List of years in American television: |
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1967–68 United States network television schedule |
1968–69 United States network television schedule |
List of American television programs currently in production |
This is a list of American television-related events in 1968.
Date | Event | Ref. |
---|---|---|
January 20 | The TVS Television Network broadcasts the first-ever syndicated primetime college basketball game at the Houston Astrodome. Billed as "The Game of the Century", the Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71–69. | |
February 6 | ABC's coverage of the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France became the first Olympics, Summer or Winter, to be telecast in color on any American network. | |
April 2 | NBC broadcasts a television special in which British singer Petula Clark appears with Harry Belafonte as her guest. An innocent, affectionate gesture between the two during a song (Clark touches Belafonte on the arm) has prompted concern from the show's sponsor (Chrysler Corporation) due to the difference in their races. | |
April 4 | Singer James Brown appears on national television in an attempt to calm feelings of anger following the assassination of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. | |
September 9 | Two CBS soap operas, Search for Tomorrow and The Guiding Light, expand to 30 minutes per episode. | |
October 12–27 | ABC broadcasts coverage of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, D.F., Mexico. This was the first Summer Olympics to be telecast in color in the United States. | |
October 14 | First live television broadcast from a spacecraft in orbit, during the Apollo 7 mission. There are six broadcasts during the eleven-day mission. | |
November 17 | Protest ensues when NBC breaks away from the final minutes of an American Football League game to air a TV movie adaptation of Heidi, much to the outrage of the network's AFL viewers. After the break away, the Oakland Raiders scored two touchdowns to defeat the New York Jets, 43–32, in the final minute of play. | [1][2][3] |
WABC-TV debuted the Eyewitness News format on behalf of news director Al Primo. | [4] | |
November 22 | An interracial kiss was aired in the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren". The kiss was shared by William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols. | |
December 24 | The reading a passage from the Book of Genesis from Apollo 8 is telecast worldwide, with a report that there is a Santa Claus. This marked the fourth television broadcast from the spacecraft during the space mission. | [5] |
Date | Show | Network | Debut |
---|---|---|---|
January 15 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | NBC | 1964 |
January 20 | Birdman and the Galaxy Trio | 1967 | |
February 10 | Maya | NBC | September 26, 1967 |
March 2 | ABC Scope | ABC | November 11, 1964 |
March 6 | Lost in Space | CBS | 1965 |
March 11 | The Lucy Show | 1962 | |
March 14 | Batman | ABC | 1966 |
March 25 | The Monkees | NBC | 1966 |
The Bell Telephone Hour | 1959 | ||
The Fulton Sheen Program | Syndication | 1961 | |
March 27 | Run for Your Life | NBC | 1965 |
April 1 | The Andy Griffith Show[20] | CBS | 1960 |
April 15 | I Spy | NBC | 1965 |
Unknown | The Gumby Show | Syndication | 1957 |
The Road Runner Show (returned in 1971) | CBS | 1966 |
Title | Network | Date(s) of airing | Notes/Ref, |
---|---|---|---|
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown | CBS | February 14 | |
Elvis | NBC | December 3 | Elvis Presley's first television appearance in seven years; highest rated television special of 1968. |
Network | Type | Launch date | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Kentucky Educational Television | Regional Over-the-air public broadcast | September 23 | [21] |
Network | Type | Conversion date | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Sports Network Incorporated | Hughes Television Network | Unknown |
Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January 1 | Joplin, Missouri | KODE-TV | 12 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
ABC (exclusive) | KUHI would take the CBS affiliation in Joplin, Missouri, three days later. |
June 2 | Lexington, Kentucky | WLEX-TV | 18 | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC (secondary) |
NBC (exclusive) | |
WKYT-TV | 27 | ABC (primary) CBS (secondary) |
CBS (exclusive) | |||
September 30 | Macon, Georgia | WMAZ-TV | 13 | CBS (primary) ABC and NBC (secondary) |
CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Sign-on date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 23 | Lebanon, New Hampshire | WRLH | 31 | NBC | July 29, 1966 | Would return to the air in August 1971 |
Main article: 1968 in television § Births |
Main article: 1968 in television § Deaths |