NBC Talknet
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| Type | Radio |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Availability | Most of the United States |
| Owner | RCA: November, 1981 - October, 1986; Westwood One: October, 1986 - June 2001 |
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Launch date
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November 2, 1981 |
| Dissolved | June 22, 2001 (Bruce Williams' departure from Westwood One) |
| Affiliates | 31 upon launch |
NBC Talknet was a nighttime programming block on the NBC Radio Network from the 1980s to the 1990s. It comprised several advice-oriented call-in talk shows, the most notable personalities being Bruce Williams and Sally Jessy Raphael. At a time when talk radio was a mostly local format, Talknet, among similar services, brought the format to a national level.
Prior to the late 1970s, AM radio was still largely dominated by all-music formats. Many individual radio stations had introduced some talk programming to their lineups, but it was almost universally locally produced. The concept of national talk radio, broadcast over a radio network, had not been tried. In 1978, Larry King began broadcasting six hours of talk programming nightly on the Mutual Broadcasting System. His success in the field proved to radio programmers that there was an audience for both late-night talk programming and national talk radio programming. NBC and ABC were quick to enter the late-night talk radio market. ABC launched a nightly block of programming called TalkRadio and NBC launched Talknet.
At the time when Talknet was introduced, the Fairness Doctrine was still in place, requiring radio and television stations, among other things, to give equal time to both sides of controversial issues presented on the air. As a result, years would pass before openly partisan radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh began to appear and prosper. All of the programming of Talknet was instead advice-oriented, with listeners calling into ask questions and receive help with various issues and problems in their lives.
Talknet premiered on 21 stations nationwide on Monday November 2, 1981. Early affiliates included WRC Washington, WIOD Miami, KXL Portland, WJW Cleveland, KFBK Sacramento, WLW Cincinnati, KOB Albuquerque, WDAY Fargo, WOOD Grand Rapids, and WSTV Steubenville, OH. Maurice Tunick was creator and executive producer.
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