America's Talking was an American cable television channel focused mainly on talk based programming, created by NBC and spun off from economic channel CNBC. It was launched on July 4, 1994, and was carried in 10 million American households upon launch. The headquarters were in an office building in Fort Lee, New Jersey, two floors below CNBC's original studios, on Fletcher Avenue. It was shuttered on July 15, 1996, and its transponder space was replaced by MSNBC.
Programming
The programming was mainly focused on low-budget talk shows, and included the following lineup:
Break A Leg with Bill McCuddy - Mid-afternoon chatfest hosted by the winner of a CNBC-sponsored talent contest, Bill McCuddy. Featured celebrities and musical acts.
AT In-Depth - A two-hour news/talk show focusing on the day's top stories, co-hosted by Terry Anzur in Fort Lee and Chris Matthews in Washington. Matthews later got his own show and the show became In DepthCoast to Coast with Anzur in Burbank, CA, and John Gibson in Fort Lee.
Straight Forward - A celebrity hour-long talk show, hosted by the President of the network, Roger Ailes.
Bugged! - A comedic look at what bugs people, hosted by Brian O'Connor with Bill Gulino.
R&R with Roger Rose - A late-night themed talk show featuring the latest music and celebrities.
After Hours - This show replaced R&R, was basically the same format, hosted by Brian Tracy and Bill Gulino. The show was eventually moved over to CNBC where it was hosted by Mike Jerrick.
Politics with Chris Matthews - This show is the only show from America's Talking still on the air. After moving over to CNBC during the rampdown of America's Talking, the show was renamed Hardball with Chris Matthews and eventually moved to MSNBC, where it aired nightly at 7 p.m. until March 2, 2020, when Mathews announced his resignation at the top of his final program. Following a commercial break, Steve Kornacki took over for the rest of that episode. A permanent replacement was not immediately announced.
Cable Crossings - A minute-long serial that aired between programs, written by Marv Himelfarb, featuring Brian Fraley. Music written by Bill Gulino.
Demise
While America's Talking had something of a following, it was not successful in the ratings and was picked up by few cable providers. In January 1996, NBC announced plans to partner with Microsoft to launch MSNBC on cable and online with the satellite transponder that America's Talking occupied, effectively ending the life of the network. America's Talking officially signed off on July 15, 1996, after Ailes had departed NBC and been hired by Rupert Murdoch to launch the Fox News Channel for News Corporation, and was replaced at 9 a.m. by MSNBC Live, hosted by Jodi Applegate.
