Real TV
1996 American TV series or program
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Real TV (commonly known as America's Best Caught on Tape)[citation needed] is an American reality television program that ran in syndication from September 9, 1996, to September 7, 2001. It aired footage of extraordinary events that were not usually covered in mainstream news.
Kristen Eykel (1999–2000)
Ahmad Rashad (2000–2001)
Mitch Lewis (announcer 1999–2000)
Jim Pratt (announcer 2000–2001)
| Real TV | |
|---|---|
 Real TV title card from 1997–1999 | |
| Genre | |
| Presented by | John Daly (1996–2000) Kristen Eykel (1999–2000) Ahmad Rashad (2000–2001) |
| Voices of | Beau Weaver (announcer 1996–1999; 2000–2001) Mitch Lewis (announcer 1999–2000) Jim Pratt (announcer 2000–2001) |
| Narrated by | J.J. Johnson (2000–2001) |
| Theme music composer | Planet One Music Productions |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Mesa, Arizona (1996–1997)
Hollywood, California: Hollywood Center Studios (1997–2001) |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | RTV News Inc. (1999-2001) (seasons 4-5) Paramount Domestic Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 9, 1996 – September 7, 2001 |
Hosts
The show was hosted by John Daly from the show's inception in 1996 through 2000, with Beau Weaver announcing until 1999. During Daly's run, the series was presented in the style of a newsmagazine, with show correspondents reporting further surrounding information and profiles beyond the video clips. Featured correspondents included Sibila Vargas, Michael Brownlee, John Johnston, Lisa G., and Ellen K. William B. Davis, best known as Cigarette Smoking Man from the sci-fi TV series The X-Files, also made occasional appearances.
In season 4 of the show, he was joined by Kristen Eykel, and Mitch Lewis became the announcer.
When Daly and Eykel left, Ahmad Rashad took over for them until the show's end. Rashad's version of Real TV had a new set, introduction, and announcer. It also became more of a generic video presentation show without surrounding correspondents, and any extra profiles on the subjects done by off-camera producers. It also targeted towards younger viewers, featuring more extreme sports footage, and less focus on human interest stories and celebrities. The show was cancelled in 2001 and while most markets aired reruns until September 6, 2002,[1] some replaced it with the weekly series Maximum Exposure (which was produced under the RTV News banner).