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In American television in 1996, notable events included television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel initiations, closures and rebrandings, as well as information about controversies and disputes.
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January
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 20 | Fox introduces its FoxTrax "glowing puck" during its telecast of the 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game. |
| 28 | Chris Isaak and Brooke Shields make guest appearances on a post-Super Bowl episode of Friends on NBC. |
February
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 8–9 | Peter Argyropolous and Deborah Cohen win a combined total of $146,529 cash prizes from two episodes (including the $10,000 wedge played with the Double Play token and two Ford Mustangs), making the couple the biggest winner in the history of Wheel of Fortune; They remain the biggest winners for a team, and will hold the record until Michelle Lowenstein wins $1,026,080 on October 14, 2008. |
| 28 | Paxson Communications completes their $40 million purchase of ABC affiliate WAKC-TV in Akron, Ohio, from ValueVision.[1] Hours after the sale closed, Paxon president Dean Goodman arrives at WAKC-TV's studios and tells the staff, "news ceases at this moment", firing the entire news department and all station management.[2] This makes Akron (a part of the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton television market) the largest city in the United States without a commercial television newscast.[3] |
| 29 | ABC affiliate KBAK-TV and CBS affiliate KERO-TV swap affiliations in Bakersfield. |
March
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | More than 1 billion households worldwide now own television sets. |
| 4 | DISH Network, a Direct Broadcast Satellite service, begins as a service of EchoStar. |
| 31 | WrestleMania XII from the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California is broadcast on pay-per-view. In the main event, Shawn Michaels defeats Bret Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man match to win the WWF Championship for the first time. |
April
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 | The first ever Major League Soccer game is broadcast live on ESPN. The San Jose Clash hosted D.C. United at Spartan Stadium with San Jose winning on a goal by Eric Wynalda. |
| 28 | Dexter's Laboratory, a spin-off series from What a Cartoon!, premieres on Cartoon Network. The show is considered to be the network's first Cartoon Cartoon (although this brand name did not exist yet until July 1997). |
May
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 | Fox airs a television film that serves as the first attempt to revive Doctor Who following its suspension in 1989. It was intended as a backdoor pilot for a new American-produced Doctor Who TV series. It introduced Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in his only televised appearance as the character until "The Night of the Doctor" in 2013. Although a ratings success in the United Kingdom, the film did not fare well on American television and no series was commissioned. The series was later relaunched on the BBC in 2005. |
| 16 | More than 12 million Americans watch the final episode of Murder, She Wrote on CBS, "Death By Demographics". Through its 12-year run, the series had become the longest-running American murder mystery drama. |
| 18 | Mystery Science Theater 3000 airs its final episode on Comedy Central. The final film to be featured is 1978's Laserblast. The series will eventually move to The Sci-Fi Channel, where it would run for three more seasons. |
June
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Major League Baseball broadcasts debut on Fox. |
| 3 | Zenith introduces the first HDTV-compatible front projection TV in the U.S. |
| CBS affiliate WCPO-TV and ABC affiliate WKRC-TV, both in Cincinnati, Ohio, switch network affiliations. | |
| 19 | CBS affiliate WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina is awarded the first experimental high-definition television license in the United States. |
| 23 | At the World Wrestling Federation's pay-per-view event King of the Ring, wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin wins the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Jake Roberts. After the match, Austin makes a certain victory speech in what would famously become as the "Austin 3:16" catchphrase. |
| 30 | New York PBS member station WNYC-TV, owned by the city of New York, signs off for the final time; sold to a joint venture between Dow Jones & Co. and ITT Corp., it relaunches as commercial sports-oriented independent station WBIS-TV (while operating as a non-commercial educational station, WNYC-TV had been licensed with a commercial classification). |
July
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 | When it becomes evident that Anna Stuart will be next to die in a serial killer storyline on the NBC soap opera Another World, many fans start letter-writing campaigns to save the actress; the NBC studios in New York City also report a great number of switchboard telephone calls regarding Stuart's imminent demise. Executive producer Jill Farren Phelps decides that actress Alice Barrett will be killed off the show instead. |
| New World Communications sells NBC affiliates KNSD-TV in San Diego, California, and WVTM-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, their lone remaining stations that didn't switch to Fox, to NBC's owned-and-operated division. | |
| 7 | At the WCW produced pay-per-view event Bash at the Beach, Hulk Hogan turns heel for the first time in 15 years and announces the formation of the New World Order with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. |
| 17 | News Corporation (the owners of 20th Century Fox and the FOX Television Network) announced that it would acquire New World in an all-stock transaction worth $2.48 billion. The purchase by News Corporation was finalized in early 1997, folding New World's ten Fox affiliates into the former's Fox Television Stations subsidiary and making all twelve stations affected by the 1994 agreement owned-and-operated stations of the network. |
August
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 19 | NBC affiliate in Charleston, WCIV, and ABC affiliate WCBD-TV swap network affiliations. |
September
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 7 | Paula Zahn is named a Saturday anchor of CBS Evening News. |
| Fox Kids airs for the final time on St. Louis affiliate KNLC, which is dropped due to KNLC owner Larry Rice's decision on putting ministry messages instead of ads. KTVI picks up the program block the following Monday. | |
| 8 | The 48th Primetime Emmy Awards are presented on ABC. |
| WBRC-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, becomes a Fox-owned station, a year after Fox had acquired it and WGHP-TV in High Point, North Carolina. This ended WBRC-TV's 47 year affiliation with ABC; in turn, ABC links up with low-power station WBMA-LP (supplemented with two full-power satellites, WCFT-TV in Tuscaloosa and WJSU-TV in Anniston). Former Fox affiliate WTTO-TV becomes an independent before affiliating with The WB the next year, while former WTTO-TV satellite WNAL in Gadsden switches to CBS. | |
| 15 | USA Network ends its USA Cartoon Express block, expanding its newer USA Action Extreme Team block to weekdays. |
| 16 | Wheel of Fortune introduced a gameplay round called Jackpot which contestants can win an accumulated pot based on the value spun throughout the round. The round would remain intact until 2013. |
| 17 | The O. J. Simpson civil trial begins. |
| 30 | A revival of the game show Shop 'til You Drop premieres on the Family Channel along with a new game show called Shopping Spree. Both shows would last on the channel until August 14th 1998, the final day of the Family Channel branding. Shop would get revived in 2000 on PAX. |
October
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 | Seven newscasters were dismissed by WCBS-TV (channel 2) in New York. |
| 6 | President Clinton and Senator Bob Dole participate in the first 1996 presidential debate with Jim Lehrer of PBS moderating.[4] |
| 7 | Nickelodeon adds an extra half-hour of programming, branded as "More Nickelodeon", on weekdays at 8:00pm Eastern/7:00pm Central. The "More Nickelodeon" block included new episodes of The Secret World of Alex Mack plus new series Hey Arnold!, KaBlam!, and The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. For the next two weeks, viewers were encouraged to "Spot the Dot" using game pieces found at Blockbuster Video stores and in Nintendo Power magazine for a chance to win a Nintendo 64. |
| 9 | Vice President Gore and former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp participate in the 1996 Vice Presidential debate at Mahaffey Theater.[5] |
| 10 | Turner Broadcasting System merged into Time Warner. |
| Greg Kinnear hosts his final episode of NBC's Later. The show would then revolve a set of rotating guest hosts for the next three years. | |
| 16 | Clinton and Dole participate in the final presidential debate at the University of San Diego.[6] |
| 20–26 | Fox broadcasts its first ever World Series. The New York Yankees won their 23rd title (and first since 1978) against the Atlanta Braves in only six games. |
| 30 | WBKP in Calumet, Michigan signs on the air, giving the Upper Peninsula both its first full-time ABC affiliate (WLUC-TV had dropped its primary ABC affiliation the previous year in favor of its secondary NBC affiliation) and full-time affiliates of the "Big Three" networks. |
November
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Seven regional sports networks operated by Prime Network relaunched as Fox Sports Net. |
| 4 | In tribute to the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series, an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine features Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew travel back in time to prevent the assassination of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise by a Klingon using a booby-trapped tribble. Its sister series Voyager produced a similar episode, "Flashback". |
| The infamous "Pillman's got a gun" angle with Brian Pillman and his former tag-team partner Stone Cold Steve Austin airs on USA Network's Monday Night RAW. | |
| 23 | Bob Hope's final television special, Bob Hope... Laughing with the Presidents, airs on NBC. |
December
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | The long-running 25 Days of Christmas event begins on The Family Channel. |
| 8 | Paramount Television and Viacom purchased a 50% stake in UPN from Chris-Craft and United Television for approximately $160 million. It made UPN a joint partnership between Chris-Craft and Viacom (and later a Viacom property as a whole) at this point. |
| 15 | Five years after its series finale, a movie version of Dallas, entitled Dallas: J.R. Returns, is broadcast by CBS. |
| 17 | 6 years after dropping the title, TBS resumes using the term Superstation. |
| 31 | ABC affiliate WAKC-TV in Akron, Ohio, disaffiliates from the network after 53 years and drops all remaining entertainment programming to carry Paxson Communications' inTV infomercial network. The station's studios had previously relocated from Akron to the Cleveland suburb of Warrensville Heights.[7][8] |
Debuts
Returning this year
| Show | Last Aired | Previous Network | New title | New Network | Returned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug | 1994 | Nickelodeon | Disney's Brand Spanking New! Doug | ABC | September 7 |
| Gargoyles | 1996 | Syndication | Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles | ||
| The Dating Game | 1989 | Same | Same | September 9 | |
| The Newlywed Game | |||||
| Shop 'til You Drop | 1994 | Lifetime | The New Shop 'til You Drop | The Family Channel | September 30 |
| What A Cartoon! (World Premiere Toons) | 1996 | TBS/Cartoon Network | The What A Cartoon! Show | Cartoon Network | October 9 |
Ending this year
| Date | Show | Debut |
|---|---|---|
| January 9 | Live Shot | 1995 |
| January 11 | The Commish | 1991 |
| January 14 | Nickelodeon Guts | 1992 |
| February 3 | Are You Afraid of the Dark? (returned in 1999) | |
| Dumb and Dumber | 1995 | |
| February 7 | Matt Waters | 1996 |
| February 17 | Maybe This Time | 1995 |
| February 21 | VR Troopers | 1994 |
| February 23 | Carnie! | 1995 |
| Strange Luck | ||
| February 24 | Iron Man | 1994 |
| February 26 | High Society | 1995 |
| March 1 | The Head | 1994 |
| March 7 | The Mickey Mouse Club | 1955 |
| March 27 | Dream On | 1990 |
| March 29 | The Pink Panther | 1993 |
| George & Alana | 1995 | |
| March 30 | Campus Cops | 1996 |
| April 1 | Partners | 1995 |
| May 4 | Sisters | 1991 |
| May 11 | Captain Planet and the Planeteers | 1990 |
| May 19 | Murder, She Wrote | 1984 |
| May 20 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | 1990 |
| Nowhere Man | 1995 | |
| June 2 | Space: Above and Beyond | |
| June 4 | Minor Adjustments | |
| June 9 | seaQuest DSV | 1993 |
| June 17 | Buzzkill | 1996 |
| June 19 | Hudson Street | 1995 |
| June 26 | Picket Fences | 1992 |
| June 28 | Central Park West | 1995 |
| July 11 | American Gothic | |
| July 14 | Muppets Tonight | 1996 |
| July 19 | Tales from the Crypt | 1989 |
| August 8 | Kratts' Creatures | 1996 |
| August 16 | The Client | 1995 |
| August 17 | Santo Bugito | |
| August 27 | Rescue 911 | 1989 |
| August 30 | A Current Affair (returned in 2005) | 1986 |
| September 13 | The Phil Donahue Show | 1967 |
| September 14 | WWF Mania | 1993 |
| September 15 | USA Cartoon Express | 1982 |
| September 30 | Lush Life | 1996 |
| Party Girl | ||
| October 6 | Big Deal | |
| October 10 | Later with Greg Kinnear | 1994 |
| October 20 | The Ren & Stimpy Show | 1991 |
| October 30 | Public Morals | 1996 |
| The John Larroquette Show | 1993 | |
| November 2 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 1987 |
| November 9 | The Lazarus Man | 1996 |
| November 10 | Kirk | 1995 |
| November 11 | Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales | 1996 |
| November 20 | Masked Rider | 1995 |
| November 24 | Rocko's Modern Life | 1993 |
| The Tick | 1994 | |
| November 25 | Timon & Pumbaa (returned in 1999) | 1995 |
| November 27 | Power Rangers Zeo | 1996 |
| November 28 | Quack Pack | |
| December 4 | Townies | |
| December 6 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | |
| December 7 | Project G.e.e.K.e.R. | |
| December 8 | Allegra's Window | 1994 |
| December 13 | Earthworm Jim | 1995 |
| December 14 | Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. | 1996 |
| California Dreams | 1992 | |
| December 18 | The High Life | 1996 |
| December 24 | Roundhouse | 1992 |
| December 28 | The Adventures of Pete & Pete | 1993 |
| Unknown | Top Rank Boxing (returned in 2017) | 1980 |
Made for TV movies and miniseries
| Premiere date | Title | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| February 4 | Gulliver's Travels (miniseries) | NBC |
| February 11 | Night of the Twisters | The Family Channel |
| February 24 | The Late Shift (miniseries) | HBO |
| April 9 | Face of Evil | CBS |
| April 28 | The Beast | NBC |
| May 14 | Doctor Who | Fox |
| September 24 | After Jimmy | CBS |
| November 15 | Dallas: J.R. Returns | |
| November 17 | Titanic | |
| December 15 | The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue | The Family Channel |
| December 17 | Unlikely Angel | CBS |
Entering syndication this year
| Show | Seasons | In Production | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | 4 | Yes | [9] |
| Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | 4 | Yes | [10] |
| Mad About You | 4 | Yes | [11] |
| Martin | 4 | Yes | [12] |
Changes of network affiliation
| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
|---|---|---|
| Brotherly Love | NBC | The WB |
| In the House | UPN | |
| Minor Adjustments | ||
| Candid Camera | Syndication | CBS |
| Gargoyles | ABC | |
| Doug | Nickelodeon | |
| TekWar | USA Network | Sci-Fi Channel |
| Major League Baseball Game of the Week | CBS | Fox |
| The Mask | CBS/Syndication | |
| Shop 'til You Drop | Lifetime | The Family Channel |
Launches
| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BET on Jazz | Cable television | January 15 | ||
| Sundance Channel | Cable and satellite | February 1 | ||
| America's Health Network | Cable and satellite | March | ||
| Starz! 2 | Cable television | March | ||
| Ovation | Cable television | April 21 | ||
| Nick at Nite's TV Land | Cable and satellite | April 29 | ||
| Animal Planet | Cable and satellite | June 1 | ||
| M2 | Cable and satellite | August 1 | ||
| Fox Sports Arizona | Cable and satellite | September 7 | ||
| Fox News Channel | Cable and satellite | October 7 | ||
| Discovery Civilization Network Discovery Travel & Living Network Discovery Kids Channel Discovery Science Network |
Digital cable | October 7 | ||
| Research Channel | Cable television | November | ||
| ESPNews | Cable and satellite | November 1 | ||
| HBO Family | Cable television | December 1 | ||
| CN8, The Comcast Network | Cable television | December 1 | ||
| CNN/SI | Cable and satellite | December 12 | ||
Conversions and rebrandings
| Old network name | New network name | Type | Conversion Date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| America's Talking | MSNBC | Cable and satellite | July 15 | ||
| Prime Deportiva Prime Sports Intermountain West Prime Sports KBL Prime Sports Midwest Prime Sports Northwest Prime Sports Rocky Mountain Prime Sports Southwest Prime Sports West |
Fox Sports Américas Fox Sports Utah Fox Sports Pittsburgh Fox Sports Midwest Fox Sports Northwest Fox Sports Rocky Mountain Fox Sports Southwest Fox Sports West |
Cable and satellite | November 1 |
Closures
| Network | Type | End date | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WWOR EMI Service | Cable television | December 31 | Advance Entertainment Corporation, which had acquired WWOR EMI Service in mid-1996, discontinued the channel on December 31. WWOR's satellite transponder slot was given to Discovery Communications' Animal Planet channel. | |
| Intro Television | Cable television | December 31 | Intro Television, which showed sample programs from cable networks such as Cartoon Network, Sci-Fi Channel, The History Channel, and The Box, was replaced by Plex: Encore 1 on January 1. |
Station launches
Stations changing network affiliation
| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Prior affiliation | New affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Honolulu, HI | KHON-TV | 2 | NBC | Fox |
| KHNL | 13 | Fox | NBC | ||
| Idaho Falls–Pocatello, ID | KPVI | 6 | ABC | NBC | |
| KIFI-TV | 8 | NBC | ABC | ||
| Macon, GA | WGXA | 24 | ABC | Fox | |
| WPGA-TV | 58 | Fox | ABC | ||
| Mobile, AL–Pensacola, FL | WALA-TV | 10 | NBC | Fox | |
| WPMI | 15 | Fox | NBC | ||
| New Orleans, LA | WVUE-TV | 8 | ABC | Fox | |
| WGNO | 26 | The WB | ABC | ||
| WNOL-TV | 38 | Fox | The WB | ||
| Twin Falls, ID | KKVI | 35 | ABC | Fox | |
| Reno, NV | KAME-TV | 21 | Fox | UPN | |
| March 1 | Bakersfield, CA | KERO-TV | 23 | CBS | ABC |
| KBAK-TV | 29 | ABC | CBS | ||
| March 14 | Greensboro, NC | WBFX | 20 | CTN | The WB |
| April 1 | Fairbanks, AK | KTVF | 11 | CBS | NBC |
| April 4 | Binghamton, NY | WICZ-TV | 40 | NBC | Fox |
| May 26 | South Bend, IN | W12BK | 12 | Independent | ABC |
| June 3 | Cincinnati, OH | WCPO-TV | 9 | CBS | ABC |
| WKRC-TV | 12 | ABC | CBS | ||
| June 19 | Greensboro, NC | WGGT-TV | 48 | ABC | UPN |
| July 1 | New York, NY | WNYC-TV/WBIS | 31 | PBS | Independent |
| August 19 | Charleston, SC | WCBD-TV | 2 | ABC | NBC |
| WCIV | 4 | NBC | ABC | ||
| September 1 | Birmingham–Tuscaloosa, AL | WBRC | 6 | ABC | Fox |
| WDBB/WTTO | 17/21 | Fox | Independent | ||
| WCFT-TV | 33 | CBS | ABC | ||
| WJSU-TV | 40 | CBS | ABC | ||
| WNAL-TV | 44 | Fox | CBS | ||
| W58CK | 58 | Independent | ABC | ||
| Lincoln, NE | KSNB-TV | 4 | ABC | Fox | |
| September 29 | Mobile, AL–Pensacola, FL | WFGX | 35 | Independent | The WB |
| December 31 | Akron–Cleveland, OH | WAKC-TV | 23 | ABC | inTV |
Station closures
| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5 | Bluefield, WV | WVGV-TV | 59 | The WB |
| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 3 | Audrey Meadows | 73 | Actress (Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners) |
| February 13 | Martin Balsam | 76 | Actor (Murray on Archie Bunker's Place) |
| February 15 | McLean Stevenson | 68 | Actor (Lt. Col. Henry Blake on M*A*S*H) |
| Tommy Rettig | 54 | Child actor (Jeff on Lassie) | |
| March 4 | Minnie Pearl | 83 | Comedian |
| March 5 | Whit Bissell | 86 | Character actor |
| March 9 | George Burns | 100 | Comedian (The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) |
| March 11 | Vince Edwards | 67 | Actor (Ben Casey) |
| April 21 | Jimmy Snyder | 77 | Sports commentator (The NFL Today) |
| May 20 | Jon Pertwee | 76 | Actor (Third Doctor on Doctor Who) |
| June 2 | Ray Combs | 40 | Host of Family Feud |
| June 5 | Vito Scotti | 78 | Character actor, Gilligan's Island |
| June 16 | Mel Allen | 83 | Sports commentator |
| July 21 | Herb Edelman | 62 | Actor (Stanley Zbornak on The Golden Girls) |
| August 27 | Greg Morris | 62 | Actor (Mission: Impossible) |
| September 13 | Tupac Shakur | 25 | Actor and songwriter |
| October 6 | Ted Bessell | 61 | Actor and director (Donald on That Girl) |
| October 28 | Morey Amsterdam | 87 | Actor and comedian (Buddy on The Dick Van Dyke Show) |
| October 31 | Arthur Peterson Jr. | 83 | Actor (Soap) |
| November 13 | Alma Kitchell | 103 | Hostess (In the Kelvinator Kitchen) |
| December 8 | Howard Rollins | 46 | Actor (Tibbs on In the Heat of the Night) |
| December 12 | Larry Gates | 81 | Soap opera actor (Guiding Light) |
| December 14 | Edward K. Milkis | 65 | Producer |
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