What was the first nationally broadcast morning show in the U.S.?

The early days of television were like the Wild West, with networks frantically experimenting to fill their air time. While evening broadcasts quickly found their groove with news and entertainment, mornings remained a mystery. Networks wondered what viewers wanted while eating their breakfast and getting ready for work. Which network finally cracked the code and created America's first national morning show?

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The answer is: "Today"

NBC's "Today" show launched on January 14, 1952, and immediately changed the way Americans started their day. The show's creator, Pat Weaver (yes, Sigourney Weaver's dad), described his vision as a communications center in every American home, which sounded pretty weird to 1950s executives. Executives did, however, like the business proposal for sponsored segments and entire blocs bought outright by advertisers.

The show's first host, Dave Garroway, turned out to be exactly what sleepy Americans wanted with their coffee. Garroway had this super casual style that made viewers feel like they were hanging out with a smart friend who just so happened to know everything going on in the world. He even had a chimpanzee sidekick named J. Fred Muggs, because apparently that's what morning TV in the '50s needed. Garroway's approach set the template that hosts would follow for decades, from Barbara Walters to Tom Brokaw to Katie Couric.

The show broadcast from a street-level studio in New York City with giant windows, letting passersby wave to the cameras. This turned out to be genius marketing in its own right, with NBC having to hire crowd control. People would show up at dawn holding signs, making "Today" accidentally invent the whole "people waving signs outside a TV studio" thing that's now a morning show staple.

Other networks initially laughed at the idea of morning television. CBS leadership insisted no one would get up at 7 AM to watch TV, but they changed their tune when "Today" started making NBC millions a year in profit. Suddenly, executives were demanding their own versions of "Today" yesterday. Seventy years later, the show is still going strong, though sadly, no host since Garroway has tried to bring back a chimp sidekick.