The News with Brian Williams

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The News with Brian Williams
Format News
Starring Brian Williams
John Seigenthaler
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes appx. 2,030
Production
Running time One Hour
Broadcast
Original channel MSNBC (1996-2002)
CNBC (2002-2004)
Original run July 15, 1996May 14, 2004
The logo of "The News on CNBC".
The logo of "The News on CNBC".

The News with Brian Williams, which debuted on July 15, 1996 (the day MSNBC first signed on the air), was the former flagship signature news broadcast on both MSNBC and CNBC. The show's anchor was Brian Williams. The News was a broadcast designed mainly for primetime viewers who may have missed that night's NBC Nightly News.

The News originally aired at 9pm ET on MSNBC from July 15, 1996 to July 6, 2001. It moved up to the 8pm time slot on July 9, 2001.

During the Decision 2000 election coverage, The News was the main program for MSNBC's coverage.

John Seigenthaler (and later various anchors such as Soledad O'Brien, Forrest Sawyer, and some of the anchors from CNBC and MSNBC) often substituted for Brian Williams during his absence, mainly Williams' duties as substitute on NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.

[edit] The News on CNBC

In July of 2002, MSNBC canceled The News, in order to make room for a new show during primetime. The News now aired only on CNBC at 7pm ET, and was the main news broadcast on CNBC. Viewership on The News suffered.

In 2002, NBC announced that Brian Williams would take over from Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News in 2004. In the beginning of 2004, Williams stepped down as anchor of The News, and the show's substitute, John Seigenthaler, took over as the new anchor of The News, which was renamed, The News on CNBC.

When Seigenthaler took over the anchor chair on January 19, 2004, The News moved down to the 8pm ET time slot. The final edition of The News aired on May 14, 2004, exactly one week after the cancellation announcement.

[edit] See also