By Katlyn Jackson
September 28 marks two significant events regarding television
broadcasting. (1) On that date (Sept. 28) in 1962, Johnny Carson took
over as host of NBC's Tonight Show from Jack Paar. With Carson at the
helm, the show would air both during the week and on weekends until
1975. (2) Then, on that date (Sept. 28) in 1975, weekend airings of the
Tonight Show ended due in large part to Carson, who wanted airings of
the show to be reserved for weekdays. In addition to giving Carson some
well deserved time off, this event was significant, as it created an
open timeslot that NBC would later fill with Saturday Night Live.
If not for these two events, Saturday Night Live might not have been
created. Saturday Night Live is one of the longest running network
programs in the US, with over 700 episodes and spanning 36 seasons. The
huge success of SNL in the US has prompted other countries to create
their own versions. The Tonight Show is currently the longest running
regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States and the
third longest running program on NBC. It is also aired in 17 countries
around the world. Both these events helped to popularize late night
television in the US and around the globe.