Johnny Carson, the most successful latenight TV host in history, presided over The Tonight Show on NBC from 1962-92.
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Beginning January 1, 2016, “Carnac the Magnificent”, “Art Fern”, “Aunt Blabby” and all of Carson’s classic characters will return to late night television via Antenna TV.
For the first time in decades, the world will be able to fall asleep to the familiar tones of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” every night.
Antenna TV airs in 102 markets across the U.S., including all of the top 20 markets, reaching 78 percent of all television households.
Carson’s iteration of the Tonight Show went off the air in 1992.
Antenna TV specializes in vintage programming – as numerous so-called local multicast networks do. Jeff Sotzing, Carson’s nephew, runs Carson Entertainment and has made shows increasingly available in recent years, including a YouTube channel with full episodes; DVDs and clips are available on the Johnny Carson website. Thirty years later, Carson’s comedy and humor are just as relevant. “We can not wait to bring this show to fans who remember Carson and to a new generation of viewers who have never had the chance to see Johnny in his prime”. Antenna will air hour long episodes on weeknights and 90-minute installments on Saturday and Sunday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. New episodes of the series air Sundays at 11:30pm ET/PT. The series’ season two premiere on Sunday, July 26, ranked #1 in its time period among all key adults and men and charted triple-digit delivery gains over its prior season premiere (P18-24 +154%, P18-34 +117%, P18-49 +121%). The idea of running the show at the same time every night on Antenna TV will provide viewers with a feel for how the show was viewed originally.
Jay Leno’s last episode of “The Tonight Show” was February 6, 2014. Its mission is to preserve the legacy of Johnny Carson.
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Antenna’s schedule lineup at present is anchored by such evergreens as “All in the Family”, “Bewitched”, “Green Acres”, “Father Knows Best”, “The Partridge Family” and “Leave It to Beaver”. The channel is profitable even with a modest, older-skewing audience. “On Christmas Eve, we’ll have an episode with Jimmy Stewart telling stories about the making of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ Our possibilities are endless”.
