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20/20 (American TV program)

20/20 (stylized as 2020) is an American television newsmagazine that has been broadcast on ABC since June 6, 1978. Created by ABC News executive Roone Arledge,[1] the program was designed similarly to CBS's 60 Minutes in that it features in-depth story packages, although it focuses more on human interest stories than international and political subjects. The program's name derives from the "20/20" measurement of visual acuity.

20/20

United States

English

46

500+

David Sloan (2005–present)

  • 60 minutes (1979–2019)
  • 120 minutes (2019–present)

ABC

June 6, 1978 (1978-06-06) â€“
present

The two-hour-long program has been a staple on Friday evenings (currently airing at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone) for much of the time since it moved to that timeslot from Thursdays in September 1987, though special editions of the program occasionally air on other nights. For most of its history, it was led into by ABC's two-hour TGIF block of sitcoms.


Since 2019, it has shifted to a two-hour format highlighting true crime stories and celebrity scandals rather than the traditional investigative journalism associated with newsmagazines, following the same programming direction as CBS's 48 Hours and same-night competitor Dateline NBC. Special edition episodes, however, cover a wide range of topics.

Theme music[edit]

The distinctive theme music to 20/20 was written by Robert Arnold Israel Sr. (who among other credits, also co-wrote theme music for now-cancelled fellow ABC series All My Children and One Life to Live) and based upon the longtime Lillian Scheinert-written theme used for ABC World News Tonight. The original theme was revamped around 1993, and was subsequently replaced in 1999, along with the 20/20 logo and the anchor desk on the program's set. Finally the orchestral 20/20 theme was updated in 2001, along with a few modifications in 2003 and 2005. In 2009, the theme was once again revamped, and once more in 2010, along with new graphics to reflect the news magazine's new darker tone; this new theme was written by DreamArtists Studios. In 2012 the theme was revamped, again arranged by DreamArtists Studios.

On-air staff[edit]

Current on-air staff[edit]

Note: 20/20 has specials with other "on-air staff".[8]

Syndication[edit]

True crime-focused episodes of the series air in first-run syndication on Oprah Winfrey Network and Investigation Discovery as 20/20 on OWN/ID.

ABC News programs, including 20/20, are shown daily on the 24-hour news network in MENA Region.

OSN News

In Singapore, the program airs on .

CNA

In Canada, it airs on in Hamilton, CIIT-DT in Winnipeg and CHNU-DT in Vancouver, usually in simultaneous substitution with the ABC telecast.

CHCH-DT

In Australia, it was previously regularly aired overnight on the and Sky News Live (occasional notable episodes are still aired).[36]

Nine Network

In Hong Kong, the program airs at 9 p.m. every Sunday on .

ViuTVsix

In the , an Irish version of 20/20 launched on TV3 in 1998. The show, which was canceled in 2002, used a mix of reports produced domestically and for the American edition.

Republic of Ireland

In New Zealand, airs an hour-long local version, featuring American-produced stories.

TVNZ 1

Throwaway Kids

Official website

at IMDb

20/20