NBC: Proud As A Peacock Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

Radio Corporation of America (RCA) partnered with General Electric and Westinghouse to form the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in 1926. RCA became the sole owner in 1926. General Electric became NBC's parent company in 1986, when they bought RCA.

Answer: G-E-C

This simple identifier, also used on NBC's radio networks, is almost as well-known as the peacock. The website TV Ark has video of the network ident, an animated xylophone and mallet sounding the chime, from the mid-1950s. Check it out at http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/international/us_nbc.html

Answer: True

Though best known for his role on camera, Nicholas Colasanto was also a busy director in television, helming episodes of series like "Ironside", "Columbo" and "The Misadventures of Sherriff Lobo". Colasanto directed two episodes of "Bonanza" during its 14-season run. He died in 1985. (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database and TV Tome.com for additional information.)

Answer: San Francisco

After a very successful nine-year run as attorney Perry Mason on CBS, Raymond Burr jumped into "Ironside", which ran for eight seasons (1967-1975) on NBC. The chief of San Francisco's police department, Ironside was confined to a wheelchair after being shot in the line of duty.

Answer: "The FBI"

Produced by Quinn Martin and running 236 episodes, "The FBI" stayed on ABC for nine seasons (1965-1974). Efram Zimbalist, Jr., starred in the lead role as Agent Lewis Erskine.

Answer: "City Guys"

Running from 1997 to 2001, "City Guys" was positioned to be a grittier urban alternative to NBC's hot teen series "Saved By The Bell". As the tough, no-nonsense Noble, Lowery had her hands full keeping students Jamal Grant (played by Wesley Johnathan) and Chris Anderson (Scott Whyte) in line. Lowery is best known for playing in Nabisco's SnackWell's cookies commercials ("Hello, Cookie Man!") and for portraying quarterback Donovan McNabb's mom in Campbell's Chunky Soup spots. (Thanks to TV Tome and the Internet Movie Database for additional information).

Answer: South Dakota

The sole anchor of "NBC Nightly News" from 1983 to 2004, Brokaw served as a host of "The Today Show" for five years (1976-1981), working with the likes of Jane Pauley and Barbara Walters. Part of his off-camera activities involve serving on the board of the directors of his alma mater, the University of South Dakota.

Answer: True

"Amahl and the Night Visitors", a one-act opera written by Gian Carlo Menotti, was first broadcast on NBC on Christmas Eve, 1951. The opera tells the story of Amahl, a crippled shepherd boy who gets a visit from the Three Wise Men shortly after the birth of Christ.

Answer: Warner Bros

"Friends" was part of NBC's "Must See TV" block of Thursday-night programming during its 11-year run. Its spinoff, "Joey", began running on the network during the 2004-05 season.

Answer: "The Newlywed Game"

"The Newlywed Game", one of the best-known offerings from Chuck Barris, ran in the daytime on ABC from 1966 to 1974 and in prime time from 1967 to 1971. It was also reincarnated several times in syndication.

Answer: The six divisions that made up NBC

The modern Peacock's feathers represent the News, Sports, Entertainment, Network, Stations, and Operations/Technical Services divisions of NBC. Each feather is typically a different color, though they can be a single color depending on how the logo is used. (Thanks to NBC affiliate KCEN-TV 6 in Temple, Texas, for additional information.)

Answer: False

A journalist and freelance editor born in Gainesville, Florida in 1911, Martha Rountree worked with Lawrence Spivak to originate "Meet the Press" on NBC Radio in 1945. When the show jumped to television in 1947, Rountree served as the moderator. She left the show in 1953; no other woman since Rountree has served as the show's moderator. Rountree died of complications from Alzheimer's Disease in 1999. (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database and CNN.com for additional information.)

Answer: George Herman

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 1997, "Meet the Press" is the longest-running regularly-scheduled program in television history. Everyone listed here hosted it at one time, except for George Herman, who served as the host of "Meet the Press" rival "Face the Nation" on CBS.

Answer: Dan Dierdorf

A Hall of Fame offensive lineman with the St Louis Cardinals and native of Canton, Ohio, Dan Dierdorf has served two separate stints as a color analyst at CBS, most recently with former NBC play-by-play man Dick Enberg. He also teamed up with Al Michaels and Frank Gifford for twelve seasons on ABC's Monday Night Football telecasts. Longtime Bengals tight end Bob Trumpy, Giants defensive back Beasley Reece, and Giants quarterback Phil Simms all worked on NBC during the 1980s and 1990s.

Answer: Universal

The new company, NBC Universal, is primarily owned by General Electric, with Vivendi Universal owning the remainder. Included in that transaction was MSNBC, NBC's joint broadcasting venture with Microsoft, and the Universal theme parks in Los Angeles and Orlando. Sony, a major player in consumer electronics, motion picture and television production, does not currently own an interest in any of the major broadcast networks in the US. Media General owns a number of newspapers and television stations throughout the southeastern United States.