Late Friday
| Friday Night Videos | |
|---|---|
Graphic from first Friday Night Videos intro, used on July 29, 1983
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| Also known as | ''Friday Night Late Friday'' |
| Starring |
Frankie Crocker(1990–1993) |
| Narrated by |
Nick Michaels Scott Muni (announcers, 1983–1985) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 90 minutes (1983–1987) 60 minutes (1987–2002) |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | July 29, 1983 – May 24, 2002 |
Frankie Crocker(1990–1993)
Tom Kenny (1990–1992)
Darryl M. Bell (1992–1993)
Branford Marsalis (1993)
Henry Cho (1994–1996)
Friday Night Videos (later becoming Friday Night and then Late Friday) is an American music video show that was broadcast on NBC from July 29, 1983 to May 24, 2002. It was the network's attempt to capitalize on the emerging popularity of music videos as seen on MTV.Belinda Carlisle was the guest host for the first episode.
Friday Night Videos was initially produced by Dick Ebersol. From 1974 until 1981, in his role as Director of Late Night Programming at NBC, he co-produced The Midnight Special with that series' creator Burt Sugarman. Ebersol departed from The Midnight Special in 1981 to take over as the executive producer at his co-creation with Lorne Michaels, Saturday Night Live. Ebersol replaced Jean Doumanian, who had been promoted from associate producer when Michaels left to take a job at Paramount Pictures and who had dealt with various problems during her tenure, including an instance where Charles Rocket said the expletive "fuck" on air during a live broadcast which resulted in his termination.
While at SNL, Ebersol decided that he would attempt another Friday night music-based program and his idea grew into what would become Friday Night Videos, which would replace SCTV on NBC's weekend late-night lineup in 1983.
In its early years, MTV was still a phenomenon that only a minority of Americans actually could see in their homes, as there were many areas not yet serviced by cable television, and not all cable television providers offered MTV at first. Friday Night Videos took advantage of that fact and proved to be the next best thing for many viewers. While it primarily showcased music videos by popular top 40 acts of the day, unlike its cable rival, Friday Night Videos tended to offer more variety; featuring artists from the genres of pop, rock, R&B, and rap.
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