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109-566: KUTV (channel 2) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah , United States, affiliated with CBS . It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside independent station KJZZ-TV (channel 14) and St. George –licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYU (channel 12, formerly solely a satellite station of KUTV from its 1999 sign-on to 2008). The stations share studios on South Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City ; KUTV's transmitter

218-489: A barter in some cases. Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live ( SNL ) is an American late-night live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC . The show's premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night . The show's comedy sketches, which often parody contemporary American culture and politics, are performed by

327-460: A large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members . Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that is usually based on political events and ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, " Live from New York, it's Saturday Night! ", properly beginning

436-434: A 90-minute length, and sketches that have made it as far as the live rehearsal may be removed. This often results in less than two days of rehearsal for the eight to twelve sketches that have made it to the stage that then may appear on the live broadcast. The opening monologue, spoken by the guest host, is given low priority and can be written as late as Saturday afternoon. According to an interview with Tina Fey in 2004,

545-587: A February 1981 episode, cast member Charles Rocket used the profanity "fuck" during a sketch. Rocket later said he was trying to kill time before the show's close and had not meant to utter the word. Following this episode, Doumanian was dismissed after only ten months on the job. Although some executives suggested SNL be cancelled, the show received a reprieve, and Dick Ebersol was hired as producer. Ebersol's sketches leaned towards more accessible, broad comedy, which alienated some long-time fans, writers, and cast members. His distaste for political humor led

654-488: A Lame-O ", that had critiqued Silverman's job performance. Unable to secure the deal that he wanted, Michaels chose to leave NBC, and Jean Doumanian was given his position. Almost every writer and cast member, including Michaels, left the show after the May 24, 1980, season finale. Doumanian's rapidly-assembled new cast faced immediate comparisons to the previous cast, and was not received favorably by critics or audiences. In

763-475: A Monday with a free-form pitch meeting between the cast, writers, producers, including Michaels and the guest host in Michaels's office over two hours. The host is invited to pitch ideas during this meeting. Although some sketchwriting may occur on the day, the bulk of the work revolves around pitching ideas. Tuesday is the only day dedicated purely to writing the scripts, a process that usually extends through

872-413: A cast member at any time. In the first season of the show the cast was paid $ 750 per episode, rising to $ 2,000 by season two, and $ 4,000 by season four. By the late 1990s, new cast members received a salary between $ 5,000 and $ 5,500 per episode, increasing to $ 6,000 in the second year and up to $ 12,500 for a cast member in their fifth year. Performers could earn an additional $ 1,500 per episode for writing

981-422: A company owned by NBC, Paramount Pictures , and Michaels. The new contracts were reportedly developed after many previously unknown cast members, such as Mike Myers and Adam Sandler , gained fame on SNL only to leave and make money for other studios. In a 2010 interview, Wiig was reported to be contracted to SNL for a total of seven years. The contracts also contain a network option that allows NBC to remove

1090-562: A complex deal resulting from Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W)'s affiliation deal with the network which renewed CBS' affiliations with two Group W-owned stations and caused three other stations to switch to that network. CBS traded its longtime O&O in Philadelphia , WCAU-TV , to NBC in exchange for KCNC-TV in Denver , with KUTV added to the deal as compensation. NBC-owned WTVJ and CBS-owned WCIX (which became WFOR-TV upon

1199-457: A cost of $ 250,000. By 1975, Michaels had assembled the show's initial cast, including Dan Aykroyd , John Belushi , Chevy Chase , Jane Curtin , Garrett Morris , Laraine Newman , Gilda Radner , and George Coe . The cast was nicknamed the "Not Ready for Prime-Time Players", a term coined by show writer Herb Sargent . Much of the talent pool involved in the inaugural season was recruited from The National Lampoon Radio Hour , including

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1308-591: A decision yet at that point. Michaels has worked with Fey several times since her SNL tenure ended, including on 30 Rock . Michaels earlier said in 2021 that the show's fiftieth anniversary would be "a really good time to leave". Kenan Thompson , the show's longest-serving cast member, speculated in 2022 that SNL may come to an end altogether after its fiftieth season, saying that it could make financial sense for NBC. However, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in September 2024, Michaels denied that he

1417-415: A much shorter wavelength, and thus requires a shorter antenna, but also higher power. North American stations can go up to 5000 kW ERP for video and 500 kW audio, or 1000 kW digital. Low channels travel further than high ones at the same power, but UHF does not suffer from as much electromagnetic interference and background "noise" as VHF, making it much more desirable for TV. Despite this, in

1526-410: A musical guest, a solo act, or a band, who performs two or three musical numbers. Occasionally, the musical guest simultaneously serves as the host, and may also appear in comedy sketches. As of October 11, 2020, Dave Grohl is the most frequent musical guest, performing on fourteen shows since 1992. Michaels does not allow musical guests to perform using lip-synching tracks, believing it diminishes

1635-753: A new building located at 2185 South 3600 West in West Valley City . In August 1994, NBC bought majority control (88%) of KUTV from VS&A Communications Partners (who had purchased majority control of the station in February 1993, leaving the Hatches with a 12% stake), making it the second network owned-and-operated station in Utah ( Fox had earlier purchased KSTU , channel 13, in 1990, and retained ownership of that station until 2008). In November 1994, KUTV signed an affiliation deal with CBS as part of

1744-484: A new holding company for the stations, Four Points Media Group , which took over their operations under local marketing agreements in late June 2007. The Federal Communications Commission approved the sale in mid-November 2007, and the deal was finalized on January 10, 2008. On November 26, 2007, KUTV began hubbing master control operations for its then- sister station , CW affiliate WLWC in Providence , which

1853-580: A significant increase in ratings and a "shot of relevance" for the show, according to Vanity Fair . Trump disliked Baldwin's impression, tweeting in 2019 that the Federal Election Commission or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should look into stopping SNL from "knocking the same person (me), over & over, without so much of a mention of 'the other side.'" In 2021, sources close to

1962-513: A significant overhaul, including Beck Bennett , Kyle Mooney , and Sasheer Zamata . Longtime head writer and cast member Seth Meyers also exited midway through that season, and was replaced by fellow writer Colin Jost in the Weekend Update segment. The show frequently parodied Donald Trump in and around his first presidency ; an ongoing impression by actor Alec Baldwin led to

2071-467: A sketch that made it to air. In 2001, Ferrell became the highest-paid cast member, being paid $ 350,000 per season (approximately $ 17,500 per episode). As of the 2022–23 season, Kent Sublette, Alison Gates , and Streeter Seidell are the show's co-head writers. Seth Meyers became a co-head writer in the 2005-06 season, became the single head writer from 2008 to 2012 , and then left in 2014 . Current Update anchor Colin Jost has himself been

2180-425: A variety of ways to generate revenue from television commercials . They may be an independent station or part of a broadcasting network , or some other structure. They can produce some or all of their programs or buy some broadcast syndication programming for or all of it from other stations or independent production companies. Many stations have some sort of television studio , which on major-network stations

2289-524: A writer since 2005 and was one of the head writers from 2012 to 2015 before being renamed head writer, from 2017 until 2022 . Current Update co-anchor Michael Che has been a writer since 2013 . He temporarily left the show in the summer of 2014, but came back that fall to anchor Update and reclaimed his status as a writer, then serving as a co-head writer alongside Jost for five years. The Weekend Update segment has its own dedicated team of writers led by head writer Pete Schultz (who has been writing for

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2398-496: Is non-commercial educational (NCE) and considered public broadcasting . To avoid concentration of media ownership of television stations, government regulations in most countries generally limit the ownership of television stations by television networks or other media operators, but these regulations vary considerably. Some countries have set up nationwide television networks, in which individual television stations act as mere repeaters of nationwide programs . In those countries,

2507-470: Is broadcast via terrestrial radio waves. A group of television stations with common ownership or affiliation are known as a TV network and an individual station within the network is referred to as O&O or affiliate , respectively. Because television station signals use the electromagnetic spectrum, which in the past has been a common, scarce resource, governments often claim authority to regulate them. Broadcast television systems standards vary around

2616-706: Is located on Farnsworth Peak in the Oquirrh Mountains , southwest of Salt Lake City. KUTV's programming is relayed on KMYU's second digital subchannel ( VHF digital channel 12.2, also mapped to 2.1) in high definition to serve the southern portion of the Salt Lake City market not covered by the KUTV broadcast signal; the station also has a large network of broadcast translators that extend its over-the-air coverage throughout Utah as well as portions of Nevada and Wyoming . The station first signed on

2725-792: Is often used for newscasts or other local programming . There is usually a news department , where journalists gather information. There is also a section where electronic news-gathering (ENG) operations are based, receiving remote broadcasts via remote pickup unit or satellite TV . Outside broadcasting vans, production trucks , or SUVs with electronic field production (EFP) equipment are sent out with reporters , who may also bring back news stories on video tape rather than sending them back live . To keep pace with technology United States television stations have been replacing operators with broadcast automation systems to increase profits in recent years. Some stations (known as repeaters or translators ) only simulcast another, usually

2834-473: Is one of the few stations in the country to have been affiliated with all three heritage broadcast television networks, and one of a small number to have been an owned-and-operated station of two different networks. At the time, KUTV retained one NBC program: Saturday Night Live , which remained in its Saturday 10:30 p.m. timeslot for five more months after the switch, before it moved to KUWB (channel 30, now KUCW ) in February 1996. Under CBS ownership, KUTV

2943-842: Is the house band for SNL . Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore served as the first musical director, from 1975 to 1980, appearing in many musical sketches, including Howard Shore and His All-Nurse Band and (backing a U.S. Coast Guard chorus) Howard Shore and the Shore Patrol. Over the years, the band has featured several New York studio musicians including Paul Shaffer (1975–1980), Lou Marini (1975–1983), David Sanborn (1975), Michael Brecker (the early 1980s), Ray Chew (1980–1983), Alan Rubin (1975–1983), Georg Wadenius (1979–1985), Steve Ferrone (1985), David Johansen (performing as Buster Poindexter), Tom Malone (who took over as musical director from 1981 to 1985), and G. E. Smith (musical director from 1985 to 1995). As of 2017,

3052-433: Is the show's longest-serving cast member. Currently, the cast consists of 17 members, with 14 repertory players and 3 featured players: The cast were often contracted from anywhere between five and six years to the show, but starting with the 1999–2000 season, new hires were tied to a rewritten contract that allowed NBC to take a cast member in at least their second year and put them in an NBC sitcom. Cast members are given

3161-452: The 1984–1985 season . Though this season was considered one of the series' funniest, it diverged significantly from Michaels' innovative approach. Like Michaels before him, Ebersol informed NBC that he would only return if the show took a hiatus to recast and rebuild, and diverge significantly from the established live format. NBC rejected these requests and instead decided to approach Michaels to return as producer. Michaels returned for

3270-413: The 1985–1986 season ; the show was again recast, with Michaels borrowing Ebersol's idea to seek out established actors. Writers struggled with the cast, and Michaels cleaned house again for the 1986–1987 season , seeking unknown talent such as Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman instead of known names. This new cast was successful at reviving the show's popularity in the eyes of critics and audiences. In

3379-470: The 2005–2006 season . Before the start of the 2006–2007 season , the show suffered budget cuts that led to a smaller cast. The following season was also cut short by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike , which led to several cancelled episodes. Fey later returned to the show during the 2008 presidential election for several critically acclaimed guest appearances as vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin . Writer Robert Smigel later said it

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3488-489: The SNL cast who appear on camera, many of the writers have been able to find their own success outside the show, such as Conan O'Brien , who was brought into SNL from The Groundlings in 1988, went on to write for The Simpsons , and eventually began hosting his own show . Former head writer Adam McKay , along with performer Ferrell, founded the successful comedy website Funny or Die . In 1999, Tina Fey (a year before joining

3597-405: The broadcast range , or geographic area, that the station is limited to, allocates the broadcast frequency of the radio spectrum for that station's transmissions, sets limits on what types of television programs can be programmed for broadcast and requires a station to broadcast a minimum amount of certain programs types, such as public affairs messages . Another form of television station

3706-534: The electricity bill and emergency backup generators . In North America , full-power stations on band I (channels 2 to 6) are generally limited to 100 kW analog video ( VSB ) and 10 kW analog audio ( FM ), or 45 kW digital ( 8VSB ) ERP. Stations on band III (channels 7 to 13) can go up by 5 dB to 316 kW video, 31.6 kW audio, or 160 kW digital. Low-VHF stations are often subject to long-distance reception just as with FM. There are no stations on Channel 1 . UHF , by comparison, has

3815-589: The federally mandated transition from analog to digital television . The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 34, using virtual channel 2. KUTV is additionally rebroadcast over a network of low-power digital translator stations : Repeater of KXLY-TV , Spokane, WA Repeater of KREM , Spokane, WA Repeater of KAYU-TV , Spokane, WA Repeater of KHQ-TV , Spokane, WA Television station The Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow ( TV Station Paul Nipkow ) in Berlin , Germany ,

3924-638: The 2009–10 season. In 2010 the 92-year-old Pardo was reported to be again considering his retirement, but continued to serve as announcer until his death at age 96 on August 18, 2014, following the 39th season. Apart from a brief period in 2006 in which Pardo pre-recorded his announcements at his home in Arizona, he flew to New York City to perform his announcing duties live, until 2010 when he began recording permanently from Arizona. Former cast members Joe Piscopo and Darrell Hammond have also impersonated Pardo and fulfilled his announcing duties during times Pardo

4033-491: The 39th season (2013–14) had a budget of over $ 70   million, for which it received a subsidy from New York State in the amount of $ 12.3   million. Edie Baskin was the original SNL photographer. She was hired after Michaels saw her photographs of Las Vegas and other work. Baskin helped create the opening title sequence for the show by taking photos of New York City at night. The first episode used publicity photos of host George Carlin as transitional bumpers between

4142-648: The Carman group sold its interest in the station to A.L. Glasman for the Ogden Standard-Examiner and his son-in-law and daughter, George and Gene Hatch. In the reorganization, the Kearns-Tribune Corporation retained a 35% ownership interest until 1970. In 1960, KUTV became the market's NBC affiliate, trading affiliations with KCPX-TV (channel 4, now KTVX ), which joined ABC. In 1979, the station relocated its studio facilities to

4251-487: The February 2011 sweeps period, KUTV even unseated KSL-TV at 10 pm, resulting in KUTV sweeping all of the news time periods for the first time in its history. May 2011 found KUTV dominating all newscast timeslots in total viewers. KUTV's run at the top was short-lived: In the November 2011 sweeps, KUTV slipped back to second place in most newscasts behind KSL-TV. However, for the February 2012 sweeps period, KUTV regained

4360-559: The U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking another large portion of this band (channels 52 to 69) away, in contrast to the rest of the world, which has been taking VHF instead. This means that some stations left on VHF are harder to receive after the analog shutdown . Since at least 1974, there are no stations on channel 37 in North America for radio astronomy purposes. Most television stations are commercial broadcasting enterprises which are structured in

4469-530: The United States . The show format has been developed and recreated in several countries, meeting with different levels of success. Successful sketches have seen life outside the show as feature films, including The Blues Brothers (1980) and Wayne's World (1992). The show has been marketed in other ways, including home media releases of "best of" and whole seasons, and books and documentaries about behind-the-scenes activities of running and developing

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4578-610: The Weekend Update hosts have gone on to find greater success outside the show, including Dennis Miller , Seth Meyers , Norm Macdonald , Colin Quinn , and Jimmy Fallon . As of Season 49, SNL has featured 164 cast members including, besides the above-mentioned players, Rachel Dratch , Amy Poehler , Chris Rock , David Spade , Will Forte , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Tracy Morgan , Chris Parnell , Maya Rudolph , Andy Samberg , Molly Shannon , and many others. Kenan Thompson

4687-731: The White House told The Daily Beast that in 2019, Trump repeatedly asked his advisers and lawyers to stop his negative portrayals on SNL and other shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! through the interference of the FCC or the Department of Justice . In 2021, James Austin Johnson assumed the Trump impression from Baldwin. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , SNL ' s 2019–2020 season

4796-522: The air on September 10, 1954, originally operating as an ABC affiliate. The original co-owners were Frank C. Carman & Associates and The Salt Lake Tribune , owned by the Kearns-Tribune Corporation. The station originally broadcast from studios located on Social Hall Avenue in downtown Salt Lake City. The deal was spearheaded by Tribune publisher John F. Fitzpatrick after his experience with two successful investments in local radio, including KSL radio (1160 AM) and KALL (910 AM, now KWDZ ). In 1956,

4905-478: The assumption of $ 2.7 billion in Tribune-held debt. As Sinclair already owned KUTV, KJZZ-TV, and KMYU in the market, the company offered to sell KSTU back to Fox Television Stations as part of a $ 910 million deal; Howard Stirk Holdings concurrently agreed to purchase KMYU. The merger was terminated on August 9, 2018, by Tribune Media, nullifying both transactions; this followed a public rejection of

5014-461: The availability of either can mean the photoshoot for both occurs as late as Thursday. Matthews employs flattering portrait lighting with hard lights to achieve a Hollywood style. On the lighting, Matthews commented: "I think it just helps the image pop off the screen   ... If you use soft or flat lighting, it becomes not as dimensional   ... The [classic Hollywood lighting] gives a little more contrast, and if I use edge lights and then light

5123-522: The band is under the leadership of Tower of Power alumnus Lenny Pickett , keyboardist Leon Pendarvis , and Eli Brueggemann, who does not play in the band on the live show. The band plays instrumentals leading in and out of station breaks; affiliates who run no advertising during these interludes hear the band play complete songs behind a Saturday Night Live bumper graphic until the program resumes. The band plays "Closing Theme (Waltz in A)", written by Shore, at

5232-489: The camera. Others associated with the show, such as writers, have gone on to successful careers creating, writing, and starring in television and film. Broadcast from Studio 8H at NBC's headquarters in the Comcast Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza , SNL has aired 975 episodes since its debut and began its 50th season on September 28, 2024, making it one of the longest-running network television programs in

5341-575: The cast and becoming a Weekend Update anchor) became the first woman SNL head writer and successfully made the transition to starring on the show, as well as writing and starring in feature films, ultimately creating and starring in her own show 30 Rock , which was partly based on her SNL experiences. In 2005 Fey was paid $ 1.5   million per season for her dual role as head writer and performer. Writer John Mulaney has also found success outside of SNL through well-received stand-up specials, his Broadway act The Oh, Hello Show , and

5450-452: The cast, causing a divide between the veteran members and the new, younger talent. This led to increased competition for the show's limited screen time, and an increasing reliance on "younger", less subtle humor. The show lost Carvey and Hartman, two of its biggest stars, between 1992 and 1994. Wanting to increase SNL ' s ratings and profitability, NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer and other executives began to actively interfere in

5559-412: The cast. Traditionally, the host of the show ends the opening monologue by mentioning the musical guest for the night and saying, "We got a great show for you tonight, (musical guest) is/are here. So stick around, we'll be right back." Comedian George Carlin was the first to host SNL in the debut October 1975 episode; three episodes later, Candice Bergen became the first woman to host and subsequently

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5668-434: The control room, with multiple digital and analog video recorders used to store footage. Graphics are provided by a Chyron Lyric Pro character generator and an Avid Deko character generator. Audio facilities consist of a Calrec T Series digitally controlled analog mixing console, and a Yamaha digital mixing console used for tape playback support and utility audio work. While exact budgets for other seasons are not known,

5777-412: The deal by FCC chairman Ajit Pai and vote by the commission to designate it for hearing by an administrative law judge, which was seen as a death knell for the proposed transaction. KUTV presently broadcasts 33 hours, 50 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 hours, 50 minutes each weekday and 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). Following its sign-on, KUTV became

5886-404: The dedicated Weekend Update team, who know those characters better. SNL writers are often also performers or experienced in writing and improvisational comedy. Many are hired from similar backgrounds such as The Groundlings, Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre , and ImprovOlympic . Comedian Jim Downey was head writer for 10 years, from 1985 to 1995. Downey (who previously joined

5995-428: The early 1990s, much of this core cast began to leave the show, and younger performers such as Chris Farley and Adam Sandler began to be promoted to repertory status. Some of these cast members, such as Sandler, Farley, Rob Schneider , Spade, and Chris Rock , would come to be known as the "Bad Boys of SNL " for their outrageous comedy style. Afraid of cast members leaving for film careers, Michaels had overcrowded

6104-532: The end of the show. Since the show's inception, SNL has aired from Studio 8H, located on floors eight and nine of the Comcast Building (formerly the RCA Building and GE Building , now 30 Rockefeller Plaza or "30   Rock"). Three of the shows of the 1976–77 season were shot at the former NBC Studios in Brooklyn, due to NBC News using Studio 8H for presidential election coverage. During

6213-618: The first episode to not feature any musical performances since the first episode of season 12 , as well as the third episode in the show's duration to not have a musical guest, due to the rise of the Omicron variant in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic . Charli XCX was planned as the musical guest, but her performance was cancelled due to the new restrictions as the show had a "limited cast and crew" and no audience. The Saturday Night Live Band (also known as "The Live Band")

6322-605: The first host to return. Guests who have hosted five or more times are sometimes referred to as belonging to the Five-Timers Club , a term that originated on a sketch performed on Tom Hanks 's fifth episode. As of February 11, 2017, actor Alec Baldwin holds the record for most times hosting, having performed the duty on seventeen different occasions since 1990; Baldwin took the record from actor Steve Martin who has hosted fifteen times since 1976. Occasionally, former SNL cast members also host. Each episode also features

6431-473: The first television station in the Salt Lake City market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition . On June 7, 2009, the station abruptly canceled its weekend morning newscasts; this was followed the next day by the cancellation of the newscast that the station produced for WTVX; as with many newscast cuts at that time, it was likely due to the Great Recession , while WTVX's newscast

6540-509: The first time since KJZZ-TV (channel 14) became an independent station in 2008 (former MyNetworkTV affiliate KCSG (channel 14)'s over-the-air signal does not reach Salt Lake City, and thus that station has been carried only on cable). On January 1 , 2015, KSL-TV took over as the Salt Lake City affiliate of This TV, and KMYU/KUTV-DT2 began to program traditional syndicated programming outside of MyNetworkTV hours. KUTV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 2, on June 12, 2009, as part of

6649-447: The form of $ 1.2 million in interest free loans. KUTV's newscasts overlook the street, and many segments take advantage of outdoor camera positions. The nearby Gallivan Center is also featured in some KUTV programs. On February 7, 2007, CBS Corporation sold seven of its smaller-market O&O stations, including KUTV and KUSG (now KMYU), to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $ 185 million. Cerberus then formed

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6758-420: The highest point available in the transmission area, such as on a summit , the top of a high skyscraper , or on a tall radio tower . To get a signal from the master control room to the transmitter, a studio/transmitter link (STL) is used. The link can be either by radio or T1 / E1 . A transmitter/studio link (TSL) may also send telemetry back to the station, but this may be embedded in subcarriers of

6867-407: The latter's idea for a variety show featuring high-concept comedy sketches, political satire, and music performances that would attract 18- to 34-year-old viewers. NBC decided to base the new show at their studios in 30 Rockefeller Center . Michaels was given Studio 8H , a converted radio studio that was home to NBC's election and Apollo moon landing coverage. It was revamped for the premiere at

6976-512: The lead in households in all newscast timeslots, except at 6 p.m. From 2007 to 2009, KUTV produced a half-hour early evening newscast for sister station WTVX in West Palm Beach, Florida, titled CW West Palm News at 6:30 . The program was anchored by members of KUTV's on-air staff and was broadcast from a separate studio; WTVX added material from two local reporters. On April 19, 2008, beginning with its 5:30 p.m. newscast, KUTV became

7085-518: The leading news station in Utah, in part owing to its roots with the Salt Lake Tribune . It lost the No. 1 position to KSL-TV in 1965 and spent most of the next 45 years as a solid, if usually distant, runner-up to channel 5. It began to decrease KSL-TV's ratings lead after CBS bought the station, culminating with its first-place finish in most timeslots during the November 2010 ratings period. For

7194-418: The live aspect of the show. Exceptions are made only when the musical act is focused on intense dance routines instead of vocals, where it is difficult to be both heavily physically active and sing. A 1975 performance by pop group ABBA was the first and only act to feature lip-synching, until the controversial 2004 performance of Ashlee Simpson . The December 18, 2021, episode (hosted by Paul Rudd ) became

7303-400: The local television station has no station identification and, from a consumer's point of view, there is no practical distinction between a network and a station, with only small regional changes in programming, such as local television news . To broadcast its programs, a television station requires operators to operate equipment, a transmitter or radio antenna , which is often located at

7412-419: The main broadcast. Stations which retransmit or simulcast another may simply pick-up that station over-the-air , or via STL or satellite. The license usually specifies which other station it is allowed to carry. VHF stations often have very tall antennas due to their long wavelength , but require much less effective radiated power (ERP), and therefore use much less transmitter power output , also saving on

7521-780: The mixing of audio and video elements by the Senior Audio Mixer, coupled with additional audio feeds consisting of music, sound effects, music scoring, and pre-recorded voiceovers. All sources are stored digitally, with shows captured and segregated into individual elements to reorganize for future repeats and syndication. The production tracking system was migrated from primarily analog to digital in 1998, with live shows typically requiring 1.5 terabytes of storage, consisting of audio elements and five cameras' worth of visual elements. Elements of Saturday Night Live that are pre-recorded, such as certain commercial parodies, SNL Digital Shorts , and show graphics are processed off-site in

7630-633: The night into the following morning. Writing may not begin until 8:00   p.m. on Tuesday. At 5:00   p.m. on Wednesday, the sketches are read by the cast during a round-table meeting in the writers' room, attended by the writers and producers present during the pitch meeting, technical experts such as make-up artists, who may be required to realize certain sketch ideas such as those using prosthetics, and other producers, resulting in attendance of approximately fifty people. At this point, there may be at least forty sketch ideas that are read-through in turn, lasting upwards of three hours. After completion of

7739-444: The option of rejecting the first two sitcom offers but must accept the third offer, with the sitcom contract length dictated by NBC and potentially lasting up to six years. The move drew criticism from talent agents and managers who believed a cast member could be locked into a contract with NBC for twelve years—six on SNL and then six on a sitcom. The contract also optioned the cast member for three feature films produced by SNL Films,

7848-474: The original head writer, Michael O'Donoghue . NBC's Saturday Night debuted on October 11, 1975, with an episode featuring Carlin as host. The original title was used because the Saturday Night Live title was in use by Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell on rival network ABC . After the cancellation of Cosell's show in 1976, NBC purchased the rights to the name and officially changed

7957-451: The post-production facilities of Broadway Video . Studio 8H production facilities are maintained by NBC Production Services. As of 2018, the show uses five Sony HDC-1500 cameras, primarily mounted on Vinten pedestals , although one is mounted on a Chapman-Leonard Electra crane. As of 2014, a Grass Valley GVG 4000-3 digital component production switcher and GVG 7000 digital component routing switcher are used to route visual feeds to

8066-476: The programmes seen on its owner's flagship station, and have no television studio or production facilities of their own. This is common in developing countries . Low-power stations typically also fall into this category worldwide. Most stations which are not simulcast produce their own station identifications . TV stations may also advertise on or provide weather (or news) services to local radio stations , particularly co-owned sister stations . This may be

8175-400: The read-through, Michaels, the head writer, the guest host, and some of the show producers will move to Michaels' office to decide the layout of the show and decide which of the sketches will be developed for air. Once complete, the writers and cast are allowed into Michaels's office to view the show breakdown and learn whether or not their sketch has survived. Sketches may be rewritten starting

8284-888: The sale of the entire Four Points station group to the Sinclair Broadcast Group for $ 200 million. In October, Sinclair began managing the stations, including KUTV, under local marketing agreements following antitrust approval. The deal was completed on January 1, 2012. However, the Four Points station websites remained operated by Nexstar's interactive unit until early February 2012 when they were migrated to Sinclair's in-house digital interactive platform (Nexstar would subsequently purchase KTVX and KUCW from Newport Television in August 2012). On May 8, 2017, Sinclair entered into an agreement to acquire Tribune Media —owner of Fox affiliate KSTU—for $ 3.9 billion, plus

8393-424: The same day, but will certainly commence on Thursday. Work focuses on developing and rewriting the remaining sketches and possibly rehearsals. If a sketch is still scheduled beyond Thursday, it is rehearsed on Friday or Saturday before moving to a rehearsal before a live audience at 8:00   p.m., again on Saturday, before the live show. After the rehearsal, Michaels will review the show lineup to ensure it meets

8502-438: The segment since 2011 ; and has been the segment's head writer since 2014) The segment's previous head writer was Alex Baze (who wrote for the segment from 2004 to 2014 , and was the head writer of the segment starting with the 2011–12 season, until his aforementioned 2014 departure). Scenes on Weekend Update that involve members of the cast acting in-character alongside the host are often written by staff writers outside

8611-438: The show after the 1978–1979 season to make The Blues Brothers , and as the fifth season ended in 1980, Michaels asked executives to place the show on hiatus for a year in order to allow him time to pursue other projects. Michaels suggested writers Al Franken , Tom Davis , and Jim Downey as his replacements; NBC president Fred Silverman disliked Franken and was infuriated by his Update routine in May 1980, called " A Limo for

8720-447: The show and commercial breaks, the second episode used photos Baskin had already taken of host Paul Simon . It was then that Michaels suggested that Baskin photograph the hosts for the bumpers instead of using publicity photos, beginning a tradition that continues today. Since 1999, Mary Ellen Matthews has been the official photographer of SNL , responsible for devising distinctive photo layouts and aesthetics for still imagery used on

8829-409: The show for longer than they may have otherwise. In January 2024, Variety said that "speculation [had] been rampant for years" that Michaels would retire from the series after its fiftieth season , premiering in 2024. Michaels told Entertainment Tonight that month that former head writer and cast member Tina Fey could "easily" be his successor, were he to step down, but said he had not made

8938-474: The show had received over 305 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, the most received by any television program. The live aspect of the show has resulted in several controversies and acts of censorship, with mistakes and intentional acts of sabotage by performers and guests. Beginning in 1965, NBC network affiliates broadcast reruns of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on Saturday or Sunday nights. In 1974, Johnny Carson petitioned to NBC executives for

9047-555: The show to largely avoid jokes about President Ronald Reagan during his time as showrunner. Under Ebersol's leadership, Eddie Murphy, who had been underused during Doumanian's tenure, rose to prominence with popular characters such as Mister Robinson's Neighborhood and Gumby . His success was a major factor in the show's resurgence, though it created tensions within the cast. In a break with tradition, producers hired established comedians such as Billy Crystal and Martin Short for

9156-466: The show's first five seasons included Belushi's samurai , the Coneheads (Aykroyd, Curtin, Newman), and Radner's Roseanne Roseannadanna . Drugs were a major problem during the show's first five years, which exacerbated existing tensions. Cocaine had become an "integral part of the working progress" on SNL by the 1978–1979 season , according to Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad. Aykroyd and Belushi left

9265-435: The show's humor, cast, and backstage dysfunction. The show's cast was largely overhauled for the 1995–1996 season with names such as Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri , which was successful at revitalizing the show. The show faced new competition during this period in the form of Fox ' s sketch comedy show Mad TV , which aired a half hour earlier than SNL and featured a more diverse cast. The 2000–2001 season

9374-541: The show's name to Saturday Night Live at the start of the 1977–1978 season . The cast was initially paid $ 750 per episode, and essentially lived at the offices, according to Michaels. The show found its footing by the fourth episode, hosted by Candice Bergen , which featured the cast in most segments. The show developed a cult following , and its humor was seen as refreshing and daring, in comparison to previous sketch and variety shows that would rarely deal with controversial topics and issues. Iconic characters during

9483-409: The show's writing staff in the show's second season in 1977) is not only the show's longest-tenured head writer, but he is also overall the show's longest-tenured writer in the show's history. As he wrote for the show on-and-off for 30 years, formally retiring from the show in 2013 . Experienced writers with backgrounds in television shows are also sometimes brought into the SNL writing room. Like

9592-461: The show, recommending that new stars such as Chris Farley and Adam Sandler be fired and critiquing the costly nature of performing the show live. Criticism of the show's writing increased during this period, which reached its peak by the 1994–1995 season , which is considered one of the series' worst. A widely publicized profile of the show in New York during this period was highly critical of

9701-434: The show. Taped material significantly increased in the mid-2000s with SNL Digital Shorts by The Lonely Island , and continued into the following years with videos by Good Neighbor and Please Don't Destroy . The cast continued to evolve significantly into the 2010s as several longtime cast members such as Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig left the series. The 2013–2014 season saw the hiring of seven new cast members in

9810-442: The show. In 1980, Michaels left the show to explore other opportunities. He was replaced by Jean Doumanian , who was then replaced by Ebersol after a season of bad reviews. Ebersol ran the show until 1985, when Michaels returned. Since then, Michaels has held the job of showrunner . Many SNL cast members have found national stardom while appearing on the show, and achieved success in film and television, both in front of and behind

9919-607: The show. Throughout five decades on air, Saturday Night Live has received a vast number of awards, including 84 Primetime Emmy Awards , six Writers Guild of America Awards , and three Peabody Awards . In 2000, it was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame . It was ranked tenth in TV Guide ' s " 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time " list, and in 2007 it was listed as one of Time ' s "100 Best TV Shows of All- TIME. " As of 2022,

10028-454: The show. Matthews creates photo portraits of the hosts and musical guests of each episode which are used as commercial bumpers. The limited time frame between the host's involvement in the production process and the Live show requires Matthews to create makeshift photo studios on-site at 30   Rock, with Matthews attempting to shoot the host on Tuesday and the musical guest on Thursday, although

10137-526: The special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch . Don Pardo served as the announcer for the series when it began and continued in the role for all but season seven, between 1981 and 1982, when Michaels had left and Mel Brandt and Bill Hanrahan filled the announcing role. In 2004 Pardo announced that he would step down from his position, but then continued in the role until 2009 when he again announced his retirement, but then continued into

10246-636: The station in September 2012, while its weekday morning newscast was also expanded a half-hour early to 4:30 am. On September 9, 2014, KUTV moved the 4 p.m. newscast to 3 pm, retaining the hour-long format and bringing Utah's even earlier newscast. The station's signal is multiplexed . KMYU's simulcast of KUTV's schedule maps to virtual channel 2: On April 6, 2009, KUTV began carrying This TV on its second digital subchannel . On September 20, 2010, both KMYU and KUTV-DT2 added programming from MyNetworkTV , which brought over-the-air programming from that service back to Salt Lake City proper for

10355-467: The summer 2005 shooting hiatus, crews began renovations on Studio 8H. With its thirty-first-season premiere in October 2005, the show began broadcasting in high-definition television , appearing letterboxed on conventional television screens. The offices of SNL writers, producers, and other staff can be found on the 17th floor of "30   Rock". Production on an SNL episode will normally start on

10464-484: The swap) also traded transmitter facilities in Miami as part of the deal. CBS then sold controlling interest in KUTV to Group W. NBC initially wanted to return to KTVX, but ultimately signed with KSL-TV (channel 5); the deal officially took effect on September 10, 1995. KUTV subsequently became a CBS owned-and-operated station when Group W's parent company, Westinghouse Electric Corporation , merged with CBS in late 1995. It

10573-501: The three- to four-member dedicated Weekend Update writing team will write jokes throughout the week. The host(s) of Weekend Update will normally not work with or read the scripts from the team until Thursday evening after the main show sketches have been finalized. The host(s) will then work on contributing to the script where necessary. With onsite facilities housed on floors eight and seventeen of Rockefeller Plaza, post-production duties on live broadcasts of Saturday Night Live include

10682-478: The training or experience necessary for SNL . The cast is divided into two tiers: the more established group of repertory players; and newer, unproven cast members known as featured players, who may eventually be promoted to the repertory stable. Of the many roles available in the show, one of the longest-running and most coveted is being the host of Weekend Update , a segment featuring one or two hosts, who get substantial screen time performing as themselves. Many of

10791-475: The weekend shows to be pulled and saved so they could be aired during weeknights, allowing him to take time off. In response, NBC president Herbert Schlosser approached the vice president of late-night programming, Dick Ebersol , and asked him to create a show to fill the Saturday night time slot. Schlosser and Ebersol then approached Lorne Michaels . Over the next three weeks, Ebersol and Michaels developed

10900-399: The world. Television stations broadcasting over an analog system were typically limited to one television channel , but digital television enables broadcasting via subchannels as well. Television stations usually require a broadcast license from a government agency which sets the requirements and limitations on the station. In the United States, for example, a television license defines

11009-471: Was also sold as part of the Four Points deal. On February 25, 2008, KUTV added three stations in West Palm Beach, Florida ( WTVX , WTCN-CA and WWHB-CA ), to this operation. On March 20, 2009, Nexstar Broadcasting Group took over the management of all of the Four Points stations, including KUTV, under a three-year outsourcing agreement. On September 8, 2011, Cerberus Capital Management announced

11118-502: Was indefinitely halted on March 16, 2020. The season was later resumed in April with three remotely produced episodes labelled Saturday Night Live at Home , and the show returned to Studio 8H in October 2020. After the 2021–2022 season , many longtime cast members left the show in a major cast overhaul, including Aidy Bryant , Kate McKinnon , and Pete Davidson ; Michaels said that the pandemic had led to some cast members staying with

11227-472: Was notable for its well-received spoofing of that year's presidential campaign between Al Gore and George W. Bush . The show's New York City cast and crew were highly impacted by the September 11 attacks in 2001, and returned on September 29 with an acclaimed appearance by Rudy Giuliani . Political humor was reduced for the following seasons. The show switched to high-definition broadcasting for

11336-616: Was one of five CBS-O&O stations that did not incorporate the CBS name into its branding, given the fact it was branded as "2News" as opposed to "CBS 2". In 2003, the station moved from its longtime studio facilities in West Valley City to a street-side studio at 299 Main Street in downtown Salt Lake's Wells Fargo Center . The move was financed in part by the Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency, in

11445-551: Was retiring at the end of the season. A three-hour prime-time live broadcast to celebrate the series' fiftieth anniversary will air on February 16, 2025. Those selected to join the cast of SNL are normally already accomplished performers, recruited from improvisational comedy groups such as The Groundlings (Newman, Hartman, Will Ferrell , Jon Lovitz , Kristen Wiig ) and The Second City (Aykroyd, Farley, Tina Fey , Tim Meadows ), or established stand-up comedians (Carvey, Sandler, Macdonald, Chris Rock ), who already possess

11554-465: Was stunted by low ratings. In August 2009, KUTV opted not to renew its lease for its news helicopter as a cost-saving measure, but continues to rent helicopters on an 'as needed' basis. The station also used "Chopper 2", a Harley-Davidson chopper motorcycle with a sidecar that is converted into a swiveling camera mount and seat for a camera operator for use in covering traffic accidents, weather reports, and parades. Weekend morning newscasts returned to

11663-678: Was the first regular television service in the world. It was on the air from 22 March 1935, until it was shut down in 1944. The station was named after Paul Gottlieb Nipkow , the inventor of the Nipkow disk . Most often the term "television station" refers to a station which broadcasts structured content to an audience or it refers to the organization that operates the station. A terrestrial television transmission can occur via analog television signals or, more recently, via digital television signals. Television stations are differentiated from cable television or other video providers as their content

11772-475: Was the show's "biggest moment since the 70s", and Michaels observed that it made Fey a "huge star" and that "you could see perception changing completely". Armisen played Barack Obama from 2008 to 2012, following which cast member Jay Pharoah assumed the impression. The show began to rely more on pre-recorded material and videos more than it ever had before during this period, to the extent that some commentators said it had sometimes outshined live material on

11881-411: Was unavailable. Hammond took over as full-time announcer starting with season 40 . A typical episode of SNL will feature a single host chosen for their popularity or novelty, or because they have a film, album, or other work being released near the time of their appearance on the show. The host delivers the opening monologue and goodnights, introduces the musical guest, and performs in sketches with

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