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List of years in American television:
1987–88 United States network television schedule
1988–89 United States network television schedule
List of American television programs currently in production

The year 1988 in television involved some significant events. This is a list of notable events in the United States.

Events

Date Event
January 1 The season finale of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series airs in syndication with "Shredder & Splintered". The series will return for a second season in fall.
Australia Live, a 4-hour TV special about Australia's Bicentennial, airs on A&E.
NBC broadcasts the Rose Bowl Game for the final time, ending a 37-year partnership. ABC Sports picked up rights to broadcast the game the following year.
January 3 WFYF in Watertown, New York begins broadcasting, giving the Watertown market its first full-time ABC affiliate.
January 4 Nick Jr. begins as a block of Nickelodeon programming for younger children.
Blackout, hosted by Bob Goen, premieres on CBS. The game show runs for only thirteen weeks, after which The $25,000 Pyramid, the show it replaced, returns to the air on April 4 while CBS develops a revival of Family Feud.
January 8 The ABC sitcom I Married Dora had low ratings and was canceled halfway into its only season. The final episode ended with a scene, known as "breaking the fourth wall," that ranked number 49 on TV Land's list of The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments. The cameras pulled back to show the entire stage as the cast and crew waved goodbye and performed curtain calls.
January 16 Due to comments he made about breeding practices during slavery leading to blacks becoming superior athletes, CBS fires Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, who had been a regular on NFL Today since 1976.
January 22 KYMA in Yuma, Arizona signs-on the air, returning ABC programming to the Yuma market for the first time since KECY-TV dropped its affiliation to rejoin CBS in 1985.
January 24 The inaugural Royal Rumble event airs live on the USA Network. The main event saw The Islanders defeat The Young Stallions in a 2 out of 3 falls match. The titular match was won by "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.
January 25 During that night's edition of the CBS Evening News; anchor Dan Rather enters a nearly 10-minute confrontation with Vice-President George H. W. Bush over what Bush knew about the Iran-Contra scandal.
January 29 The Peanuts musical television special Snoopy! The Musical, based on the musical comedy of the same name, premiered on CBS.
January 31 The pilot for The Wonder Years airs following ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII.
February 5 Wrestlers Hulk Hogan and André the Giant compete on The Main Event on NBC, marking the return of professional wrestling to network prime-time for the first time since 1955.
February 6 UK animated television series for children Count Duckula (a spinoff of Danger Mouse) begins on Nickelodeon prior to airing in its homeland which will start on September 6 of the same year.
The writers of The Facts of Life create a controversial storyline in which Natalie (Mindy Cohn) becomes the first of the girls to lose her virginity. Lisa Whelchel (Blair) refused this particular storyline that would have made her character, not Natalie, the first among the four young women in the show to lose her virginity. Having become a Christian when she was 10, Whelchel refused because of her religious convictions. Whelchel appeared in every episode but asked to be written out of "The First Time".[1] The episode ran a parental advisory before starting and placed 22nd in the ratings for the week.[2]
February 13 ABC broadcasts the Opening Ceremonies for the Winter Olympic Games from Calgary. This is ABC's tenth and final Olympic Games that they would broadcast to date.
February 21 Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, involved with a sex scandal, admits to being with prostitutes and temporarily ends his television ministry.
February 23 Future Grammy Award-winning recording artist Lauryn Hill (The Fugees frontwoman) makes her television debut on Showtime at the Apollo as a contestant of Amateur Night, where the 13-year-old Hill performed "Who's Lovin' You" by Motown Records singer Smokey Robinson, and gets booed by the audience.
February 25 Totally Minnie, a 45-minute live-action/animated special, premiers on ABC. This marks the first time Russi Taylor voiced Minnie Mouse.
February 26 Tom Hardy marries Simone Ravelle on the ABC soap opera General Hospital, the first interracial wedding on American daytime television.
March 2 Michael Jackson performs a live, extended version of the song "Man in the Mirror" a 30th Annual Grammy Awards, having Siedah Garrett, the Winans, and the Andraé Crouch choir perform with him.
March 18 In what would turn out to be her final television appearance, Gilda Radner guest stars on It's Garry Shandling's Show.
March 19 "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" experiences a surge of popularity caused by television commercials featuring claymation raisin figures. The California Raisins' version of the song peaks at No. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100.
March 20 Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats, the fifth installment of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 telefilm series, is broadcast in syndication.
March 27 The first edition of Clash of the Champions airs on TBS opposite WrestleMania IV on pay-per-view. The main event would be Ric Flair and Sting wrestling to a time limit draw.
April 3 In Jacksonville, Florida, NBC affiliate WJKS (now CW affiliate WCWJ) and ABC affiliate WTLV swap affiliations, reversing a swap that took place in 1980. NBC will later dub this swap one of its most successful affiliation switches ever.
April 4 James Brown appears on CNN after allegedly assaulting his wife with a lead pipe and shooting at her car. During the interview with Sonya Friedman, Brown shouted song titles of his own songs instead of answering questions.
April 8 Ana Alicia's character, Melissa Agretti, dies in a house fire on the CBS drama Falcon Crest.
April 11 WYED-TV, an independent station, serving both Goldsboro, Raleigh, Durham and Fayetteville launches.
Fox affiliate WVAH-TV moves to channel 11, one of the last remaining channel allocations in the U.S., from UHF channel 23.[3]
April 13 Geraldo Rivera's live special Murder: Live from Death Row is broadcast in syndication; a highlight is Rivera's pre-taped interview with Charles Manson.
April 18 The Disney Channel celebrates its fifth anniversary.
April 25 Nickelodeon debuts the first Kids Choice Awards ceremony.
Lieutenant Tasha Yar is killed off in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation after actress Denise Crosby asked to be released from her contract.
May 1 Magnum, P.I. broadcasts its 2-hour series finale on CBS.
May 6 The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound, the sixth installment of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series, is broadcast in syndication. This film marks the final time Daws Butler voiced Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey, Snagglepuss, Hokey Wolf, and Peter Potamus, as he died two and a half weeks after its telecast from a heart attack.
May 7 The series finale of The Facts of Life airs on NBC. In the two-part episode, Blair buys Eastland to prevent its closing. Blair finds that the school is in such dire financial straits that she is forced to make the school co-ed. Blair then essentially adopts the Mrs. Garrett role as she presides over the school and is forced to deal with the trouble-making students in a plot line that is highly reminiscent of the season two premiere. The new Eastland students included Seth Green, Mayim Bialik, future Oscar-nominee Juliette Lewis, and Meredith Scott Lynn.
May 13 In the season finale of the CBS drama Dallas, character J.R. Ewing pushes over the railing of his high-rise office building the character Nicholas Pierce, and Sue Ellen is so enraged that she fires three shots at Ewing.
May 15 Beverly Hills Cop makes its broadcast network television debut on ABC.
May 18 The Late Show on Fox hosts a reunion of the entire cast of Gilligan's Island. This would prove to be the last time that all of the regular cast members appeared together as Jim Backus, who was suffering from Parkinson's disease at the time, died the following year.
May 22 NBC broadcasts The Incredible Hulk Returns, a continuation of the TV series that aired on CBS from 1978 to 1982.
May 24 CBS wins the broadcasting rights to the 1992 Winter Olympics after bidding around $243 million.
May 28 The series finale of St. Elsewhere reveals that the entire series was the product of an autistic boy's imagination.
May 30 After rejecting an offer to join CBS News, Peter Mansbridge replaces Knowlton Nash as anchorman of CBC Television's series The National.
June 4 The Universal Pictures Debut Network broadcasts a special edition of the 1984 film Dune[4] as a two-night event, with additional footage not included in the film's original release.[5] This version totalled at 186 minutes, including a "What happened last night" recap and second credit roll. Director David Lynch disavowed this version and had his name removed from the credits, Alan Smithee being credited instead.
June 14 The CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless tops the daytime ratings (deposing longtime winner General Hospital).[6]
June 21 Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons airs on CBS. With a 21.2 rating / 37 share, it would prove to be the highest-rated NBA game in the 17 years that CBS broadcast the NBA (1973-1990). It's also the only NBA game that scored more than 20 ratings points for the network.
July 4 Three years after its cancellation by ABC, CBS resurrects Family Feud for its daytime lineup, featuring new host Ray Combs. A syndicated nighttime version would premiere later in the autumn.
July 11 The day before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game from Cincinnati, TBS televised the annual All-Star Gala[7] from the Cincinnati Zoo. Larry King hosted the broadcast with Craig Sager and Pete Van Wieren handling interviews. The broadcast's big draw would've been the Home Run Derby, which TBS intended on taping during the afternoon, and later airing it in prime time during the Gala coverage. The Gala coverage also had some canned features such as highlights from previous All-Star Games, a segment on Cincinnati's baseball history, a video recap of the season's first half and, a slow-motion highlight montage set to "This Is the Time" by Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung. Unfortunately, the derby and a skills competition were canceled due to rain. As a result, TBS scrambled to try to fill nearly an hour of now-open airtime. For example, the Gatlin Brothers, the event's musical guests, who had already played a full concert, were asked to come back out and play some more.
July 14 The first ever edition of "Shark Week" airs on Discovery Channel.
August 1 The word "Family" is incorporated into the CBN Cable Network's name to better reflect its programming format, rebranding as The CBN Family Channel; shortly after the new name was adopted, however, references to CBN within its name began to be excised in on-air continuity announcements and print promotions for its programs (with the exception of the initialized reference to its parent ministry featured within its logo), referring to it as simply "The Family Channel".
August 9 As a special prime time edition of the Game of the Week, NBC broadcasts the first official night game at Chicago's Wrigley Field between the Cubs and New York Mets.
August 27 Fox affiliate WWPC-TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania (a satellite of WWCP-TV in Johnstown) breaks from its simulcast with WWCP-TV to become an ABC affiliate, returning ABC to Altoona/State College (and giving Johnstown its first full-time ABC affiliate) after Altoona/State College's previous ABC affiliate WOPC-TV went dark in 1982.
August 29 Some of the stations in markets WAXA in Greenville, South Carolina, WTOG in Tampa Bay, Florida, KMSP in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and KPTV in Portland, Oregon left Fox due to disappointments with the weak network's offerings. The replacement affiliates were WHNS in Greenville, South Carolina, WFTS in Tampa Bay, Florida, WFTC in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and KPDX in Portland, Oregon.
August 29 The World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) telecasts the inaugural SummerSlam event on pay-per-view.
September 2 Dick Clark hosts his final episode of the game show Pyramid, ending his 15-year run as host of the program. Clark would make guest appearances on both the 1991 revival hosted by John Davidson and the 2002 revival hosted by Donny Osmond.
September 5 WABC's The Morning Show makes its national syndication debut under its new title Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.
September 10 In Knoxville, Tennessee, CBS affiliate WBIR-TV swaps affiliations with NBC affiliate WTVK in time for NBC Sports' coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. Shortly after the switch, WTVK moves to channel 8, one of the last remaining VHF channel allocations in the U.S., and becomes WKXT-TV (now WVLT-TV).[8]
September 18 Rockin' with Judy Jetson, the seventh installment of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series, is broadcast in syndication. This film marks the final time Daws Butler voiced Elroy Jetson, as it was telecast posthumously.
October 3 TNT, the fourth cable network owned by Turner Broadcasting, commences programming with a broadcast of the movie Gone with the Wind.
The Bonus Round in Wheel of Fortune now adopts a Three-and-a-vowel format, which was used till this day, with letters "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" and "E" provided immediately, and the time limit was reduced from 15 seconds to 10.
October 4 As did Cher, actress Shirley MacLaine calls David Letterman an "asshole" during a taping of the NBC talk show Late Night.
As part of a television special hosted by Patrick Stewart, called The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next, the first pilot episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, called "The Cage" is broadcast in its entirety for the first time. In some markets, the airing of this special was delayed until October 15, 1988. Prior to this, footage of "The Cage" was incorporated into the Season 1 two-parter episode "The Menagerie".
ABC under the guidance of new executive producer Geoffrey Mason,[9] debuts fatter and wider graphics that gave off a cleaner, sharper look complete with a black border for their Major League Baseball coverage. ABC also debuts a new energetic, symphonic-pop styled musical theme,[10][11] composed by Kurt Bestor,[12] which would become an all-compassing theme of sorts for ABC Sports during this time period.
October 8 A young Countess Vaughn (winner of Star Search) joins the cast of the NBC comedy 227 as Alexandria DeWitt, a young 11-year-old talented college student, whom the Jenkins' have as a houseguest for a year.
October 11 Turner Broadcasting purchases Jim Crockett Promotions and subsequently rebrands it as World Championship Wrestling. The sale would be completed on November 2, 1988. Three days later, on NWA World Championship Wrestling, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair cut a promo and pointed out a large group of Turner executives in the crowd. This was a subtle nod to Ted Turner purchasing Jim Crockett Promotions.
October 15 Kirk Gibson hits his now iconic walk-off home run off of Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics. Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola are in the broadcast booth for NBC Sports. During the same game at the second inning, NBC affiliate WMGT-TV in Macon, Georgia is hijacked for 10 seconds replacing parts of the second inning with an adult movie. The technician was later fired, and Production Manager L. A. Sturdivant reported to The Atlanta Constitution at the incident was an accident.[13]
CBS airs a highly anticipated college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Miami Hurricanes, colloquially known as "Catholics vs. Convicts".
October 16 Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, the eighth installment of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 telefilm series, is broadcast in syndication. It is also part of the Scooby-Doo animated film series.
October 18 The pilot episode for Roseanne is broadcast on ABC.
October 21 Lori Loughlin makes her first appearance as Rebecca Donaldson on Full House.
October 27 The last of Harding Lemay's "comeback" episodes are broadcast on the NBC soap opera Another World. In the final minutes of the episode, Australian actress Carmen Duncan assumed the role of the legendary bitch Iris Cory Wheeler, after the role had been vacated for many years by Beverlee McKinsey.
November 3 Talk show host Geraldo Rivera's nose is broken during a taping of his show when a fight begins on the set between guests. The theme of the episode was "Young Hate Mongers," and the fight originated between white supremacist Tom Metzger and liberal activist Roy Innis.
Australian-made 1986 cartoon television movie of King Solomon's Mines by Warwick Gilbert debuts on American television after multiple weeks of promotion and is one of the most-watched children's television shows of the year.[14]
November 10 Milwaukee television station WDJT-TV goes on the air.
November 12 Australian-made 1986 cartoon television movie of King Solomon's Mines by Warwick Gilbert airs for a second time and is the most watched program for children for the second Saturday in a row.[15]
November 13 Mickey's 60th Birthday, which as the title suggests, was a television special produced for the 60th anniversary of the Mickey Mouse character, airs on NBC.
Back to the Future makes its broadcast network television premiere on NBC.
Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, the ninth installment of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 telefilm series, is broadcast in syndication. It is also part of the Scooby-Doo animated film series.
November 20 Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears, the tenth and final installment of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series, is broadcast in syndication. This film marks the final time Daws Butler voiced Yogi Bear, as it was telecast posthumously.
November 21 CBS broadcasts Inside the Sexes, a documentary produced by The Body Human's Alfred R. Kelman that features explicit content about human sexuality (including detailed visuals inside human reproductive organs), which prompts several CBS affiliates to broadcast the program with a parental warning at the beginning of the program, at a later time of the day. Some affiliates canceled their broadcast of the program.
November 24 Mystery Science Theater 3000 airs for the first time on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
December 2 NBC wins the rights to broadcast the 1992 Summer Olympics from Barcelona, Spain, bidding over $401 million.
December 8 Tichina Arnold (later of Martin and Everybody Hates Chris fame) joins the cast of the ABC soap opera Ryan's Hope for what will prove to be its final season.
December 11 Roots: The Gift, the third installment of the Roots series is broadcast on ABC.
December 13 The American Wrestling Association airs its first and only pay-per-view card, SuperClash III.
December 14 CBS pays Major League Baseball approximately US$1.8 billion[16] for exclusive over-the-air television rights for over four years (beginning in 1990). CBS paid about $265 million each year[17] for the World Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the Saturday Game of the Week. CBS replaces ABC (which had broadcast Monday and later Thursday night baseball games from 1976 to 1989) and NBC (which had broadcast Major League Baseball in some shape or form since 1947 and the Game of the Week exclusively since 1966) as the national broadcast network television home of Major League Baseball.[18] It was one of the largest agreements[19] (to date) between the sport of baseball and the business of broadcasting. The cost of the deal between CBS and Major League Baseball was about 25% more[20] than in the previous television contract with ABC and NBC.[21] The deal with CBS was also intended to pay each team (26 in 1990 and then, 28 by 1993) $10 million a year.
December 18 A Very Brady Christmas airs on CBS and with a 25.1 rating and a 39 share, becomes the second highest rated television film of the year. Its success would soon lead to the creation of a new Brady Bunch series called The Bradys, which only lasts for six episodes.
December 26 The Young and the Restless becomes the number 1 daytime drama on television, where it remains to this very day.[22]

Programs

Debuting this year

The following is a list of shows that premiered in 1988.

Date Title Network
January 2 High Mountain Rangers CBS
January 4 Blackout
The World of David the Gnome Nick Jr.
January 11 T. and T. Syndication
January 15 The Thorns ABC
January 17 The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh The Disney Channel and ABC
January 18 Home ABC
January 19 48 Hours CBS
January 31 The Wonder Years ABC
February 6 Count Duckula Nickelodeon
February 7 America's Most Wanted Fox
February 29 Day by Day NBC
March 6 In the Heat of the Night
Supercarrier ABC
March 7 Probe
March 9 Aaron's Way NBC
March 14 Eisenhower and Lutz CBS
March 15 Coming of Age
Trial and Error
March 23 HeartBeat ABC
April 1 Denver, the Last Dinosaur Syndication
April 6 Just in Time ABC
April 26 China Beach
Just the Ten of Us
May 8 Something Is Out There NBC
June 13 Blue Skies CBS
July 1 Don't Just Sit There Nickelodeon
August 6 Yo! MTV Raps MTV
August 22 Later with Bob Costas NBC
August 27 Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Disney Channel
September 3 Kids' Court Nickelodeon
September 5 Fun House Syndication
Relatively Speaking
September 10 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo ABC
The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil
ALF Tales NBC
Baby Boom
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
Beyond Tomorrow Fox
Police Academy Syndication
September 12 Sweethearts
USA Today: The Television Series
Wipeout
September 17 Rin Tin Tin: K-9 Cop CBN Family Channel
Garfield and Friends CBS
Hey Vern, It's Ernest!
Superman
Fantastic Max Syndication
September 19 C.O.P.S. Syndication
October 1 Monsters
October 2 Marvel Action Universe
October 4 The American Experience PBS
High Risk CBS
October 6 Dear John NBC
October 8 Empty Nest
Freddy's Nightmares Syndication
The Munsters Today
Superboy
October 10 War of the Worlds
October 15 Capital Gang CNN
October 18 Roseanne ABC
October 23 Mission: Impossible ABC
October 25 Midnight Caller NBC
October 26 Tattingers
Annie McGuire CBS
The Van Dyke Show
October 27 Paradise
October 29 Dirty Dancing
November 2 Murphy's Law ABC
November 5 Raising Miranda CBS
November 11 Knightwatch ABC
November 14 Murphy Brown CBS
November 24 Mystery Science Theater 3000 KTMA-TV
November 27 Almost Grown CBS
November 29 TV 101
November 30 Good Morning, Miss Bliss Disney Channel

Resuming this year

Title Final aired Previous network Returning network Date of return
Family Feud 1985 ABC CBS July 4
The Gong Show 1980 Syndication Same September 12
Gumby 1968 NBC Syndication Fall 1988

Changing networks

Show Moved from Moved to
Family Feud ABC CBS
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Disney Channel ABC
Double Dare Nickelodeon Fox/Syndication
Finders Keepers First-run syndication
Snorks NBC USA Network / First-run syndication
Heathcliff Syndication Nickelodeon

Entering syndication

A list of programs (current or canceled) that have accumulated enough episodes (between 65 and 100) or seasons (3 or more) to be eligible for off-network syndication and/or basic cable runs.

Show Seasons
The Cosby Show 4
Kate & Allie 4
Night Court 4

Ending this year

Date Title Debut
January 2 Sable 1987
January 8 I Married Dora
January 15 Rags to Riches
February 10 The Law & Harry McGraw
February 11 The Charmings
February 12 Sledge Hammer! 1986
February 13 Mr. President 1987
February 20 Women in Prison
March 8 I'm Telling!
March 22 Frank's Place
March 25 Lingo (returned in 2002)
March 26 9 to 5 1982
Dennis the Menace 1986
What's Happening Now!! 1985
March 28 Yogi's Treasure Hunt
March 29 Trial and Error 1988
March 30 We Got It Made 1983
April 1 Blackout 1988
April 9 High Mountain Rangers
April 12 My Sister Sam 1986
April 14 Probe 1988
April 22 Beverly Hills Buntz 1987
May 1 Magnum, P.I. (original series) (Rebooted in 2018) 1980
Truth or Consequences 1950
May 2 Jem 1985
May 3 Hotel 1983
May 7 The Facts of Life 1979
Spenser: For Hire 1985
Ohara 1987
May 6 The Highwayman
May 8 Our House 1986
May 10 Crime Story
Dolly 1987
May 12 Max Headroom
May 14 Second Chance (aka Boys Will Be Boys)
May 16 Cagney and Lacey 1982
May 25 St. Elsewhere
Aaron's Way 1988
May 27 Punky Brewster (returned in 2021) 1984
May 28 Marblehead Manor 1987
June 8 The Slap Maxwell Story
June 10 Houston Knights
June 20 Eisenhower and Lutz 1988
June 28 J.J. Starbuck 1987
June 29 The Bronx Zoo
July 16 Little Clowns of Happytown
July 23 Solid Gold 1980
July 24 Tales from the Darkside 1984
August 21 Werewolf 1987
September 2 Pyramid (returned in 1991) 1973
September 3 Dennis the Menace 1986
The Flintstone Kids
September 9 High Rollers 1974
October 22 Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures 1987
October 28 The Late Show 1986
November 18 3-2-1 Contact 1980
November 22 Denver, the Last Dinosaur 1988
December 3 The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
December 7 The Van Dyke Show
December 9 Something Is Out There
December 17 Superman
December 24 Hey Vern, It's Ernest!
December 25 The Care Bears 1985
December 28 Annie McGuire 1988
December 31 Raising Miranda

Made-for-TV movies and miniseries

Title Network Premiere date Notes
The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank CBS April 17
Case Closed CBS April 9
David ABC October 28
Goddess of Love NBC November 20
Inherit the Wind NBC March 20 Emmy Award winner
Internal Affairs CBS November 6
Jack the Ripper CBS October 21
Lincoln NBC March 27 Miniseries, based on Gore Vidal's novel
The Murder of Mary Phagan NBC January 24 Emmy Award winner
The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story NBC May 2
War and Remembrance ABC November 13 Miniseries; sequel to The Winds of War

Networks and services

Launches

Network Type Launch date Notes Source
Channel America Cable and satellite Unknown
The Prayer Channel Cable television Unknown
Vision Interfaith Satellite Network Cable television July 1
Turner Network Television Cable television October 3

Conversions and rebrandings

Old network name New network name Type Conversion Date Notes Source
CBN Cable Network CBN Family Channel Cable television August 1

Closures

Network Type Closure date Notes Source
Festival Cable television December 31
Harmony Premiere Network Cable television Unknown

Television stations

Station launches

Date Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/Ref.
January Owensboro, Kentucky WROZ-TV 61 Independent
January 1 Murray/Paducah, Kentucky W46BE 46
Tequesta/West Palm Beach, Florida WPBF 25 ABC
Utica, New York W11BS 11 Independent
January 4 New York City W57BC 57 Independent LPTV translator of WLIG
January 6 Burlington, Iowa
(Quad Cities, Illinois-Iowa) 		KJMH 26 Fox
January 11 Lebanon/Nashville, Tennessee WJFB 66 Independent
January 15 Fort Smith, Arkansas K46BZ 46 Fox
January 22 Yuma, Arizona
(El Centro, California) 		KYMA-DT 11 ABC
January 27 Tuscaloosa/Birmingham, Alabama W52AI 52 TBN
January 29 Indianapolis, Indiana W11BV 11 Independent
February 1 Cedar Rapids, Iowa KOCR-TV 28 Fox Broadcasting Company
February 8 Honolulu, Hawaii KFVE 9 Independent
Jamestown/Valley City, North Dakota KJRR 7 Fox
Orlando, Florida WCEU 15 PBS
February 13 Kansas City, Missouri KMCI-TV 38 HSN
February 22 Kingman, Arizona KMOH-TV 6 Independent
March Heiskell/Knoxville, Tennessee W12BU 12 Independent [23]
March 1 Brainerd, Minnesota KAWB 22 PBS
March 7 Greensboro, North Carolina W14AU 14 Independent
March 11 Charlotte, North Carolina W53AO 53
March 13 Waco, Texas KXXV 25 NBC
March 28 Indianapolis, Indiana W27AR 27 Independent
April 3 Wichita, Kansas KAAS-TV 17 Fox
April 11 Raleigh, North Carolina WYED 17 Independent
April 29 Arecibo, Puerto Rico WATX-TV 54 Religious ind.
May Steamboat Springs, Colorado KSBS-TV 10 Telemundo
May 18 Houston, Texas KUYA 22 TBN
May 20 Panama City, Florida WPGX 28 Fox
May 25 Washington, D.C. W14AA 14 Univision
June 1 Kenosha/Milwaukee, Wisconsin WHKE Religious ind.
June 8 Indianapolis, Indiana WBUU 69 Educational ind.
July 22 Panama City, Florida WFSG-TV 56 PBS
South Bend, Indiana W12BK 12 Independent LPTV translator of WCIU-TV
August 19 Phoenix, Arizona K69HJ 69 Independent
August 20 Denver, Colorado KWBI-TV 41 Religious ind.
August 29 Amarillo, Texas KACV-TV 2 PBS
September 1 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas KFWD 52 Telemundo
Denton, Texas
(Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas) 		KDTN 2 PBS
September 24 Buffalo, New York WTJA-TV 26 Independent[a]
October 3 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma KSBI 52 Independent
October 15 Lexington, Kentucky WLKT-TV 62
October 18 Odessa/Midland, Texas KMLM-TV 42 Gods Learning Channel
November 1 Milwaukee, Wisconsin WDJT-TV Independent
November 28 Rapid City, South Dakota K15AC 15 CBS
December Orlando, Florida WKCF 18 Independent
Washington, D.C. W42AJ 43 Telemundo
December 1 Denver, Colorado KTVD 20 Independent
Pine Bluff/Little Rock, Arkansas KVTN-TV 25 Religious ind.
December 9 Brooklyn/New York City, New York W54AY 54 unknown
December 17 Riverside, California (Los Angeles) KSLD 62 Asian independent
December 23 Cheyenne, Wyoming KLWY 27 Fox
December 27 Bloomington, Indiana WIIB 63 HSN
December 30 Williamsport, Pennsylvania
(Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 		WDZA 53 Fox
December 31 Lebanon, Kentucky K06AY 6 Independent
Unknown date Buffalo, New York W58AV 58 Channel America
Key West, Florida WETV 13 Educational independent
Kona, Hawaii KSHQ 6 Independent
Manchester, New Hampshire W13BG 13 FamilyNet
Morehead City, North Carolina WFXI 8 Fox
Springfield, Massachusetts W42AU 42 TBN
Tampa, Florida WBHS 62 Home Shopping Network
West Palm Beach, Florida W19AQ 19 Independent
Wichita Falls, Texas K35BO 35

Stations changing network affiliation

Market Date Station Channel Prior affiliation New affiliation
Columbia, South Carolina June 11 WACH 57 Independent Fox
Concord, New Hampshire February 1 WNHT 21 Independent CBS
Davenport, Iowa January 6 KLJB-TV 18 Fox Independent
Erie, Pennsylvania May 23 WETG 66 Independent Fox
Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina
(Anderson, South Carolina)		 August 29 WHNS 21
WAXA 40 Fox Independent
Jacksonville, Florida April 3 WTLV 12 ABC NBC
WJKS-TV 17 NBC ABC
Johnstown/Altoona, Pennsylvania August 27 WATM-TV 23 Fox ABC
Omaha, Nebraska August 28 KPTM 42 Independent Fox
Knoxville, Tennessee September 10 WBIR-TV 10 CBS NBC
WTVK 26 NBC CBS
Laredo, Texas October 31 KLDO-TV 27 ABC Univision
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota August 29 KMSP-TV 9 Fox Independent
KITN-TV 29 Independent Fox
Portland, Oregon
(Vancouver, Washington)		 KPTV 12 Fox Independent
KPDX 49 Independent Fox
Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida WFTS-TV 28 Independent Fox
WTOG 44 Fox Independent

Station closures

Date City of license/Market Station Channel Affiliation Sign-on date Notes
April 8 Natchez, Mississippi WNTZ-TV 33 Independent November 16, 1985 Would return to the air in 1991 as a Fox affiliate
May 31 Hot Springs, Arkansas KRZB-TV 26 Independent February 7, 1986

Notes

  1. ^ WTJA was previously on the air from 1966 to 1969 as WNYP-TV.

Births

Date Name Notability
January 3 Karl Glusman Actor
January 7 Haley Bennett Actress and singer
Robert Sheehan Actor
January 8 Lily Nicksay Actress (Boy Meets World)
January 12 Andrew Lawrence Actor (Brotherly Love, Oliver Beene, Hawaii Five-0, voice of T.J. Detweiler on Recess (1998–2001))
January 18 Ashleigh Murray Actress (Riverdale)
January 21 John Early Actor
January 22 Nick Palatas Actor
January 28 Alexandra Krosney Actress (Last Man Standing)
January 30 Rob Pinkston Actor (Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide)
February 2 Zosia Mamet Actress
February 4 Charlie Barnett Actor (Chicago Fire)
February 6 Bailey Hanks Actress and singer
David Boyd Singer
Anna Diop Senegalese-American actress (Titans)
February 8 Ryan Pinkston Actor (Quintuplets, Tower Prep)
February 11 Jazz Raycole Actress (My Wife and Kids)
February 15 Jessica De Gouw Australian actress (Dracula)
February 18 Maiara Walsh Actress (Desperate Housewives, Cory in the House)
Sarah Sutherland Actress (Veep)
Shane Lyons Actor (All That)
February 19 Stacie Chan Voice actress (Jackie Chan Adventures)
February 20 Rihanna Singer and actress (Bates Motel)
Tracy Spiridakos Actress
February 22 Marieve Herington Actress
February 24 Alexander Koch Actor (Under the Dome)
February 29 Reilly Dolman Actor
Joel Kim Booster Actor
March 1 Katija Pevec Actress (Just for Kicks)
March 3 Josh Duggar Actor (19 Kids and Counting) and television personality
March 8 Kendrick Sampson Actor
March 10 Ego Nwodim Actress
March 22 Tania Raymonde Actress (Lost, Death Valley)
March 24 Finn Jones English actor (Game of Thrones)
Nick Lashaway American actor (died 2016)
March 25 Ryan Lewis Rapper
Erik Knudsen Actor
March 27 Brenda Song Actress (100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, The Suite Life on Deck, Scandal, New Girl, Dads, Pure Genius), voice actress (American Dragon: Jake Long, Miles from Tomorrowland, Amphibia)
Holliday Grainger English actress (Where the Heart Is, The Borgias)
April 2 Francesca Catalano Actress (Just for Kicks)
Jesse Plemons Actor
April 4 Maggie Geha Actress (Gotham)
April 7 Ed Speleers Actor
April 10 Haley Joel Osment Actor (Thunder Alley, The Jeff Foxworthy Show)
Molly Bernard Actress
April 13 Allison Williams Actress (Girls) and singer
Katie Lucas Actress
April 14 Chris Wood Actor (The Vampire Diaries, Containment)
April 15 Benedict Samuel Actor
April 18 Kayleigh McEnany Political commentator and former White House Press Secretary (CNN, Fox News)
Nicolette Robinson Actress
April 21 Christoph Sanders Actor (Ghost Whisperer, Last Man Standing)
Robbie Amell Canadian actor (True Jackson, VP, The Tomorrow People, The Flash)
April 23 Carla Quevedo Argentine actress (Show Me a Hero)
April 25 Sara Paxton Actress (SpongeBob SquarePants, Greetings from Tucson, Summerland, Darcy's Wild Life) and singer
April 27 Austin Amelio Actor
April 30 Ana de Armas Cuban actress (The Boarding School)
May 1 Nicholas Braun Actor (10 Things I Hate About You)
May 4 LaRoyce Hawkins Actor
May 5 Brooke Hogan Actress (Hogan Knows Best)
Adele Singer
May 8 Trisha Paytas Singer
May 11 Danielle Pinnock Actress
May 16 Behati Prinsloo Model
May 17 Nikki Reed Actress
May 19 Zack Pearlman Actor
May 22 Heida Reed Actress
May 24 Kimberley Crossman New Zealand-born actress
Callie Hernandez Actress
June 2 Amber Marshall Canadian actress
Zuri Hall Actress
June 6 Kristen Gutoskie Canadian actress
June 7 Michael Cera Canadian actor (Arrested Development)
June 9 Mae Whitman Actress (Arrested Development, Parenthood, Good Girls), voice actress (Johnny Bravo, Teacher's Pet, American Dragon: Jake Long, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Family Guy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DC Super Hero Girls)
June 11 Claire Holt Actress (H2O: Just Add Water, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Aquarius)
June 12 Cody Horn Actress
June 13 Cody Walker Actor
June 14 Kara Kilmer Actress (Chicago Fire)
Kevin McHale Actor (Glee) and singer
June 20 Shefali Chowdhury Actress (Harry Potter)
June 22 Portia Doubleday Actress (Mr. Sunshine, Mr. Robot)
Karla Crome Actress
June 24 Candice Patton Actress (The Game, The Flash)
June 27 Alanna Masterson Actress (The Young and the Restless, First Day, The Walking Dead)
June 30 Sean Marquette Actor (Titus, The Goldbergs), voice actor (Johnny Bravo, Rocket Power, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)
July 1 Evan Ellingson Actor (Complete Savages CSI: Miami)
July 6 Brittany Underwood Actress (One Life to Live, Hollywood Heights) and singer
Cody Fern Actor
July 10 Heather Hemmens Actress
Katie Pavlich American conservative commentator
July 12 Ta'Rhonda Jones Actress (Empire) and rapper
July 13 Colton Haynes Actor (Teen Wolf, Arrow)
Steven R. McQueen Actor (The Vampire Diaries, Chicago Fire)
July 15 Aimee Carrero Dominican actress (Level Up, Young & Hungry, Elena of Avalor, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)
July 20 Julianne Hough Singer and actress (Dancing with the Stars)
Chloe Fineman Actress
July 24 Joe Pera Actor
July 26 Francia Raisa Actress (The Secret Life of the American Teenager)
July 30 Nico Tortorella Actor (Make It or Break It, Younger)
July 31 Charlie Carver Actor (Teen Wolf)
August 1 Max Carver Actor (Desperate Housewives, Teen Wolf)
Sasha Jackson British actress
August 3 Christine Ko Actress
August 12 Leah Pipes Actress (Life is Wild, The Deep End, The Originals) and singer
August 16 Kevin Schmidt Actor (The Young and the Restless, Unnatural History)
Rumer Willis Actress (Dancing with the Stars season 20 [winner]) and daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore
Parker Young Actor
August 17 Brady Corbet Actor
August 19 Cody Ross Pitts Actor
August 23 Kim Matula Actress (The Bold and the Beautiful)
August 26 Danielle Savre Actress (Summerland, Heroes, Kaya, Too Close to Home)
Evan Ross Actor
August 27 Alexa PenaVega Actress (Life's Work, Ladies Man, Ruby & The Rockits) and singer
August 28 Shalita Grant Actress (NCIS: New Orleans, Mercy Street)
September 1 Angus McLaren Australian actress (H2O: Just Add Water)
Vaneza Pitynski Actress (The Brothers García)
September 6 Max George British actor (The Wanted) and singer
September 15 Chloe Dykstra Actress
Chelsea Kane Actress (Jonas, Fish Hooks, Baby Daddy) and singer
September 19 Katrina Bowden Actress (30 Rock, Public Morals)
September 20 Clark James Gable Actor (died 2019)
September 23 Bryan Hearne Actor (All That)
September 24 Kyle Sullivan Actor (Malcolm in the Middle, Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?, Fillmore!, All That, The War at Home)
September 26 James Blake Singer
September 28 Olivia Jordan Actress, model, television host, Miss USA 2015
Hana Mae Lee Actress
October 1 Cariba Heine Actress (H2O: Just Add Water)
October 2 Laura Rutledge Reporter and host for ESPN
October 3 Alicia Vikander Actress (Second Avenue)
October 4 Melissa Benoist Actress (Glee, Supergirl) and singer
October 5 Bobby Edner Actor
October 10 Rose McIver Actress (iZombie)
October 14 MacKenzie Mauzy Actress (Guiding Light, The Bold and the Beautiful, Forever)
Max Thieriot Actor
October 17 Dee Jay Daniels Actor (The Hughleys)
October 19 Parveen Kaur Actress
October 21 Glen Powell Actor (Scream Queens)
Mark Rendall Canadian voice actor (Arthur, The Save-Ums!, Time Warp Trio, Wayside)
October 28 Devon Murray Actor (Harry Potter)
October 29 Cherilyn Wilson Actress (I Heart Vampires, Greetings from Home)
October 30 Janel Parrish Actress (Pretty Little Liars)
November 2 Lindze Letherman Actress (General Hospital)
November 3 Angus McLaren Australian actor (Neighbours, H2O: Just Add Water)
November 6 Emma Stone Actress (Drive)
November 7 Reid Ewing Actor (Modern Family)
November 8 Jessica Lowndes Actress (90210) and singer
November 9 Nikki Blonsky Actress (Huge) and singer
November 11 Alexandra Kyle Actress
November 22 Jamie Campbell Bower Actor
November 25 Abby Phillip American journalist
November 26 Tamsin Egerton English actress (Camelot)
November 28 Scarlett Pomers Actress (Reba)
November 29 Russell Wilson Football quarterback
November 30 Rebecca Rittenhouse Actress (Red Band Society, Blood & Oil)
December 1 Ashley Monique Clark Actress (The Hughleys)
Zoë Kravitz Actress
Nadia Hilker Actress
December 2 Alfred Enoch Actor (Harry Potter, How to Get Away With Murder)
December 3 Jamie Erdahl Reporter
December 5 Ross Bagley Actor
December 11 Ashley Hinshaw Actress and model
Allie LaForce Model
December 14 Vanessa Hudgens Actress (High School Musical, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) and singer
December 15 Emily Head English actress (The Inbetweeners)
December 16 Anna Popplewell English actress (Reign)
December 21 Teresa Ruiz Actress
Shelley Regner Actress

Deaths

Date Name Age Notability
January 3 William Cagney 82 Actor
February 1 Heather O'Rourke 12 Actress (Poltergeist, Happy Days)
February 17 Alexander Bashlachev 27 Soviet singer
March 10 Andy Gibb 30 Singer (Solid Gold)
April 5 Alf Kjellin 68 Actor and director
April 25 Carolyn Franklin 43 Singer
April 27 David Scarboro 20 English actor (EastEnders)
May 15 Andrew Duggan 64 Character actor (Lancer)
May 21 Sammy Davis Sr. 87 Dancer
May 18 Daws Butler 71 Voice actor (The Jetsons, several animated commercials)
May 27 Florida Friebus 78 Actress (The Bob Newhart Show, Dobie Gillis)
June 25 Hillel Slovak 26 Israeli-American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
July 21 Jack Clark 62 Game show announcer (Wheel of Fortune)
July 25 Judith Barsi 10 Child actress
July 31 Trinidad Silva 38 Actor (Jesus Martinez on Hill Street Blues), in a car accident
September 11 John Sylvester White 68 Actor (Welcome Back, Kotter)
September 29 Charles Addams 76 Cartoonist whose drawings inspired (The Addams Family)
October 11 Wayland Flowers 48 Puppeteer (Madame's Place)
October 31 John Houseman 86 Actor (The Paper Chase, Silver Spoons)
December 6 Timothy Patrick Murphy 29 Actor (Dallas)
December 12 Dick Clair 57 Comedy writer (The Carol Burnett Show, The Facts of Life)
December 20 Max Robinson 49 ABC World News correspondent
December 27 Jess Oppenheimer 75 Comedy writer who created (I Love Lucy)

See also

References

  1. ^ Whelchel, Lisa (2001). The Facts of Life: And Other Lessons My Father Taught Me. Multnomah Books. pp. 35–37. ISBN 1-576-73858-2.
  2. ^ "Facts of Life Site: Ratings History".
  3. ^ "Print ad promoting the move to channel 11" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1988-04-11. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  4. ^ Willman, Chris (June 5, 1988). "'Dune II: The Re-edit'". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ Erica Davison; Annette Sheen (2004). The Cinema of David Lynch: American Dreams, Nightmare Visions. Wallflower Press. p. 207. ISBN 190336485X. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  6. ^ "Y&R Marks 26 Years As The Number #1 Daytime Drama!". michaelfairmansoaps.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  7. ^ "The last time Cincinnati hosted the MLB All-Star Game, things got weird". The Sporting News. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-07-21.
  8. ^ "About WBIR in Knoxville". wbir.com.
  9. ^ Nidetz, Steve (September 23, 1988). "ABC SPORTS HONCHO IS IN PURSUIT OF GRAPHIC CHANGES". Chicago Tribune.
  10. ^ The ABC baseball theme, 1988-'89 on YouTube
  11. ^ Foster, Jason (September 19, 2015). "The 9 best network baseball theme songs of all time, ranked". Sporting News.
  12. ^ Robinson, Doug (October 28, 2002). "Kurt Bestor: Private discord, public acclaim". Deseret News.
  13. ^ "WMGT-41's World Series hijacking incident". The Atlanta Constitution. October 15, 1988. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  14. ^ "King Solomon's Mines". IMDb.
  15. ^ "King Solomon's Mines". IMDb.
  16. ^ "A Billion-Dollar Bid By CBS Wins Rights To Baseball Games". The New York Times. December 15, 1988.
  17. ^ Downey, Kevin (18 April 2002). "Waning days of big $ TV sports". Media Life. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015.
  18. ^ "Baseball to CBS; NBC Strikes Out : ABC Also Falls Short as 4-Year Package Goes for $1 Billion". Los Angeles Times. December 15, 1988.
  19. ^ Shames, Laurence (23 July 1989). "CBS HAS WON THE WORLD SERIES......NOW IT COULD LOSE ITS SHIRT". The New York Times.
  20. ^ Erardi, Luckhaupt, John, Joel (29 September 2010). The Wire-to-Wire Reds: Sweet Lou, Nasty Boys, and the Wild Run to a World ... Clerisy Press. p. 40. ISBN 9781578604661.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Ernest Cashmore (1994). And There Was Television. Taylor & Francis. p. 146. ISBN 9780415091305.
  22. ^ "Y&R Celebrates 27 Consecutive Years As Daytime's No. 1 Drama". CBS.com.
  23. ^ 1992 Television Factbook, page B-91.

External links

1988 in television
Years in television
Categories