I could be completely wrong about this, but my impression is that the host, usually also a producer, has the ability to shape the broadcast to his/her sensibility and really drive the whole thing from a planning perspective, not just in the sense of keeping the evening moving along on the night.
For example, none of the big splashy opening numbers that NPH has done could really have happened with any other host. I imagine that he went into the process saying "Here's what I want to do and here are my ideas," and things sprung from there. When Rosie O'Donnell was hosting quite a bit was made of the fact that she was coming in and really putting her own stamp on the whole thing. |
