The Insider (TV program)

Starting out with a bi-coastal format, the program was originally hosted by Pat O'Brien – who was based in Hollywood at Paramount Studios Stage 28, where Entertainment Tonight's set was also housed at the time – and Lara Spencer – who was based at MTV's One Astor Plaza studio in New York City, overlooking Times Square. In its first season, The Insider originally maintained a news-heavy format, making way for a direction where subjects such as a pair of anorexic nervosa twin sisters from Australia (who died in an April 2012 house fire) were regularly featured in sweeps periods, along with other fringe stories such as true crime stories and the Nadya Suleman story, which had little or nothing to do with the entertainment industry.

O'Brien – who was originally co-host of syndication competitor Access Hollywood from 1997 to 2004 – remained co-host of The Insider until March 5, 2008, when he was replaced with Donny Osmond. O'Brien returned to the program one month later after Osmond declined to take on a role as a permanent host. During the first four years she was on the program, Spencer hosted the program solo at times due to O'Brien's varied personal problems, which forced him to take time off in extended periods to address them. The original theme song – which was changed after the second season, coincided with a change in distributors to CBS Paramount Domestic Television after CBS assumed ownership of Viacom's television production and syndication operations in their December 2005 split – was performed by Richie Sambora.

For its fourth season, production of the program was moved to New York City full-time in September 2007. O'Brien relocated from Los Angeles to join Spencer in a new studio based within the Minskoff Theatre in Manhattan (where the musical adaptation of The Lion King is based), which featured unobstructed views of Times Square, nearby the MTV studio facilities and also within One Astor Plaza.

On September 8, 2008, The Insider began broadcasting in high-definition television; concurrently, The Insider relocated primary production and studio operations back to Los Angeles, joining sister program ET at Stage 4 at the CBS Studio Center, one of the final steps involving the incorporation of Paramount's former syndication arm, Paramount Domestic Television, into CBS' distribution arms following the earlier CBS-Viacom split and the adoption of the then-new CBS Television Distribution name.[1] The set's focal point was a large life-size 3D construction of the program's logo, which was formerly used as the main portion of the set where segments took place until the September 2009 retooling of the program to incorporate a panel format.

The New York-based aspect of the program was also abandoned, with Spencer relocating to Los Angeles and becoming a solo host, joined by correspondents Victoria Recano, Steven Cojocaru and Cheryl Woodcock. In the move, O'Brien became a Los Angeles-based correspondent for the program;[2] however ten days later on September 18, he was dismissed permanently from The Insider for comments he made in a staff email after a trip to Iowa, where he directed comments specifically at a mid-show daily segment presented by Spencer that debuted at the start of the season. O'Brien proceeded to involve a rundown of the prices and labels of her clothing and accessories (which were referenced in the segment), saying that it made the viewers he talked to "vomit".[3] Despite this pointed criticism, the segment continued to air at the end of every edition until Spencer's departure, expanding to the point where viewers made a multiple choice on what Spencer would wear on the next broadcast. O'Brien would appear one more time on the final episode of The Insider nine years later, congratulating the show's staff and crew for their work.

After the departure of O'Brien, the show was hosted by Spencer alone until January 2009, when Samantha Harris (who had previously served as a correspondent for E! News) joined the program as a permanent co-host. Harris also provided analysis and commentary as part of her duties as co-host of ABC's Dancing with the Stars until her departure from the reality competition series at the start of 2010.

The Insider aired on television stations in certain markets throughout the United States as half of a one-hour entertainment news block that also included the show from which it was spun off, Entertainment Tonight.

Three versions of The Insider were previously compiled and made available to broadcasters before 2009; a "standalone" version (which largely omitted references to ET), and two other versions designed to precede or follow ET with promotions outlining stories to be featured on that day's edition of the latter show, in addition to those stories to air on the next Insider broadcast. After 2009, only a standalone version without ET continuity was produced, as carriage of the program outside of primary markets was reduced to lower-tier stations and lower profile timeslots (often in late night television or on a same-day or day-behind basis in daytime television), making complementary coverage between the two shows impossible.

Outside of the United States, The Insider aired on Big CBS Love in India, ETC in the Philippines, and MBC 4 in the Middle East and North Africa after Entertainment Tonight.

In Australia, Network Ten had aired The Insider a day behind the U.S. broadcast alongside sister program Entertainment Tonight on weekday mornings, with a rebroadcast airing on sister network 10 Peach after midnight; Ten and Eleven removed the show from their schedules on November 1, 2013. The program also formerly aired on the Foxtel owned pay television channel Arena, and in Canada on Hamilton, Ontario based CHCH In Arab World, Dubai TV Since 2017.

An Arabic adaptation titled THE INSIDER بالعربي began airing on Dubai TV at 12 November 2017.[12][13]

An Arabic adaptation titled The Insider Bel Arabi – TheInsiderAR (Arabic version of The Insider (TV series) بالعربي The Insider, began airing on Dubai TV in November 2017.[14]

The international rights are distributed by CBS Studios International.[15][16]

Country/language	Local title	Channel	Date aired/premiered
Arab World	The Insider Arabia (The Insider بالعربي – بالعربي The Insider – The Insider Bil Arabi – The Insider بالعربي TheInsiderAR The Insider Arabia – The Insider Arabia – The Insider بالعربي – Inside Take The Inside Take)[17]	Abu Dhabi TV. Dubai TV.[18]	November 12, 2017[19]

• The Insider at IMDb