It's Academic is the name for a number of televised academic student quiz shows for high school students through the United States and internationally. It's Academic programs have notably aired on NBC-owned WRC-TV (and, as of October 29, 2022, exclusively on PBS member station WETA-TV) in Washington, D.C., NBC affiliate WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, Virginia, and CBS-owned WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland.[needs update]
The Washington, D.C. version of the show has been on the air since October 7, 1961, and is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the longest-running quiz program in TV history.[1] The program was created for WRC by Sophie Altman, who continued as executive producer until her death on May 24, 2008. Mac McGarry hosted the Washington shows from the beginning until June 25, 2011. Hillary Howard, formerly a news anchor for Washington radio station WTOP-FM, took over as host subsequent to McGarry's official retirement in November 2011.[2] The program is sponsored by philanthropist investor David Rubenstein and by the McLean, Virginia-based Mitre Corporation.[3]
- ^ "Longest running TV quiz show". Guinness World Records.
- ^ "WTOP | Washington's Top News | DC, MD & VA News, Traffic & Weather".
- ^ Katz, Bonnie (10 Jul 2014). "Blake High School sets an academic record". The Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved August 7, 2021.