Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC (also known simply as Dateline) is a weekly American television news magazine that airs on NBC and Telemundo. It started in 1992 and was first a general news show, but later it mostly told stories about real-life mysteries and problems.

The show is famous for its deep looks into complicated situations, often focusing on crimes and unusual events. It usually comes on Fridays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with special longer episodes sometimes shown on other nights. In February 2021, Dateline tried something new with a five-part story called "The Widower," about a man who married six women, four of whom passed away.

History

Dateline has been a long-running show on NBC since it began in 1992. Before Dateline, NBC tried many other news shows, but most of them did not last long. Dateline was created to help a reporter named Jane Pauley, who had been moved from another NBC show.

The show started on March 31, 1992, with Jane Pauley and Stone Phillips as hosts. Over time, more nights were added so that by 1999, Dateline aired five nights a week. Later, the number of nights was reduced because people wanted to watch other types of shows, like reality television.

In the late 1990s, Dateline was very popular and often had important news stories. The show moved to different studios over the years and had many different hosts. In 2008, it started broadcasting in high definition. Lester Holt became the host in 2011 after Ann Curry moved to another show.

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Special series

Main article: To Catch a Predator

To Catch a Predator was a special series hosted by Chris Hansen. It used hidden cameras to show how some adults try to meet children they met online. The show worked with a group to catch these people when they came to meet someone they thought was a child. After talking to them, Chris Hansen would ask questions about their online chats. Police would then come to take them away.

“Wild Wild Web” was another series where Chris Hansen went undercover to answer unsafe or tricky ads online. With hidden cameras, he met people offering bad services or scams.

To Catch a Con Man was a series that used hidden cameras to catch people trying to trick others for money. Chris Hansen reported on these stories, working with a group that watches out for credit card fraud.

Richard Engel hosted The Real Blacklist, a tie-in version leading into The Blacklist, focusing on big crimes and secret plans.

The Widower is Dateline’s first docuseries. It looks at a long investigation into a man from Las Vegas who was accused of harming his wife. The show shows how the investigation found that this was not the first time one of his wives had died strangely.

Dateline: The Last Day is a spin-off series that started on June 14, 2022, on Peacock.

Comparison with other news magazines

Dateline focuses on true crime and human interest stories, often telling one big story per show. The program is known for its emotional storytelling, helping viewers connect with the people involved. A special Friday night edition highlights true crime stories, while some Sunday shows include topics for younger audiences like teen drivers and staying safe.

The show has introduced special segments over the years, such as sharing stories of people who lived through dangerous situations, guessing the year of popular products or songs, and investigating common problems with products or food safety. These segments aim to inform and engage viewers in different ways.

Staff

Current on-air staff

Anchor

• Lester Holt (September 23, 2011–present)

Former on-air staff

This section lists people who used to appear on the show but no longer do.

Syndication

Repackaged hour-long true crime episodes of Dateline air on various cable and satellite channels such as Investigation Discovery, E!, USA Network (E! and USA are owned by NBC parent company NBCUniversal) and OWN. These episodes often have the network names added to the Dateline branding. Other versions include Dateline: Secrets Uncovered on Oxygen, Dateline: Real Life Mysteries on TLC, and Dateline Extra on MSNBC, all also owned by NBCUniversal. NBC News repackages all episodes under its non-fiction Peacock Productions banner. Since July 2020, the NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock has had a full-time channel for Dateline episodes. NBC News Now also airs Dateline NBC every weekend.

Since September 25, 2017, Dateline has aired archived true crime episodes daily in broadcast syndication without the NBC branding. These episodes are also part of MyNetworkTV’s lineup. In February 2025, NBC News announced a Spanish-language version of the series for sister network Telemundo, presented by Noticias Telemundo anchor Julio Vaqueiro.

Nielsen ratings

When Dateline NBC first started, it was watched by about 17 million people. The most viewers ever saw it in one night was about 21 million, which happened on October 4, 1994. The show keeps track of how many people watch each season, and the numbers have changed over time.