- March 15
- ABC airs the first episode of TV show Mr. Belvedere. [457]
- March 18
- Capital Cities Communications Inc acquires ABC TV. [1]
- March 20
- CBS-TV presents The Romance of Betty Boop special starring Desiree Goyette as Betty Boop. [457]
- March 21
- The ABC TV network debuts the Wildside series. [6]
- March 31
- ABC-TV celebrates the 200th episode of TV show The Love Boat, with 1000th guest star Lana Turner. [457]
- April 11
- The 100th episode of US TV show Hill Street Blues airs. [457]
- April 25
- The ABC TV network airs the last episode of the Wildside series. [6]
- May 17
- The character of Bobby Ewing (played by Patrick Duffy) is killed off on the season finale of TV show Dallas, aired on CBS-TV. (He returned the following season.) [1] [457]
- May 18
- First remote location for TV show Nightline (South Africa). [1]
- June 15
- CBS-TV airs the Pryor's Place half-hour TV show for kids for final time. [457]
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- June 17
- The Discovery Channel begins airing on cable TV in the U.S. First program is Iceberg Alley. [85] [457]
- July 3
- CBS announces a 21 percent stock buy-back to thwart Ted Turner's takeover. [1]
- September 7
- ABC airs the last episode of the T.J. Hooker TV series. (The show resumes airing original shows on CBS.) [457]
- September 14
- The CBS TV network begins airing the animated weekly show The Wuzzles. [6]
- The NBC TV network begins airing the animated weekly TV show Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears. [6]
- The NBC TV network begins airing the Disney show The Golden Girls. [6] [457]
- September 24
- ABC airs the first episode of TV show Growing Pains. [457]
- September 29
- NBC-TV begins airing Alfred Hitchcock Presents. [457]
- ABC-TV debuts MacGyver, starring Richard Dean Anderson. [85] [457]
- NBC-TV premieres Amazing Stories by Steven Spielberg. [457]
- November 1
- Nostalgia Television begins on cable. [1]
- November 15
- CBS airs the 200th episode of the Dallas TV show. [457]
- December 7
- NBC airs the 200th episode of TV show Saturday Night Live. [457]
- December 11
- General Electric acquires RCA Corporation and its subsidiary, NBC Radio and Television. [1] [457]
- December 20
- Howard Cosell retires from television sports after 20 years with ABC. [1]
1986
- January 15
- HBO and Cinemax pay cable television services initiate scrambling their national satellite feeds. [5]
- February 2
- Disney returns to Sunday night TV on ABC, with Michael Eisner hosting the first The Disney Sunday Night Movie, entitled Help Wanted: Kids. It ranks 41st out of the week's 68 network programs. [6]
- February 25
- CBS live telecasts the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presentation of the 28th Annual Grammy Awards. Some winners:
- Record of the Year: Quincy Jones for "We Are The World";
- Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female: Whitney Houston for "Saving All My Love For You";
- Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male: Phil Collins for "No Jacket Required";
- Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Quincy Jones for "We Are The World";
- Best Pop Instrumental Performance (orchestra, group or soloist): Jan Hammer for "Miami Vice Theme";
- Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female: Tina Turner for "One Of The Living";
- Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male: Don Henley for "The Boys Of Summer";
- Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Dire Straits for "Money For Nothing";
- Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Female: Aretha Franklin for "Freeway Of Love";
- Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Male: Stevie Wonder for "In Square Circle";
- Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Commodores for "Nightshift".
[1] [457] [1349]
- February 27
- The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis. [5] [84]
- March 3
- NBC airs pilot episode of Matlock. [457]
- March 6
- CBS airs the 100th episode of TV show Simon & Simon. [457]
- March 7
- The final episode of TV show Different Strokes airs in the US. [457]
- March 22
- HBO launches boxing's heavyweight title unification tournament. [1]
- March 25
- ABC airs the first episode of the sitcom Perfect Strangers. [457]
- April 16
- To dispel rumors he's dead, Libya's Moammar Qadhafi appears on TV. [1]
- April 21
- Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's secret vault on live TV show The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault and finds nothing inside. [1] [84]
- April 22
- NBC airs the final episode of TV show Riptide. [457]
- April 27
- Electronic engineer John R. MacDougall, also known as Captain Midnight, jams HBO's satellite signal to broadcast a message protesting their rates for satellite dish owners. [1] [84] [457]
- May 3
- CBS airs the final episode of Crazy Like a Fox TV show. [457]
- May 20
- Flintstones 25th Anniversary Celebration airs on CBS-TV. [1]
- June 2
- Regular TV coverage of US Senate sessions begins. [1]
- August 1
- US movie channel Cinemax debuts The Max Headroom TV Talk Show, starring Matt Frewer. [457]
- August 8
- The TV series The Ellen Burstyn Show first airs on ABC. [6]
- September 6
- CBS airs its last show of The Wuzzles. [6]
- TV series Casualty is first aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. [84]
- September 13
- ABC begins airing the TV show The Wuzzles. [6]
- September 18
- The TV series Siskel & Ebert debuts in syndication. [6]
- September 20
- 38th Emmy Awards.
- Best Comedy: The Golden Girls,
- Best Drama: Cagney & Lacey.
[457]
- NBC debuts the Matlock TV show, starring Andy Griffith. [457]
- September 26
- Bobby (Patrick Duffy) returns to Dallas TV show, his death is attributed to his wife Pam's bad dream (erases all of last season). [1]
- The syndicated TV show Today's Business premieres. The early-morning show airs on 133 stations. [6]
- The ABC TV network debuts the Disney-produced Sidekicks show. [6]
- September 29
- CBS debuts comedy TV show Designing Women. [457]
- October 9
- FOX network debuts Joan Rivers hosting The Late Show. [457]
- October 26
- Donald Duck is shown for the first time in the People's Republic of China. Chinese television launches a weekly half-hour of old Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse cartoons. [457]
- October 30
- NBC airs the 100th episode of TV show Cheers. [457]
- November 6
- New York's WOR-TV pays a record (for syndicated TV show) $182,000 per episode of The Cosby Show, for the fall, 1988 season. Previous record was $80,000 per show for Cheers. [457]
- December 8
- CBS airs the 100th episode of TV show Newhart. [457]
- December 17
- Wayne Newton won a $19.2 million judgment against NBC News, which had aired reports linking Newton to mob figures. The reports were proven to be false. [457]
- December 26
- NBC-TV airs the final episode of long-running (35 years) TV soap opera Search for Tomorrow. [1] [457]
- December 27
- 10th Soap Opera Digest Poll Awards - The Young and the Restless wins. [1]
1987
- January 18
- 11th Soap Opera Digest Poll Awards - Days of Our Lives wins. [1]
- January 22
- R Budd Dwyer, Pennsylvania State Treasurer, facing prison for conspiracy and perjury, shoots himself to death at a televised news conference. [1] [83] [467]
- February 15
- ABC-TV begins broadcasting Amerika mini-series. [1]
- February 19
- Anti-smoking ad airs for first time on TV in the USA, featuring Yul Brynner. [1]
- February 20
- David Hartman quits ABC's Good Morning America, after 11 years. [1]
- February 24
- CBS live telecasts the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presentation of the 29th Annual Grammy Awards.
- Record of the Year: Steve Winwood for "Higher Love";
- Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder for "That's What Friends Are For";
- Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male: Robert Palmer for "Addicted To Love";
- Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: The Eurythmics for "Missionary Man";
- Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Male: James Brown for "Living In America";
- Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Prince and The Revolution for "Kiss".
[1] [1350]
- February 27
- Washington Week In Review 20th anniversary on PBS TV. [1]
- March 4
- The ABC TV network airs the first episode of the Disney TV show Harry. [6]
- March 20
- Soap opera TV show Capitol airs its final episode. [1]
- March 23
- CBS premieres the soap opera TV show The Bold and the Beautiful. [1] [457]
- The Soul Train Music Awards TV show debuts in the US. [1] [457]
- March 27
- The ABC TV network airs the last episode of the Disney TV show Harry. [6]
- April 5
- Fox TV network premieres showing Married With Children and Tracey Ullman. [1]
- April 6
- Al Campanis appears on TV show Nightline saying blacks may not be equipped to be in baseball management, sparking a racial controversy. [1]
- April 12
- The first episode of TV show 21 Jump Street airs, starring Johnny Depp. [457]
- April 16
- NBC airs the final episode of Remington Steele TV show. [457]
- April 19
- The first TV appearance of The Simpsons on The Tracy Ullman Show. [83]
- April 26
- The syndicated TV show Today's Business is cancelled, after losing close to US$5 million in seven months. [6]
- May 7
- Diane Chambers' (Shelley Long) final episode on TV show Cheers. [1]
- May 8
- Pam Ewing (Victoria Principal) character on TV show Dallas, is killed off. [1]
- May 12
- NBC airs the final episode of Hill Street Blues TV show. [457]
- May 16
- ABC airs the last episode of The Wuzzles. [6]
- June 14
- NBC-TV airs action-adventure series The A Team for the last time. [457]
- June 27
- The ABC TV network airs the final Sidekicks show. [6]
- July 25
- The Fox TV network airs the first episode of Down and Out in Beverly Hills. [6]
- August 4
- The US Federal Communications Commission votes 4-0 to rescind the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues. [1] [83]
- August 31
- Michael Jackson's Bad music album is released, including songs "Bad", "Man in the Mirror", and "Smooth Criminal". The 18-minute music video Bad premieres on US TV. [384.21]
- September 7
- The NBC TV network debuts the Win, Lose, or Draw TV show. [6]
- September 9
- CBS TV airs the last episode of Mickey Spillane. [457]
- September 12
- The last episode of The Ellen Burstyn Show airs. [6]
- The Fox TV network airs the last episode of Down and Out in Beverly Hills. [6]
- September 16
- The CBS TV network debuts the Disney-produced show The Oldest Rookie. [6]
- CBS airs the first episode of TV show Wiseguy. [457]
- September 17
- CBS TV airs the last episode of TV crime drama T.J. Hooker. [457]
- September 18
- A two-hour syndicated TV special DuckTales airs. This is the debut of the first daily animated series from the Walt Disney Studios. [6]
- September 21
- The first of 65 episodes of DuckTales begin airing on 121 TV stations, reaching 83% of TV households. (Within a few months, it is the top-ranked afternoon kids' show in syndication.) [6]
- September 22
- ABC airs the first episode of TV show Full House. [457]
- September 24
- NBC debuts the TV series A Different World. [457]
- September 26
- The first episode of US TV show Jake and the Fatman airs. [457]
- September 27
- ABC premieres the variety show Dolly, starring Dolly Parton. [457]
- September 28
- Star Trek: The Next Generation debuts on syndicated TV. First episode is "Encounter at Farpoint". [5] [457]
- September 29
- ABC-TV debuts the relationship drama thirtysomething. [457]
- October 16
- The last episode airs of the TV sci-fi adventure Max Headroom. [457]
- December 3
- The 200th episode of TV show Knots Landing airs. [457]
- December 10
- Nightline TV show is seen in the USSR for first time. [1]
1988
- January 6
- The CBS TV network airs the last episode of The Oldest Rookie show. [6]
- January 10
- The Disney Channel debuts the animated TV show The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. [6]
- January 16
- 4th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins. [1]
- Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder fired from CBS-TV for racial remarks. [1]
- January 19
- CBS-TV debuts TV newsmagazine 48 Hours. [1] [457]
- January 23
- Bob Benoit bowls first 300-point game in a televised title match. [1]
- January 25
- Vice President George H.W. Bush and Dan Rather clash on CBS Evening News as Rather attempts to question Bush about his role in the Iran-Contra affair. [1]
- January 31
- ABC airs the first episode of the family sitcom The Wonder Years. [457]
- February 5
- First prime-time wrestling match in 30 years - Andre the Giant beats Hulk Hogan. [1]
- February 7
- FOX airs the first episode of TV show America's Most Wanted, hosted by John Walsh. [457]
- February 21
- During a live TV broadcast, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart confesses to an unspecified sin, then announces he would be leaving his ministry for an unspecified length of time. [1] [82]
- February 29
- NBC-TV debuts the situation comedy Day by Day. [457]
- March 2
- CBS live telecasts the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presentation of the 30th Annual Grammy Awards. Some winners:
- Record of the Year: Paul Simon for "Graceland";
- Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female: Whitney Houston for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)";
- Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male: Sting for "Bring On The Night";
- Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley for "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life";
- Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo: Bruce Springsteen for "Tunnel Of Love";
- Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: U2 for "The Joshua Tree".
[1] [457] [1351]
- March 6
- The first episode of US TV show In the Heat of the Night airs. [457]
- April 4
- Last broadcast of Crossroads on British TV. [1]
- April 25
- US TV show Nightline goes on location to Jerusalem, Israel. [1]
- May 1
- The final episode of TV show Magnum, P.I. airs. [457]
- May 5
- NBC airs the 100th episode of Night Court TV show. [457]
- May 27
- NBC airs the final episode of TV show Punky Brewster. [457]
- June 20
- The Price is Right model Janice Pennington is knocked out by a TV camera. [1] [457]
- June 30
- ABC-TV airs the final episode of the cop spoof Sledge Hammer!. [457]
- August 22
- NBC premieres Later with Bob Costas (first guest Linda Ellerbee). [1]
- September 3
- Disney's syndicated TV show Live with Regis and Kathie Lee begins airing. [6]
- September 10
- The ABC TV network debuts The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. [6]
- September 14
- NBC debuts Unsolved Mysteries, hosted by Robert Stack. [457]
- October 6
- NBC debuts the TV sitcom Dear John, starring Judd Hirsch. [457]
- October 8
- The NBC TV network debuts the Disney-produced TV show Empty Nest, a spin-off from The Golden Girls. [6] [457]
- October 9
- The NBC TV network begins airing The Magical World of Disney on Sunday nights. [6]
- October 18
- ABC airs the first episode of TV show Roseanne. [457]
- October 19
- US Senate passes bill curbing ads during children's TV shows. [1]
- October 27
- The 10th season of TV show Knots Landing begins. [457]
- November 3
- Talk-show host Geraldo Rivera's nose is broken as Roy Innis brawls with skinheads at TV taping. [1]
- November 14
- CBS debuts the TV comedy Murphy Brown, starring Candice Bergen. [457]
- November 22
- ABC airs the 100th episode of TV show Who's the Boss?. [457]
- November 30
- The Disney Channel begins airing Good Morning, Miss Bliss. (After five episodes, the series is cancelled, but then continues on the NBC TV network as Saved by the Bell.) [6]
- December 1
- NBC bids record US$401 million to capture rights to 1992 Barcelona Olympics. [1]
- December 7
- NBC airs the 100th episode of TV show Highway to Heaven. [457]
- December 9
- New York Yankees sign 12-year television contract with Madison Square Garden for US$500 million. [1]
- December 14
- CBS' US$1.1 billion bid wins exclusive 1990-94 Major League Baseball rights. [1]
- December
- American TV show The Young and the Restless hits number one on the US Nielsen ratings of daytime drama shows. ((and will remain there for at least the next 1000 consecutive weeks.)) [156.13]
- December 20
- NBC signs lease to stay in New York City for 33 more years. [1]
1989
- January 3
- The Arsenio Hall Show makes its debut on Fox. [457]
- January 5
- Major League Baseball signs US$400 million with ESPN, to show 175 games in 1990. [1]
- January 9
- The Pat Sajak Show TV show debuts on CBS TV. [1] [457]
- January 13
- ABC airs final episode of TV soap opera Ryan's Hope after 13.5-year run. [1] [457]
- January 15
- 10th ACE Cable Awards: HBO wins 35 awards. [1]
- February 2
- Satellite television service Sky Television PLC is launched in Europe. [43]
- February 10
- Miami Vice's 100th episode seen on TV. [1]
- February 22
- CBS live telecasts the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presentation of the 31st Annual Grammy Awards. Some winners:
- Record of the Year: Bobby McFerrin for "Don't Worry Be Happy";
- Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female: Tracy Chapman for "Fast Car";
- Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male: Bobby McFerrin for "Don't Worry Be Happy";
- Best Rock vocal Performance, Male: Robert Palmer for "Simply Irresistible";
- Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: U2 for "Desire".
[1] [457] [1352]
- First Spanish commercial on US network TV (Pepsi-Cola-CBS Grammy Award). [1]
- March 4
- The Disney Channel debuts the TV series Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers. [6]
- March 26
- NBC airs the first episode of TV show Quantum Leap. [457]
- March 27
- NBC-TV debuts the soap opera Generations. [1] [457]
- April 5
- Late Night with David Letterman becomes first network TV series to use Dolby stereo. [1]
- April 16
- NBC launched the cable channel CNBC as the "Consumer News & Business Channel." [457]
- April 24
- The Disney Channel begins airing another new The New Mickey Mouse Club series. [6]
- April 30
- Critics Siskel and Ebert film their 500th TV movie-review show. [1]
- May 6
- NBC airs the 100th episode of The Golden Girls TV show. [457]
- May 11
- ABC airs the 217th and final episode of TV show Dynasty. [1] [457]
- May 12
- Entertainment Tonight airs their 2,000th TV performance. [1] [457]
- May 13
- The 600th episode of US TV show Soul Train airs. [457]
- May 14
- Moonlighting, TV crime drama, last airs on ABC. [1]
- NBC airs the final episode of TV sitcom Family Ties. [1] [457]
- May 21
- NBC airs the last episode of Miami Vice after a 5-year run. [457]
- June 4
- The Tiananmen Square massacre takes place in Beijing on the army's approach to the square, and the final stand-off in the square is covered live on television. [5] [43]
- June 10
- Home Box Office debuts the TV anthology Tales From The Crypt. [457]
- June 12
- CBS-TV debuts the TV comedy Doctor Doctor, starring Matt Frewer. [457]
- June 25
- NBC airs the final episode of the TV sitcom Day By Day. [457]
- June 27
- NBC airs the last episode of the Miami Vice TV show. [457]
- July 5
- In the USA, the television pilot show Seinfeld Chronicles premieres. [43] [457]
- The CBS TV network airs the last episode of the Disney TV show Hard Times on Planet Earth. [6]
- July 23
- FOX-TV tops ABC, NBC and CBS in show ratings for first time (America's Most Wanted). [1]
- July 31
- CBC Newsworld news and information TV channel debuts on cable systems across Canada. [457]
- August 3
- ABC debuts news magazine show Primetime Live, hosted by Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer. [457]
- August 24
- Indonesia's first privately owned television station, Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia, (RCTI) begins broadcasting. [43]
- September 1
- The NBC TV network airs the show Win, Lose, or Draw for the last time. The network aired 505 episodes. [6]
- September 2
- The ABC TV network airs the last episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. [6]
- NBC airs its last episode of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears. 65 episodes were shown over four years. [6]
- September 5
- U.S. President George H. W. Bush holds up a bag of cocaine purchased across the street at Lafayette Park in his first televised speech to the nation. [43]
- September 8
- The TV show The Nutt House, produced by Mel Brooks for Disney, first airs on NBC. [6]
- September 9
- The ABC TV network begins airing Disney's Gummi Bears / Winnie the Pooh Hour. [6]
- September 17
- Jay Stewart, announcer on TV's Let's Make a Deal, commits suicide. [1]
- September 22
- NBC began airing the TV series Baywatch. [457]
- September 30
- The animated TV show Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers first airs on TV. The first show is the two-hour Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers to the Rescue. [6]
- October 5
- U.S. televangelist John Nunes is found guilty of embezzling US$158 million. [43]
- October 24
- Disgraced TV evangelist Jim Bakker is sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $500,000 on 24 counts of fraud. (In 1991, his sentence is reduced to eighteen years; he is released on parole after a total five years in prison.) [1] [457]
- October 25
- The NBC TV network airs the last show of The Nutt House. [6]
- December 6
- The final episode (until 2005) of the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who is broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. [43]
- December 17
- The first full length episode of The Simpsons TV show in the US, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", premieres on Fox-TV in the USA. [43] [457] [1459.111]
- December 18
- The I Love Lucy Christmas TV episode is shown for first time in over 30 years. [1]
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