NBC has aired Saturday Night Live since the show premiered in 1975. The network commissioned the program to fill a Saturday late-night slot after Johnny Carson asked NBC to stop broadcasting weekend reruns of The Tonight Show so those episodes could be used on weeknights.
The first episode aired on October 11, 1975, hosted by George Carlin, and NBC has remained the show's home throughout its run. The program was initially titled NBC's Saturday Night because a similarly named series, Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, was then airing on ABC.
Fox, CBS, and ABC are common mix-ups because each has carried major late-night or sketch-comedy programs. ABC did briefly use the phrase Saturday Night Live for Cosell's show, but it did not carry the series now known as SNL. NBC acquired the naming rights after Cosell's program ended, and the title changed officially in 1977.