David Corvo, the NBC News executive who has led Dateline for more than two decades, is stepping down from his role at the end of the year.
Corvo has been with Dateline in a variety of capacities since joining NBC News in 1995 as a vp overseeing the organization’s primetime news programming.
News of Corvo’s exit was shared with staff in a memo from NBC News editorial president Rebecca Blumenstein. Corvo will remain an advisor to Blumenstein on some projects in 2024.
“After running Dateline for more than twenty years and winning journalism’s top honors—including Murrow, Peabody, DuPont and Emmy awards along the way—David will step down as Senior Executive Producer at the end of the year,” Blumenstein writes. “However, I’m happy to say I’ve convinced David to continue to work with NBC News as an advisor, helping on various projects, reporting to me.”
Under Corvo’s leadership, Dateline has matured from a broad-based newsmagazine to a multi-platform true-crime franchise boasting a 24/7 streaming hub on Peacock, scripted programming and extremely popular podcast offerings. It was also the most-watched Friday newsmagazine in Q3 ’23.
In addition to running Dateline as senior executive producer, Corvo has overseen NBC New Year’s Eve specials, and was tasked with launching and running newsmagazines Rock Center with Brian Williams and Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly, among others.
Corvo’s partner at Dateline for the past two decades has been Liz Cole — the show’s executive producer. Cole will replace Corvo as senior executive producer of Dateline, overseeing the series while maintaining her other roles as president of NBC News Studios and head of NBC News’ audio unit.
Corvo and Cole shared the news with the Dateline team later Wednesday afternoon and Cole surprised him with a champagne toast.
“It should come as no surprise that David will pass the leadership reins at Dateline to Liz Cole, his partner for nearly two decades,” Blumenstein adds in her note. “They worked together to make Dateline the gold standard in true crime reporting, and successfully expanded it from the network to broadcast and cable syndication, to its streaming channel Dateline 24/7, and to audio where it consistently tops Apple’s podcast charts. How popular is Dateline? More than 31 billion minutes was consumed across all platforms in just the third quarter alone. I’m confident David and Liz will ensure a smooth transition of this marquee NBC News brand, which remains a vital part of the NBC News portfolio.”
Dateline NBC is the longest-running series in NBC primetime history and is in the midst Season 32 on the network. It’s currently hosted by Lester Holt and features correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison and Dennis Murphy.
Variety broke the news of Corvo’s imminent exit on Wednesday afternoon.
Here’s the full note from Blumenstein to staff:
Dear all,
A Poynter column last year called Dateline “one of the most popular shows in the history of TV.” As I’m sure you know, David Corvo has been the driving force behind its transformation from a top newsmagazine to a powerhouse in true crime journalism. And now, David has decided that it’s time to pass the torch.
After running Dateline for more than twenty years and winning journalism’s top honors—including Murrow, Peabody, DuPont and Emmy awards along the way—David will step down as Senior Executive Producer at the end of the year. However, I’m happy to say I’ve convinced David to continue to work with NBC News as an advisor, helping on various projects, reporting to me.
It should come as no surprise that David will pass the leadership reins at Dateline to Liz Cole, his partner for nearly two decades. They worked together to make Dateline the gold standard in true crime reporting, and successfully expanded it from the network to broadcast and cable syndication, to its streaming channel Dateline 24/7, and to audio where it consistently tops Apple’s podcast charts. How popular is Dateline? More than 31 billion minutes was consumed across all platforms in just the third quarter alone. I’m confident David and Liz will ensure a smooth transition of this marquee NBC News brand, which remains a vital part of the NBC News portfolio.
Liz has spent most of her career at NBC, rising from Page to Executive Producer of Dateline. She will take on the new title of Senior Executive Producer of Dateline, while remaining the President of NBC News Studios with oversight of the Audio Unit as well. With Liz at the helm, NBC News Studios has produced acclaimed documentaries and series such as The Disappearance of Shere Hite, Every Body, and Leguizamo Does America, as well as the first NBC News scripted series, The Thing About Pam.
There will be plenty of time for us to celebrate David’s remarkable career. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating him for the many contributions he’s made to both Dateline and NBC News – and wishing Liz much success on the next chapter in her storied NBC News career.
Warmly,
Rebecca