David Michael Letterman is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC and ending with the May 20, 2015, broadcast of Late Show with David Letterman on CBS. In total, Letterman hosted 6,080 episodes of Late Night and Late Show, surpassing his friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late-night talk show host in American television history. In 1996, Letterman was ranked 45th on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. In 2002, The Late Show with David Letterman was ranked seventh on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
James Douglas Muir Leno is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and automotive historian. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show from 1992 until 2009 when Conan O'Brien took over as host. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET, also on NBC. When O'Brien turned down NBC's offer to have Leno host a half hour monologue show before The Tonight Show to boost ratings amid reported viewership diminishing, Leno returned to hosting the show on March 1, 2010. He hosted his last episode of his second tenure on February 6, 2014. That year, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. From 2014 to 2022, he has hosted Jay Leno's Garage, and since 2021, has hosted the revival of You Bet Your Life.
The Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the Late Show franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated, and CBS Television Studios. The show's music director and leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, was Paul Shaffer. The head writer was Matt Roberts and the announcer was originally Bill Wendell, then Alan Kalter. In most U.S. markets the show aired from 11:35 p.m. to 12:35 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, and recorded Monday to Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second Thursday episode usually aired on Friday of that week.
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien (2009–2010), and Jimmy Fallon (2014–present). Besides the main hosts, a number of regular "guest hosts" have been used, notably Ernie Kovacs, who hosted two nights per week during 1956–1957, and a number of guests used by Carson, who curtailed his own hosting duties back to three nights per week by the 1980s. Among Carson's regular guest hosts were Joey Bishop, David Letterman, Joan Rivers, David Brenner, and Jay Leno, although the practice has been mostly abandoned since hosts currently prefer reruns to showcasing potential rivals. Fallon has used guest hosts rarely, co-hosting the May 24, 2021 broadcast with Dave Grohl, Jimmy Kimmel hosting the April 1, 2022 broadcast, Shawn Mendes co-hosting the April 29, 2022 broadcast, Megan Thee Stallion co-hosting the August 11, 2022 broadcast, Demi Lovato co-hosting the August 17, 2022 broadcast and Jack Harlow co-hosting the October 6, 2022 broadcast.
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to as “New Year’s Eve”. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinking, and watching or lighting fireworks. Some Christians attend a watchnight service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year's Day, 1 January.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
Richard Wagstaff Clark was an American television and radio personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting American Bandstand from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid game show from 1973 to 1988 and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, which transmitted New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City's Times Square.
Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or season-long schedule.
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (NYRE) is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop event, along with live and pre-recorded musical performances by popular musicians from Times Square and Hollywood. Since 2016–17, the special has regularly included performances and coverage of midnight festivities from other locations, including New Orleans and San Juan.
The Times Square Ball is a time ball located in New York City's Times Square. Located on the roof of One Times Square, the ball is a prominent part of a New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square commonly referred to as the ball drop, where the ball descends down a specially designed flagpole, beginning at 11:59:00 p.m. ET, and resting at midnight to signal the start of the new year. In recent years, the ball drop has been preceded by live entertainment, including performances by musicians.
The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night is a 1994 non-fiction book written by The New York Times media reporter Bill Carter. It chronicles the early 1990s conflict surrounding the American late-night talk show The Tonight Show. The book was later made into a film of the same name by HBO.
ABC 2000 Today was ABC News' special programming covering the new millennium celebrations around the world from December 31, 1999, into January 1, 2000, as part of the 2000 Today programming in the United States. Peter Jennings anchored the 23 hours and 10 minutes of broadcast from Times Square Studios in Manhattan, New York. ABC temporarily converted the Good Morning America marquee broadcast studio into a type of "millennium command center" that included a desk, where a standing Jennings spent most of his time, two lounge chairs, where Jennings would interview guests, a large screen with a time-zone included map of the world, a wall of clocks, and a makeshift newsroom where ABC News staffers would follow the latest developments.
NBC has broadcast coverage of New Year's Eve festivities since the 1940s, the majority of which focusing on the "ball drop" event at New York City's Times Square. NBC's coverage was initially anchored by Ben Grauer, airing in simulcast on NBC radio and television. Eschewing a standalone special, its coverage would later become part of special New Year's Eve episodes of NBC's late-night talk show The Tonight Show. This arrangement lasted through the tenure of Johnny Carson, and continued into the tenure of Carson's successor Jay Leno.
Ryan John Seacrest is an American media personality and producer. He is best known as the co-host and executive producer of Live with Kelly and Ryan and the host of multiple media shows including American Idol, American Top 40, and On Air with Ryan Seacrest. He became co-host and executive producer of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in 2006, and stayed on as host and executive producer following Clark's death in 2012.
New Year's Eve Live is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by CNN and CNN International. It primarily focuses on coverage of the ball drop festivities held in Times Square in New York City while also featuring coverage of events in other areas of the U.S. and around the world.
The 2010 Tonight Show conflict was a media and public relations conflict involving the American television network NBC and two of its late-night talk show hosts, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, over the timeslot and hosting duties of long-running franchise The Tonight Show.
The Late Shift is a 1996 American made-for-television biographical film directed by Betty Thomas, and written by George Armitage and New York Times media reporter Bill Carter. Released by HBO Pictures and produced in conjunction with Northern Lights Entertainment, the film premiered on HBO on February 24, 1996.
From 1991 to 2020, the Fox television network aired New Year's Eve specials with various hosts and formats. Many of these specials featured music performances by popular musicians, and coverage of the Times Square ball drop in New York City, although some deviated from this format by focusing on festivities in other cities.
New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash is a New Year's Eve television special that has been broadcast by CBS since December 31, 2021. The special features coverage of festivities in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring performances by country music artists and others. As of the 2022–23 edition, the special has also incorporated coverage of the Times Square ball drop in New York City.
