Live at Five (WNBC)

Live at Five is WNBC-TV's 5 PM weekday newscast broadcasting from NBC Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center. A mix of news, features and interviews. The Live at Five concept was first introduced in 1979 by WNBC News Director Ron Kershaw and Bob Davis. Their first anchors were Pia Lindstrom and Melba Toliver. Jack Cafferty joined the anchor chair a few months later.

Related Topics:
WNBC-TV - NBC - Rockefeller Center - 1979 - Pia Lindstrom - Melba Toliver - Jack Cafferty

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Live at Five was born of necessity. The 5 PM broadcast was part of a two-hour early news block called NewsCenter 4 which combined features and hard news, and attempted to compete with its competitors' old movies and syndicated programing. When ratings crumbled in 1980, WNBC decided to pour resources into its 6 PM newscast, which would feature its best reporters, while the 5 PM newscast would be more of an interview and lifestyle show with news headlines at the top of the show.

Related Topics:
NewsCenter 4 - 1980

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In October 1980, Sue Simmons joined the WNBC and Live at Five team from Washington's WRC-TV. She has had several co-anchors, or as Sue called them "anchor husbands", including Jack Cafferty, Tony Guida, Matt Lauer and Jim Rosenfeld. For most of the 1980s, legendary NBC annoucer Don Pardo did the talent introductions and other voice overs, usually live in the studio. Today the show is called NewsChannel 4 Live at Five.

Related Topics:
1980 - Sue Simmons - Washington's - WRC-TV - Jack Cafferty - Tony Guida - Matt Lauer - Jim Rosenfeld - Don Pardo - Voice overs - NewsChannel 4

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In the 1980s, the show was the talk of the town with guests ranging from Jimmy Carter to Orson Welles to Little Richard. The show's impressive guest lineup was fodder for a running joke on Late Night with David Letterman, which taped across the hall in Studio 6A at 30 Rockefeller Center, where Letterman complained that Live at Five got better guests than he did. Today, the show still maintains an impressive guest lineup, with everyone from Broadway stars to NFL football stars to politicians coming to Studio 6B to be interviewed.

Related Topics:
Jimmy Carter - Orson Welles - Little Richard - Late Night with David Letterman - Rockefeller Center - Letterman - Broadway - NFL

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In 2005, Jim Rosenfeld jumped ship to return to WCBS-TV. His replacement is Perri Peltz, who worked for WNBC in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Interestingly, the 5 PM edition WABC's Eyewitness News has two female anchors Diana Williams and Sade Baderinwa.

Related Topics:
2005 - Jim Rosenfeld - WCBS-TV - Perri Peltz - 1990s - WABC's - Eyewitness News - Diana Williams - Sade Baderinwa

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Several stations throughout the United States attempted to copy the Live at Five format or just rebranded their newscast "Live at Five" or some variant thereof. However no station reached the success, quality of guests, or national prominence that WNBC, the originator of the concept, did.

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