NBC News pioneered the morning news program when it launched Today more than 55 years ago, with Dave Garroway as host. The live broadcast provides the latest in domestic and international news, weather reports and interviews with newsmakers from the worlds of politics, business, media, entertainment and sports. After more than 48 years of the standard two-hour format, the third hour was launched in October of 2000, followed by the fourth hour in September 2007, making Today the only four-hour hour national morning show broadcast. The program is unparalleled in its ratings dominance in the morning news arena, serving as America's overwhelming favorite for more than an unprecedented eleven consecutive years.

Since the program’s premiere broadcast on January 14, 1952, Today’s hallmark has been its ability to revise an entire edition to bring viewers breaking news as it happens. In that fashion, Today delivered immediate coverage of such events as Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the Tsunami that wreaked havoc in a dozen Asian nations, the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr., the tragic high school shootings in Littleton, Colorado, the crash of TWA Flight 800, the death of Princess Diana, and the Oklahoma City bombing and trials.

In June 1994, Today moved from its longtime home at New York’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza to a stunning new site next door, NBC News’ glass-walled, ground-floor production facility at the corner of 49th Street and Rockefeller Plaza. The facility brings to mind the Today of the early 1950s, which also had its studio windows facing the streets of New York City. The three-story, 18,000-square-foot home of Today now attracts thousands of visitors each year to peer into its windows and become part of Today’s broadcast.

Today is also renowned for providing its audience with a window on the world by broadcasting from remote locations around the globe. The program has originated from countless countries and has canvassed our nation. For what has become one of the program’s trademark series for the almost ten years, Today has broadcast live from remote locations around the world for the "Where in the World is Matt Lauer" annual trip. Co-anchor Matt Lauer’s trip has taken him to the Panama Canal, Easter Island, Zermatt, Switzerland, Moscow, Machu Pichu, Peru, an oil rig off the coast of Scotland, Paris, Bangkok, Mykonos, Greece, Hawaii, Bilbao, Spain, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Pisa and Florence in Italy, the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, Egypt, Venice, Athens, India, Australia, Mount Everest, aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt stationed in the Adriatic Sea, Rome and the Great Wall of China. In September 2000, Today spent three weeks in Sydney, Australia, providing live coverage of the XXVII Olympiad. The trip was the longest in the history of the program and began a tradition for the show to broadcast live from the host city for the Olympics.

The Fourth Hour of Today
with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb

The fourth hour of Today, hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, has been hailed as "appointment television" by Entertainment Weekly, "uproarious and irresistible" by People magazine, and "Today’s happy hour" by USA Today.  With their undeniable chemistry and wit, Kathie Lee and Hoda bring viewers a fresh lively show each morning that always gets people talking.

In what has become a fan favorite, Kathie Lee and Hoda discuss the headlines and hot stories of the day in Today’s Talk, giving their original and often hysterical perspectives.  Throughout the show, the hosts use Facebook and Twitter to interact live with their fans and get immediate reactions and suggestions.  The program is a go-to destination for celebrity guests and musical acts, as well as today’s newsmakers, authors, designers and chefs.

The fourth hour of Today is a ratings success.  The show has currently posted the most year-to-year growth of any morning or daytime program, up 8 percent in total viewers and 14 percent in the key demographic of adults 25 to 54.

The fourth hour of Today was launched in September 2007.  Phil Griffin, is the Senior Vice President overseeing Today.  Jim Bell is the executive producer of Today, and Tammy Filler is the senior producer of the fourth hour.