1966 in American television

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This is a list of American television-related events in 1966.

Other events in 1966

Date Event Ref.
January 11 Dorothy Malone resumes the role of Constance Carson in the ABC primetime soap opera Peyton Place. She was temporarily replaced by Lola Albright in the interim.
January 13 Tabitha Stephens is born on the ABC sitcom Bewitched, in the episode titled, "And Then There Were Three."
February 15 Fred Friendly resigns from CBS News due to circumstances beyond his control.
February 27 The only Perry Mason episode ever broadcast in color, titled, "The Case of the Twice-Told Twist", airs on CBS.
April 18 ABC's annual broadcast of the Academy Awards airs in color for the first time ever.
July 16 The Miss Universe pageant is broadcast in color for the first time ever.
September 10 The annual Miss America Pageant is broadcast on NBC for the first time ever. This broadcast is also the first Miss America pageant to be telecast in color.
September 19 With the premiere episode of That Girl through ABC, KENI-TV becomes the first television station in Alaska to broadcast any program in color.
October 6 A prime-time edition of The Dating Game is launched on ABC following the cancellation of The Tammy Grimes Show.
October 17 All programming from NBC's news division begins airing in color.
November 7 The NBC game show Concentration becomes the last program on the network to go full color, thus making NBC the first full-color television network.
November 19 ABC affiliate KHVH-TV (now KITV) in Honolulu, Hawaii conducts the first-ever live 2-way satellite telecasts between Hawaii and the mainland, through the facilities of the Lani Bird satellite.
December 18 The Dr. Seuss' holiday special How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, narrated by Boris Karloff, is broadcast for the first time on CBS. It becomes a holiday tradition.
  • The early 1950s CBS sitcom Amos 'n' Andy is pulled from off-network syndication in response to complaints from civil rights organizations, including the NAACP.

Television programs

Debuts

Date Debut Network
January 3 Eye Guess NBC
January 8 Court Martial ABC
January 11 Daktari CBS
January 12 Batman ABC
January 12[1][2] Blue Light ABC
April 1 The 700 Club CBN
First-run syndication
April 4 Firing Line First-run syndication
April 21 Batfink KTLA
June 27 Dark Shadows ABC
July 4 Chain Letter NBC
Showdown
July 11 The Newlywed Game ABC
July 18 The 700 Club Syndication
July 22 Summer Fun ABC
August 14 Preview Tonight ABC
September 4[3] The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon WNEW-TV
September 5 The Marvel Super Heroes First-run syndication
September 6 Love on a Rooftop ABC
September 6 The Pruitts of Southampton ABC
September 7 The Monroes ABC
September 8 Hawk ABC
September 8[4] Star Trek: The Original Series NBC
September 8 Tarzan NBC
September 8 That Girl ABC
September 9[5] The Green Hornet ABC
September 9 The Time Tunnel ABC
September 10 The Adventures of Superboy CBS
September 10 Cool McCool NBC
September 10[6] Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles CBS
September 10[7] The King Kong Show ABC
September 10[8] Laurel and Hardy NBC
September 10[9] The Lone Ranger CBS
September 10[10] The New Adventures of Superman CBS
September 10 Shane ABC
September 10[11] Space Ghost CBS
September 10 The Space Kidettes NBC
September 10 The Super 6 NBC
September 11 It's About Time CBS
September 12 Family Affair CBS
September 12 The Felony Squad ABC
September 12 Iron Horse NBC
September 12 The Monkees NBC
September 12 The Rat Patrol ABC
September 12 Run, Buddy, Run CBS
September 13 Occasional Wife NBC
September 14[12] ABC Stage 67 ABC
September 16 T.H.E. Cat NBC
September 16 The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. NBC
September 17 Mission: Impossible CBS
September 17 Pistols 'n' Petticoats CBS
October 17 The Hollywood Squares NBC
October 29[13] The Mighty Heroes CBS
December 23 Hoolihan & Big Chuck WJW-TV

Ending this year

Date Show Network Debut Notes
January 4 Rawhide CBS January 9, 1959
January 8 Shindig! ABC September 16, 1964
January 12 Burke's Law ABC September 20, 1963
January 29 Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales CBS September 28, 1963
February 6 Mister Ed CBS January 5, 1961
March 11 Tammy ABC September 17, 1965
March 12 The Loner CBS September 18, 1965
March 19 The Donna Reed Show ABC September 24, 1958
March 21 Ben Casey ABC 1961
April 1 The Flintstones ABC September 30, 1960
April 5 My Mother the Car NBC September 14, 1965
April 8 Honey West ABC September 17, 1965
April 8 The Addams Family ABC September 18, 1964
April 11 Hazel CBS September 28, 1961 (on NBC)
April 11 Hullabaloo NBC January 12, 1965
April 12 McHale's Navy ABC October 11, 1962
April 13 The Long, Hot Summer ABC September 16, 1965
April 14 Mona McCluskey NBC September 16, 1965
April 15 Camp Runamuck NBC September 17, 1965
April 17 The Wackiest Ship in the Army NBC September 19, 1965
April 21 Gidget ABC September 15, 1965
April 22 The Farmer's Daughter ABC September 20, 1963
April 22 The Smothers Brothers Show CBS September 17, 1965
April 23 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ABC October 3, 1952
April 24 Branded NBC January 24, 1965
April 27 The Patty Duke Show ABC September 18, 1963
May 1 My Favorite Martian CBS September 29, 1963
May 9 The Legend of Jesse James ABC September 13, 1965
May 12 The Munsters CBS September 24, 1964
May 16 A Man Called Shenandoah ABC September 13, 1965
May 18 Blue Light ABC January 12, 1966
May 22 Perry Mason CBS September 21, 1957
May 27 The Trials of O'Brien CBS September 18, 1965
May 28 Sinbad Jr. and his Magic Belt Syndication September 11, 1965
June 1 The Dick Van Dyke Show CBS October 3, 1961
September 2 Mister Roberts NBC September 17, 1965
Summer Fun ABC July 22, 1966
September The New 3 Stooges Syndication October 1965
September 2 Court Martial ABC January 8, 1966
September 11 Preview Tonight ABC August 14, 1966
October 14 Chain Letter NBC July 4, 1966
Showdown
October 24 Peter Potamus Syndication September 16, 1964
December 16 Shock Theater WJW-TV January 13, 1963
December 16 Hawk ABC September 8, 1966
December 31 Shane ABC September 10, 1966
December The Marvel Super Heroes Syndication September 1966

Television movies, specials and miniseries

Title Network Date(s) of airing Notes/Ref,
An Evening with Carol Channing CBS February 18
Color Me Barbra CBS March 30 Starred Barbra Streisand.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown CBS October 27 Annual reruns of this holiday special became an annual tradition on broadcast television until 2021.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! CBS December 18 Annual reruns of this holiday special became an annual tradition.
Yule Log WPIX-TV December 24 Annual reruns of this holiday special became an annual tradition.

Networks and services

Network launches

Network Type Launch date Source
Arkansas Educational Television Network Regional over-the-air public broadcast December 4

Television stations

Sign-ons

Date City of License/Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/Ref.
January 4 Chicago, Illinois WFLD 32 Independent now a Fox O&O station
January 21 Appleton, Minnesota KWCM 9 NET
January 24 Duluth, Minnesota WDIO-TV 10 ABC
January 25 Atlantic City, New Jersey WCMC-TV 40 NBC
February 19 Jacksonville, Florida WJKS-TV 17 ABC
February 23 Roswell, New Mexico KBIM-TV 10 CBS Satellite of KGGM (now KRQE) in Albuquerque
March 4 Roanoke, Virginia WRFT-TV 27 ABC
April 2 Erie, Pennsylvania WJET-TV 24 ABC
April 5 Fort Pierce/West Palm Beach, Florida WTVX 34 Independent
April 15 Honolulu, Hawaii KHET 11 NET
April 20 Washington, D.C. WDCA 20 Independent
May 3 Toledo, Ohio WNWO-TV 24 Independent
May 14 Portsmouth, Ohio WRLO 30
May 17 Sayre, Oklahoma KVIJ-TV 8 ABC Satellite of KVII-TV/Oklahoma City
May 29 San Juan, Puerto Rico WITA-TV 31 Religious independent
May 31 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma KLPR-TV 14 Independent
June 29 Corona/Los Angeles, California KMTW-TV 52 Independent
July 29 Lebanon, New Hampshire WRLH 31 NBC
August 15 Modesto/Sacramento, California KLOC-TV 19 Independent
September 6 Columbia, South Carolina WRLK-TV 35 NET Flagship of the South Carolina ETV network
Rochester, New York WXXI 21 NET
September 7 Alliance, Nebraska KTNE-TV 13 NET Part of Nebraska ETV
September 12 North Platte, Nebraska KPNE-TV 6 NET Part of Nebraska ETV
Wrens/Augusta, Georgia WCES-TV 20 NET Part of the Georgia Public Broadcasting television network
September 22 Scranton, Pennsylvania WVIA-TV 44 NET
Wailuku, Hawaii KMEB 10 NET
October 18 Sitka/Juneau, Alaska KIFW-TV 13 CBS
October 20 Wausau, Wisconsin WAEO-TV 12 NBC
November 2 Lead, South Dakota KHSD-TV 5 CBS Satellite of KOTA-TV (now KHME) in Rapid City
December 4 Little Rock, Arkansas KETS 2 NET Flagship of the Arkansas Educational Television Network
Unknown date Jamestown/Buffalo, New York WNYP-TV 26 CTV Only major television station in the U.S. to ever be affiliated with a Canadian television network on a primary basis

Network affiliation changes

Date City of license/Market Station Channel Old affiliation New affiliation Notes/Ref.
January 24 Duluth, Minnesota KDAL-TV 3 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 CBS (exclusive) KDAL and WDSM dropped ABC programming upon the sign-on of WDIO-TV.
Superior, Wisconsin
(Duluth, Minnesota)		 WDSM-TV 6 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 NBC (exclusive)
February 1 Great Falls, Montana KFBB-TV 5 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 ABC (primary)
CBS (secondary)		 KFBB becomes the first primary ABC affiliate in Montana.
February 19 Jacksonville, Florida WMBR-TV 4 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 CBS (exclusive)
WFGA-TV NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 NBC (exclusive)
May 1 Fort Pierce/West Palm Beach, Florida WTVX 34 Independent CBS
October 20 Wausau, Wisconsin WSAW-TV 7 CBS (primary)
NBC (secondary)		 CBS (exclusive)
Unknown date Austin, Texas KTBC 7 CBS (primary)
ABC and NBC (secondary)		 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)
KHFI-TV 36 Independent NBC

Births

Deaths

References

External links

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