‘Today’ Show Goes On, With a Homebound Savannah Guthrie

The network’s news division decided to move “CBS This Morning” from its usual home, the CBS Broadcast Center. Last week, several staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.

Susan Zirinsky, the president of CBS News, said it came “down to the wire” to mount “CBS This Morning” at the Ed Sullivan Theater in time for the Thursday broadcast. The program is being put together by staff members from CBS News and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”

“General Patton might have not been up to this task — but in 24 hours the effort, coordination and hard work is unparalleled,” Ms. Zirinsky wrote in a memo to the staff on Wednesday. “THANK YOU.”

With the move, the Ed Sullivan Theater can claim another piece of show business history.

The nearly century-old theater has been home to Broadway musicals, radio shows, “The Ed Sullivan Show,” game shows, a Sammy Davis Jr. telethon, the 1980s sitcom “Kate & Allie,” “The Late Show With David Letterman” and now CBS’s morning news program.

“We promise to be good houseguests and leave the place the way we found it,” Mr. Mason, the “CBS This Morning” co-host, said from the stage on Thursday morning.

Ms. King suggested that he tinkle the piano belonging to Mr. Colbert’s bandleader, Jon Batiste.

How long the show will remain in the theater is an open question. “The Late Show” had announced that it would go dark through at least March 30. This week, Mr. Colbert taped monologues from his backyard, porch and bathtub.

Conan O’Brien, the TBS late-night host, announced on Wednesday that he would return to TV March 30, with “Conan” episodes shot on an iPhone and celebrity guests appearing via Skype. “This will not be pretty, but feel free to laugh at our attempt,” Mr. O’Brien said on Wednesday.