Please help me get TV show taping tickets!
 

My husband and I will be in NYC the first week in May and we'd love to go to one TV show taping. I feel like I'm just going around in circles by searching the internet, but I knew I'd get great advice here, so thanks in advance!

We'd love 2 tickets to one of the following:
- Live w/ Regis and Kelly. Appears they have a year waiting list! Is that true? Anyone ever wait in the standby line? If so, how early should we get there and do we automatically get in?
- David Letterman. I haven't been able to find much info, but I'm guessing he has a long wait list as well ?
- Rachel Ray. I only know she tapes Tues-Thrus, but haven't been able to find out how to get tickets.
- what else ?

Also, I heard The Today Show has concerts at Rockefeller Center starting in May. Anyone know how to get more information on this or if I need tickets for that?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

The web site of each show will give very explicit instructions on how to apply for tickets.

The only one I know is Letterman. If your initial application is not accepted you can try again for "day of" tickets in NYC. You need to do it by phone and carry a phone with you - since they call with a question (easy) and you will then be added to the fill in line. You may or may not be accepted - depending on the number of no shows. But - do folow their instructions eactly. If you're a couple of minutes late you're cut off.

The only thing I can tell about the today show is the concerts are usually only on fridays. My daughter went to one she didn't have tickets the concert isn't until 8:30 and you would have to get there hours before if you want to see anything.

I believe people wait weeks and months to hear about tickets to Regis and Kelly - here is a prior posting on that one which suggests 7am for standby line, which if that is what they are publishing, then I would be there much earlier than that, b/c everyone else reading this on their web page will be there at 7am .....

To obtain tickets for "LIVE with Regis and Kelly" please send a postcard to:

LIVE Tickets
Ansonia Station
P.O. Box 230777
New York, NY 10023-0777


Please include your name, address, date you would like to attend the show, telephone number and the number of tickets you would like (not to exceed four). Be advised that there can be a twelve month wait for tickets. Although the studio's official address is 7 Lincoln Square, the easiest way to locate the studio is to find the corner of West 67th and Columbus Ave. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and children under 10 years are not permitted. Eating, drinking or smoking in studios is not permitted.

If you would like to try and see the show without tickets, we do have a standby line. Standbys are encouraged to come to the studio (corner of West 67th and Columbus Ave.) as early as 7:00AM for a standby number. After our ticket holders are seated, it is first come, first serve from the standby line.

I would think Rachel Ray info on her website, but have you tried putting things into the search bar here like "rachel ray tickets' or 'kelly and regis' and see what threads pop up where people have discussed this you might get more helpful hints than are actually on their web pages.

Someone just waited 9 months for tickets to Regis and Kelly, so I think you should send your postard in for next year or get in line by 5am ! good luck

Some shows may not be taping that week. We were trying for tickets to the Daily Show or Colbert Report and it appears they are not taping that week. My daughter went (years ago) and tried for Letterman. While they were in line, someone from the Rhonda show (that's how long ago it was) was giving out free tickets to their taping. They just wanted to see a TV taping so went to that one.

When we went last year, we were on the Letterman list to be called, but as we went about our sightseeing and were not called, we were actually glad in the long run because we would have missed quite a bit of the City. Would still like to see one, but don't know that I want to spend half a day of my precious sightseeing time to do it.

While I can not comment directly on site, I found nytix.com doing a google search and they seem to have a rather exhaustive list of tv shows for which one can get tickets and how to go about it.

Although I can not give you a source, I have heard that there is a secondary market for sale of free tickets to shows - that you can by them from a scalper. Perhaps someone here knows how to go about that.

And I am well aware that there may be some ethical issues in doing this as well as risk of being caught - I am not offering moral advice, just trying to help OP.

Thanks everyone; I really appreciate the comments.

After following all of your advice above, I learned a little more:
- Rachel Ray's spring season is full... no tickets until fall (unless we opt for the standby).
- Conan O'Brien will be in taping San Francisco the week we will be in NYC.
- You need to request Saturday Night Live tickets in August, a full year in advance.

So, although we probably won't get them on such short notice, we are going to mail in for Regis and Kelly tickets and then we'll play things by ear once we are in NYC. Maybe doing a standby will sound like a good idea at that time.

Thanks again everyone!

David Letterman is fairly easy to get into. Go to his website and look for the ticket link and then sign up for last minute.

Almost everyone gets tickets for this.

Forget Saturday Night Live. Very few are given out to the public and even if you get the tickets chances are slim you'll get in to see the show. The audience is very small and the tickets always go to friends, family, and the talent for SNL.

Thanks for the encouragement--I was feeling defeated!

I just submitted my request to the David Letterman show. I'm nervous about missing the call or answering the question incorrectly though. Am I overly paranoid?

Thanks again!

Did you give them your cell phone number?

I think they will leave a message and you can call back because I think that is what I had to do.

Don't feel discouraged. No one gets into SNL and Regis and Kelly are too silly anyway:)

Who does the concerts in Bryant Park on Friday mornings in the summer? I always see a mob when I'm in midtown. Might check to see if they start in May. I'm assuming b/c of competition they start at the same time as the Today show- but that is a guess.

I just remembered something else. We stayed just a couple of blocks away from where the Letterman show is taped and while walking by the first day (Saturday) we saw a sign that said that he had been on vacation and would be taping two shows on Monday. The sign said that they would be interviewing people on Sunday afternoon for tickets. We went back Sunday, filled out the forms, gave them two cell numbers and answered the question "What is your favorite segment of the show?". They told us what time they would call (on Monday) if we were "accepted". Since we didn't get called I wondered if it was because we answered the question wrong. Also, we were the only ones there to try to get tickets at that time.

Hope you get in to a show. I sent in for Letterman tickets also, but we will only be there one day that he is (might be) taping so if we do ok, if not, there's always another trip. Thanks for the info about Conan. That was one I was thinking about looking into. After attempting to get Oprah tickets for a few months, I've kind of given up on the most popular shows -- just need to know someone or have a little luck.

I gave my cell and home number as contacts for the David Letterman show request.

I think that it's The Today Show for concerts on Friday at Rockefeller Center and Good Morning America at Bryant Park. However, neither of their websites list out to May for their schedule, so I guess we'll just keep checking in.

Thanks again everyone for the input!

I just returned from NYC & had tickets to GMA & Regis & Kelly. applied for tickets about 9wks before our trip. For GMA apply thru there site. Have an interesting story. I just said mom & daughters running away from home, husband & 15 peacocks! The are looking for people who they can ask on air questions of. If you want info on what the show is like just ask.
Regis & Kelly is by mail.i copied & pasted the address from the website to my envelope so it would be just as they requested it. I talked to people in NYC who applied by internet & they did not get picked. Also two people told me they applied months in advance for Regis/Kelly & didn't get tickets. Also the website says you get notice apx 3 wks for your trip, I got notice 1wk before the trip. A short timeframe might help your chances. we did not go because the same guest was on GMA.
As far as buying other peopls tickets. Both show are clear. The tickets are for the person named on the letter only. GMA checks Id. I was told Regis does too. I offered our tickets to someone who wanted to take her daughter, she said thanks, but she'd been & they do check ID. she'd been to mant taping & said this is the norm.
She also said letterman is easy to get as a standby, but your tied to them that day. Go by the side door at 4:30 & you can see the guest arriving. I was told many guests sign & great before they go in.

We got tickets to Live with Regis and Kelly!!!

Our letter arrived yesterday. We had to call the show to confirm and they said they will call us if there is a problem, but otherwise it looks like we are good to go :)

I sent in my request via postcard only 4 weeks ago figuring we wouldn't get tickets, but it'd be worth a shot. I was so excited to hear that we'll be the audience in two weeks!

Thanks everyone for your help!

(I still haven't gotten a call from the David Letterman Show.)

Hang around Rockefeller Center in the morning. There are people there from all sorts of shows looking to fill their audience. We were offered same day tickets to Rachel Ray, Conan and the bald guy author who has a new show (can't remember his name). Some young ladies next to us got tickets to Letterman the same way the day before. When we went to the shows we were given VIP passes and escorted past lines of people who were on a waiting list. The lady doing the scouting said they were looking for an audience that fit their demographic and we met it. They also wanted a well dressed audience (not formal, but not sloppy).

Hey--

I was at the Regis & Kelly show on Monday....here is how I did it.

I got in the stand-by line at 6:50 a.m. and was #31. You wait until 7:30 a.m. when they give you a number and then you can leave until 8:30 a.m. At that time, they know how many, if any, stand-by people they will take. On Monday (4/23) they took 40 stand-by people. Just get there early and be prepared to stand.