Sixty years ago, on January 14, 1952, the “Today” show, the first morning TV program of its kind, made its debut on NBC in New York City. Over the years, it made stars of co-hosts Dave Garroway, Jane Pauley, Katie Couric, and Matt Lauer.
The “Today” show's leadership went unchallenged by the other networks until the 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's “Good Morning America.” It retook the ratings lead during the week of December 11, 1995, and has held onto the No. 1 position since then.
Originally a two-hour, weekday broadcast, its blend of the serious and trivial was expanded to an hour on Sundays in 1987 and two hours on Saturdays in 1992. The weekday show moved to three hours in 2000 and still another hour was added in 2007.
The format of the pioneering NBC program was copied by CBS’s “The Early Show” and in other nations as well: the BBC's “Breakfast,” ITV's “Good Morning Britain,” CTV’s “Canada AM,” and the “Sunrise” show in Australia.
This week, the fourth longest-running TV series in America celebrated its 60 years of broadcasting with a red-carpet party in New York, while the Empire State Building was lit up in the red, orange, and yellow colors of the "Today" rainbow.
Other organizations and landmark sites -- including Niagara Falls and the New York City fireboats around the Statue of Liberty -- have also been illuminated with the show's colors.
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