Weekend Today is an American morning news and talk show airing weekend mornings on the NBC television network.
History
Originally, Weekend Today only aired on Sunday. The Sunday edition of the show premiered on September 20, 1987. Five years later, on August 1, 1992, the Saturday edition made its debut, expanding the broadcast schedule of the Today show franchise to seven days a week. The program is broadcast from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza in New York, although Sunday Today originated from Washington for a few years.
Format
The weekend broadcasts continue the Today tradition of covering breaking news, interviewing newsmakers, reporting on a variety of popular-culture and human-interest stories, covering health and finance issues and presenting the latest weather reports. Just like the Weekday edition, the show offers visitors to New York City a chance to observe firsthand the workings of a live television broadcast with its windowed studio on Rockefeller Plaza. Interaction with the crowd outside the studio is a major part of the program.
Unlike the weekday edition of Today where news updates are reported at the top of the hour, news updates are given every half hour.
Weekend editions are tailored to the priorities and interests of weekend viewers—offering special series such as Saturday Today on the Plaza, featuring live performances by the biggest names in music and Broadway outside the studio throughout the summer.
Amy Chiaro is the Executive Producer of Weekend Today and Andrea D'Ambrosio and Lisa Green are its Senior Producers.
Show times
The show is live from 7:00 to 8:00 ET first hour, 8:00 to 9:00 ET second hour on Saturdays and 8:00 to 9:00 ET on Sundays. The weekday edition the show airs at 7:00 local time in each of the time zones, the weekend edition is also aired 7:00 Saturday and 8:00 Sunday in all time zones. However depending on the time zone the second hour of the Saturday edition may or may not air.
Current Anchors
Sunday News Anchors (periodically changes)
Weather Anchors
Former Anchors
Sunday Today anchors included:
Weekend Today anchors included:
Campbell Brown's Departure
At the conclusion of the July 22, 2007 broadcast of Weekend Today, co-anchor Campbell Brown announced that she would be leaving the show and NBC News all together after 11 years. She said that she would focus on her family and expected baby but will also be pursuing other television opportunities. Her niece and mother were watching from behind the scenes for her final broadcast. On July 23, 2007 CNN announced that Brown would join the network as host of her own evening news talk show. CNN confirmed that Brown would start work for them in February 2008 (originally November 2007), filling the spot previously held by Paula Zahn, who left the network in turn.[1]
Theme music
Scherzo for Today was used as the program's closing theme until 1990, and the Mission bumpers were used until 1993. (One of them could be heard as a station break lead-in on NBC's Meet The Press until 2004.) The Today Show opening fanfare has opened the program ever since, with two exceptions. In the summer of 1994, to mark the debut of Studio 1A, the Williams-penned fanfare was replaced by another opening theme, but the Williams theme returned shortly thereafter. In 2004, the show's producers tried out yet another theme, which drew once again on the NBC chimes as its signature, but the Williams theme returned after only a few weeks. It is by far the most enduring theme in the program's history, having now been in use for over two decades.
The Scherzo for Today was iconically accompanied by Fred Facey announcing "From NBC News, this is Today..." until his death in April 2003, except for special editions requiring special introductions. Facey's work is now only heard on the MSNBC program Headliners and Legends.
Currently, a lighter theme employing the NBC chimes is used to open the show's 7:30 and 8:30 half-hour segments, and also used as a closing theme.
Special editions
Following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003, Weekend Today aired a special edition on Sunday, February 2, with the expanded introduction
The next day was also a special edition with Matt Lauer at Studio 1A in New York and Katie Couric at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
On April 6, 2003, the death of Bloom in Iraq dominated that day's edition. Soledad O'Brien, Matt Lauer, and Katie Couric hosted a special edition of Weekend Today to remember Bloom.
When Pope John Paul II died on Saturday, April 2, 2005, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer anchored the weekend editions of The Today Show. Lauer anchored from the Vatican with Campbell Brown offering reports by his side. On the day of the Pope's death, Couric anchored a special report on a Vatican statement updating the Pope's dire condition and Lauer reported for the special report anchored by Brian Williams when the Pope was officially dead. He returned to New York as Couric traveled to Vatican City to co-anchor coverage of the Pope's funeral with Williams.
On Saturday, April 19, 2008, special edition of Weekend Today featured Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States, billed as "The Pope Visits the USA." Lester Holt and Jenna Wolfe moved outside to Rockefeller Center to cover the first papal mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. However, they moved back to Studio 1A at the 7:30 half hour.
On Saturday, May 10, 2008, Weekend Today featured a special split edition coveing the wedding of Jenna Bush at the President's ranch outside Crawford, Texas. Co-anchor Lester Holt remained at Studio 1A, while Amy Robach covered the wedding from Texas.
On Saturday, June 14, 2008, a special edition occurred because of the death of Tim Russert, NBC's Washington Bureau Chief and Moderator of Meet the Press. Matt Lauer and Tom Brokaw anchored this edition of "Today." Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory, Pete Williams, Lisa Myers, Bob Schieffer, host of Face the Nation, George Stephanopoulos, host of This Week, and Vice President Dick Cheney, among others, appeared on "Today." The next day, there was another special edition, hosted by Gregory and Mitchell on the death of Russert.
Viewership
The program is watched by more viewers than ABC's Good Morning America Weekend Edition and CBS' Saturday Early Show[2], but less than those of CBS News Sunday Morning.[3]
International broadcasts
In Australia, Weekend Today airs at 4:00AM Mondays on the Seven Network, followed by Meet The Press. In the Philippines, the Saturday and Sunday editions air on 2nd Avenue on Sunday and Monday respectively at 7.00 local time.
References
External links
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