1968 in American television
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Other events and statistics in 1968
| Date | Event | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| January 20 | The TVS Television Network broadcasts the first-ever syndicated primetime college basketball game at the Houston Astrodome. Billed as "The Game of the Century", the Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71–69. | |
| February 6 | ABC's coverage of the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France became the first Olympics, Summer or Winter, to be telecast in color on any American network. | |
| April 2 | NBC broadcasts a television special in which British singer Petula Clark appears with Harry Belafonte as her guest. An innocent, affectionate gesture between the two during a song (Clark touches Belafonte on the arm) prompts concern from the show's sponsor (Chrysler Corporation) due to the difference in their races. | |
| April 4 | Singer James Brown appears on national television in an attempt to calm feelings of anger following the assassination of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. | |
| September 9 | Two CBS soap operas, Search for Tomorrow and The Guiding Light, expand to 30 minutes per episode. | |
| October 12–27 | ABC broadcasts coverage of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, D.F., Mexico. This is the first Summer Olympics to be telecast in color in the United States. | |
| October 14 | First live television broadcast from a spacecraft in orbit, during the Apollo 7 mission. There are six broadcasts during the eleven-day mission. | |
| October 19 | Bea Benaderet makes her final physical appearance as Kate Bradley on the CBS sitcom Petticoat Junction. This particular episode actually airs six days after her death from lung cancer. Benaderet's final overall episode of Petticoat Junction would air one week later and would feature only her voice with her stand-in filmed from the rear. | |
| November 17 | Protest ensues when NBC breaks away from the final minutes of an American Football League game to air a television movie adaptation of Heidi, much to the outrage of the network's AFL viewers. After the break away, the Oakland Raiders scored two touchdowns to defeat the New York Jets, 43–32, in the final minute of play. | [1][2][3] |
| WABC-TV debuts the Eyewitness News format on behalf of news director Al Primo. | [4] | |
| November 22 | On NBC, an interracial kiss is aired in the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren". The kiss is shared by William Shatner (James T. Kirk) and Nichelle Nichols (Nyota Uhura). | |
| December 24 | The reading a passage from the Book of Genesis from Apollo 8 is telecast via the Intelsat 3 satellite to millions of people in over thirty countries across both Americas and Europe, with a report that there is a Santa Claus. COMSAT put the Intelsat satellite into operation a week ahead of schedule so that international audiences could follow the flight. This marked the fourth television broadcast from the spacecraft during the space mission. | [5] |
- The last round-screen color television sets were produced by all American manufacturers.
Television programs
Debuts
Ending this year
| Date | Show | Network | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 6 | Iron Horse | ABC | 1966 |
| Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor | CBS | 1967 | |
| The Herculoids | CBS | 1967 | |
| January 15 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | NBC | 1964 |
| January 20 | Birdman and the Galaxy Trio | 1967 | |
| Shazzan | CBS | 1967 | |
| February 10 | Maya | NBC | 1967 |
| March 2 | ABC Scope | ABC | 1964 |
| March 6 | Lost in Space | CBS | 1965 |
| March 7 | Cimarron Strip | 1967 | |
| March 11 | The Lucy Show | 1962 | |
| March 12 | He & She | 1967 | |
| March 14 | Garrison's Gorillas | ABC | 1967 |
| Batman | ABC | 1966 | |
| March 18 | The Rat Patrol | ABC | 1966 |
| March 19 | Good Morning World | CBS | 1967 |
| March 25 | The Monkees | NBC | 1966 |
| The Bell Telephone Hour | 1959 | ||
| The Fulton Sheen Program | Syndication | 1961 | |
| March 27 | Run for Your Life | NBC | 1965 |
| March 28 | The Second Hundred Years | ABC | 1967 |
| March 29 | The Invaders | ABC | 1967 |
| March 31 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | ABC | 1964 |
| April 1 | The Andy Griffith Show[20] | CBS | 1960 |
| Cowboy in Africa | ABC | 1967 | |
| April 5 | Tarzan | ABC | 1966 |
| April 15 | I Spy | NBC | 1965 |
| June 3 | The Danny Thomas Hour | NBC | 1967 |
| August 31 | Samson & Goliath | NBC | 1967 |
| September 8 | Milton the Monster | ABC | 1965 |
| September 9 | Premiere | CBS | 1968 |
| September 21 | The Fantastic Four | ABC | 1967 |
| November 2 | The Adventures of Superboy | CBS | 1966 |
| December 28 | Super President | NBC | 1967 |
| Unknown | The Gumby Show | Syndication | 1957 |
| The Road Runner Show (returned in 1971) | CBS | 1966 |
Television specials
| Title | Network | Date(s) of airing | Notes/Ref, |
|---|---|---|---|
| He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown | CBS | February 14 | |
| Elvis | NBC | December 3 | Elvis Presley's first television appearance in seven years; highest rated television special of 1968. |
Networks and services
Network launches
| Network | Type | Launch date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Educational Television | Regional Over-the-air public broadcast | September 23 | [21] |
Network conversions and rebrandings
| Network | Type | Conversion date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Network Incorporated | Hughes Television Network | Unknown |
Television stations
Sign-ons
Network affiliation changes
| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Joplin, Missouri | KODE-TV | 12 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
ABC (exclusive) | KUHI would take the CBS affiliation in Joplin, Missouri, three days later. |
| June 2 | Lexington, Kentucky | WLEX-TV | 18 | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC (secondary) |
NBC (exclusive) | |
| WKYT-TV | 27 | ABC (primary) CBS (secondary) |
CBS (exclusive) | |||
| September 30 | Macon, Georgia | WMAZ-TV | 13 | CBS (primary) ABC and NBC (secondary) |
CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
|
Station closures
| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Sign-on date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 23 | Lebanon, New Hampshire | WRLH | 31 | NBC | July 29, 1966 | Would return to the air in August 1971 |