1976 in American television
This is a list of American television-related events in 1976.
| List of years in American television: |
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| 1975–76 United States network television schedule |
| 1976–77 United States network television schedule |
| List of American television programs currently in production |
Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 1 | NBC officially replaces its snake and peacock logos with a "modern N," composed of blue and red trapezoids—and nearly identical to the logo for Nebraska Educational Telecommunications' TV network, prompting NET to sue NBC for trademark infringement. |
| January 11–12 | Eleanor and Franklin, a two-part miniseries starring Jane Alexander and Edward Herrmann, airs on ABC. |
| January 17 | The Blues Brothers make their debut on NBC's Saturday Night Live, singing Slim Harpo's song "I'm a King Bee" in their Killer Bees costumes. Their first appearance as The Blues Brothers proper occurred in 1978. |
| February 1 | The miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man debuts on ABC, becoming a critical and ratings success over its 12-episode run. |
| February 2 | Jackie Gleason, Audrey Meadows, and Art Carney reunite in an ABC special, The Honeymooners – The Second Honeymoon. |
| February 10 | The controversial "Episode 847" of Sesame Street featuring Margret Hamilton reprising her role as The Wicked Witch of the West from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz is broadcast. The episode would only air once due to a barrage of complaints leveled at the Children's Television Workshop from parents who felt that Hamilton's performance was too traumatizing for their children. |
| February 19 | CBS affiliate KXLY-TV in Spokane, Washington is given a "notice of termination" by the network, stripping KXLY-TV of its affiliation effective August 19. CBS cites business reasons (KXLY-TV had been airing several network programs out of pattern in recent years) as the reason they stripped KXLY-TV. In the end, CBS decides to affiliate with ABC affiliate KREM-TV, while KXLY-TV joins ABC. The move takes effect August 8 at the request of KREM-TV, who wanted to air ABC Sports' entire coverage of the 1976 Summer Olympics.[1][2][3][4][5] |
| February 29 | The movie The Sound of Music is televised for the first time, on ABC. |
| CBS affiliates KRSD-TV in Rapid City, South Dakota and KDSJ-TV in Lead both shut down after a 5-year struggle over their unsatisfactory technical operations, which had rendered complaints from viewers, NBC (its former affiliation before 1970), and the Federal Communications Commission. Dakota Broadcasting Company assumes a construction permit for new stations on KRSD-TV's channel 7 and KDSJ-TV's channel 5, which respectively sign-on as KEVN and KIVV-TV on July 11. This in turn will give the Rapid City area its first full-time ABC affiliate (A full-time CBS affiliate will return to Rapid City in 1981 when the network's Sioux Falls affiliate KELO-TV signs-on translator station K15AC (now KCLO-TV)).[6][7][8][9][10] | |
| April 1–2 | Helter Skelter, a two-part adaptation of Vincent Bugliosi's book about the Charles Manson case, airs on CBS, with Steve Railsback portraying Manson. |
| April 12 | ABC airs its first Monday Night Baseball broadcast, taking over the package from NBC. |
| April 24 | Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels makes an on-air offer to pay The Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were apparently watching the show together in New York City and considered walking down to the studio to accept the check. Michaels would raise his offer to $3,200 on SNL's May 22 episode. |
| June 4 | CBS broadcasts Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns. This triple-overtime contest has since been heralded as the greatest NBA game ever played.[11][12][13][14] |
| June 7 | After several years providing commentaries for the show, David Brinkley joins John Chancellor as co-anchor of NBC Nightly News, an attempt by the network to bolster ratings against the CBS Evening News and to harken back to the success it had with The Huntley-Brinkley Report. |
| July 1 | The pay TV network Showtime makes its debut, appearing only on a Dublin, California cable system. The network would expand nationally in 1978. |
| July 4 | U.S. television networks present extensive coverage of nationwide events commemorating the country's bicentennial. |
| July 11 | KYCU-TV of Cheyenne, Wyoming (and its satellites) drop all NBC programs and switch to a primary ABC affiliation, which will last until 1984. |
| July 12 | Family Feud premieres on ABC and would become daytime television's number 1 game show within the next few years and beyond. |
| September 6 | In an experiment, New York City station WOR-TV replaces its normal programming for 5 exclusive nights of British shows from Thames Television. |
| September 16 | WECA-TV in Tallahassee, Florida begins broadcasting, giving the Tallahassee market its first full-time ABC affiliate. |
| September 23 | The first of three debates between U.S. presidential candidates Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter air in prime time; they are the first presidential debates ever televised in color, as well as the first debates between major party nominees for U.S. president since 1960. |
| October 4 | Newly arrived from NBC, Barbara Walters joins Harry Reasoner as co-anchor of the ABC Evening News. The pair have a noticeable lack of on-air chemistry, and by 1978 Reasoner would leave ABC to return to CBS and 60 Minutes. |
| October 11 | Jane Pauley makes her debut on NBC's Today. |
| October 29 | WGTQ in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan signs-on as a full satellite of ABC affiliate WGTU in Traverse City, bringing the full ABC schedule to the Eastern Upper Peninsula. |
| November 7–8 | The film Gone with the Wind makes its broadcast television debut on NBC; it would be the highest-rated program ever aired on a single network, only to be surpassed by Roots the following January. |
| November 9 | The Museum of Broadcasting opens on the first 3 floors of the Paley Foundation building in New York City. The museum would later be renamed The Paley Center for Media. |
| November 13 | The Carol Burnett Show airs Went with the Wind!, a movie parody of Gone With the Wind, five days after the film's network TV debut. TV Guide ranked the sketch #53 on its list of "Top 100 Episodes of All Time".[15] |
| December 14 | Barbara Walters airs her first interview special for ABC, with guests Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Barbra Streisand, and Jon Peters. |
| December 17 | At 1:00 p.m. (ET), Atlanta, Georgia station WTCG-TV begins satellite transmission of its regular programming to four cable systems, thus becoming the first superstation. |
| December 31 | President Gerald Ford presents the last of the Bicentennial Minutes on CBS; the vignettes had been airing nightly on the network since July 4, 1974. |
| Also in 1976 | CBS' Match Game is the #1 rated game show on daytime television for the fourth consecutive year. |
| The Olympics, broadcast from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, draw an estimated one billion viewers worldwide. | |
| Matsushita introduces the VHS home video cassette recorder to compete with Sony's Betamax system. |
Programs
^[e] signifies that this show has a related event in the Events section above.
- ABC
- American Bandstand (1952–1989)
- The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
- General Hospital (1963–present)
- One Life to Live (1968–2012)
- All My Children (1970–2011)
- Monday Night Football (1970–present)
- Schoolhouse Rock! (1973–1996)
- The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978)
- Happy Days (1974–1984)
- Baretta (1975–1978)
- Barney Miller (1975–1982)
- Good Morning America (1975–present)
- Ryan's Hope (1975–1989)
- Tom and Jerry (1965–1972, 1975–1977, 1980–1982)
- Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979)
- Charlie's Angels (1976–1981)
- CBS
- Love of Life (1951–1980)
- Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
- The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
- Face the Nation (1954–present)
- Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
- As the World Turns (1956–2010)
- The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1978)
- 60 Minutes (1968–present)
- Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980)
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977)
- All in the Family (1971–1979)
- The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978)
- Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1984)
- M*A*S*H (1972–1983)
- Maude (1972–1978)
- The Price Is Right (1972–present)
- The Waltons (1972–1981)
- Barnaby Jones (1973–1980)
- Kojak (1973–1978, 2005–present)
- Match Game '76 (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999)
- The Young and the Restless (1973–present)
- Good Times (1974–1979)
- Rhoda (1974–1978)
- Tattletales (1974–1978, 1982–1984)
- The Jeffersons (1975–1985)
- Phyllis (1975–1977)
- One Day at a Time (1975–1984)
- NBC
- Meet the Press (1947–present)
- The Today Show (1952–present)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992)
- The Doctors (1963–1982)
- Another World (1964–1999)
- Days of Our Lives (1965–present)
- Kimba the White Lion (1966–1967) reruns.
- The Wonderful World of Disney (1969–1979)
- McCloud (1970–1977)
- McMillan & Wife (1971–1977)
- Emergency! (1972–1977)
- Sanford and Son (1972–1977)
- The Tomorrow Show (1973–1982)
- Chico and the Man (1974–1978)
- Columbo (1971–1978)
- Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (1974–1984)
- Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983)
- Police Woman (1974–1978)
- The Rockford Files (1974–1980)
- Saturday Night Live (1975–present)[e]
- Wheel of Fortune (1975–present)
- PBS
- Sesame Street (1969–present)
- The Electric Company (1971–1977)
- Masterpiece Theatre (1971–present)
- Nova (1974–present)
- In syndication
- Candid Camera (1948–present)
- Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
- The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
- The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981)
- Hee Haw (1969–1993)
- Soul Train (1971–2006)
- Dinah! (1974–1980)
- Match Game PM (1975–1981)
Debuting in 1976
Ending in 1976
| Date | Show | Debut |
|---|---|---|
| February 20 | Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (returned in 1979) | 1968 |
| March 3 | Cannon | 1971 |
| March 30 | The Rookies | 1972 |
| March 31 | The Dumplings | 1976 |
| April 29 | Harry O | 1974 |
| May 7 | Sara | 1976 |
| July 29 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | 1969 |
| September 6 | Medical Center | |
| Viva Valdez | 1976 | |
| October 28 | Gemini Man | |
| October 30 | Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (returned in 1979) | 1972 |
| December 4 | Land of the Lost | 1974 |
| December 18 | Jabberjaw | 1976 |
| December 30 | Gibbsville |
Television stations
Station launches
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 20 | Wausau/Rhinelander, Wisconsin | WHRM-TV | 20 | PBS | Part of Wisconsin Public Television |
| January 30 | Pierre, South Dakota | KPRY-TV | 4 | PBS | Part of SDPB |
| March 9 | Lowry, South Dakota | KQSD-TV | 11 | PBS | Part of South Dakota Public Broadcasting |
| March 17 | Eau Claire/La Crosse, Wisconsin | WHLA-TV | 31 | PBS | Part of Wisconsin Public Television |
| May 31 | Chicago, Illinois | WCFC-TV | 38 | CTN | |
| July 11 | Lead, South Dakota | KIVV-TV | 5 | ABC | Satellite of KEVN-TV/Rapid City |
| Rapid City, South Dakota | KEVN-TV | 7 | |||
| September 4 | San Francisco, California | KTSF-TV | 26 | Multicultural independent | |
| September 8 | Monroe, Louisiana | KLTM-TV | 12 | PBS | Part of Louisiana Public Broadcasting |
| September 10 | Memphis, Tennessee | WPTY | 24 | Independent | |
| September 16 | Tallahassee, Florida | WECA-TV | 27 | ABC | |
| September 18 | Fayetteville, Arkansas | KAFT | 13 | PBS | Part of the Arkansas Educational Television Network |
| October 2 | Arkadelphia, Arkansas | KETG | 9 | PBS | Part of the Arkansas Educational Television Network |
| October 29 | Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | WGTQ | 8 | ABC | Satellite of WGTU/Traverse City, Michigan |
| November 25 | Allentown, Pennsylvania | WFMZ-TV | 69 | Independent | |
| December 15 | Park Falls/Superior, Wisconsin (Duluth, Minnesota) |
WLEF-TV | 36 | PBS | Part of Wisconsin Public Television |
Network affiliation changes
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 19 | Spokane, Washington | KREM-TV | 2 | ABC | CBS | |
| KXLY-TV | 4 | CBS | ABC | |||
| July 11 | Cheyenne, Wyoming | KYCU-TV | 5 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) |
ABC (exclusive) | |
| Unknown date | Bend, Oregon | KOAB-TV (recalled from KVDO-TV) |
3 | Independent (commercial) | PBS/OEPBS | |
Station closures
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | First air date | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 29 | Lead, South Dakota | KDSJ-TV | 5 | CBS | January 1960 | Satellite of KRSD-TV/Rapid City |
| Rapid City, South Dakota | KRSD-TV | 3 | CBS | January 21, 1958 | This station would return to the air June 24, 1984 as NBC affiliate KEVN (later Fox, now ABC affiliate KOTA-TV) | |
| April 6 | South Bend, Indiana | WMSH-TV | 46 | Independent | July 25, 1974 | |
| June 30 | Columbus, Ohio | WGSF | 31 | PBS | March 18, 1963 | |
| Unknown date | Lebanon, New Hampshire | WRLH | 31 | NBC | July 29, 1966 (first incarnation) August 3, 1971 (second incarnation) | |
Births
Deaths
| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 25 | Jay Jostyn | 74 | Radio and TV actor[16] |
| August 28 | Anissa Jones | 18 | Actress (Buffy on Family Affair) |
| December 12 | Jack Cassidy | 49 | Actor (He & She) |
gollark: This is empirically false given graduate income statistics.
gollark: Their course *is* substantially cooler-sounding than the other ones.
gollark: I'm not even utterly sure if I want to go to Oxford (or Imperial) since they apparently are very hard work, and many of my useful* skills come from having had lots of free time to do whatever.
gollark: I see.
gollark: Well, obviously my choices are perfect and optimal.
References
- "CBS Plans to Terminate KXLY-TV Affiliation" Spokane Daily Chronicle, March 3, 1976. Retrieved: July 18, 2016.
- "KREM-TV to Join CBS Chain" Spokane Daily Chronicle, March 29, 1976. Retrieved: July 18, 2016.
- "On Sunday: TV Stations Switching" Spokane Daily Chronicle, August 6, 1976. Retrieved: July 18, 2016.
- "Timing decided for TV shift" The Spokesman-Review, March 30, 1976. Retrieved: July 18, 2016.
- ""Early Summer" – KXLY Set to Join ABC" Spokane Daily Chronicle, May 6, 1976. Retrieved: July 18, 2016.
- "In Brief" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 1, 1976. p. 23. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
- "It was a bad day at Black Hills" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 8, 1971. p. 48. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
- "In Brief" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 5, 1975. p. 7. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
- "ABC-TV adds two" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 28, 1976. p. 50. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
- "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 31, 1981. p. 53. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
- "The Greatest Game Ever". Suns.com. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- "Greatest Game Ever Played". nba.com. June 4, 1976. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "The Phoenix Suns: The Unluckiest Franchise In Professional Sports". Bleacher Report. November 16, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- "TV Guide's Top 100 Episodes". Rev/Views. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
- Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3848-8.
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