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How NBC News Turned ‘Dateline’ Viewership into a Loyal Fandom

Daily Variety podcast host Cynthia Littleton sits down as part of Variety’s NBC100 Centennial Series with Liz Cole and Paul Ryan to get the story on the Dateline’s remarkable evolution into a key content engine.

August 27, 2026

Daily Variety podcast interview with Liz Cole, President, NBC News Studios and Senior Executive Producer of Dateline

“Dateline has become a television institution since launch in 1992,” says Daily Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Cynthia Littleton, noting that today the newsmagazine has deftly managed its evolution in the digital age, growing fandoms far beyond the show’s linear roots to reach audiences across linear, digital, free streaming, broadcast syndication, podcasts, social media, and live events. Littleton sat down with the show’s chief stewards Liz Cole and Paul Ryan to ask how Dateline continues to adapt and grow. Cole, President of NBC News Studios, is Senior Executive Producer of Dateline, and Ryan is Executive Producer.

The show’s reach is extensive, and it has been a success when it comes to resonating with viewers across multiple venues and formats. With more than 92 million viewers across all platforms in 2Q 2026, the show generated over 28 billion minutes consumed over the quarter. 

“Sometimes I truly marvel at the number of people who are consuming Dateline on any given day, month, or week,” Cole says. “I mean, it's a really large number.” 

“What’s really interesting is we're picking up different demographics on different platforms. So our podcast audience is younger than our television audience. Our streaming audience is younger than our television audience. But we see it as a way to find new people who are watching or listening to Dateline, and then to pull them through all the different platforms. So maybe you know, I'm always surprised we will come across younger people who will say, ‘Oh, I didn't realize that Dateline was a TV show.’”

– Liz Cole

What is it about Dateline that offers such a strong draw across platforms? “At our core,” Ryan answers, “we’re journalists, and we have great storytellers working for the program.” As Cole and Ryan see it, Dateline’s brand promises compelling stories backed by great journalism, and they work hard to keep the viewer’s trust in their ability to deliver both halves of that key value proposition.

“People come to us knowing that because we're associated with NBC News, the stories that we’re telling are true. They're grounded in journalism, but we also tell them in a really interesting way, in a way that's guided by folks like Keith Morrison, Josh Mankowitz, Andrea Canning, Blaine Alexander, we're really happy that Lester’s working with us full time now. They tell a story in a way that they hook you in the first minute, and they're going to keep you all two hours through 11 commercial breaks.”

– Liz Cole

That combination of quality reporting with compelling storytelling informs Dateline’s archive of over 3,000 episodes (multiple seasons are available on Peacock), as well as adaptations of its stories. 

For example, after multiple episodes covering the Pam Hupp story, Keith Morrison adapted it and it became Dateline’s first original podcast. After that, it also became a scripted adaptation starring Renee Zellweger and produced by Blumhouse for NBC. Disciplined journalism and masterful storytelling keep fans engaged with the story across multiple formats.

In another example, the Focus Features documentary Every Body, directed by former Dateline producer Julie Cohen, features exclusive archival material from a 1999 Dateline segment.

In many cases, different formats offer time to expand stories unconstrained by the runtime limits of linear and streaming. “Some of the podcasts we've done have had completely new chapters that they didn't have when we told the story the first time, and that's been really, really exciting,” says Cole.

Across television, streaming, podcasts, film, and other platforms and adaptations, Dateline has nurtured an engaged and growing franchise built on respect for the fans and for the material and the people involved. The show has begun connecting with audiences in more direct ways as well. 

Last fall, Dateline had its first Dateline Live event where fans got to meet producers and on-air talent face to face. The event was a success, and Dateline’s brand proposition of telling great stories with integrity proved adept at connecting with fandoms in yet another new format. As Cole tells it, “Someone just said, ‘Keith, will you say the word ‘wow’?’ And he did, and the crowd went wild.”

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