“E! News” aired its final broadcast Thursday night, and its hosts sent the longtime pop culture news staple off with a look back at some of the show’s past highlights.
The program’s conclusion came three months after it was originally announced that E! planned to bring the nightly news show, which launched in 1991, to an end in anticipation of the network’s move to Versant. The decision was made as part of E!’s ongoing efforts to focus more on cementing its place as a pop culture news destination spanning multiple platforms, including social media.
“It’s hard to believe that this is our last show. This legendary show, ‘E! News,’ it’s coming to an end after three decades,” host Justin Sylvester told viewers at the top of the program’s final broadcast.
His co-host, Keltie Knight, chimed in, “We have had a whole lot of fun together and have been so honored to bring all of you these celebrity news exclusives and interviews that you crave.”
Rather than mourning the show’s ending, though, Sylvester said that him, Knight and the rest of the “E! News” team planned to spend Thursday celebrating its legacy instead.
“Tonight, we’re going to have a bit of a celebration. No tears,” Sylvester promised. “We’re going to be looking back at our most memorable superstar interviews ever.”
Throughout the night, Sylvester, Knight and fellow “E! News” correspondent Will Marfuggi set up clips from some of the show’s previous, memorable interviews and red carpet moments. Sylvester looked back on the time he got Rihanna to open up on the red carpet about parenting, while Knight reflected on her 1-on-1, sit-down interview with Cher, which she called “hands down the greatest moment of my entire existence.”
“I love a red carpet more than I love anything on Earth,” Knight told viewers. Later, when Sylvester asked how he managed to choose which highlights to show during the final “E! News” broadcast, Marfuggi joked, “Oh, I had everybody else do it for me.”
“E! News” debuted on Sept. 1, 1991 and went on to become one of American consumers’ go-to sources for celebrity gossip and entertainment industry news and previews. Its cancellation, therefore, serves as just yet another indication of Hollywood’s ongoing, gradual shift away from traditional, linear TV programming toward more social media-based, digital content strategies.
“I love you guys,” Marfuggi said at the end of Thursday’s broadcast, as he embraced Sylvester and Knight. “Good colleagues, good friends. Thank you so much you guys.”
