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1989 in American television

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The year 1989 in television involved some significant events. This is a list of notable events in the United States.

Notable events

Date Event
January 1 A complicated, six-station network affiliation swap takes place in two South Florida markets. In Miami, WTVJ moves to NBC from CBS, WCIX (now WFOR-TV) moves to CBS from Fox, and WSVN moves to Fox from NBC. Meanwhile, in West Palm Beach, WPEC switches from ABC to CBS, WTVX leaves CBS to become an independent, and ABC station WPBF signs on this day. The swaps result from NBC's acquisition of WTVJ in 1987, and CBS's acquisition of WCIX in August 1988. The switches in West Palm Beach are accomplished due to WCIX's weak signal in Broward County.[1][2]
NBC's station in Tampa, WXFL reclaims the WFLA-TV call letters.
The Karen Carpenter Story, a made-for-television biographical film about singer Karen Carpenter and the brother-and-sister pop music duo of which she was a part, The Carpenters is broadcast on CBS. The movie was popular in the ratings; it was the highest-rated two-hour TV movie of the year and the third highest rated such program on any network during the 1980s.
January 3 The Arsenio Hall Show premieres in first-run syndication. Brooke Shields, Luther Vandross, and Leslie Nielsen appear as guests.
January 7 The television version of the 1983 film Scarface premieres on ABC.[3] 32 minutes of violence, profanity and sex were edited out, and much of the dialogue was muted or replaced with less offensive alternatives.[4]
January 8 Universal Pictures releases a cut of the 1985 film Brazil for airing on their syndicated film package, the Debut Network. Running 93 minutes (as opposed to the 142 minute-long theatrical cut), it was a heavily modified version that remained true to Universal's then-COO Sid Sheinberg's preferred cut of the film (which modified the dark sci-fi satire into an uplifting romance, complete with a happy ending), and was subsequently given the nickname "The Love Conquers All Cut." How this version managed to get released remains a mystery; director Terry Gilliam said that Universal asked him to make an edited-for-television cut of the film and he refused. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Gilliam sarcastically complimented Sheinberg for "[getting] a chance to break into TV," but was angry that Universal didn't take his name off the TV cut and also criticized advertisements for the Debut Network premiere of Brazil which used the same critical praise that was given to his version.[5] In an interview with Jack Matthews in an updated version of his book The Battle of Brazil, Sheinberg claimed he had no idea how his cut leaked out, and said that he wasn't the one who ordered that cut to be released.
January 9 Pat Sajak quits the daytime version of the series Wheel of Fortune for a CBS late night talk show while remaining host of the nighttime version. His daytime hosting role will be assumed by Rolf Benirschke, then by Bob Goen when Wheel switches networks from NBC to CBS that July.
January 15 Fox airs an episode of Married... with Children called "Her Cups Runneth Over", which would soon become the main source of Terry Rakolta's moral boycott campaign against the show.
January 21 Mike Myers joins the cast of the NBC series Saturday Night Live.
January 22 Super Bowl XXII from Miami's Joe Robbie Stadium is broadcast on NBC. This would be the last outdoor Super Bowl to start earlier than 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, as it started just after 5 p.m. The halftime show was titled "Be Bop Bamboozled in 3-D" and featured Elvis Presto, played by then-Solid Gold dancer Alex Cole, and hundreds of South Florida-area dancers and performers.[6] Ironically, not one actual Elvis Presley song was performed.[7] Several scenes included computer generated 3-D images. Prior to the game, Coca-Cola distributed 3-D glasses at retailers for viewers to use. At the onset of the halftime show, primary sponsor Diet Coke aired the first commercial in 3-D. Coca-Cola had originally planned to use the 3-D Diet Coke commercial as part of the Moonlighting season finale, which was also aired in 3-D, but withdrew plans due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America Strike.
February 5 On the NBC sitcom Day by Day, six cast members from The Brady Bunch (Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Ann B. Davis, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, and Mike Lookinland) reunite.
The first part of the four part Western miniseries Lonesome Dove airs on CBS, drawing a huge viewing audience, earning numerous awards, and reviving both the television Western and the miniseries.
February 9 The second edition of the World Wrestling Federation's prime-time series The Main Event airs on NBC. This particular episode is most notable for Randy Savage turning on his tag team partner, Hulk Hogan and thus, setting up their match for Savage's WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania V on April 2. The live broadcast of The Main Event would draw an 11.6 rating and 19.9 million viewers.[8]
February 18 The first ever "Wayne's World" sketch featuring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar respectively, appears on NBC's Saturday Night Live.
February 20 Jane Wyman, an actress on the CBS drama series Falcon Crest, is rushed to the hospital, after suffering from diabetes and a liver ailment.
Charlie O'Donnell returned to Wheel of Fortune as the announcer, following a nine-year absence.
February 26 ABC broadcasts the made-for-television film Get Smart, Again!, which features Don Adams and Barbara Feldon reprising their characters of Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 from the 1965–1970 NBC/CBS sitcom Get Smart. The relative success of the film prompted the development of a short-lived (only seven episodes) 1995 weekly series on Fox, also titled Get Smart, with Adams and Feldon again reprising their characters.
February 27 CBS airs a pilot for a proposed series called What's Alan Watching?, starring Corin Nemec as the titular Alan, a 17-year-old couch potato who views life, and his family, as if they were on television. The pilot was produced by Eddie Murphy, who also cameos in it as not only a protester decrying James Brown's incarceration, but Brown himself. While CBS ultimately passes on making it a regular series, What's Alan Watching? did win the Television Critics Association's TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials.
March 2 Pepsi's controversial advertisement with Madonna and her song "Like a Prayer" airs during NBC's showing of The Cosby Show. The same ad was run on ITV in the UK, 12 minutes into The Bill.
March 10 The series finale of Webster has the eponymous character being transported to the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Michael Dorn guest stars as Lt. Worf.
March 13 The weekday version of Yo! MTV Raps, hosted by Ed Lover and Doctor Dré debuts.
March 19 Return of the Jedi makes its network broadcast television premiere on NBC.
The Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 is broadcast on ABC. The broadcast is notable because Dr. Jerry Punch, who was reporting from the pit stall of Richard Petty when a fire broke out, proceeded to treat on the spot, two injured crew members. Following the incident, in which several items of Punch's clothing were singed or melted, ESPN mandated that its pit reporters wear fire-retardant suits. Other networks have since adopted the practice.[9]
March 24 For the first time since 1973, NBC reruns the 1960 telecast of Peter Pan, with Mary Martin in the title role. Earlier that day, two of the network's game shows, Sale of the Century and Super Password, aired their final episodes. The following Monday, NBC will return the noon time slot to its affiliates.
March 25 Elvis Costello appears as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. It's the first time that Costello appeared on SNL in 12 years. Costello had been temporarily banned from appearing on SNL in 1977 after he had abruptly switched songs live against the wishes of his record company and SNL. In 1977, he had originally been scheduled to perform his debut single "Less Than Zero", instead of "Radio Radio", which criticized the commercialization of broadcasting.
March 29 The 61st Academy Awards ceremony is broadcast on ABC. Despite the best Nielsen ratings in five years, it proved to be a career disaster for producer Allan Carr, culminating in the infamous pairing of Snow White (played by Eileen Bowman) and Rob Lowe singing a parody of "Proud Mary." The telecast also included a production number featuring what was introduced as "The Stars of Tomorrow" doing a number entitled "I Wanna Be An Oscar Winner" with all the participants being actors and actresses ranging from the age group of late teens to mid-20s. Due largely to the show's opening number, and despite the show's stellar Nielsen ratings, the show became a laughing-stock and went down in history as one of the worst moments in awards show and television history. The telecast was also remembered for being the final public appearance of actress and comedian Lucille Ball, where she and co-presenter Bob Hope were given a standing ovation.[10] On April 26, almost a month after the ceremony, she died from a dissecting aortic aneurysm at age 77.[11]
April 1 Nickelodeon celebrates its 10th anniversary with the debut of its new Sunday morning variety show Total Panic.
April 8 After a ten-month hiatus,[12] American Bandstand reemerges on the USA Network. David Hirsch took over hosting duties from Dick Clark (who remained on as executive producer) and Bandstand moved outdoors to Universal Studios Hollywood. After 26 weeks on USA, Bandstand signed off for good on October 7, 1989, with The Cover Girls as the final musical guests.
April 30 Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, the second made-for-television reunion film that featured Lee Majors as Steve Austin and Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers is broadcast on NBC. It is also notably the first television appearance of actress Sandra Bullock and the first film which strongly featured her.
May 7 The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, the second film to be based on the 1978–1982 television series, airs on NBC. As was the case with The Incredible Hulk Returns and Thor, this television movie also acted as a backdoor television pilot for a series, in this case, for Daredevil (which was also not produced).[13][14]
May 8 Top Gun makes its broadcast network television debut on NBC.
May 11 In the series finale of the ABC drama Dynasty, Blake Carrington, Alexis Colby, Dex Dexter, and Fallon Carrington Colby are stuck in mortal peril.
NBC airs a pilot for a proposed spin-off of 227 centered on Jackée Harry's character Sandra Clark. The pilot however, was not picked up for a series and Jackée subsequently left 227. She would however, later guest star in seven of the final season's episodes.
May 14 NBC broadcasts the series finale of Family Ties followed by the network television premiere of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
May 14–25 SportsChannel America airs the first of four consecutive Stanley Cup Finals.
May 18 Donna Mills makes her final regular appearance as villainess Abby Cunningham on the CBS drama Knots Landing.
May 20 Original Saturday Night Live cast member, Gilda Radner succumbs to ovarian cancer at the age of 42. News of Radner's death broke as Steve Martin was rehearsing to act as the guest host for that night's season finale of SNL. Martin's planned opening monologue was scrapped; in its place a visibly upset Martin introduced a video clip of a 1978 sketch in which he and Radner had parodied Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in a well-known dance routine from The Band Wagon (1953).[15] After the clip, Martin said it reminded him of "how great she was and of how young I looked. Gilda, we miss you."
May 21 The two-hour long series finale of Miami Vice airs on NBC. There would however be three "lost episodes" that would be broadcast on NBC over the course of June 1989. A fourth and final "lost episode" entitled "Too Much, Too Late" was instead first broadcast on the USA Network in January 1990, due to its graphic content and a plot vividly involving child molestation.
June 3 Vin Scully does the play-by-play for the NBC Game of the Week in St. Louis, where the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers are playing a series in Houston, where Scully flies to be on hand to call the Sunday game of the series. However, the Saturday night game between the teams is going into extra innings when Scully arrives in town, so he goes to the Astrodome instead of his hotel. He picks up the play-by-play, helping to relieve the other Dodger announcers, who are doing both television and radio, and broadcasts the final 13 innings (after already calling 10 innings in St. Louis), as the game went 22 innings. He broadcast 23 innings in one day in two different cities.
June 5 For the start of 1989 NBA Finals,[16] CBS completely revamps their opening montage for their NBA broadcasts. The computer-generated imagery (once again set in and around a virtual arena) was made to look more realistic (live-action footage was incorporated in the backdrops). Also, the familiar theme music (an uptempo series of four notes and three bars composed by Allyson Bellink since the 1983 NBA Finals) each was rearranged[17] to sound more intricate and to have a more emotional impact, along the lines of the network's later World Series coverage. Between the 1989 NBA Finals and the 1990 NBA Finals' intros, the theme music was slightly revised; the 1989 Finals intro incorporated more of a guitar riff, while the 1990 Finals intro featured a little more usage of trumpets.
June 8 After broadcasting Major League Baseball games on Monday nights since 1976, ABC launches eight weeks worth of games on Thursday nights, beginning with coverage of the New York Mets against the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres against the Houston Astros.
July 1 In Rochester, New York, NBC affiliate WROC-TV and CBS affiliate WHEC-TV swap affiliations. NBC cites WROC-TV's struggling news ratings as the reason for the switch.[18]
July 4 CBS airs the pilot for a proposed adaptation of the 1988 film Coming to America as an installment for the Summer Showcase anthology series.
July 5 The pilot episode of Seinfeld airs on NBC.
July 7 CBS airs an unsold pilot for a proposed sitcom based on the 1987 film Adventures in Babysitting.
July 11 Former President of the United States Ronald Reagan joins NBC's Vin Scully on commentary for the 1st inning of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
July 17 "Shades of Gray", which is the second season finale for Star Trek: The Next Generation, is broadcast in syndication. The episode is notable for being the only time that the series produced what constituted a clip show. This was done as a means of meeting a budget shortfall at season's end due to prior episodes that had cost overruns. The episode also marked the final appearance of the character Dr. Katherine Pulaski (portrayed by Diana Muldaur) and the original Type A TNG Starfleet uniforms, which were introduced in Season 1.
July 18 My Sister Sam star Rebecca Schaeffer is shot and killed by Robert John Bardo, an obsessed fan who had been stalking her.
August 14 Cliff and Nina Warner marry one another for the fourth (and seemingly final) time on the ABC soap opera All My Children, a record that has not been matched for soap operas.
August 23 One year after acquiring the rights to broadcast the 1992 Winter Olympics from Albertville, France, CBS also wins the rights to broadcast the 1994 Winter Olympics from Lillehammer, Norway after bidding $300 million.
August 24 In a press conference that is carried live on CNN and ESPN, Major League Baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti states that to preserve the integrity of the game of baseball, Pete Rose is banned from the game for life for gambling on baseball. One week after the announcement, Giamatti would die of a massive heart attack at the age of 51.
August 27 The television film L.A. Takedown airs on NBC. Originally filmed as an unsuccessful pilot for a television series, producer and screenwriter Michael Mann would later use L.A. Takedown as the basis for the 1995 film Heat.
September 1 WUTV in Buffalo officially dropped its Fox affiliation, and moved its Fox affiliation over to WNYB-TV. This was because it was disappointed with the network's weak prime time programming offerings.[19]
September 4 The Family Channel debuts its children programming block Fun Town.
September 16 A pilot for a proposed X-Men animated series is first broadcast in syndication. It would take another three years before an X-Men series would be fully realized.
September 22 ABC debuts TGIF from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., a new programming block for Friday nights with four shows (Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, and Just the Ten of Us), it also includes interstitial hosts. This block would become a ratings hit throughout the 1990s, lasting until 2000.
September 24 NBC broadcasts Saturday Night Live's 15th anniversary special.
September 30 NBC broadcasts its final Major League Baseball Game of the Week (before the program is transferred to CBS). NBC had broadcast the Game of the Week since 1957 and exclusively since 1966. Bob Costas and Tony Kubek called the action from Toronto's SkyDome, as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Baltimore Orioles to clinch the American League East Division title.
October 1 NBC affiliate KPOM-TV (now KFTA-TV) in Fort Smith, Arkansas signs-on full-time satellite KFAA-TV (now KNWA-TV) in Rogers to solve transmission problems resulting from its status as an UHF station in a mountainous area. (KFTA-TV will disaffiliate from NBC and join Fox in 2006.)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom makes its network broadcast television debut on ABC.
October 6 Jane Wyman's medical leave due to her diabetes and liver ailment is written into Falcon Crest, when her character, Angela Channing, is put in a coma.
October 9 The San Francisco Giants defeat the Chicago Cubs in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series to go to the World Series for the first time since 1962. This was also NBC's final Major League Baseball telecast (with Vin Scully and Tom Seaver on the call), having broadcast the sport in some shape or form since 1947. As previously mentioned, the primary network TV package was moving to CBS beginning in 1990. NBC wouldn't broadcast baseball again until the 1994 All-Star Game.
October 17 Four minutes into ABC's broadcast of Game 3 of the World Series, the Lome Prieta earthquake occurred, forcing a ten-day delay of the series. As a consequence of the Loma Prieta earthquake, ABC aired repeat episodes of Roseanne and The Wonder Years amid the initial uncertainty as to whether Game 3 would take place as scheduled; an extended ABC News Special Report – anchored by Ted Koppel from the news division's Washington, D.C. bureau, with Al Michaels (who served as the play-by-play commentator for ABC's World Series coverage that year alongside Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver) acting as a de facto reporter – on the earthquake's immediate aftermath followed those two programs.
October 19–23 Contestant Diane Landry won an accumulated $129,370 cash & prizes over three episodes of air in Wheel of Fortune, which at the time set an all-time winnings record for the show. At the time, the backdrop chyron displays in only five digits due to a game show winnings cap, and host Pat Sajak taped a "$1" cardboard next to the display to accommodate the new total. This scene has been featured in various clip shows videos.
October 26 WSNR-TV, an independent station launches on the air in Syracuse, New York.
October 27 Jane Pauley announces that she will be stepping down as co-anchor of NBC's Today (after 13 years on the air) at the end of the year (with Pauley's last day being on December 29). Today's news reader Deborah Norville is immediately announced as Pauley's successor.
October 28 The World Series finally concludes with the Oakland Athletics sweeping the San Francisco Giants in four games. This would be ABC's final baseball telecast, having covered the sport consecutively since 1976. Like NBC, ABC would lose their baseball package completely to CBS beginning in 1990. ABC would next broadcast Major League Baseball in 1994, when they formed a joint-venture with Major League Baseball and NBC called The Baseball Network.
November 4 The NBA on TNT debuts.
November 7 An episode of the ABC drama Thirtysomething generates a great deal of controversy because it depicts two men in bed together after having had sex. Even though the actors were forbidden to touch each other while in bed together, the controversy proves too much for a number of advertisers, who pull their commercials from the episode. ABC ultimately withdraws the episode from rotation for rebroadcast.
November 9 The National Basketball Association[20][21] and NBC[22] reaches an agreement on a four-year, US$600 million contract[23] (beginning in the 1990–1991 season), ending CBS' tenure with the NBA after 17 years.
November 16 Michael Jackson makes a surprise appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show during Hall's interview with Eddie Murphy.
December 2 Disney purchases Los Angeles independent station KHJ-TV from RKO General, and renames it to KCAL-TV.
December 15 Steve Urkel makes his first appearance on Family Matters.
December 17 Fox broadcasts the series premiere of The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", which also acts as a Christmas special. The new series is a spin-off of a series of animated sketches that had previously aired on The Tracey Ullman Show. The series proves to be an early hit for Fox, scoring the network's first Nielsen top 30 entry.[24]
December 18 A seldom-seen 1956 Christmas special episode of I Love Lucy is re-broadcast by CBS.

Programs

Debuting this year

The following is a list of shows that premiered in 1989.

Date Title Network
January 3 The Arsenio Hall Show Syndication
January 7 Bordertown CBN Family Channel
USA Up All Night USA Network
January 9 Inside Edition Syndication
The Pat Sajak Show CBS
January 18 A Fine Romance ABC
January 20 Father Dowling Mysteries NBC
January 21 Dolphin Cove CBS
Nightingales NBC
January 23 Couch Potatoes Syndication
January 24 Studio 5-B ABC
January 28 A Man Called Hawk
Long Ago and Far Away PBS
January 29 Shining Time Station
February 3 Unsub NBC
February 28 Coach ABC
March 1 Hard Time on Planet Earth CBS
March 7 Anything but Love ABC
March 11 COPS Fox
March 20 Heartland CBS
Live-In
March 25 Men ABC
March 26 Quantum Leap NBC
March 27 Generations
April 2 Total Panic Nickelodeon
April 3 Top Card TNN
April 5 The Robert Guillaume Show ABC
April 10 Nearly Departed NBC
April 13 Dream Street
April 14 The Jim Henson Hour
April 18 Rescue 911 CBS
Have Faith ABC
April 22 Jesse Hawkes CBS
May 1 Think Fast! Nickelodeon
June 4 McGee and Me! Syndication
Shannon's Deal NBC
June 10 Tales from the Crypt HBO
July 5 Seinfeld NBC
July 10 Knight & Daye
July 14 Hey Dude Nickelodeon
August 3 Primetime Live ABC
August 12 Comic Strip Live Fox
August 17 FM NBC
August 20 Saved by the Bell
August 28 Open House Fox
September 2 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Syndication
September 4 Eureeka's Castle Nick Jr.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Syndication
September 5 The Joan Rivers Show
September 9 American Gladiators
Captain N: The Game Master NBC
The Karate Kid
Beetlejuice ABC
The Byron Allen Show Syndication
September 11 3rd Degree
September 12 Chicken Soup ABC
Life Goes On
September 13 Wolf CBS
September 16 The California Raisin Show
Dink, the Little Dinosaur
Island Son
Rude Dog & the Dweebs
Teen Summit BET
Ring Raiders Syndication
Camp Candy NBC
September 17 Sister Kate
Major Dad CBS
September 18 Alien Nation Fox
Everyday with Joan Lunden Syndication
Hard Copy
The Famous Teddy Z CBS
The People Next Door
September 20 Top of the Hill
A Peaceable Kingdom
Doogie Howser, M.D. ABC
The Young Riders
The Nutt House NBC
September 22 Baywatch
Hardball
Family Matters ABC
Free Spirit
Snoops CBS
September 23 Saturday Night with Connie Chung
September 24 Booker Fox
Homeroom ABC
October 2 Make the Grade Nickelodeon
October 13 Mancuso, F.B.I. NBC
November 26 America's Funniest Home Videos ABC
November 30 Ann Jillian NBC
December 3 True Blue
December 17 The Simpsons Fox
December 18 First Business Syndication

Resuming this year

Title Last aired Previous network New title Returning network Date of return
The Mickey Mouse Club 1979 Syndication The All-New Mickey Mouse Club Disney Channel April 24
You Can't Do That on Television 1987 Nickelodeon Same Same May 8

Ending this year

Date Title Debut
January 7 ALF: The Animated Series 1987
January 13 Ryan's Hope 1975
January 14 Snorks 1984
January 19 Knightwatch 1988
January 21 Dirty Dancing
Simon & Simon 1981
February 20 Almost Grown 1988
March 2 A Fine Romance 1989
March 9 Webster 1983
March 10 Finders Keepers 1987
March 11 Dolphin Cove 1989
March 18 Good Morning, Miss Bliss 1988
Murphy's Law
March 24 Sale of the Century 1969
Super Password 1984
March 25 TV 101 1988
March 31 Card Sharks (returned in 2001) 1978
April 1 She's the Sheriff 1987
April 8 It's a Living 1980
April 14 Unsub 1989
April 26 Nightingales
May 5 Brothers 1984
May 7 Duet 1989
May 11 Dynasty 1981
May 13 A Man Called Hawk 1989
May 14 Family Ties 1982
Moonlighting 1985
May 19 The Gong Show (returned in 2017) 1976
May 20 Small Wonder 1985
May 21 Miami Vice 1984
May 22 Kate & Allie
June 9 Wipeout 1988
Couch Potatoes 1989
June 16 Hollywood Squares (returned in 1998) 1966
June 21 Hard Time on Planet Earth 1989
June 23 Relatively Speaking 1988
June 25 Day by Day
July 14 Now You See It 1974
July 27 The Cavanaughs 1986
July 30 The Jim Henson Hour 1989
August 4 Highway to Heaven 1984
August 22 CBS Summer Playhouse 1987
August 24 The Equalizer 1985
September 2 Police Academy 1988
September 8 The Dating Game (returned in 1996) 1965
September 9 West 57th 1985
September 29 ThunderCats
October 7 American Bandstand 1952
October 9 Major League Baseball on NBC (returned in 1994) 1947
October 16 The People Next Door 1989
October 25 The Nutt House
October 28 Major League Baseball on ABC (returned in 1994) 1976
November 7 Chicken Soup 1989
November 15 A Peaceable Kingdom
November 30 The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Top of the Hill
December 1 The Legend of Zelda
December 2 The Smurfs 1981
December 9 The California Raisin Show 1989
December 16 The Karate Kid
Rude Dog & the Dweebs
December 17 Homeroom 1989

Entering syndication

Show Seasons In production Notes Sources
Day by Day 2 No Cable syndication on Lifetime.
The Equalizer 4 No Cable syndication on USA Network.
HeartBeat 2 No Cable syndication on Lifetime.
Highway to Heaven 5 No
Hollywood Squares 3 No Cable syndication on USA Network.
Jim Henson's Muppet Babies 5 Yes
Mr. Belvedere 5 Yes
Wipeout 1 No Cable syndication on USA Network.

Changing networks

Show Moved from Moved to
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers The Disney Channel Syndication
The Mickey Mouse Club Syndication The Disney Channel
American Bandstand USA Network
The Hitchhiker HBO
Mystery Science Theater 3000 KTMA The Comedy Channel
Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears NBC ABC
Wheel of Fortune CBS
Remote Control MTV Syndication/MTV

Made-for-TV movies and miniseries

Title Network Date of airing
The Karen Carpenter Story CBS January 1
The Brotherhood of the Rose NBC January 22 & 23
Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All CBS May 21

Networks and services

Launches

Network Type Launch date Notes Source
SportsChannel Ohio Cable television February 9
Midwest Sports Channel Cable television March 1
SportsChannel Los Angeles Cable television June 30
Prime Sports Midwest Cable television November
Prime Sports Network Utah Cable television November
The Comedy Channel Cable television November 15
All News Channel Satellite television November 30

Conversions and rebrandings

Old network name New network name Type Conversion Date Notes Source
Home Shopping Club Overnight Service Home Shopping SPREE Broadcast and cable television Unknown
SuperStation WTBS TBS Superstation Cable television Unknown
Tempo Television CNBC Cable television April 17

Closures

Network Type Closure date Notes Source
Kraft Golden Showcase Network Syndicated programming block Unknown

Television stations

Station launches

Date Market Station Channel Affiliation
January 1 West Palm Beach, Florida WPBF 25 ABC
January 4 Columbus, Ohio W23AZ 23 TBN
Detroit, Michigan W05BN 5 The Box
Hilo, Hawaii K45CT 45 CBS
(LPTV translator of KGMB, Honolulu)
Louisville, Kentucky W13BZ 13 The Box
Lubbock, Texas K22BG 22 Independent
January 15 Bowling Green, Kentucky WKYU-TV 24 PBS
January 21 Milwaukee, Wisconsin WJJA 49 HSN
January 23 Cookeville, Tennessee WMTT 28 Independent
January 26 Lima, Ohio W67CA 67 Fox
January 27 Klamath Falls/Medford, Oregon KFTS 22 PBS
January 31 Twin Falls, Idaho KKVI 35 ABC
February 2 Chicago, Illinois W54BE 54 Community Independent
February 6 Charlotte, North Carolina W23AP 23 Independent (primary)
America One (secondary)
February 10 Bellingham, Washington, USA
(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
KEGA 24 America's Collectables Network
February 12 Tallahassee, Florida WTLH 49 Fox
February 28 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania W59BT 59 Independent (primary)
All News Channel (secondary)
March 7 Indianapolis, Indiana W53AV 53 America One
March 19 New Orleans, Louisiana WCCL 49 Independent
March 30 Baton Rouge, Louisiana K65EF 65 Independent
April 2 St. Louis, Missouri K64DT 64 Daystar
April 3 Wilmington, North Carolina W10BZ 10 Independent
April 12 La Grange, Georgia W33AT 33
April 13 Gainesville, Florida W31AT 31 The Box
April 14 Salt Lake City, Utah KXIV 14 Independent
April 15 El Paso, Texas KSCE 38 Religious independent
April 20 Paradise/Las Vegas, Nevada KBLR 39 Independent
April 30 Kingsport/Bristol/Johnson City, Tennessee W30AP 30
May 3 Bloomington, Indiana W15AY 15 America One
May 8 Portland, Oregon KUTF 32 Independent
May 17 Bellevue/Seattle, Washington KWPX-TV 33 ValueVision
May 22 Cordele/Macon, Georgia WSST-TV 34 Independent
Waco, Texas KCTF 34 PBS
May 29 Detroit, Michigan WADL 38 Independent
Norfolk, Virginia WJCB 49 Religious independent
May 31 Tucson, Arizona K14HR 14 Independent
Monterey, California K67EU 67 Univision
San Francisco, California K22DD 22 TBN
June 16 Houston, Texas KTFH 49 Independent
July 9 San Antonio, Texas KHCE 23 Trinity Broadcasting Network (O&O)
July 13 Buffalo, New York W58AV 58 TLC
July 30 Las Vegas, Nevada KFBT 33 Independent
July 31 Iron Mountain/Marquette, Michigan WIIM-TV 8 TBN
Milwaukee, Wisconsin W46AR 63 Univision
August 7 Toledo, Ohio WT05 5 (cable-only) Independent
August 21 Greenville, South Carolina W58BQ 58 TBN
Lubbock, Texas K46CS 46 Telemundo
August 22 Wailuku, Hawaii KOGG 13 Fox
(satellite of KHNL, Honolulu)
August 23 Odessa/Midland, Texas K60EE 60 Telemundo
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania W29AV 29 The Box
August 28 Kansas City, Missouri K29CF 29 ValueVision
August 31 Detroit, Michigan W68CH 68 The Box
September 11 East St. Louis, Illinois
(St. Louis, Missouri)
WHSL-TV 46 HSN
September 27 Chicago, Illinois W04CK 4 The Box
October 1 Anchorage, Alaska KDMD 33 Independent
Fayetteville, Arkansas KFAA-TV 51 NBC
Hilo, Hawaii KWHH 14 Independent
Yakima, Washington K53CY 53 Fox
(as a semi-satellite of KAYU-TV, Spokane)
October 2 Key West, Florida WEYS 22 Independent
October 6 Traverse City, Michigan WFQX 33 Fox
October 26 Marion, Indiana W51BT 51 LeSEA/World Harvest Television
Milwaukee, Wisconsin W20AG 20 TBN
Syracuse, New York WSNR-TV 43 Independent
October 27 Klamath Falls/Medford, Oregon KDKF 31 ABC
(satellite of KDRV)
November 1 Morehead City, North Carolina
(Greenville/New Bern/Washington, NC)
WFXI 8 Fox
November 3 Flagstaff, Arizona K23FZ 23 3ABN
November 16 Toledo, Ohio W68CD 68 Daystar
November 27 Gainesville, Florida W10BR 10 The Box
November 30 Salinas, California K33DJ 33 Independent
Wailuku, Hawaii K26CX 26 CBS
(LPTV translator of KGMB)
December 5 Portland, Oregon KTDZ-TV 24 TBN
December 8 New York City W38CL 38 The Box
December 18 Bowling Green, Kentucky WQQB 40 Independent
December 23 Marion, Indiana W25BN 25 Religious independent
Unknown date Bayamón, Puerto Rico W21AR 21 3ABN Latino
Hazleton, Pennsylvania W35AT 35 Independent
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma K69EK 69 Independent
South Bend, Indiana W25BM 25 3ABN

Stations changing network affiliation

Market Date Station Channel Prior affiliation New affiliation
Houston, Texas November KTFH 49 Independent Galavision
Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida January 1 WTVJ 4 CBS NBC (O&O)
WCIX 6 Fox CBS (O&O)
WSVN 7 NBC Fox
Raleigh, North Carolina December 10 WKFT 40 Independent CBS
Rochester, New York July 1 WROC-TV 8 NBC CBS
WHEC-TV 10 CBS NBC
Buffalo, New York September 1 WUTV 29 Fox Independent
WNYB 49 Independent Fox
West Palm Beach, Florida January 1 WPEC 12 ABC CBS
WTVX 34 CBS Independent

Station closures

Date Market Station Channel Affiliation
March 31 Concord, New Hampshire WNHT 21 CBS
June 30 Lexington, Kentucky WLKT-TV 62 Independent
August 31 Anderson, South Carolina WAXA 40 Independent
September 17 Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands WBNB-TV 10 CBS
October 17 Tucson, Arizona KPOL 40 Independent
Unknown date Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands WAIG 43 Independent
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands WMEG 15 Religious Independent
WTFM-TV 27 Independent

Births

Date Name Notability
January 1 Adèle Haenel French actress
January 3 Alex D. Linz Actor (The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald, Providence, Hey Arnold!)
January 8 Karan Soni Actor
January 9 Nina Dobrev Bulgarian-Canadian actress (Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Vampire Diaries)
January 10 Emily Meade Actress (The Leftovers)
January 13 Beau Mirchoff Actor
Andy Allo Actress
January 16 Yvonne Zima Actress (ER, The Young and the Restless)
January 19 Dustin Poirier Mixed martial artist[25]
January 27 Brooke Butler Actress
January 30 Kylie Bunbury Actress
February 1 Margo Pigossi Brazilian actor (Watercolors of Love, Tangled Hearts, Boogie Oogie, Rules of the Game)
February 2 Ingrid Nilsen YouTube personality
February 3 Ryne Sanborn Actor (High School Musical)
February 5 Jeremy Sumpter Actor (Clubhouse, Friday Night Lights)
February 11 Jesse Rath Canadian actor (Supergirl, Defiance, No Tomorrow)
February 13 Katie Volding Actress (Teen Angel)
February 15 Bonnie Dennison Actress (Third Watch, Guiding Light)
February 16 Elizabeth Olsen Actress (The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley)
February 17 Chord Overstreet Actor and singer (Private, Glee)
February 19 Griffin Newman Actor
February 20 Jack Falahee Actor (How to Get Away with Murder, Mercy Street)
February 21 Corbin Bleu Actor (Flight 29 Down, High School Musical)
Kristin Herrera Actress (Zoey 101)
Scout Taylor-Compton Actress (Charmed)
February 24 Trace Cyrus American musician and son of Billy Ray Cyrus
February 25 Abby Wilde Actress (Zoey 101)
February 27 Mike Castle Actor
March 1 Daniella Monet Actress (Listen Up, Victorious, Fred: The Show, AwesomenessTV, Baby Daddy, Paradise Run)
March 3 Hayley Marie Norman Actress
March 5 Sterling Knight Actor (Sonny with a Chance, So Random!)
March 11 Anton Yelchin Russian actor (Huff) (d. 2016)
March 15 Caitlin Wachs Actress (Profiler, Family Affair, Commander in Chief)
March 17 Mason Musso American musician and singer
March 18 Lily Collins Actress and daughter of Phil Collins
March 19 Craig Lamar Traylor Actor (Malcolm in the Middle)
March 25 Aly Michalka Actress (Phil of the Future, Hellcats)
April 5 Lily James English actress (Downton Abbey)
Freddie Fox Actor
April 8 Gabriella Wilde English actress
April 9 Bianca Belair Pro wrestler[26]
April 11 Eka Darville Australian actor (Power Rangers R.P.M.)
April 15 Andre Kinney Actor (NYPD Blue, Hannah Montana)
April 18 Alia Shawkat Actress (Arrested Development)
April 19 Simu Liu Canadian actor
April 20 Carlos Valdes Colombian-American actor (The Flash) and singer
Alex Black American actor
April 23 Anastasia Baranova Russian-American actress (Scout's Safari, Z Nation)
April 27 Emily Rios Actress
April 30 Milo Cawthorne New Zealand actor (Power Rangers R.P.M.)
May 5 Chris Brown Singer, actor
May 8 Nora Arnezeder French actress (Zoo)
Nyle DiMarco Actor
May 10 Lindsey Shaw Actress (Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Pretty Little Liars)
May 11 Jadyn Wong Actress
May 14 Alexandra Park Australian actress (The Elephant Princess, Home and Away, The Royals)
May 17 Olivia Luccardi Actress (Orange is the New Black)
May 19 Gaelan Connell Actor (Level Up)
May 23 Alberto Frezza Actor (Dead to Summer, Station 19)
May 24 G-Eazy Rapper
May 25 Lisseth Chavez Actress
May 29 Brandon Mychal Smith Actor (Phil of the Future, Hannah Montana, Sonny with a Chance, So Random!, You're the Worst, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Riley Keough Actress (The Girlfriend Experience) and granddaughter of Elvis Presley
May 30 Kevin Covais Actor
May 31 Justine Lupe Actress
June 3 Imogen Poots English actress and singer (Roadies)
June 5 Ana Villafañe Actress
June 7 Bryn McAuley Actress
June 9 Logan Browning Actress (Meet the Browns, Pair of Kings)
June 13 Lisa Tucker Actress (Zoey 101) and singer
June 14 Lucy Hale Actress (Pretty Little Liars, Life Sentence)
June 15 Alyssa Farah Griffin Commentator (The View, CNN)
Bayley Pro wrestler[27]
June 18 Renee Olstead Actress (Still Standing, The Secret Life of the American Teenager)
June 19 Giacomo Gianniotti Italian-Canadian actor (Grey's Anatomy)
Will Payne Actor
June 20 Eve Harlow Actress (The Guard, Heroes Reborn, The 100)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse Actor
June 25 Chris Brochu Actor (The Vampire Diaries)
June 27 Matthew Lewis Actor
Kimiko Glenn Actress
Kelley Jakle Actress
July 1 Hannah Murray British actress (Game of Thrones) and singer
July 11 David Henrie Actor (That's So Raven, How I Met Your Mother, Wizards of Waverly Place)
July 12 Phoebe Tonkin Australian actress (The Secret Circle, The Originals)
July 14 Sean Flynn Actor (Zoey 101)
July 21 Juno Temple English actress (Vinyl)
Rory Culkin Actor
July 22 Keegan Allen Actor (Pretty Little Liars)
July 23 Daniel Radcliffe Actor
July 25 Andrew Caldwell Voice actor (Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja)
Noel Callahan Actor (Romeo!)
July 29 Jake Smollett Actor (On Our Own)
July 31 Alexis Knapp Actress (Ground Floor)
Jessica Williams Actress (Just for Kicks, The Daily Show)
Marshall Williams Canadian actor
Zelda Williams Actress and daughter of Robin Williams
Joey Richter Actor
August 8 Ken Baumann Actor (The Secret Life of the American Teenager)
August 9 Meredith Deane Actress (Once and Again)
Paige Spara Actress (Kevin from Work, The Good Doctor)
August 10 Brenton Thwaites Australian actor (Home and Away, Titans)
August 15 Carlos PenaVega Actor (Big Time Rush, Life Sentence, The Loud House) and singer
Joe Jonas Actor (Jonas) and singer (Jonas Brothers)
Denise Oliver Canadian voice actress (Wayside, Sidekick, Grojband)
August 18 Anna Akana Actress
August 19 Romeo Miller Actor (Romeo!) and rapper
August 21 Hayden Panettiere Actress (Heroes, Nashville) and singer
August 22 Langley Fox Actress
August 23 Breanna Conrad Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County)
August 28 Cassadee Pope American pop and country singer
September 5 Kat Graham Swiss-born American actress (The Vampire Diaries, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
September 7 Jonathan Majors Actor
September 14 Jessica Brown Findlay English actress (Downton Abbey)
Logan Henderson Actor (Big Time Rush) and singer
September 18 Lexie Contursi Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County)
September 19 Lorenza Izzo Actress
September 21 Jason Derulo Singer
September 25 Jordan Gavaris Canadian actor (Unnatural History, Orphan Black)
September 26 Emma Rigby English actress (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland)
September 27 Ava Deluca-Verley Actress
September 29 Adore Delano Singer and drag queen (American Idol, RuPaul's Drag Race)[28]
October 1 Brie Larson Actress (United States of Tara)
October 4 Dakota Johnson Actress (Ben and Kate) and daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith
October 10 Aimee Teegarden Actress (Friday Night Lights, Aim High, Star-Crossed)
October 13 Skyler Page Voice actor (Clarence)
October 14 Mia Wasikowska Australian actress (In Treatment)
October 16 Jack Salvatore Jr. Actor (Zoey 101, 10 Things I Hate About You)
October 24 Eliza Taylor Australian actress (The 100)
Shenae Grimes Canadian actress (90210)
October 28 Robert Bailey Jr. Actor
November 2 Katelyn Tarver Actress (Big Time Rush, No Ordinary Family)
November 6 Aaron Hernandez Football player[29] (d. 2017)
November 7 Charlie Saxton Actor
November 10 Taron Egerton British actor and singer (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Moominvalley)
November 14 Stella Maeve Actress
November 16 Iamsu! Singer
November 19 Tyga Rapper
November 20 Cody Linley Actor (Hannah Montana)
November 22 Alden Ehrenreich Actor
Candice Glover Singer (American Idol)[30][31]
Jon Rudnitsky Actor (Saturday Night Live)
November 30 Adelaide Clemens Australian actress (Rectify)
December 7 Nicholas Hoult English actor (Skins) and singer
Caleb Landry Jones Actor
December 10 Symone Sanders-Townsend Political commentator (CNN, MSNBC)
December 13 Taylor Swift Singer and actress (Saturday Night Live)
December 15 Nichole Bloom Actress (Shameless, Superstore, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes)
December 18 Ashley Benson Actress (Pretty Little Liars)
December 22 Jordin Sparks Singer (American Idol) and actress
December 28 Mackenzie Rosman Actress (7th Heaven)
December 29 Jane Levy Actress (Suburgatory)
December 30 Ryan Sheckler Actor (Life of Ryan)

Deaths

Date Name Age Notability
February 5 Joe Raposo 51 Composer (Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Three's Company theme song)
February 11 George O'Hanlon 76 Voice actor (voice of George Jetson on The Jetsons)
April 26 Lucille Ball 77 Actress, comedian (of the Lucy shows I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy)
April 30 Guy Williams 65 Actor (Zorro, Lost in Space)
May 1 Douglass Watson 68 Soap opera actor (Mac on Another World)
May 20 Gilda Radner 42 Actress, comedian (Saturday Night Live)
June 15 Victor French 54 Actor, director (Little House on the Prairie, Carter Country, Highway to Heaven)
July 3 Jim Backus 76 Actor (Thurston Howell III on Gilligan's Island and voice of Mr. Magoo)
July 4 Vic Perrin 73 Voice actor (original Control Voice on The Outer Limits, Hanna-Barbera cartoons)
July 10 Mel Blanc 81 Voice actor (as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and countless other characters)
July 18 Rebecca Schaeffer 21 Actress (My Sister Sam)
August 16 Amanda Blake 60 Actress (Miss Kitty Russell on Gunsmoke)
September 17 Jay Stewart 71 Announcer (Let's Make a Deal, Sale of the Century, Scrabble)
October 6 Bette Davis 81 Film and television actress
November 27 Bob Quigley 77 Game show producer (The Hollywood Squares, High Rollers, Gambit)
December 6 Frances Bavier 86 Actress (Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show)

Television Debuts

See also

References

  1. ^ NBC To Buy Miami's Channel 4, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, January 17, 1987.
  2. ^ "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; CBS to Buy TV Station In Miami". The New York Times. August 9, 1988.
  3. ^ "TV Listings for – January 7, 1989". TV Tango. January 7, 1989. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  4. ^ "Scarface| Trailers from Hell". trailersfromhell.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  5. ^ "Lobotomized 'Brazil'?". Los Angeles Times. 1989-01-08. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  6. ^ Rossen, Jake (February 4, 2018). "Oral History: The Strangest Super Bowl Halftime Show Ever". Mental Floss. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  7. ^ Andrews, Travis (February 2, 2018). "From Elvis Presto to Michael Jackson: How the Super Bowl halftime show found its groove". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  8. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. February 8, 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306179902.
  9. ^ Hall, Andy (April 10, 2012). "Punch's near miss led to safety gear for ESPN's NASCAR pit reporters". ESPN Front Row. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  10. ^ "Coemdian Lucille Ball suffers a heart attack". The Spokesman-Review. April 19, 1989. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  11. ^ Flint, Peter B. (April 27, 1989). "Lucille Ball, Spirited Doyenne of TV Comedies, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  12. ^ "AB moves to USA network". TV.com. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  13. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (1988-10-11). "Superheroes' Battleground: Prime Time". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  14. ^ "F.O.O.M. (Flashbacks of Ol' Marvel) #16: "I'm Free Now – The Incredible Hulk (1988-1990)"". Comic Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  15. ^ Martin, Steve; Radner, Gilda (1978). Saturday Night Live (Vimeo video ed.). Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  16. ^ Introduction to Game 4 of the 1989 NBA Finals on YouTube
  17. ^ Zemek, Matt (June 1, 2015). "NBA Finals, Music Division: NBC is great, but CBS is better". Crossover Chronicles.
  18. ^ "In brief." Broadcasting, April 10, 1989, pg. 96.
  19. ^ "FOX NETWORK, CH. 29 SPLIT; CH. 49 IS THE NEW SUITOR". The Buffalo News. 2 May 1989. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  20. ^ "November 9, 1989: The NBA signs a lucrative 4-year television deal with NBC". Sports Media Watch. November 29, 2011.
  21. ^ "NBA Flips Channel, Decides to Play Ball With NBC in 1990". Los Angeles Times. 9 November 1989.
  22. ^ "NBC acquires NBA broadcast rights". NBC Sports History Page.
  23. ^ Steinbreder, John (November 20, 1989). "The Ball's In A New Court: NBC took the NBA away from CBS for a cool $600 million". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  24. ^ "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Simpsons World.com. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  25. ^ "Dustin Poirier". TheSportster. 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  26. ^ Perez, Roberth (2024-05-05). "Bianca Belair: Age, Husband, Height & More To Know". TheSportster. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  27. ^ "WWE Profile - Bayley". ESPN.com. 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  28. ^ "Adore Delano on Apple Music". Apple Music - Web Player. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
  29. ^ "The evolution of Aaron Hernandez". www.cbsnews.com. 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  30. ^ "Candice Glover on Apple Music". Apple Music - Web Player. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  31. ^ "Candice Glover | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2024-02-19.