Entertainment Tonight

Entertainment Tonight (or simply ET) is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by CBS Interactive.

Entertainment Tonight
GenreEntertainment
Created byAl Masini
Presented byKevin Frazier (2014-present)
Theme music composerMichael Mark (original)
will.i.am (2012 recomposition)
Opening theme“Entertainment Tonight Theme” By Michael Mark
Ending themeVarious closing themes
ComposersMichael Egizi (2000-2017)
Joel Beckerman (2012-2018)
Eric Allaman (2010-2015)
Jerry Deaton (2000-2005)
Deane Ogden (2002-2003)
Dan Beyer (2006-2007)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons40
No. of episodes12,336 (as of February 6, 2021; 10,280 weekdays; 2,056 weekend)
Production
Executive producersBrad Bessey (2014–2016)
Rick Joyce (2016)
Sharon Hoffman (2016–2019)
Erin Johnson (2019-present)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22 minutes (weekday editions)
44 minutes (weekend edition)
Production companiesParamount Domestic Television
(1981–2006)
(seasons 1–25)
CBS Paramount Domestic Television
(2006–2007)
(seasons 25–27)
CBS Television Distribution
(2007–2021)
CBS Media Ventures
(2021–present)
Operation Prime Time
(uncredited)
DistributorCBS Media Ventures
Release
Original networkSyndicated
Picture formatNTSC (480i) (1981–2008)
HDTV (1080i) (2008–present)
Original releaseSeptember 14, 1981 (1981-09-14) –
present
Chronology
Related showsThe Insider
External links
Website

Format

The format of the program is composed of stories of interest from throughout the entertainment industry, exclusive set visits, first looks at upcoming film and television projects, and one-on-one interviews with actors, musicians and other entertainment personalities and newsmakers.

Logo used until 2014; all on-air logos used since 1994 are based on the lead "E" and end "T" in "Entertainment" seen in the original 1981 logo, but have solely used the abbreviated "ET" name.

A one-hour weekend edition, ET Weekend (known as Entertainment This Week until September 1991), originally offered a recap of the week's entertainment news, with most or all episodes later transitioning to center (either primarily or exclusively) around some sort of special theme; though the weekend edition now utilizes either format depending on the episode, most commonly, the format of those broadcasts consists of replays of stories that were shown during the previous week's editions.

ET Radio Minute, a daily radio feature, is syndicated by Westwood One.

As of 2018, the program's weekday broadcasts are anchored by Kevin Frazier, while the weekend editions are anchored by Cameron Mathison and Nischelle Turner.

In November 2018, CBS launched a free, 24-hour over-the-top streaming service known as ET Live; it features the correspondents from the linear show with expanded coverage of entertainment news. It is available via web browsers, apps, and most recently, the free streaming service Pluto TV (which added ET Live to its channel lineup in November 2019).[1][2]

History

In its early years from its 1981 inception, Entertainment Tonight – following a local newscast-style format – consisted primarily of coverage of the latest movies, music and television releases and projects.

They signed an exclusive agreement to cover the wedding of convicted child molester Mary Kay Letourneau, who married the student she had an affair with, Vili Fualaau;[3] and attorney Howard K. Stern, who represented Daniel Birkhead in the Dannielynn Birkhead paternity case of the late Anna Nicole Smith's daughter Dannielynn.[4][5] ET has also aired exclusive stories related to Anna Nicole Smith, including coverage of her funeral, and her surviving daughter.[6]

In 1996, actor George Clooney decided to boycott Entertainment Tonight to protest the presence of intrusive paparazzi after Hard Copy did an exposé about his love life, violating an agreement that he had with Paramount, which produced and syndicated both shows.[7] In a letter he sent to Paramount, Clooney stated that he would encourage his friends to do the same.[8]

On September 8, 2008, Entertainment Tonight began broadcasting in high-definition television; concurrently, the program moved its production and studio operations from its longtime home at Stage 28 on the Paramount Pictures studio lot to Stage 4 at CBS Studio Center, one of the final steps involving the incorporation of Paramount's former syndication arm, Paramount Domestic Television, into CBS' distribution arms and the adoption of the then-new CBS Television Distribution name, which all took place following the breakup of CBS and the original Viacom into separate companies in December 2005.[9]

After pressure via a social media campaign by actors Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell, ET announced in February 2014 that it would no longer accept footage or pictures of the children of celebrities from paparazzi photographers.[10]

This show is the longest-running syndicated show, surpassing Soul Train, which had a 37-year run.

On-air staff

Anchor
  • Kevin Frazier – anchor (2014–present; previously served as weekend co-anchor/correspondent from 2004–2011)

Correspondents
  • Brooke Anderson – contributor/substitute weekday anchor (2019–present; previously served as substitute weekday anchor/correspondent from 2013–2015 and as contributor from 2015—2018)
  • Matt Cohen - weekend anchor/correspondent/substitute weekday anchor (2019–present)
  • Keltie Knight – correspondent/substitute weekend anchor/substitute weekday anchor (2017–present)
  • Rachel Smith – New York correspondent (2019–present)
  • Nischelle Turner – weekend anchor/correspondent/substitute weekday anchor (2014–present)
  • Lauren Zima – correspondent (2019–present)

Former on-air staff

Competition

As of 2007, despite competition from The Insider and even the more general-focus newsmagazine Inside Edition, both which are also produced by CBS Television Distribution, Entertainment Tonight remained among the ten highest-rated syndicated programs according to Nielsen ratings weekly ratings. During the 2007–08 season, the program's daytime ratings fluctuated between fourth and fifth place due to competition from fellow CBS-syndicated program Judge Judy.[11]

References
  1. Bouma, Luke (2019-11-13). "Pluto TV Adds Several CBS Stations Including ET Live For Free". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  2. Albiniak, Paige. "'ET' Headed Over the Top with ET Live". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  3. "'ET' Ponies Up for Letourneau Wedding". Zap2It. Tribune Media Services. April 28, 2005. Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  4. "Howard K. Stern Lived Off Anna Nicole Smith". Wild Starz. February 21, 2007. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012.
  5. Irwin, Lew (February 13, 2007). "Did Entertainment Tonight Pay For Stern Interview?". Contact Music.
  6. "On the Heels of Anna Nicole's Death, Tragedy at The Insider". Jossip. February 8, 2007. Archived from the original on February 14, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  7. "Stardom is double-edged sword for private Clooney". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System. December 13, 1996.
  8. "CLOONEY TUNE:THE 'ER' STAR TAKES ON TABLOID TV". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. November 8, 1996.
  9. "Entertainment Tonight and The Insider Move Headquarters to Brand New State of the Art Soundstages at CBS Studio Center". CBS Television Distribution. September 8, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2009 – via The Futon Critic.
  10. "ET Joins Kristen Bell in Fight with Paparazzi". Entertainment Tonight. CBS Interactive. February 20, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  11. "Making Whoopi: 'View' ratings are up". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on December 26, 2008.
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