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Weekend Today
Also known asSaturday Today & Sunday Today
Presented by
Theme music composer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerMatthew Carluccio
Production locationsStudio 1A, NBC Studios, New York City, New York
Studio N5, NBC News Studios, Washington, D.C. (Saturday 2020–2023)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time88–104 minutes (Saturday)
44–52 minutes (Sunday)
Production companyNBC News Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 20, 1987 (1987-09-20) –
present
Related
Today

Weekend editions of Today, an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC, began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on September 20, 1987. After NBC expanded Today to seven days a week in the 1990s, the name Weekend Today was adapted primarily for promotional purposes.

The Saturday edition of the program, titled Saturday Today since March 2022, is broadcast live in alignment with the weekday editions of Today from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Since 2017, however, the Saturday broadcast is frequently shortened by a half-hour (sometimes even shorter/preempted due to earlier sports start times) to accommodate Premier League soccer matches or other sports events that start before 1:00 p.m. ET (and does not air at all during the weekend of golf's U.S. Open), allowing NBC stations to also accommodate programs from The More You Know block displaced from their normal timeslots to fulfill educational content quotas. Some affiliates outside the Eastern Time Zone air it live, and others on tape-delay. Thus, it may air on some NBC stations as early as 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. local time.

Meanwhile, the Sunday edition, titled Sunday Today with Willie Geist since April 17, 2016, airs from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. ET. Some NBC affiliates choose to air local morning newscasts before and after both Saturday and Sunday editions of the program.

History

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The Sunday edition of Today (titled Sunday Today) premiered on September 20, 1987, and was originally hosted by Maria Shriver and Boyd Matson, with Garrick Utley as news anchor and Al Roker as weather anchor. The program was broadcast from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m., followed by Meet the Press. It was the second morning news program to run weekend editions, CBS previously attempted a six-day-a-week morning news program under the "Morning" banner in 1979, the only surviving remnant of which is the newsmagazine CBS News Sunday Morning.

External videos
video icon TODAY Begins Sunday Broadcasts, archived by Today on YouTube. Sunday Today premieres on September 20, 1987 with Maria Shriver and Boyd Matson.

Utley replaced Matson as co-anchor on March 20, 1988. Shriver, weather anchor Al Roker and sports anchor Bill Macatee continued with the program. In 1989, production of Sunday Today moved to Washington, D.C. to allow Utley to also serve as moderator of Meet the Press.

On November 12, 1989, a special edition of Sunday Today featured Utley in Berlin covering the fall of the Berlin Wall earlier that week, with Shriver hosting from Burbank, California and Roker in New York City. At the end of the broadcast, Utley mentioned that Shriver was leaving the show to go on maternity leave. NBC News national correspondent (and eventual co-anchor of the weekday edition of Today) Katie Couric, Deborah Norville, Faith Daniels and Mary Alice Williams became substitute anchors during Shriver's absence.

Maria Shriver returned to Sunday Today from maternity leave on April 8, 1990, and announced that she would be leaving after that day's broadcast. Couric was named interim co-anchor until Mary Alice Williams became the new co-anchor later that month. Production of the Sunday program returned to New York City when Utley left Meet the Press in 1991.

The Today franchise expanded to seven days a week with the premiere of the program's Saturday edition on August 1, 1992, coinciding with NBC's replacement of its Saturday morning children's programming block with the three-hour-long TNBC block. The weekend editions were initially titled Saturday Today or Sunday Today, as applicable, in order to distinguish them from the weekday program. Beginning in the late 1990s, all editions of the program were officially titled Today, although Weekend Today was still sometimes used for promotional purposes. In September 1999, when Ford left for ABC News, John Seigenthaler along with various NBC News reporters rotated alongside Soledad O'Brien. The Sunday program was once again titled "Sunday Today" when Willie Geist became solo anchor in 2016.

Amy Robach, Natalie Morales and Melissa Francis rotated as news anchor during much of the Brown and Holt era (2003–2007). From 1988 (when Utley became co-anchor) until 2012 (when Jenna Wolfe became the program's news anchor), Weekend Today did not have a designated news anchor. During that time, a different NBC News, CNBC, or MSNBC correspondent would fill that position each week. Lester Holt left the program in 2015 following his promotion to lead anchor of NBC Nightly News. (Holt had been anchoring the weekend editions of both Today and Nightly News prior to his reassignment.)

In March 2020, the Saturday edition abruptly relocated production to NBC News' Washington, D.C. bureau, originating from the Meet the Press studio, in order to limit the risk of COVID-19 transmission to the anchors via air travel. (Saturday anchors Peter Alexander and Kristen Welker had both been based out of the division's D.C. bureau, though Alexander had been commuting to New York City to anchor that edition from the Rockefeller Center studio since being named co-anchor in 2018.)[1] The broadcast permanently relocated to the news division's refurbished D.C. bureau facility (near Capitol Hill) in December 2020,[2] as one of several NBC and MSNBC programs to broadcast from the building.

Format

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The weekend broadcasts continue Today's format of covering breaking news stories, featuring interviews with newsmakers, reports on a variety of popular culture and human-interest stories, covering health and financial issues and presenting the day's national weather forecasts. As with the weekday edition, the program offers visitors to New York City the chance to observe the workings of a live television broadcast firsthand with its windowed studio at Rockefeller Plaza. Interaction with the crowd outside the studio is a major part of the program.

Weekend editions are tailored to the priorities and interests of weekend viewers – offering special series such as Saturday Today on the Plaza, featuring live performances by well-known and up-and-coming music acts and numbers from Broadway theatre productions outside the studio throughout the summer. The Sunday edition also features brief political discussions with Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, who also gives a preview of that day's edition of the political discussion show (which follows Sunday Today, depending on local scheduling of newscasts, local political affairs programs or brokered programming that may air between both programs).

Logo for Sunday Today with Willie Geist

Since the adoption of the Sunday Today format in 2016, the Sunday edition does not feature a national weather segment; instead the weather reports during that broadcast are presented as live or recorded cut-ins produced by the corresponding local NBC station.

Just like their weekday counterparts, the weekend broadcasts provide local stations the option to offer brief news and weather segments following the national weather segments (on the Saturday edition) and in designated five-minute slots at the end of each half-hour. (NBC stations that do not produce weekend morning newscasts may opt to either run a taped weather insert, or run the national forecast slide and filler content that occupies the respective local segment slots on the network feed.)

On-air staff

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Saturday Today is anchored by Peter Alexander and Laura Jarrett along with Joe Fryer (feature anchor) and Angie Lassman (meteorologist),[3] and Sunday Today is anchored by Willie Geist from New York City. Alexander was named co-host on October 27, 2018. On August 9, 2023, Laura Jarrett, NBC News' senior legal correspondent was named new co-host starting September 9, replacing Kristen Welker who became the new moderator of Meet the Press.

Former anchors

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Sunday Today

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Weekend Today

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Weather anchors

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  • Al Roker – Saturday weather anchor (1992–1995) substitute co-anchor (1992–1999)
  • Joe Witte – Sunday weather anchor/substitute co-anchor (1992–1995)
  • Janice Huff – Saturday and/or Sunday weather anchor (1995–2012)
  • Sean McLaughlin – Sunday weather anchor (2004–2006)
  • Chris Cimino – Saturday weather anchor (2006–2008)
  • Bill Karins – Saturday weather anchor (2009–2012)
  • Stephanie Abrams – Saturday & Sunday weather anchor (2012)
  • Dylan Dreyer – Saturday (2012–2022) & Sunday weather anchor (2012–2019)
  • Somara Theodore – Saturday weather anchor (2022–2023); now with ABC News

Theme music

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Scherzo for Today was used as the program's closing theme until 1990, and the Mission bumpers were used until 1993 (one of them could be heard as a station break lead-in on NBC's Meet the Press until 2004). The Scherzo for Today theme was iconically accompanied by Fred Facey announcing "From NBC News, this is Today..." until his death in April 2003, except for special editions requiring special introductions. Facey's work afterwards was only heard on the now defunct MSNBC program Headliners and Legends. For a time early in the original Sunday Today run; the Scherzo for Today theme was preceded by a recap of clips of stories from the previous week set to "Freightways" by Graham De Wilde.

The Mission cut used as the opening fanfare for Today has opened the program ever since, with two exceptions: in the summer of 1994, to mark the debut of Studio 1A, the John Williams-composed fanfare was replaced by another opening theme, but the Williams theme returned shortly thereafter. In 2004, the show's producers tried out yet another theme, which drew once again on the NBC chimes as its signature, but the Williams theme returned after only a few weeks. It is by far the most enduring theme in the program's history, having been in use for over two decades. In March 2013, "The Mission" was replaced with a theme by Adam Gubman for Non-Stop Music, which is based partly on the Mission theme. A lighter theme employing the NBC chimes is currently used to open the show's 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. half-hour segments and is also used as a closing theme.

Special editions

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Following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003, the Sunday edition of Weekend Today aired a special edition on February 2, with the expanded introduction:

Disaster: The Space Shuttle Columbia. From NBC News, this is a special edition of Today with Soledad O'Brien at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida and David Bloom at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

The next edition on February 3 was also a special broadcast with Matt Lauer at Studio 1A in New York and Katie Couric at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

On April 6, 2003, the death of co-anchor David Bloom in Iraq (caused by a blood clot resulting from Deep vein thrombosis) dominated that day's edition. Soledad O'Brien, Matt Lauer, and Katie Couric stationed in Washington, D.C. hosted a special edition of Today in remembrance of Bloom.

When Pope John Paul II died on Saturday, April 2, 2005, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer anchored the weekend editions of Today. Lauer anchored from Vatican City with Campbell Brown offering reports by his side. On the day of the Pope's death, Couric anchored a special report on a Vatican statement updating the Pope's dire condition and Lauer reported for the special report anchored by Brian Williams, when the Pope was officially declared dead. Lauer returned to New York City as Couric traveled to Vatican City to co-anchor coverage of the Pope's funeral with Williams.

On April 19, 2008, a special edition of Weekend Today featured Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States, billed as "The Pope Visits the USA." Lester Holt and Jenna Wolfe moved outside to Rockefeller Center to cover the first papal mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. However, they moved back to Studio 1A at the 7:30 a.m. half-hour.

On May 10, 2008, Weekend Today featured a special split-location edition covering the wedding of Jenna Bush at the ranch of President George H. W. Bush outside Crawford, Texas. Co-anchor Lester Holt remained at Studio 1A, while Amy Robach covered the wedding from Texas.

On June 14, 2008, a special edition of Saturday Today, anchored by Matt Lauer and Tom Brokaw, discussed the death of NBC News Washington bureau chief and Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert. Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory, Pete Williams, Lisa Myers, the moderators of Meet the Press's competing Sunday morning talk shows, Bob Schieffer of Face the Nation and George Stephanopoulos of This Week, and Vice President Dick Cheney, among others, appeared to share their memories of Russert. The Sunday edition on the following day (June 15), another special edition on the death of Russert was broadcast, hosted by Gregory and Mitchell.

On April 30, 2011, Natalie Morales and Al Roker anchored a special edition of Weekend Today from London to cover the wedding of Prince William and the former Kate Middleton.[4]

As part of their coverage of Super Bowl XLVI on February 4, 2012, a special Saturday edition was anchored by Lester Holt and Amy Robach from Studio 1A with Jenna Wolfe anchoring from that year's Super Bowl location, Indianapolis, Indiana. The following Sunday's edition was another special edition with Matt Lauer live from Washington, D.C., and Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, Savannah Guthrie, and Al Roker live from Indianapolis.

As part of their coverage of Terror in Boston, on Saturday, April 20, 2013, a Saturday edition was anchored by Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie from Studio 1A at Rockefeller Plaza and Lester Holt and Erica Hill from Watertown, Massachusetts.

As part of their coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games, Morales and Lester Holt anchored a special edition of Weekend Today from Sochi, Russia, with Erica Hill reading news headlines and Dylan Dreyer with weather in Studio 1A.

As part of their coverage of the November 2015 Paris attacks, a special Saturday edition was anchored by Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie, with Sheinelle Jones reading news headlines and Dylan Dreyer with weather in Studio 1A, and Al Roker live from Paris. The Sunday edition on the following, another special edition was broadcast with Erica Hill live from Paris and Harry Smith as co-anchor, with Sheinelle Jones reading news headlines and Dylan Dreyer with weather in Studio 1A.

On May 19, 2018, a special Saturday edition was anchored by Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb with weather by Al Roker to cover the Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was live at Windsor, England.[5]

On August 28, 2018, a special Sunday edition was anchored by Kristen Welker filling in for Willie Geist to cover the death of Sen. John McCain.

On July 14, 2024, following the 2024 attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, a special 2-hour edition of Today aired instead of Sunday Today anchored by Willie Geist and Savannah Guthrie.

Viewership

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The program has more viewers than ABC's Good Morning America Weekend Edition and CBS' CBS Saturday Morning,[6] but fewer than CBS News Sunday Morning.[7] During the weekend of September 15, 2012, the weekend edition of Good Morning America topped Weekend Today in the ratings for the first time in that program's history.

International broadcasts

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References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Weekend Today

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia

Weekend Today is the collective term for the Saturday and Sunday morning editions of NBC's long-running news and talk program Today, which provide live broadcasts of national and international news, weather updates, interviews, and feature stories from NBC Studios in , .
The Saturday edition, co-anchored by Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander and Senior Legal Correspondent Laura Jarrett, airs Saturday mornings and emphasizes timely headlines alongside lifestyle segments.
In contrast, the Sunday edition, titled Sunday TODAY with and anchored by journalist , offers extended conversations, profiles, and analysis of current events.
Originating with the Sunday broadcast's debut on September 20, 1987, hosted initially by and Boyd Matson, the Saturday counterpart followed on August 1, 1992, expanding the Today format to weekends and solidifying 's morning programming presence.
These editions maintain the core journalistic approach of the weekday Today show while adapting to weekend audiences through shorter durations and varied pacing.

History

Launch and Early Years

The Sunday edition of NBC's Today program premiered on September 20, 1987, marking the network's first expansion of the morning franchise into weekends. Co-anchored by and Boyd Matson, the 90-minute broadcast aired from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time and emphasized news updates, sports recaps, and feature stories tailored for a weekend audience. The hosts, announced in May 1987, brought journalistic credentials—Shriver as an NBC correspondent and Matson as a veteran reporter—to differentiate the program from lighter weekday fare. The Saturday edition followed on August 1, 1992, extending Today to a seven-day schedule and filling the slot previously occupied by NBC's Meet the Press lead-in programming. Anchored by public radio host and NBC correspondent Jackie Nespral, it ran for two hours starting at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time, incorporating similar news and interview elements but with a focus on timely weekend developments. This debut aligned with NBC's strategy to compete in morning viewership against ABC's * segments and CBS's offerings. During these formative years through the mid-1990s, Weekend Today prioritized hard and over , often featuring extended segments on global events and policy discussions, though ratings remained modest compared to the weekday edition's broader appeal. Anchor transitions occurred early, with Matson departing after 1988 and Shriver continuing until 1990, reflecting the program's evolution amid shifting network priorities.

Expansion and Format Changes

The Sunday edition of Today premiered on , 1987, representing the program's initial expansion beyond weekdays as a 90-minute broadcast anchored by and Boyd Matson, blending news updates with feature segments tailored for weekend viewers. This addition aimed to test audience interest in morning news on Sundays, airing from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. ET before affiliates took over for . On August 1, 1992, launched the Saturday edition, completing the expansion to a seven-day schedule and filling a two-hour slot from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ET that often displaced traditional Saturday morning cartoons in affiliated markets. The Saturday format emphasized live events, such as outdoor segments on the Today plaza, and lighter lifestyle content to differentiate it from weekday editions while maintaining core news elements. Subsequent format adjustments refined the weekend editions' structure, shifting from a heavier emphasis on in the early years toward more extended interviews, cultural profiles, and viewer-engaged features by the . A notable revamp occurred in April 2016 for the edition, introducing enhanced production elements and a focus on substantive discussions to boost engagement amid competition from magazine-style programs like CBS Sunday Morning. These changes preserved the two-hour duration but prioritized narrative depth over rapid news cycles, aligning with evolving viewer preferences for weekend programming.

Recent Developments and Anchor Transitions

In August 2023, NBC News announced that Kristen Welker, who had co-anchored Saturday editions since 2014, would depart to become moderator of Meet the Press, effective September 2023. Laura Jarrett, NBC News' senior legal correspondent, was appointed as her replacement, debuting as co-anchor alongside Peter Alexander on September 9, 2023. This transition coincided with Saturday Today's relocation from Washington, D.C., back to Studio 1A at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, aligning the weekend broadcast more closely with the weekday program's production environment. The Jarrett-Alexander pairing has anchored Saturday news segments consistently through 2025, with no further anchor departures or promotions reported for the weekend editions. Dylan Dreyer has continued providing weather coverage, while feature reporting has featured contributors like Joe Fryer. Sunday editions, under Willie Geist since 2017, have maintained their established format without personnel shifts. Sheinelle Jones, a regular third-hour co-anchor on weekdays and occasional weekend contributor, took an extended leave starting in December 2024 to address a family health matter, which later involved the illness and death of her husband, Uche Ojeh. She returned to Today full-time on September 5, 2025, resuming contributions that may include weekend segments. This personal hiatus did not alter the core weekend anchor lineup but highlighted rotational flexibility among Today personnel. Beyond personnel, recent developments have emphasized experiential content, such as on-location scavenger hunts and circus visits in 2024, to differentiate weekend broadcasts amid stable viewership. No substantive format overhauls or production relocations have occurred since the 2023 Studio 1A return.

Program Format and Content

Core Structure and Segments

The Saturday edition of Weekend Today airs live from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, featuring a co-anchor team that delivers a blend of coverage, in-depth reporting on current events, and lighter features. The program opens with headlines and top stories, often including correspondent reports from the field on domestic and international developments, followed by segments on human-interest topics such as , , and consumer advice. Weather forecasts form a recurring element, typically presented by a dedicated with national overviews and ties to ongoing stories, such as impacts or seasonal trends; local affiliates may insert customized reports during the broadcast. Interviews constitute a core component, ranging from discussions with political figures and experts on policy matters to conversations with celebrities promoting books, films, or projects, emphasizing substantive exchanges over promotional fluff. Special features, like extended "cover stories" on investigative or profile pieces, add depth, often highlighting underreported angles on , environment, or cultural shifts. In contrast, the Sunday edition, rebranded as Sunday Today with , broadcasts from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time and adopts a more conversational tone centered on extended interviews with newsmakers, authors, and cultural commentators, alongside curated news summaries. It omits a standalone national weather segment in favor of integrated updates within stories, prioritizing narrative-driven content such as personal essays or reflective pieces on weekly events. Both editions maintain a runtime focused on efficiency, avoiding the extended commercial breaks and variety acts of the weekday program, while incorporating occasional live elements like viewer Q&A or plaza events during warmer months.

Distinctions from Weekday Edition

The weekend editions of Today broadcast for shorter durations than the weekday program, which airs four hours from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Saturday Today runs two hours from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ET, aligning with the weekday start time, while Sunday Today occupies a single hour from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ET, omitting the earlier slot and extended segments. This condensed format excludes the weekday's third and fourth hours, which feature dedicated lifestyle blocks such as Today with Jenna & Friends and Today with Hoda & Jenna. In content and tone, the weekend broadcasts maintain core traditions of news coverage, newsmaker interviews, weather updates, and reporting but adopt a more relaxed, conversational style distinct from the weekday edition's faster-paced, news-heavy structure. Emphasis shifts toward human-interest stories, features, and lighter segments suited to weekend audiences, with reduced focus on in-depth political or analysis that dominates weekdays. Production elements, such as anchor rotations and segment pacing, further differentiate the editions, prioritizing engaging, less formal interactions over the weekday's ensemble-driven, multi-anchor news desk approach.

Evolving Features and Innovations

In response to the growing demand for on-demand content, launched TODAY All Day in July 2020 as a 24/7 streaming channel featuring clips, highlights, and original segments from the Today franchise, including Weekend Today material, accessible via Peacock and other platforms. This digital enhancement extended Weekend Today's reach beyond traditional broadcast, allowing viewers to access news updates, interviews, and features asynchronously. Sunday TODAY introduced the "Sunday Mail" segment in October 2018, an interactive feature where host and meteorologist respond to viewer-submitted questions via email or , fostering audience engagement at the close of each broadcast. Complementing this, the Sunday Sitdown podcast debuted alongside the program's rebranding under Geist in April 2016, offering extended celebrity interviews and analysis available on platforms like Simplecast, which has evolved to include live taping events such as Sunday Sitdown LIVE for select audiences. Saturday TODAY shifted production to NBC's Studio 5N in , in December 2020, incorporating advanced LED walls and multi-camera setups for enhanced visual storytelling and remote integration during hybrid news coverage. These upgrades supported more dynamic segments, such as extended weather reports and live field contributions, aligning with broader transitions to story-centric digital workflows announced in October 2025. Additional innovations include Saturday Today Extra, a supplementary feed with feature tapes, live production elements, and weather updates, streamed via to provide overflow content beyond the main hour-long broadcast. These developments reflect Weekend Today's adaptation to multi-platform consumption, prioritizing viewer interactivity and extended accessibility without altering core broadcast durations.

On-Air Personnel

Current Anchors and Hosts

Saturday TODAY is co-anchored by Peter Alexander, NBC News' chief correspondent, and Laura Jarrett, a senior legal correspondent, a role Jarrett assumed on September 9, 2023. Peter Alexander joined as co-anchor in 2018. Additional contributors include , who serves as an anchor and meteorologist for the weekend editions while also contributing to weekdays. Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist is hosted by , who has led the program since its rebranding and expansion in 2017 to focus on in-depth interviews, news analysis, and cultural discussions. The format features Geist conducting extended conversations with political figures, authors, and experts, often from NBC's Studio 1A or remote locations.
DayPrimary Anchors/HostsRoles and Notes
SaturdayPeter Alexander, Laura JarrettCo-anchors; Alexander handles national reporting, Jarrett legal segments
SaturdayAnchor and meteorologist
SundayHost; emphasizes interviews and analysis

Reporters and Correspondents

Peter Alexander serves as ' chief correspondent and co-anchors Saturday TODAY, delivering political analysis and on-location reports from Washington, D.C., with coverage extending to foreign affairs during major events. Laura Jarrett functions as the senior legal correspondent, contributing expertise on court cases, policy implications, and justice system developments while co-anchoring the Saturday broadcast, drawing from her background in legal journalism. Joe Fryer, an correspondent based in New York, regularly reports for Saturday TODAY on consumer issues, health topics, and investigative features, often incorporating field segments and interviews to complement the program's weekend focus on practical storytelling. Additional correspondents, such as Gilchrist for updates and Dana Griffin for general news, contribute to specific episodes, as seen in the January 11, 2025, broadcast, reflecting the flexible use of NBC's broader reporting network for timely coverage. This structure allows Weekend Today to integrate specialized expertise without a fixed roster beyond core anchors, prioritizing empirical reporting over scripted segments.

Former Key Personnel

Lester Holt co-anchored Weekend Today from 2003 until June 2015, when he transitioned to anchor following ' departure from that role. During his tenure, Holt contributed to coverage of major events including the , where he reported from the field. Kristen Welker served as co-anchor of Saturday Today from October 2020 until August 2023, partnering with Peter Alexander before departing to become moderator of . Her exit was marked by a special segment highlighting her contributions to the program. Earlier key figures included Jack Ford, who co-anchored Weekend Today from 1995 to 1999 and later pursued legal and authoring careers. Boyd Matson, one of the inaugural Sunday Today co-anchors starting in 1987, helped launch the weekend format. anchored news segments and later co-anchored in the late 1980s and early 1990s. co-anchored Saturday editions beginning in 1992. Mary Alice Williams also served as a co-anchor during the program's formative years.

Production Elements

Theme Music and Branding

The theme music for Weekend Today derives from John Williams' compositions for NBC News, specifically "Scherzo for Today," introduced in 1985 as part of a suite including themes for NBC Nightly News and Meet the Press. This orchestral piece, characterized by its energetic and uplifting motifs, was adapted for the weekend editions to provide a lighter, more relaxed tone compared to the weekday broadcast. In , updated the overall Today branding, simplifying the iconic sunrise to three horizontal bands representing the weekday, , and editions, rendered in an all-orange palette evoking a morning sunrise. The edition employs a dedicated variant emphasizing this sunrise element, while , which adopted its current title in April 2016, features a customized incorporating the host's name alongside the program's sunrise graphic for distinct visual identity. These branding elements, including lower-thirds graphics and opening sequences, maintain consistency with while differentiating the weekend format through softer color schemes and streamlined animations to align with its more conversational programming style. Post-2013 theme music updates for properties shifted toward production library cues from sources like Non-Stop Music, though specific weekend adaptations retain orchestral influences from Williams' original work.

Studios, Technology, and Broadcasting Logistics

Weekend Today originates primarily from NBC's Studio 1A, located at in , a facility shared with the weekday editions of the Today show. This ground-level studio, positioned between 48th and 49th Streets with windows overlooking the TODAY Plaza, supports live audience interactions and outdoor segments during weekend broadcasts. Studio operations extend to weekends, with hours typically from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to facilitate pre-broadcast preparations. The production employs a multi-camera setup within an all-digital, high-definition environment upgraded by in 2007 to enable redundant, reliable live feeds and enhanced visual quality. This infrastructure supports seamless integration of video elements, graphics, and remote contributions from correspondents, minimizing downtime in fast-paced morning news formats. Broadcasting logistics center on live East Coast transmissions distributed via NBC's national , with Saturday editions airing from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ET and Sunday editions from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ET. Signals are routed from New York control rooms to local stations for simultaneous or time-shifted playback in other zones, supplemented by streaming on NBC.com and apps for broader accessibility. While the core setup remains in Studio 1A, select Saturday broadcasts have utilized remote facilities, including a Washington, D.C.-area studio introduced in 2021 for enhanced political coverage proximity.

Special Broadcasts

Themed Episodes and Events

Weekend Today has incorporated themed elements into select broadcasts, particularly around holidays and program milestones, to blend with engaging, viewer-oriented content. These episodes typically feature lighter segments amid standard coverage, such as host costumes or montages, distinguishing them from the weekday edition's more elaborate productions. Halloween episodes have emphasized festive participation by anchors. On October 30, 2021, co-hosts Peter Alexander and donned costumes portraying and , nodding to the actors' roles in a 2020 commercial for a brand, as part of the program's holiday-themed approach to morning entertainment. Anniversary celebrations have served as another recurring theme. The December 28, 2012, broadcast marked Weekend Today's 25th anniversary since its debut in , including reflective segments on its evolution and key moments in morning weekend programming history. Year-end episodes often adopt a thematic recap format, compiling highlights of entertaining or uplifting stories from the prior 12 months. Examples include the December 31, 2017, edition reviewing "fun" segments like celebrity interviews and light-hearted news, and a similar 2016 retrospective aired January 1, 2017, focusing on shared joy amid headlines.

Coverage of Major News and Holidays

Weekend Today integrates coverage of significant national and international news events into its weekend broadcasts, featuring live reports, correspondent analysis, and updates from NBC News teams. The program responds to breaking developments by dedicating segments to unfolding stories, such as acts of solidarity during the George Floyd protests, highlighted in a June 6, 2020, report by NBC's Erin McLaughlin. Similarly, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it addressed public health updates, including medical correspondent Dr. Kavita Patel's assessment of the Pfizer vaccine's safety on February 11, 2021. Political events receive focused attention, with examples including reporting on President Donald Trump's campaign activities following the , covered on August 29, 2020. The show also provides previews and context for major milestones like presidential inaugurations, aligning with NBC's broader election and transition coverage, though primary live events typically occur midweek. For holidays, Weekend Today emphasizes seasonal news, family impacts, and preparatory segments, often blending with elements. On , 2021, it examined how the variant disrupted travel plans, featuring NBC's Sam Brock. Broadcasts around major holidays like and include reports on travel trends, weather disruptions, and cultural traditions, frequently leading into NBC's network specials such as parades, while maintaining a news-oriented format distinct from purely festive programming.

Viewership and Ratings

Saturday editions of Today averaged 1,861,000 total viewers and a 0.6% rating among adults 18-49 as measured on June 17, 2023, reflecting a 6% decline in total viewers from the prior period tracked by Nielsen. Sunday editions typically draw comparable audiences, though specific breakdowns are less frequently reported separately from weekday metrics. These figures represent roughly 70-75% of the weekday Today show's average viewership, which stood at 2,551,000 total viewers in recent 2025 measurements. Viewership for network morning news, including weekend programming, has followed a broader downward trend amid and the rise of streaming alternatives. NBC's morning news audience decreased by 11% between 2020 and 2022, outpacing ABC's 9% and CBS's 8% drops during the same interval, per Nielsen data analyzed by . For the 2024-2025 TV season, the weekday Today show posted a 5% decline in total viewers to 2.604 million, a pattern likely mirrored in weekend slots given shared production elements and audience habits.
Period/SeasonSaturday Today Total ViewersKey Demographic Rating (A18-49)Year-over-Year Change
June 20231,861,0000.6%-6% (from prior period)
2020-2022 (NBC Morning Overall)N/A (11% decline in avg. audience)N/A-11%
2024-2025 (Weekday Proxy)N/A (down to 2.604M avg.)N/A-5%
Historical data prior to the 2020s remains sparsely documented in public Nielsen aggregates for weekend-specific metrics, as focus has centered on higher-stakes weekday competitions. Nonetheless, Weekend Today has sustained leads in total viewers over ABC's weekend editions in sampled periods, benefiting from NBC's established despite industry-wide erosion.

Competitive Landscape and Comparisons

Weekend Today primarily competes with ABC's editions (broadcast Saturdays and Sundays from 7-9 a.m. ET) and Fox News Channel's Weekend (cable, Saturdays and Sundays 6-10 a.m. ET), which target similar audiences seeking morning , , , and segments. CBS lacks a direct equivalent morning program on weekends, opting instead for interview-focused on Sundays and magazine-style CBS Sunday Morning, leaving a gap in structured competition from that network. Viewership data highlights broadcast advantages in total audience reach over cable, though competitors vary in demographic appeal and ideological slant. Sunday Today with drew 2.364 million total viewers in a recent measurement (0.76 household rating), surpassing Sunday's 1.422 million viewers (0.45 rating) on October 13, 2025. Weekend, however, maintains strong performance among adults 25-54, averaging 127,000 viewers in that demo during summer 2025, appealing to a conservative-leaning audience amid ' broader dominance in cable news. editions consistently lead broadcast rivals in total viewers, mirroring weekday patterns where GMA averaged 2.644 million viewers for the 2024-2025 premiere week, outpacing NBC's Today. Format-wise, Weekend Today emphasizes balanced news reporting, extended interviews, and feature stories akin to its weekday counterpart, differentiating from Weekend's opinion-heavy discussions and GMA's entertainment-infused approach. Despite format similarities, Weekend Today has trailed GMA weekends historically, with lower engagement attributed to weekend viewer habits favoring leisure over structured news consumption, as evidenced by overall morning show declines amid streaming fragmentation.

Reception and Analysis

Achievements and Industry Recognition

The Weekend Today program has shared in the broader accolades of the Today franchise, which earned the Peabody Institutional Award in 2023 for its sustained contributions to news, information, and cultural reflection in American broadcasting over seven decades. Anchors associated with the weekend editions have received recognition tied to their roles. , who co-anchored Weekend Today from 2007 to 2011, contributed to the Today team's Daytime Emmy Award win for Outstanding Morning Program in 2010. Erica Hill, co-anchor of Weekend Today from 2011 to 2012, earned a Emmy nomination for her work on the program during that period. Similarly, Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist, launched in 2017, received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Morning Program in 2020 and 2021, acknowledging its distinctive interview format and news coverage. These honors reflect the weekend editions' emphasis on in-depth reporting and viewer engagement, though specific standalone awards for Weekend Today remain limited compared to the weekday broadcast. Industry observers have noted the program's role in maintaining Today's competitive edge in morning television, with anchors like Holt advancing to primetime roles post-tenure.

Criticisms and Controversies

In 2010s, during a segment on Weekend Today, co-anchor Craig Melvin reported on a food recall by incorrectly stating that a specific brand's product had caused a death, when the incident involved a different brand; this error nearly resulted in a lawsuit against NBC, highlighting risks in live morning news accuracy. Melvin later described it as his worst on-air moment, emphasizing the need for precise fact-checking amid the show's fast-paced format. Hosts of Weekend Today have drawn political criticism reflective of broader scrutiny on for left-leaning coverage, as documented by media watchdogs and conservative outlets. For instance, former co-anchor , who moderated the October 2020 presidential , faced accusations from then-President of being "terrible and unfair," despite prior praise for her work on the program; such claims align with patterns of alleged bias in mainstream network reporting, where empirical analyses like those from the have quantified disproportionate negative framing of Republican figures. organizations dismissed specific bias allegations as unsubstantiated, but the episode underscores persistent viewer distrust in NBC's objectivity, particularly on weekend editions perceived as softer on partisan edges compared to primetime. Early anchors like , who co-anchored Weekend Today from 2007 to 2011, have been criticized for journalistic lapses inherited from NBC's culture, including Holt's later Nightly News tenure amid viewer complaints of downplaying certain stories; these echo systemic issues in legacy media, where internal biases can skew selection and emphasis, as evidenced by leaked emails and hiring patterns favoring progressive viewpoints. Despite this, Weekend Today has largely sidestepped major scandals like sexual misconduct allegations that rocked the weekday Today show in , maintaining a lower controversy profile due to its reduced prominence and rotating host structure.

Assessments of Bias and Objectivity

Media bias rating organizations consistently classify Weekend Today, as an extension of the NBC Today franchise, as left-leaning with strong factual reliability. assigns a "Lean Left" rating to the NBC Today Show based on blind bias surveys of diverse audiences, editorial content analysis, and third-party academic research, indicating a moderate tendency toward liberal framing in story selection and guest appearances. Ad Fontes Media's evaluations, derived from multi-partisan analyst panels assessing sampled episodes for language tone, political positioning, verifiability, and sourcing quality, yield a score of -1.78 (minimal left skew) and reliability score of 42.39 (reliable fact reporting) for Today overall, encompassing weekend broadcasts; scores -5.97 (slight left lean within the middle range) and 42.83 reliability. These metrics reflect occasional left-favoring word choices and topic emphasis, balanced by consistent use of primary sources and minimal fabrication. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the associated Today.com platform—and by extension the show's content—as Left-Center biased, citing moderate editorial favoritism through negative coverage of conservative figures and underrepresentation of right-leaning perspectives, while upholding mostly factual standards via proper sourcing and corrections when errors occur. Conservative critics, including former President in a January 18, 2017, statement, have accused the Today Show of eroding its credibility, particularly in political segments that align with NBC's broader left-center orientation as rated by multiple watchdogs. Weekend editions generally emphasize lifestyle, weather, and human-interest stories over hard news, potentially mitigating overt compared to weekdays, though inherited practices in guest selection and framing persist. No large-scale empirical studies isolate Weekend Today distinctly, but its alignment with franchise-wide patterns underscores a causal link to mainstream broadcast norms favoring left-leaning narratives amid documented institutional homogeneity in U.S. legacy media.

International Reach

Overseas Syndication and Adaptations

Weekend Today has not been syndicated to international broadcasters outside the . The program's focus on U.S.-centric news, weather, and lifestyle segments makes it unsuitable for direct overseas distribution in traditional broadcast formats. No licensed adaptations of Weekend Today exist in other countries, distinguishing it from formats like , which have spawned multiple international versions. Access for overseas viewers is restricted to select streaming services offered by in licensed regions, such as through apps or platforms carrying content.

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