Dick Clark first hosted the televised Times Square New Year's Eve countdown in 1972.
The program debuted as “Three Dog Night's New Year's Rockin' Eve” on December 31, 1972, and aired on NBC. Clark hosted the countdown from Times Square, while the musical performances were recorded at a ballroom in New York City. The show moved to ABC the following year and became an annual tradition.
The broadcast was created as an alternative to Guy Lombardo's long-running New Year's Eve television specials. After Lombardo's death in 1977, Clark's program became the most prominent American televised New Year's Eve countdown. Its title later changed to “Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.”
A common mix-up is the year 1973: the first broadcast aired on the night leading into 1973, but its program date was December 31, 1972. Clark continued hosting until 2004 and later appeared as the program's host and co-host despite health problems.