Hammer in New York City, the program was also hosted by Karyn Bryant when it began airing on February 20, 2005.

ET (8 a.m. PT) from 2009 until April 2011 and a weekend edition, broadcast as either a best-of format or a replay of the Friday show, depending on events, aired on Saturday and Sunday evenings until July 2011.

Showbiz Tonight used a dual-coast format with Hammer based in New York and Anderson in Los Angeles.

On April 13, 2011, it was announced that Anderson would leave the program to join the syndicated entertainment program The Insider in May; with Anderson's departure, Showbiz Tonight dropped its Los Angeles–based anchor segments and was recorded solely in New York from that point on.

The show's hosts broadcast live from both New York and Los Angeles, and the format was mainly hard entertainment news involving behind the scenes activities and deals, along with movie review segments and premiere summaries rather than the current day format.