Remove ads
In American television in 2008, notable events included television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel launches.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2009) |
January
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | CourtTV is rebranded as TruTV. |
| 2 | An interim agreement between Worldwide Pants Incorporated and the Writers Guild of America allows the Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, both on CBS, to return with their full writing staffs, in spite of the ongoing WGA strike. By contrast, NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Last Call with Carson Daly and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which are all produced by their respective networks, went back on the air without writers (except for Jay Leno, who writes his own material). |
| 4 | Jason Luna become the program's first (and only) $1,000,000 winner in the NBC's game show 1 vs. 100 during the program's second-season premiere titled Battle of the Sexes.[1][2] |
| Nick Jr. celebrates its 20th anniversary. | |
| 7 | Due to the writers strike, it is announced that plans to hold the 65th Golden Globe Awards ceremony will be scrapped. A press conference that announced the winners is substituted for the program, and NBC, which would have broadcast the ceremony, airs Golden Globe-related programming in its place.[3] |
| 27 | Discovery Times was renamed "Investigation Discovery".[4] In addition to the television network, an Investigation Discovery website was also launched. Contributors to the website include crime writers David Lohr, Corey Mitchell, and Gary C. King.[citation needed] |
February
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 | VH1 Uno is discontinued by MTV Networks to expand distribution of mtvU beyond college campuses and onto regular cable systems. |
| 3 | Fox's telecast of Super Bowl XLII surpasses Super Bowl XXX as the most-watched Super Bowl game on television (up to this point), and the most-watched program in the network's history. It also becomes the second most-watched television program trailing the 1983 M*A*S*H series finale and the highest-rated telecast in Nielsen ratings since Super Bowl XXXIV. |
| Animal Planet "relaunched" itself as part of a new branding campaign that "sheds its soft and furry side for programming and an image with more bite."[5] As part of the relaunch, Animal Planet replaced its elephant and spinning globe logo for a starker text image that allows more flexibility in its usage.[6] | |
| 4 | The Mr. Men Show debuts on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. Based on the British book series of Mr. Men Little Miss. |
| 8 | The CW Television Network and the WWE announced that WWE Friday Night SmackDown would leave the CW primetime schedule at the end of the 2007–2008 season. The news stepped in after negotiations between the CW and WWE failed to reach a deal to keep the show on the CW lineup. Three weeks later on February 26, MyNetworkTV announced that they would pick up the program and would add it to its lineup in September. |
| 9 | Both the Writers Guild of America and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reach a tentative deal resolving the strike. Members vote three days later to end the strike. |
| 17 | The conversion of NTSC analog channels to DT channels using the ATSC system begins in the United States, with TV stations making last-minute filings and their intentions about when they will start their switchover ahead of the February 17, 2009, mandatory date. Also, the US government starts mailing out (USD)$40.00 coupons/rebates to consumers to use in buying DTV converters before the switchover. |
| In a two-hour television film, Knight Rider returned to NBC with a new KITT being portrayed as a black 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang and voiced by actor Val Kilmer. | |
| 18 | Nickelodeon celebrates the revival of its hit show The Fairly OddParents with the television film Fairly OddBaby. This has been the first new episode since 2006. |
| 22 | Adam Rose become the first $1,000,000 winner in Drew Carey's first primetime episode of The Price is Right on CBS. At $1,153,908 cash & prizes won, Rose surpassed Joanne Segeviano's winnings of A$664,667 (about $406,274.45; or $475,593 by Inflation as of 2024) from the Australian version as the franchise's largest winnings record in the show's history. Until James Holzhauer's Jeopardy! appearance in 2019, Rose was placed in the top ten largest game show winners in history until April 24, 2019 (Holzhauer's total game show career winnings at the time after the episode was $1,193,508.33 (including J!'s career winnings of $1,135,175; Holzhauer's final winnings were $2,464,216 after his defeat on his 33rd game on June 3, and $3,022,549 as of Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament, the latter currently was placed third in the top ten list)).[7] |
| 24 | ABC's telecast of the 80th Academy Awards draws record-low ratings in the history of the ceremony's telecast surpassing the ratings from the ceremony that took place in 2003. 31.76 million on average watched the show over its entire run with a Nielsen rating of 18.66 households watching. |
| 25 | Fox News Channel rebrands its Fox News Live and Weekend Live telecasts as America's Election Headquarters, a news program related to the 2008 presidential election. The weekday edition replaces The Big Story in the 5 p.m. timeslot. The Fox News Live name would still be used for headline segments through November. |
| 29 | CBS's soap opera Guiding Light unveils a new opening for the town of Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey, while still filming in New York City, New York. |
March
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 7 | Michael Hanes, a former contestant on Press Your Luck, wins $1,127,062 on a prime-time episode of The Price is Right on CBS.[8] |
| 10 | Fox Sports New York rebranded MSG Plus because Cablevision announced that it would be (branded in logos as "MSG+"), restructuring it as a spin-off of MSG Network.[9] |
| 12 | The USA TV website Hulu went live. |
| 15 | Laurie Dhue, anchor of Fox Report Weekend, leaves Fox News Channel after opting not to renew her contract.[10] She is replaced by Julie Banderas, co-anchor of America's Election Headquarters on weekends. |
| 20 | As part of that same rebranding effort, The History Channel dropped "The" and "Channel" from its name to become simply "History".[11] |
| 26 | CBS's soap opera The Young and the Restless celebrates its 35th anniversary, a year after its sister soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful marks 20 years. |
| 27 | WNBC/New York City, NBC's flagship station, scraps the scheduled airing of Access Hollywood in favor of an infomercial for Lend America. Station GM Frank Comerford resigned in the wake of the controversy and the station management apologized a day after the incident.[12] 6 days after the incident, the station restored the "4 New York" branding for non-news programming and News 4 New York for news programming.[13] |
April
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | ABC's soap opera General Hospital celebrates its 45th anniversary, two years after the April 2, 2006, 50th Anniversary of CBS's As the World Turns. |
| 4 | In CBS, Cynthia Azevedo became the third and final $1,000,000 winner (the only winner who won the $1,000,000 bonus from a Pricing Game, Clock Game) on a prime-time episode of The Price is Right with a total winning of $1,089,017. Another contestant from the same episode won an $87,910 Dodge Viper on Golden Road, and this was the game's last win until December 23, 2014. Price would later cancel the $1,000,000 spectacular on May 7 due to budget.[14] |
| 7 | Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks defeat John Calipari's Memphis Tigers 75–68 at the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and celebrate their victory in front of a national television audience on CBS.[15] |
| 17 | In FOX, former American Idol contestant Kimberley Locke became the first contestant in history to attempt, but unsuccessfully, the final level ($1,000,000 song; Ringo Starr's You're Sixteen) in the game show Don't Forget the Lyrics! and left with $100,000 that was raised for Camp Heartland. Locke, however, announced after the game that she would raise the $400,000 that she risked earlier along with the help of host Wayne Brady. |
| 18 | Disney Channel celebrates its 25th anniversary. |
| 28 | The WB Television Network, a former television channel launches again as an online website only. |
May
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 11 | On CBS, former model Parvati Shallow was announced the winner of Survivor: Micronesia. It was also announced that the next season will be filmed in high definition. |
| The ABC drama series Brothers & Sisters airs its second season finale, which depicts the wedding of Kevin Walker and Scotty Wandell. Although it is the ninth same-sex wedding ceremony to be portrayed on American network television, it is the first same-sex wedding of series regulars on an American television series. | |
| 14 | Spike premieres the TV Show, 1000 Ways To Die. |
| 16 | The Wilmington, North Carolina television market is selected by the FCC to be the first television market in the United States to sign off their analog channels for ATSC early, starting September 8. |
| 21 | On Fox, David Cook became the seventh winner of American Idol. |
| 24 | After over thirteen years, Kids' WB, The CW's children's programming block, ceases airing and becomes The CW4Kids when the network sells the air time to Grupo Clarin (through its subsidiary Kids WB was shut down 4Kids Entertainment).[16] (Kids' WB, like The WB Television Network that the block originated, then relaunches as an online-only video on demand service.) |
| Superstation WGN changed its name to WGN America (initially, the use of the new name was limited to on-air promotions, as the Superstation WGN channel IDs remained in place). The new WGN America name and logo went into full-time use on May 26, 2008. The new logo was also the first used by the superstation feed to not incorporate WGN-TV's on-air logo branding in some capacity (the "WGN" text was similar in resemblance, although the "G" was not formed into an ovular arrow as it is in WGN-TV's logo), and its design featured the eyes of a female, which was used alongside the new slogan "TV You Can't Ignore". |
June
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | A large fire damages portions of Universal Studios Hollywood near Los Angeles, south of Burbank where NBC's soap opera Days of Our Lives is filmed. |
| 4 | Facing increased competition in the home-oriented programming sector, Discovery Communications planned a 24-hour channel focused on eco-friendly living in an attempt to capitalize on a rising environmental movement.[17] Discovery Home was relaunched as the environmentally-themed Planet Green at 6:00 p.m. ET. |
| 17 | Game 6 of the NBA Finals is broadcast on ABC. The Boston Celtics won their 17th world championship, and first since 1986, against the longtime rivals Los Angeles Lakers. Paul Pierce was awarded the Finals MVP. A memorable post-game interview had a very emotional Kevin Garnett claiming out loud that "anything is possible". |
| 19 | Big Ten Network and Comcast announced a carriage agreement deal. The channel was added to Comcast on August 15. |
| 28 | The first episode of Saturday Night Live is rerun on NBC following the death of first host George Carlin, who died six days earlier on June 22. |
July
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 7 | The Jewelry Channel, a U.S. home shopping service that was shown mostly on DirecTV and Dish Network, launches a going-out-of-business sale for its remaining items that was shown on the channel that would last until December 1. From December 1 onwards, TJC is now doing business as The Liquidation Channel. |
| 15 | ABC's soap opera One Life to Live (created by Agnes Nixon) celebrates its 40th anniversary, two years before another ABC soap opera All My Children (also created by Agnes Nixon) celebrates 40 years in 2010. |
| 21 | MGM Television and Weigel Broadcasting announce the launching of a new broadcast network designed for digital subchannels in the United States called This TV. |
August
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bowing to concerns by the Fox network over its Mexican-based operations, XETV, its affiliate in San Diego licensed to Tijuana, Mexico, swaps affiliations with CW affiliate KSWB-TV. |
| 6 | Disney-ABC Television Group announced they would close Toon Disney in early 2009 and replace it with Disney XD, which would be aimed at kids from ages 6 and up. |
| 7 | The Florence/Myrtle Beach, South Carolina television market gets its first-ever NBC affiliate, WMBF-TV. This move also gives Florence/Myrtle Beach in-market affiliates of all four major commercial networks. |
| 8 | After 50 years of being served by WTAE-TV/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Wheeling-Steubenville and Clarksburg-Fairmont TV markets get their first full-time ABC affiliates (as well as in-market affiliates of all four major commercial networks), as CBS affiliate WTRF/Wheeling, West Virginia adds an ABC affiliate on its DT3 subchannel and sister station & NBC affiliate WBOY-TV/Clarksburg, West Virginia does the same on its DT2 subchannel. Both stations had been ABC secondary affiliates in the past. |
| 11 | Sesame Street is broadcast in HD for the first time. |
| 28 | ESPNU launches its HD version to only five American cable television or satellite carriers.[18] |
| 29 | After 10 years on the air, PBS pulls Teletubbies off the PBS Kids block. The show remains off the air until 2015. |
| 31 | Big Ten Network reached carriage deal agreements with Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Brighthouse Networks, Mediacom and Cox Communications, ending the "cable carriage controversies" that the network had in its first year of existence. The network is now on all major cable TV systems in The Big Ten Region. |
September
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Music: High Definition (MHD) is renamed Palladia. |
| PBS Kids re-brands its idents and promos, which are created by Primal Screen; Primal Screen had produced promotional elements for PBS Kids since 2000. | |
| Jessica Robinson become the program's first (of two) $1,000,000 winner in NBC's Deal or No Deal during the Million Dollar Mission special. Nearly two months later on October 29, Winnow "Tomorrow" Rodriquez became the second $1,000,000 winner after Rodriquez opened the last non-million briefcase before the final deal. | |
| 4 | Stand Up to Cancer, an event designed to raise cancer awareness, airs on ABC, CBS, NBC and E! in the United States, and on CTV, Citytv and Global in Canada. |
| Then-Georgian superintendent Kathy Cox became the program's first (of two) $1,000,000 winner in FOX's game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?. | |
| 8 | The Wilmington, North Carolina television market officially becomes the first TV market in the United States to have all of its stations broadcast exclusively in digital, using the ATSC system. |
| The 26th season of Wheel of Fortune premiered with a new wedge introduced from the Australian version where contestants acquiring said wedge can win up to $1,000,000 in the bonus round, replacing with the usual $100,000 top prize. Its first such bonus round did not occur until October 3, and was not won until the October 14 episode. The first top prize loss happened on April 2, 2015. | |
| 15 | WTMJ-TV/Milwaukee drops almost all syndicated programming except for Better and weekend niche programs in late night, featuring a lineup that consists of local news (including a four-hour afternoon news block from 3 to 7 pm, a first in the United States Central Time Zone) and NBC programming. |
| 20 | After 11 years of run on the Cartoon Network, the successful action-adventure block, Toonami, has been canceled, effective 11 pm EST and later it returned in 2012. |
| 21 | The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards broadcasts on ABC. |
| 23 | The pilot episode of The Mentalist airs on CBS. |
| 26 | Programming block Ready Set Learn ends on TLC and children's programming are moved over to Discovery Kids. It would be re-branded as The Hub two years later. |
October
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 | Gwen Ifill moderates the vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden which ends up being the most watched vice presidential debate of all time. |
| 7 | NBC announces that NBC Weather Plus would sign off at the end of the year. |
| 10 | Jeopardy! veteran Ken Jennings won $500,000 in the FOX's game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? though he chose not to risk his $475,000 winnings to attempt the $1,000,000 question (in which he answered correctly); with the total winnings accounted to $3,623,414.29, Jennings, for the first time since 2005, surpassed Brad Rutter's (another Jeopardy! veteran and then-current All-time champion) record of $3,455,102 as the biggest game show winner in the history of American and international television, a record which he would hold till this day (Jennings' record was surpassed by Rutter between May 16, 2014, after the finals of Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades until January 14, 2020, on Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time). |
| 14 | Michelle Lowenstein became the first $1,000,000 winner in the game show Wheel of Fortune. At $1,026,080 in cash & prizes won, Lowenstein surpassed Peter Argyropolous and Deborah Cohen's all-time winnings record of $146,529 back in February 1996, and Christine Denos and Jack Wagner's single-day record of $142,550 on February 28, 2006, to become the largest single-day winner in the show's history until on May 30, 2013, where another contestant Autumn Erhard (who won $1,030,340) surpassed Lowenstein's total.[19] |
| 15 | Bob Schieffer of CBS News moderates the final presidential debate between senators John McCain and Barack Obama.[20] |
| 17 | United States Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota 6th) makes headlines when she asks for an investigation into whether members of the United States Congress are anti-American during a live interview on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews. |
| 20 | CBS announces it has signed an affiliation deal with ABC affiliate WENY-TV in Elmira, New York, giving the Elmira-Corning market both its first locally based CBS affiliate and in-market affiliates of all four major commercial networks. The affiliation takes effect on cable on February 17, 2009 (when WENY-TV requests a flash-cut from analog to digital broadcasting), and over-the-air on WENY-DT2 at the end of May (when WENY-TV performs its flash-cut). |
| 24 | Barack Obama airs a 30-minute infomercial that airs on CBS, NBC, Fox, BET, Univision, MSNBC and TV One. The infomercial is seen by 33.6 million viewers. |
| 25 | K07YM in Bend, Oregon, a translator of CBS affiliate KOIN in Portland, Oregon, is converted to a stand-alone station as KBNZ-LD, giving the Bend market both its first-ever CBS affiliate and in-market affiliates of all four major commercial networks. |
| 29 | Game 5 of the World Series is broadcast on Fox. The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the team's first title since 1980 and second in franchise history. This marked the end of the Curse of Billy Penn. |
November
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cookie Jar Toons/This is for Kids debuts on This TV. |
| 4 | CNN becomes the first channel in history to use hologram technology on television, during the 2008 United States Presidential Election. CNN's Jessica Yellin became the first person to be transmitted via hologram, followed by Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas.[21] |
| 5 | At the end of the 2008 presidential election, Fox News Channel rebrands America's Election Headquarters as America's News Headquarters. Also, the headline segments now use that name. |
| 17 | Kathy Cox, who earlier appeared in Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? as the first $1,000,000 winner on September 4, along with his husband, declared Chapter 7 Bankruptcy because of a $3.5 million debt that came from the failure of her husband's home construction business. Fidelity Investments, who's responsible for charging a fund for the donor schools, donated the winnings back to Fox in December 2008 from the schools and placed the $1,000,000 prize won in a limbo that would not benefit anyone.[22] |
| 19 | Flint, Michigan PBS member station WFUM-TV (a.k.a. Michigan Television) permanently turns off its analog signal and begins broadcasting exclusively in digital, 9 months before the federally mandated analog shut off date of June 12, 2009, becoming the first station in its market, as well as the first PBS station in Michigan, to do so.[23][24] |
| 20 | The CW announces that it has terminated its Sunday night deal with Media Rights Capital. At the end of the season, the network returns its Sunday night programming time to its local affiliates.[25] |
| 29 | To settle a court dispute between itself and rival NBC affiliate WLIO, Metro Video Productions, owners of three low-power stations in Lima, Ohio (Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WOHL-CA, CBS affiliate WLMO-LP, and ABC affiliate WLQP-LP), sells all three stations to West Central Ohio Broadcasting, a division of Block Communications (parent company of WLIO). The dispute stems from Fox's plans in late 2007 to leave WOHL-CA and enter into talks to join a digital subchannel of full-power WLIO, despite WOHL-CA outrating WLIO in primetime. The sale is finalized on February 5, 2009. |
December
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | WBQC-CA/Cincinnati, Ohio asks the FCC permission to change its callsign to WKRP in honor of the television series that was set in the city. |
| 3 | The 2008 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is broadcast on CBS. 8.7 million people tune in.[26][27][28][29][30] |
| 4 | For the first time ever, a live music special is used to announce the nominees for the 51st Grammy Awards. As usual for the Grammies, the special is broadcast by CBS. |
| 7 | In CBS, siblings Nicholas "Nick" Spangler and Emily "Starr" Spangler won the thirteenth season of the five-time Primetime Emmy Award-winning reality show The Amazing Race, with a record of becoming the youngest winning team in the show's history, and a record seven legs won in one season (which would later tie with the winners of the fifteenth season nearly a year later) until the twentieth season, where it was first surpassed by winners Rachel & Dave Brown Jr. with eight legs in May 2012 (tying Rovilson Fernanzes & Marc Nelson's record of eight legs from The Amazing Race Asia 2 in last year, and Tom & Tyler later on The Amazing Race Australia 4 in November 2019). |
| 8 | HD versions of Comcast's cable channels The Style Network, E! Entertainment Television and G4 launch. Golf Channel and Versus also break apart from their combined HD network to full simulcasts of their regular schedule on separate HD networks. |
| The Tribune Company, owners of WGN-TV/Chicago and KTLA/Los Angeles, among other properties, files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. | |
| 16 | Contestant Terry Kniess became the first contestant to achieve a perfect showcase bid on The Price is Right by guessing the exact price ($23,743) of the showcase he was offered, amid allegations of cheating.[31] |
| 27 | After over eighteen years, Fox drops children's programming. Its final children's programming block, 4Kids TV, goes off the air, and 4Kids Entertainment directs its programming to The CW4Kids, the block it programs for The CW. 4Kids TV would later launch as an online-only website on the same day. |
| 29 | After four years, Adult Swim adds an hour to its operating day (the block, which used to begin at 11:00 p.m., now starts at 10:00 p.m. and runs to 6:00 a.m.) |
| 31 | Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks announce they are no longer carrying Viacom channels unless they come to an agreement with Viacom. They come to an agreement at the last minute. |
| NBC Weather Plus is shut down. |
Remove ads
Debuts
The following is a list of shows that premiered in 2008.
Entering syndication this year
| Show | Seasons | In Production | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Legal | 4 | No | |
| CSI: NY | 4 | Yes | |
| Desperate Housewives | 4 | Yes | |
| Tyler Perry's House of Payne | 5 | Yes | |
| Monk | 6 | Yes | |
| Punk'd | 8 | No | |
| Storm Stories | 7 | Yes |
Changes of network affiliation
Returning this year
| Show | Previous network | Last aired | New Title | New network | Returning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yin Yang Yo! | Jetix | 2007 | Same | Same | January 1 |
| One Tree Hill | The CW | January 8 | |||
| Paradise Hotel | Fox | 2003 | MyNetworkTV | February 4 | |
| Bratz | 4Kids TV | 2005 | Nicktoons | ||
| My Life as a Teenage Robot | Nickelodeon | October 4 | |||
| Futurama | Fox | 2003 | Comedy Central | March 23 | |
| The Bachelorette | ABC | 2005 | Same | May 19 | |
| The Mole | 2004 | June 2 | |||
| ChalkZone | Nickelodeon | 2005 | August 23 | ||
| The Batman | Kids WB | 2008 | Batman: The Brave and the Bold | Cartoon Network | November 14 |
| Knight Rider | NBC | 1986 | Same | Same | September 24 |
Ending this year
| Date | Show | Channel | Debut | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 6 | I Love New York | VH1 | 2007 | Cancelled |
| January 7 | Higglytown Heroes | Playhouse Disney | 2004 | |
| January 15 | SeeMore's Playhouse | PBS Kids | 2006 | |
| January 18 | Game Head | Cartoon Network | 2005 | |
| January 21 | Codename: Kids Next Door | 2002 | ||
| January 23 | The Land Before Time | 2007 | ||
| Power of 10 | CBS | |||
| January 24 | Big Shots | ABC | ||
| January 30 | Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants | The CW | ||
| February 1 | Star Jones | TruTV | ||
| February 3 | Life Is Wild | Animal Planet | ||
| February 4 | Animal Precinct | 2001 | ||
| February 8 | Flash Gordon | Sci-Fi | 2007 | |
| February 11 | Notes from the Underbelly | ABC | ||
| Girlfriends | The CW | 2000 | ||
| February 15 | Las Vegas | NBC | 2003 | |
| February 20 | Cashmere Mafia | ABC | 2008 | |
| February 22 | 1 vs. 100 (returned in 2010) | NBC | 2006 | |
| The Big Story | Syndication | 2001 | ||
| February 24 | CW Now | The CW | 2007 | |
| Fox News Live (returned in 2021) | Fox News | 1999 | ||
| Weekend Live | 2002 | |||
| February 26 | Bratz | Fox | 2005 | |
| February 29 | About a Girl | Noggin | 2007 | |
| March 3 | Welcome to The Captain | CBS | ||
| March 8 | The Batman | Kids' WB | 2004 | |
| March 9 | My Fair Brady | VH1 | 2005 | |
| Quarterlife | VH1 | 2008 | ||
| The Wire | HBO | 2002 | Ended | |
| March 10 | October Road | ABC | 2007 | Cancelled |
| March 14 | Tucker | MSNBC | 2005 | |
| March 15 | Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! | Kids' WB | 2006 | |
| Control Room Presents | MyNetworkTV | 2007 | ||
| March 21 | Wilbur | Discovery Kids | ||
| The Return of Jezebel James | Fox | 2008 | ||
| March 22 | Tom and Jerry Tales | Kids' WB | 2006 | |
| March 23 | Frisky Dingo | Adult Swim | ||
| March 24 | The Salt-N-Pepa Show | VH1 | 2007 | |
| March 25 | Jericho | CBS | 2006 | |
| March 27 | Camp Lazlo | Cartoon Network | 2005 | |
| March 28 | In the Loop with iVillage | IVillage | 2006 | |
| March 29 | How Much Is Enough? | GSN | 2008 | |
| March 30 | Unhitched | Fox | ||
| April 3 | Miss Guided | ABC | 2008 | |
| April 5 | Legion of Super Heroes | Kids' WB | 2006 | |
| April 7 | My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad | NBC | 2008 | |
| April 8 | Secret Talents of the Stars | CBS | ||
| April 11 | Amnesia | NBC | ||
| April 13 | Dirt | FX | 2007 | |
| April 14 | New Amsterdam | Fox | 2008 | |
| April 15 | Ben 10 | Cartoon Network | 2005 | |
| Rob & Big | MTV | 2006 | ||
| April 16 | Human Giant | 2007 | ||
| April 17 | Atomic Betty | Cartoon Network | 2004 | |
| April 18 | Canterbury's Law | Fox | 2008 | |
| April 20 | Oprah's Big Give | ABC | ||
| April 23 | Pussycat Dolls Present | The CW | 2007 | |
| April 27 | John Adams | HBO | 2008 | |
| April 28 | High School Confidential | We TV | ||
| April 29 | The Riches | FX | 2007 | |
| May 2 | Zoey 101 | Nickelodeon | 2005 | |
| May 9 | Merv Griffin's Crosswords | Syndication | 2007 | |
| May 13 | Beauty and the Geek | The CW | 2005 | |
| Women's Murder Club | ABC | 2007 | ||
| May 14 | Back to You | Fox | ||
| May 15 | Lil' Bush | MTV | ||
| May 16 | Moonlight | CBS | ||
| The Montel Williams Show | Syndication | 1991 | ||
| May 18 | Aliens in America | The CW | 2007 | |
| May 19 | Life of Ryan | MTV | ||
| Paradise Hotel (returned in 2019) | MyNetworkTV | 2003 | ||
| May 20 | Shark | CBS | 2006 | |
| May 23 | Judge Hatchett | Syndication | 2000 | |
| Temptation | 2007 | |||
| May 24 | Showtime at the Apollo (returned in 2018) | 1987 | ||
| May 25 | Class of 3000 | Cartoon Network | 2006 | |
| May 26 | Flavor of Love | VH1 | ||
| Wildfire | ABC Family | 2005 | ||
| May 29 | Out of Jimmy's Head | Cartoon Network | 2007 | |
| May 30 | WWE Heat | WWE | 1998 | |
| May 31 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Cartoon Network | 1994 | |
| June 10 | ToddWorld | Discovery Kids | 2004 | |
| Work Out | Bravo | 2006 | ||
| June 11 | Men in Trees | ABC | 2006 | |
| June 13 | America's Pulse with E.D. Hill | Syndication | 2007 | |
| June 14 | World of Quest | Kids' WB | 2008 | |
| June 18 | The Zula Patrol | PBS Kids | 2005 | |
| June 21 | Growing Up Creepie | Discovery Kids | 2006 | |
| June 25 | Farmer Wants a Wife (returned in 2023) | The CW | 2008 | |
| June 26 | I Love the New Millennium | VH1 | 2008 | |
| June 28 | Endurance | Discovery Kids | 2002 | |
| July 1 | Signing Time! | Syndication | 2002 | |
| July 4 | Just In | Fox News | 2008 | |
| July 5 | The Future Is Wild | Discovery Kids | 2007 | |
| July 6 | Assy McGee | Adult Swim | 2006 | |
| July 11 | Dance Machine | ABC | 2008 | |
| July 16 | Celebrity Circus | NBC | ||
| July 19 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Nickelodeon | 2005 | |
| July 23 | Mind of Mencia | Comedy Central | ||
| July 25 | Duel | ABC | 2007 | |
| July 27 | Living Lohan | E! | 2008 | |
| July 29 | Celebrity Family Feud (returned in 2015) | NBC | 2008 | |
| August 4 | American Gladiators | NBC | 2008 | |
| August 7 | Passions | The 101 Network | 1999 | |
| August 11 | The Mole | ABC | 2001 | |
| August 13 | Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns | PBS | 2008 | |
| August 17 | All Grown Up! | Nickelodeon | 2003 | |
| Shootout | AMC | |||
| Code Monkeys | G4 | 2007 | ||
| Fat Guy Stuck in Internet | Adult Swim | |||
| August 23 | Just Jordan | Nickelodeon | 2007 | |
| ChalkZone | 2002 | |||
| August 24 | Generation Kill | HBO | 2008 | |
| August 29 | Queen Bees | The N | ||
| August 30 | Disney Channel Games | Disney Channel | 2006 | |
| September 1 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | 2005 | ||
| September 5 | Swingtown | CBS | 2008 | |
| Judge Maria Lopez | Syndication | 2006 | ||
| Northwest Afternoon | 1984 | |||
| September 10 | Greatest American Dog | CBS | 2008 | |
| September 12 | Cory in the House | Disney Channel | 2007 | |
| September 13 | El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera | Nickelodeon | ||
| The Planet's Funniest Animals | Animal Planet | 1999 | ||
| September 16 | Must Love Kids | TLC | 2008 | |
| September 18 | Wayside | Nickelodeon | 2007 | |
| September 20 | Kappa Mikey | Nicktoons | 2006 | |
| E!'s Pam: Girl on the Loose! | E! | 2008 | ||
| September 24 | Do Not Disturb | Fox | ||
| September 26 | Fried Dynamite | Cartoon Network | 2007 | |
| September 27 | My Family's Got Guts | Nickelodeon | 2008 | |
| October 2 | MTV's Top Pop Group | MTV | ||
| October 3 | Outsiders Inn | CMT | ||
| October 11 | Tutenstein | Discovery Kids | 2003 | |
| October 14 | Opportunity Knocks | ABC | 2008 | |
| October 21 | General Hospital: Night Shift | 2007 | ||
| The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency | Oxygen | 2006 | ||
| October 22 | Jurassic Fight Club | History | 2008 | |
| October 24 | The Ex List | CBS | 2008 | |
| October 25 | America's Toughest Jobs | NBC | 2008 | |
| Bindi the Jungle Girl | Discovery Kids | 2007 | ||
| October 26 | In Harm's Way | The CW | 2008 | |
| October 30 | Edgar & Ellen | Nicktoons | 2007 | |
| November 1 | Making Fiends | 2008 | ||
| November 8 | Rap City | BET | 1989 | |
| November 13 | 3-2-1 Penguins! | Qubo | 2006 | |
| November 16 | Total Request Live (returned in 2017) | E! | 1998 | |
| November 20 | The Emperor's New School | Disney Channel | 2006 | |
| Tim Gunn's Guide to Style | E! | 2007 | ||
| November 25 | The Shield | FX | 2002 | Ended |
| November 27 | My Gym Partner's a Monkey | Cartoon Network | 2005 | Cancelled |
| December 6 | Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling | CMT | 2008 | |
| Horseland | Cookie Jar TV | 2006 | ||
| Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot | 2007 | |||
| DinoSquad | ||||
| December 7 | Rugrats Pre-School Daze | Nickelodeon | 2008 | |
| December 8 | Boston Legal | ABC | 2004 | Ended |
| December 12 | South of Nowhere | The N | 2005 | Cancelled |
| December 13 | Trading Spaces (returned in 2018) | TLC | 2000 | |
| December 15 | My Own Worst Enemy | NBC | 2008 | |
| December 17 | Chocolate News | Comedy Central | ||
| Stylista | The CW | |||
| December 18 | Testees | FX | ||
| DragonflyTV | PBS Kids | 2002 | ||
| Moral Orel | Adult Swim | 2005 | ||
| December 21 | Next | MTV | ||
| Brotherhood | Showtime | 2006 | ||
| December 24 | The Black Carpet | NBC |
Made-for-TV movies
| Date of airing | Title | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| January 25 | Minutemen | Disney Channel |
| February 17 | Knight Rider | NBC |
| March 16 | The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream | ABC Family |
| April 20 | Princess | |
| June 6 | Polar Bears | Nickelodeon |
| June 8 | The Circuit | ABC Family |
| June 20 | Camp Rock | Disney Channel |
| July 13 | Picture This | ABC Family |
| July 19 | Sozin's Comet | Nickelodeon |
| August 22 | The Cheetah Girls: One World | Disney Channel |
| September 6 | Samurai Girl | ABC Family |
| September 12 | Gym Teacher: The Movie | Nickelodeon |
| October 12 | Underfist: Halloween Bash | Cartoon Network |
| October 18 | Polar Bears | Nickelodeon |
| Living Proof | Lifetime | |
| November 8 | iGo to Japan | Nickelodeon |
| November 27 | Destination: Imagination | Cartoon Network |
| December 5 | Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh | Nickelodeon |
Miniseries
| Premiere | Title | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| March 16 | John Adams | HBO |
| May 26 | The Andromeda Strain | A&E |
| July 13 | Generation Kill | HBO |
| November 16 | Rugrats Pre-School Daze | Nickelodeon |
Remove ads
Network launches
| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Channel | Over-the-air multicast (Kentucky only) | January 1 | A public television service provided by the Kentucky Educational Television network, the channel is devoted to Kentucky-related programming from several sources, including the statewide PBS member's vast in-house production archives. | |
| Pursuit Channel | Cable and satellite Over-the-air multicast (in some markets) |
April 23 | Airs programming centered on outdoor sports, hunting, and fishing | |
| LAT TV | Cable television | May 20 | ||
| SWX Right Now | Regional cable-only/over-the-air multicast | August 30 | A regional network providing high school and college sporting events and weather information throughout central and western Montana, the Idaho Panhandle, and eastern Washington state, by way of digital subchannels of several Cowles Company-owned stations. | |
| This TV | Over-the-air multicast | November 1 | Announced on July 21, it is a premium movie channel for over-the-air stations designed for digital subchannels. It originally launched in a joint venture between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Weigel Broadcasting. | |
| My Family TV | Cable television | December 15 | ||
| The Ski Channel | Cable and satellite | December 25 |
Conversions and rebrandings
| Old network name | New network name | Type | Conversion date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery Times | Investigation Discovery | Cable and satellite | Unknown | ||
| CourtTV | TruTV | Cable television | January 1 | ||
| College Sports Television | CBS College Sports Network | Cable television | March 16 | ||
| BBC World | BBC World News | Cable television | April 21 | ||
| Discovery Home Channel | Planet Green | Cable television | June 4 | ||
| World Championship Sports Network | Universal Sports | Cable television | June 16 | ||
| Music: High Definition | Palladia | Cable television | September 1 | ||
| The Prayer Channel | New Evangelization Television | Cable television | December 8 |
Network closures
| Network | Type | Launch date | Closure date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VH1 Uno | Cable/satellite network | 2000 | February 2, 2008 | ||
| Shop at Home Network | Cable/satellite and over-the-air network | 1987 | March 8, 2008 | ||
| International Channel | Cable television | 1990 | April 9, 2008 | ||
| NBC Weather Plus | Cable/satellite and over-the-air multicast | November 15, 2004 | December 31, 2008 |
Station launches
Network affiliation changes
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 4 | Corpus Christi, Texas | KUQI | 38 | Independent | Fox | |
| August 1 | San Diego, California | KSWB-TV | 69.1 | The CW | Fox | |
| Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico (San Diego, California) |
XETV-TV | 6.1 | Fox | The CW | ||
| December 31 | Charlottesville, Virginia | WVIR-DT2 | 29.2 | NBC Weather Plus | Independent (local weather) | |
| Unknown date | Marquette, Michigan | WLUC-DT2 | 6.2 | NBC Weather Plus | Universal Sports | |
Station closures
| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Sign-on date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 25 | Havre, Montana | KBBJ | 9 | NBC | January 2, 2001 | Satellite of KTVH-DT/Helena, Montana |
| Lewistown, Montana | KBAO | 13 | January 3, 2001 | |||
| May 25 | Walla Walla, Washington | KCWK | 9 | The CW | March 23, 2001 as (KBKI) | |
| September 30 | Rockford, Illinois | WCFC-CA | 51 | Total Living Network | March 6, 1986 (as W68BR) | |
| Unknown date | Ontario, Oregon | KMDA-LP | 19 | America One | September 18, 1985 | |
Remove ads
| Date | Name | Notability |
|---|---|---|
| January 3 | Raegan Revord | Actress (Young Sheldon) |
| March 14 | Abby Ryder Fortson | Actress (Togetherness) |
| May 29 | Laila Lockhart-Kraner | Actress (Gabby's Dollhouse) |
| July 15 | Iain Armitage | Actor (Young Sheldon, Big Little Lies) |
| August 1 | Eliana Su'a | Actress (Pretty Freekin Scary) |
| August 5 | Devin Trey Campbell | Actor (Single Parents) |
| August 6 | Kensington Tallman | Actress (Home Sweet Rome) |
| September 17 | Mia Talerico | Actress (Good Luck Charlie) |
| October 10 | Santino Barnard | Actor (The Kids Are Alright) |
| October 24 | Liamani Segura | Actress (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) and singer |
| November 3 | Audrey Grace Marshall | Actress (The Flight Attendant, The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder) |
| December 11 | Chloe Coleman | Actress (Big Little Lies, Upload) |
| December 22 | Madeleine McGraw | Actress (Secrets of Sulphur Springs) |
Remove ads
| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 6 | Bob LeMond | 94 | Radio and TV announcer (Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver) |
| January 15 | Brad Renfro | 25 | Actor |
| January 17 | Allan Melvin | 84 | Actor (Magilla Gorilla, The Brady Bunch, All in the Family) |
| January 18 | Lois Nettleton | 80 | Actress (In the Heat of the Night) |
| January 19 | Suzanne Pleshette | 70 | Actress (Emily Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show) |
| January 22 | Heath Ledger | 28 | Australian actor |
| January 24 | Jahna Steele | 49 | Transgender entertainer (was "outed" on A Current Affair in 1992, guest-starred on NYPD Blue) |
| February 1 | Shell Kepler | 49 | Actress and presenter (General Hospital, HSN host) |
| February 4 | Augusta Dabney | 89 | Actress (Another World, A World Apart, Loving) |
| February 6 | John McWethy | 60 | ABC News correspondent from 1979 to 2006 |
| February 10 | Ron Leavitt | 60 | Writer and producer (Happy Days, Married... with Children) |
| Roy Scheider | 75 | Actor (Capt. Bridger on seaQuest) | |
| Steve Gerber | 60 | Illustrator/animator (Thundarr The Barbarian) | |
| February 12 | David Groh | 68 | Actor (Joe Gerard on Rhoda) |
| February 14 | Perry Lopez | 78 | Character actor (Star Trek) |
| February 18 | Grits Gresham | 85 | Outdoor sportscaster (The American Sportsman) |
| February 27 | Myron Cope | 79 | Sportscaster at WTAE/Pittsburgh and color commentator for Pittsburgh Steelers broadcasts |
| William F. Buckley, Jr. | 82 | Host and commentator (Firing Line) | |
| March 16 | Ivan Dixon | 76 | Actor, producer and director (Hogan's Heroes) |
| April 5 | Charlton Heston | 84 | Actor (The Colbys) |
| April 8 | Stanley Kamel | 65 | Actor (Monk) |
| May 1 | Hager Twins | 66 | One-half of Hager Twins and a regular on Hee Haw |
| May 2 | Beverlee McKinsey | 72 | Soap opera actress (Another World, Texas, Guiding Light) |
| May 11 | Dick Sutcliffe | 90 | Christian children's TV producer/animator (Davey and Goliath) |
| May 15 | Alexander Courage | 88 | Composer (Star Trek theme song) |
| May 18 | Joseph Pevney | 96 | Director (Bonanza) |
| May 24 | Dick Martin | 86 | Comedian and director (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) |
| May 25 | Mitch Mullany | 39 | Actor (Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher) |
| May 26 | Earle Hagen | 88 | Music composer (The Andy Griffith Show) |
| Sydney Pollack | 73 | Producer, director and actor (The Fugitive, Will & Grace, The Sopranos) | |
| May 29 | Harvey Korman | 81 | Actor and comedian (The Carol Burnett Show, The Flintstones, Hey Arnold!) |
| June 2 | Mel Ferrer | 90 | Actor, producer and director (Falcon Crest, Return of the Saint) |
| June 7 | Jim McKay | 86 | Sportscaster and journalist for ABC, CBS and NBC Sports |
| Neil MacNeil | 85 | Journalist (Washington Week in Review) | |
| June 12 | Charlie Jones | 77 | Sportscaster for NBC and ABC Sports; play-by-play TV announcer for AFL and NFL games |
| June 13 | Tim Russert | 58 | Journalist for NBC News and host of Meet the Press from 1991 to 2008 |
| June 15 | Tony Schwartz | 84 | Sound archivist, ad executive and creator of Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 "Daisy" political ad |
| June 17 | Cyd Charisse | 86 | Actress, dancer (The Love Boat, Frasier, Fantasy Island, Burke's Law) |
| June 21 | Kermit Love | 91 | Puppeteer, costume designer, actor (Sesame Street) |
| June 22 | Dody Goodman | 93 | Actress (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) |
| George Carlin | 71 | Actor, writer, comedian (The George Carlin Show, Shining Time Station) | |
| June 29 | Don S. Davis | 65 | Actor (Stargate SG-1, Twin Peaks) |
| July 3 | Larry Harmon | 83 | Entertainer (Bozo the Clown) |
| July 4 | Jesse Helms | 86 | Politician and journalist for WRAL-TV, Raleigh, North Carolina |
| July 12 | Tony Snow | 53 | Commentator (Fox News Sunday) and White House Press Secretary |
| July 17 | Larry Haines | 89 | Actor (Search for Tomorrow) |
| July 21 | K-Swift | 29 | Club radio DJ, hip-hop producer and remixer (The Wire, BET's Rap City) |
| July 22 | Estelle Getty | 84 | Actress (The Golden Girls) |
| August 6 | John K. Cooley | 80 | Journalist and author (ABC News) |
| August 7 | Bernie Brillstein | 77 | Producer and agent (Buffalo Bill, ALF, The Larry Sanders Show, NewsRadio) |
| August 9 | Bernie Mac | 50 | Actor and comedian (The Bernie Mac Show) |
| August 10 | Isaac Hayes | 65 | Singer, songwriter and voiceover artist (South Park) |
| August 12 | Bill Stulla | 97 | "Engineer Bill" – children's show host ("Cartoon Express" on KHJ-TV/Los Angeles from 1954 to 1966) |
| August 19 | Julius Carry | 56 | Actor (Doctor, Doctor, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.) |
| August 22 | Jeff MacKay | 59 | Actor (Magnum, P.I.) |
| August 31 | Ike Pappas | 75 | News reporter (CBS News) |
| September 1 | Don LaFontaine | 68 | Voice-over announcer (Entertainment Tonight) |
| Jerry Reed | 71 | Actor and singer (The New Scooby-Doo Movies, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, The Concrete Cowboys, Hee Haw) | |
| September 12 | George Putnam | 94 | News personality |
| October 5 | Lloyd Thaxton | 81 | Host and producer (The Lloyd Thaxton Show, Fight Back! With David Horowitz) |
| October 11 | Neal Hefti | 85 | Theme music composer (Batman, The Odd Couple (the film) and the TV series)) |
| October 15 | Jack Narz | 85 | Game show host (Beat the Clock, Concentration) |
| October 25 | Anne Pressly | 26 | Anchorwoman and special assignment reporter for KATV/Little Rock, Arkansas |
| November 4 | Michael Crichton | 66 | Author and screenwriter (ER) |
| November 11 | Herb Score | 75 | Baseball player and TV/Radio play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Indians |
| December 1 | Paul Benedict | 70 | Character actor, writer and director (The Jeffersons, Sesame Street) |
| December 5 | Beverly Garland | 82 | Actress, singer and businesswoman (My Three Sons, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, The Angry Beavers) |
| December 8 | Robert Prosky | 77 | Actor (Hill Street Blues) |
| December 12 | Van Johnson | 92 | Actor and singer (Batman, Here's Lucy, The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957 television film)) |
| December 13 | Maddie Blaustein | 48 | Voice actress (Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dinosaur King) |
| December 18 | Majel Barrett | 76 | Actress (Star Trek: The Original Series) |
| December 25 | Eartha Kitt | 81 | Actress, dancer and singer (Batman, My Life as a Teenage Robot, The Emperor's New School) |
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads