 1999, NBC officially began its conversion to high definition with the launch of its simulcast feed, NBC HD, when 'The Tonight Show' became the first HD program to air on the NBC network.

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1999: Canal de Noticias NBC Shut Down

In 1999, Canal de Noticias NBC shut down due to its inability to generate sustainable advertising revenue.

1999: NBC Europe Ceases Broadcasting

In 1999, NBC Europe ceased broadcasting in most of Europe outside of Germany. Concurrently, it was relaunched as a German-language technology channel with the series NBC GIGA as its flagship program.

1999: NBC launches NBCi

In 1999, NBC launched NBCi, an 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 that learned from searches initiated by its users, for $32 million.

2000: Seven Nightly News Title Discontinued

Around 2000, Seven Network discontinued the title Seven Nightly News for its local newscasts, which had been in use since the mid-1980s.

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, with select shows among that season's slate of freshmen scripted series being broadcast in HD from their debuts.

2003: NBC acquires rights to Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA pageants

In 2003, NBC acquired the rights to the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA pageants as part of a deal brokered by Donald Trump, giving NBC half-ownership of the pageants.

2003: Release of the movie 'Elf'

The live-action film 'Elf' was released in 2003. In 2014, a stop-motion animated special called 'Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas' based on the film was debuted on NBC.

2004: NBC Programming Available in U.S. Virgin Islands

Since 2004, NBC programming has been available in the U.S. Virgin Islands on WVGN-LD in Charlotte Amalie.

2005: NBC continues to present holiday specials in 4:3 SD

As of 2005, some holiday specials produced prior to 2005, such as its annual broadcast of 'It's a Wonderful Life', continued to be presented in 4:3 SD, although some have been remastered for HD broadcast.

2005: KKHJ-LP Affiliated with NBC

In 2005, KKHJ-LP in Pago Pago, American Samoa, became affiliated with NBC.

2005: Relaunch as Das Vierte

In 2005, the channel was relaunched again as the free-to-air movie channel Das Vierte.

February 2007: Reilly Signed a New Contract

In February 2007, Kevin Reilly signed a new three-year contract with NBC.

May 2007: Reilly Terminated as President

In late May 2007, Kevin Reilly was terminated as president of NBC.

October 29, 2007: Hulu launches in private beta with NBC content

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: NBC acquires 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 declines to renew contract to carry 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 begins to mirror NBC.com

In mid-2007, NBCi.com began to mirror the main NBC.com website.

2008: NBC provides complete back catalogs of current series on NBC.com and Hulu

In 2008, NBC offered complete back catalogs of most of its current series as well as a limited selection of episodes of classic series on NBC.com and Hulu, including shows not broadcast by NBC during their original runs, such as 'Knight Rider'.

2009: Digital television transition reduces signal coverage

After the digital television transition in 2009, signal coverage from U.S.-based NBC affiliates receivable in Canada was somewhat reduced due to the lower radiated power required to transmit digital signals.

2009: GIGA Television Shuts Down

At the end of 2009, GIGA Television, which had been spun off as a separate digital channel available on satellite and cable in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, shut down as a TV station.

2009: The Jay Leno Show Broadcasted on Solar TV

From 2009 to 2010, Solar TV broadcasted The Jay Leno Show in the Philippines.

2009: NBC and Seven Use "Like it Like That"

In 2009, NBC and the Seven Network in Australia both used the Guy Sebastian single "Like it Like That" in image promos for their respective summer schedules.

2009: NBC begins airing 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, replacing its annual Thanksgiving afternoon airing of 'Miracle on 34th Street'.

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: The Jay Leno Show broadcast ended on Solar TV

From 2009 to 2010, Solar TV broadcasted The Jay Leno Show in the Philippines.

2010: NBCi.com redirects to NBC.com

In 2010, NBCi.com was eventually redirected to the NBC.com domain.

July 2011: Netflix loses the right to carry newer episodes of NBC programs

In July 2011, Netflix lost the right to carry newer episodes of NBC programs during their current seasons.

September 2012: NBC completes conversion to high definition

In September 2012, NBC completed its conversion to high definition, with the launch of NBC Kids, which also became the second Saturday morning children's block with an entirely HD schedule.

2012: KKHJ-LP Disaffiliated with NBC

In 2012, KKHJ-LP in Pago Pago disaffiliated with NBC.

2012: Macy's reroutes parade to avoid CBS cameras

In 2012, Macy's rerouted the Thanksgiving Day Parade route to keep it out of view of CBS's cameras, as NBC held the exclusive broadcast rights to the parade.

2013: Das Vierte Shuts Down

At the end of 2013, Das Vierte shut down after being acquired by Disney, which replaced it with a German version of the Disney Channel.

2013: NBC airs live musical adaptations

Since 2013, NBC has aired live musical adaptations with major stars in lead roles, which have proven to be rating successes.

2014: WMGM-TV no longer an NBC affiliate

In 2014, Atlantic City-based WMGM-TV, which had been affiliated with the network since 1966, was no longer an NBC affiliate.

2014: NBC debuts 'How Murray Saved Christmas' and 'Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas'

In 2014, NBC debuted two animated specials during the Christmas holiday season: 'How Murray Saved Christmas', an animated musical adaptation of the children's book, and 'Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas', a stop-motion animated special based on the 2003 film 'Elf'.

2014: NBC holds rights to Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants

In 2014, NBC held rights to the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants.

2014: VSB-TV Ended 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, available to authenticated subscribers of participating pay television providers.

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 due to controversial remarks made by Donald Trump.

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, also serving as an ATSC 3.0 multiplex for the Raleigh area.

2016: Trump's controversial remarks during campaign

In 2016, Donald Trump made controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants during his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

2017: NBC Affiliates Pulled from Colombia

In early 2017, NBC affiliates ceased distribution in Colombia due to concerns about broadcasting rights outside their local coverage area. Similar actions were taken by ABC and CBS.

2018: NBC's NFL game telecasts permitted to be streamed

In 2018, a change to the NFL's mobile rights agreement allowed NBC's NFL game telecasts to be streamed through network websites and apps.

2018: WRAL-EX goes off-air

In 2018, the experimental station WRAL-EX, which transmitted limited NBC programming in UHD, went off-air as part of the FCC's repacking process.

2018: NBC purchases Nashua station after FCC spectrum auction

In early 2018, NBC purchased the Nashua station (formerly WYCN-CD) after the FCC spectrum auction.

April 2019: NBC Paid Firm to Improve Reputation

In April 2019, the Huffington Post and Wired reported that NBC had paid a firm to lobby for changes to its Wikipedia articles, Nextdoor, and several others, in order to improve its reputation.