ABC 2000 Today
Encyclopedia
ABC 2000 Today was ABC News
's coverage of the turn of the millennium from December 31, 1999 into January 1, 2000. Part of the 2000 Today
programming in the United States
, Peter Jennings
anchored the 23 hours and 10 minutes of broadcast in Times Square Studios
in Manhattan, New York. ABC
temporarily converted the Good Morning America
marquee broadcast studio into a type of "millennium command center" that included a desk, where a standing Jennings spent most of his time, two lounge chairs, where Jennings would interview guests, a large screen with a time-zone included map of the world, a wall of clocks, and a make-shift newsroom where ABC News staffers would follow the latest developments.
, as always since his Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve shows first aired in 1972, and was credited as a correspondent. Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve was not aired as a result of the broadcast. Jack Ford was stationed in Times Square
throughout the broadcast and did the countdown in Times Square with Clark. Other correspondents were Charles Gibson
in London, Diane Sawyer
in New York, Barbara Walters
in Paris, Sam Donaldson
at the Y2K Command Center in Washington, Connie Chung
in Las Vegas, Deborah Roberts at Walt Disney World, Morton Dean
in Moscow, and literally hundreds of others at ABC News
, technicians and newsmen, who worked throughout the day to bring the broadcast. Those hundreds of others included ABC News personalities stationed around the world to cover the new year in every time zone, including Elizabeth Vargas
in Sydney, Australia, Cokie Roberts
at the Vatican, with her mother
, the then U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican
, Carole Simpson
in Chicago, and Aaron Brown
, who narrated many segments.
ABC had a total of more than 1,000 news reporters, technicians, and other news department personnel part of the broadcast. They were all under the direction of ABC's Roger Goodman
.
Guests included famed Australian comedian Dame Edna, David Blane, and comedian Al Franken
. Musical performances included the Bee Gees, Neil Diamond
, Faith Hill
, Enrique Iglesias
, Kenny G
, Charlotte Church
, Billy Joel
, Barry Manilow
, Bonnie Raitt
, *NSYNC, James Taylor
, Christina Aguilera
(who performed at the MTV
studios across the street), Aerosmith
, and Phish
. Phish's appearance was live via satellite from their Big Cypress festival, performing their song "Heavy Things". The only affiliate that did not carry the event was WRIC-TV
in Richmond, Virginia
.
joined 60 other nations, all celebrating the dawn of the new millennium. The network was part of the 2000 Today
consortium that included PBS
, the BBC
, ABC
in Australia, TV Asahi
in Japan, GMA Network
in the Philippines, RTL
in Germany, and the CBC
in Canada.
This was by far the most comprehensive coverage of any of the broadcast networks. In fact, this was the most ambitious live television broadcast ever in the United States. By contrast, CBS
had hourly updates throughout the day with Dan Rather
, a special 8pm edition of The Late Show with David Letterman and from 10pm-1am, Will Smith
hosted America's Millennium. Dan Rather
reported live from Times Square
during those hours, with additional coverage from Washington, DC. It was the only time since 1996 that CBS has offered live New Year coverage. NBC
had an extended edition of The Today Show, Dateline NBC
at 8pm, Tom Brokaw
and Katie Couric
anchored NBC's Millennium Coverage starting at 9pm and lasting until 3am and encompassing a special edition of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, who took part in the millennium celebrations in Los Angeles.
Peter Jennings stayed on the air for the entire duration without a break using only commercial breaks and correspondent pieces to rest, eat, or change suits. He changed his wardrobe four times, including wearing a tuxedo when the ball was dropping at Times Square, and a sweater at the end of the ABC 2000 Today broadcast.
At least 175 million Americans tuned into some portion of ABC 2000 Today. The broadcast won a Peabody Award
.
The theme music for ABC 2000 Today (which was also used for ABC News
' election coverage that year) was from Epcot
's IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
live show. The music was composed by Gavin Greenaway
, who won an Emmy award for the work.
for ABC News's 2000 election coverage ABC 2000: The Vote, with the studio set up very similar to the ABC 2000 Today studio set up, except the large screen was used to show the map of the United States with all the red and blue states.
ABC 2000 Today was succeeded by the three and a half hour special ABC 2002 on December 31, 2001, which was also hosted by Peter Jennings at the Rose Center for Earth and Space
in the American Museum of Natural History
.
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
's coverage of the turn of the millennium from December 31, 1999 into January 1, 2000. Part of the 2000 Today
2000 Today
The Millennium Event - 2000 Today was an internationally-broadcast television special commemorating the beginning of the Year 2000. This program included New Year's Eve celebrations, musical performances, and other features from participating nations....
programming in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
anchored the 23 hours and 10 minutes of broadcast in Times Square Studios
Times Square Studios
Times Square Studios is an American television studio located in the Times Square neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York...
in Manhattan, New York. ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
temporarily converted the Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
marquee broadcast studio into a type of "millennium command center" that included a desk, where a standing Jennings spent most of his time, two lounge chairs, where Jennings would interview guests, a large screen with a time-zone included map of the world, a wall of clocks, and a make-shift newsroom where ABC News staffers would follow the latest developments.
Correspondents and guests
Dick Clark did the countdown in Times SquareTimes Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, as always since his Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve shows first aired in 1972, and was credited as a correspondent. Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve was not aired as a result of the broadcast. Jack Ford was stationed in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
throughout the broadcast and did the countdown in Times Square with Clark. Other correspondents were Charles Gibson
Charles Gibson
Charles deWolf "Charlie" Gibson is a former American broadcast television anchor and journalist. He was a host of Good Morning America from 1987 to 1998 and 1999 to 2006 and anchor of World News with Charles Gibson from 2006 to 2009....
in London, Diane Sawyer
Diane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
in New York, Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
in Paris, Sam Donaldson
Sam Donaldson
Samuel Andrew "Sam" Donaldson, Jr. is a reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to the present, best known as the network's White House Correspondent and as a panelist and later co-anchor of the network's Sunday Program "This Week."-Early life and career:Donaldson was born in El...
at the Y2K Command Center in Washington, Connie Chung
Connie Chung
Connie Chung, full name: Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow and U.S...
in Las Vegas, Deborah Roberts at Walt Disney World, Morton Dean
Morton Dean
Morton Dean is an American television news journalist who has worked for CBS News and ABC News since the mid-1960s....
in Moscow, and literally hundreds of others at ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, technicians and newsmen, who worked throughout the day to bring the broadcast. Those hundreds of others included ABC News personalities stationed around the world to cover the new year in every time zone, including Elizabeth Vargas
Elizabeth Vargas
Elizabeth Vargas is an American television journalist who is anchor of ABC's television newsmagazine 20/20 and ABC News Specials. She was previously an anchor of World News Tonight.-Early years:...
in Sydney, Australia, Cokie Roberts
Cokie Roberts
Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Roberts , best known as Cokie Roberts, is an American Emmy Award-winning journalist and bestselling author. She is a contributing senior news analyst for National Public Radio as well as a regular roundtable analyst for the current This Week with Christiane...
at the Vatican, with her mother
Lindy Boggs
Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs, usually known as Lindy Boggs , is a United States political figure who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as ambassador to the Vatican. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana...
, the then U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican
United States Ambassador to the Holy See
A U.S. Ambassador serves as that country's official representative to the Holy See since formal diplomatic relations began in 1984. Before the establishment of official relations, Myron Taylor served during World War II as an emissary for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1951, President Harry S....
, Carole Simpson
Carole Simpson
Carole Simpson is a broadcast journalist, news anchor, and author- Biography :Simpson, a graduate of the University of Michigan, began her career on radio at WCFL in Chicago, Illinois. She moved to television at Chicago's WMAQ and onto NBC News in 1974, becoming the first African-American woman...
in Chicago, and Aaron Brown
Aaron Brown
Aaron Brown is an American broadcast journalist most recognized for his coverage of the September 11, 2001 attacks, his first day on air at CNN...
, who narrated many segments.
ABC had a total of more than 1,000 news reporters, technicians, and other news department personnel part of the broadcast. They were all under the direction of ABC's Roger Goodman
Roger Goodman (director)
Roger Goodman is currently an independent television and live event producer, specializing in all aspects of event production. He worked at ABC for 43 years as a television director and producer. His career has spanned sports, news and entertainment. He has done olympics, elections, wars,...
.
Guests included famed Australian comedian Dame Edna, David Blane, and comedian Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
. Musical performances included the Bee Gees, Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
, Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...
, Kenny G
Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick , better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American, adult contemporary and smooth jazz saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986...
, Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, *NSYNC, James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
(who performed at the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
studios across the street), Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, and Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
. Phish's appearance was live via satellite from their Big Cypress festival, performing their song "Heavy Things". The only affiliate that did not carry the event was WRIC-TV
WRIC-TV
WRIC-TV, virtual channel 8 , is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Richmond, Virginia market. It is owned by Young Broadcasting. The station is licensed to nearby Petersburg, while its studios are just off the Powhite Parkway extension in the Arboretum office park in western...
in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
.
Broadcast highlights
Originally, the name of the broadcast was ABC 2000, but it was officially retitled as ABC 2000 Today because ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
joined 60 other nations, all celebrating the dawn of the new millennium. The network was part of the 2000 Today
2000 Today
The Millennium Event - 2000 Today was an internationally-broadcast television special commemorating the beginning of the Year 2000. This program included New Year's Eve celebrations, musical performances, and other features from participating nations....
consortium that included PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
in Australia, TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
in Japan, GMA Network
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...
in the Philippines, RTL
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
in Germany, and the CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
in Canada.
This was by far the most comprehensive coverage of any of the broadcast networks. In fact, this was the most ambitious live television broadcast ever in the United States. By contrast, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
had hourly updates throughout the day with Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
, a special 8pm edition of The Late Show with David Letterman and from 10pm-1am, Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
hosted America's Millennium. Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
reported live from Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
during those hours, with additional coverage from Washington, DC. It was the only time since 1996 that CBS has offered live New Year coverage. NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
had an extended edition of The Today Show, Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...
at 8pm, Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
and Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
anchored NBC's Millennium Coverage starting at 9pm and lasting until 3am and encompassing a special edition of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, who took part in the millennium celebrations in Los Angeles.
Peter Jennings stayed on the air for the entire duration without a break using only commercial breaks and correspondent pieces to rest, eat, or change suits. He changed his wardrobe four times, including wearing a tuxedo when the ball was dropping at Times Square, and a sweater at the end of the ABC 2000 Today broadcast.
At least 175 million Americans tuned into some portion of ABC 2000 Today. The broadcast won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
.
The theme music for ABC 2000 Today (which was also used for ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
' election coverage that year) was from Epcot
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
's IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth is an award-winning night time show performed nightly at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. The show utilizes fireworks, pyrotechnics, laser lights, fountains, and fire to create a visual production on the park's World Showcase Lagoon...
live show. The music was composed by Gavin Greenaway
Gavin Greenaway
Gavin Greenaway is a music composer and conductor. He is the son of Roger Greenaway.Educated at Strode's College and Trinity College of Music. He started working with his father before leaving school...
, who won an Emmy award for the work.
Follow-up
ABC News also used Times Square StudiosTimes Square Studios
Times Square Studios is an American television studio located in the Times Square neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York...
for ABC News's 2000 election coverage ABC 2000: The Vote, with the studio set up very similar to the ABC 2000 Today studio set up, except the large screen was used to show the map of the United States with all the red and blue states.
ABC 2000 Today was succeeded by the three and a half hour special ABC 2002 on December 31, 2001, which was also hosted by Peter Jennings at the Rose Center for Earth and Space
Rose Center for Earth and Space
The Rose Center for Earth and Space is a part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Center's complete name is The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space. The main entrance is located on the northern side of the museum on 81st Street near...
in the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
.