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1978 in American television
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This is a list of American television-related events in 1978.
Events
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| January 15 | ||
| January 23 | ||
| January 28 | ||
| February 5 | ||
| February 28 | ||
| March 7 | ||
| March 22 | ||
| March 26 – April 1 | ||
| April 16–19 | ||
| April 17 | ||
| April 22 | ||
| April 26 | ||
| May 7 | ||
| June 12 | ||
| June 26 | ||
| July 1 | ||
| July 10 | ||
| August 1 | ||
| September 17 | ||
| September 19 | ||
| September 27 | ||
| October 7 | ||
| October 31 | ||
| November 9 | ||
| November 12 | ||
| November 17 |
Programs
Debuting this year
| Date | Show | Network |
|---|---|---|
| January 28 | *Fantasy Island* | ABC |
| January 30 | *Baby... I'm Back!* | CBS |
| January 31 | *The Harvey Korman Show* | ABC |
| February 19 | *Project U.F.O.* | NBC |
| March 7 | *Having Babies* | ABC |
| March 10 | *Husbands, Wives & Lovers* | CBS |
| *The Incredible Hulk* | ||
| March 14 | *Sam* | |
| March 16 | *A.E.S. Hudson Street* | ABC |
| March 17 | *Richie Brockelman, Private Eye* | NBC |
| April 2 | *Dallas* | CBS |
| April 3 | *Pass the Buck* | |
| *Ever Increasing Faith* | Syndication | |
| April 5 | *The Amazing Spider-Man* | CBS |
| April 8 | *The Ted Knight Show* | |
| *Another Day* | ||
| April 13 | *The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour* | NBC |
| April 24 | *Card Sharks* | |
| *Joe & Valerie* | ||
| *Rollergirls* | ||
| April 27 | *The Runaways* | |
| June 6 | *[20/20](20-20-american-tv-program)* | ABC |
| June 24 | *Free Country* | |
| July 10 | *World News Tonight* | |
| July 24 | *America Alive!* | NBC |
| August 28 | *Flying High* | CBS |
| September 7 | *Grandpa Goes to Washington* | NBC |
| *The Waverly Wonders* | ||
| September 8 | *The Eddie Capra Mysteries* | |
| September 9 | *Fabulous Funnies* | |
| *The New Fantastic Four* | ||
| *Galaxy Goof-Ups* | ||
| *Godzilla* | ||
| *Jana of the Jungle* | ||
| *The Krofft Superstar Hour* | ||
| *Yogi's Space Race* | ||
| *Challenge of the Superfriends* | ABC | |
| *Fangface* | ||
| *The All New Popeye Hour* | CBS | |
| *The Paper Chase* | ||
| *Tarzan and the Super 7* | ||
| September 10 | *Kids Are People Too* | ABC |
| *Kaz* | CBS | |
| *Sword of Justice* | NBC | |
| September 12 | *Taxi* | ABC |
| *Battle of the Planets* | Syndication | |
| September 13 | *W.E.B.* | NBC |
| September 14 | *Mork & Mindy* | ABC |
| September 16 | *[30 Minutes](30-minutes-tv-program)* | CBS |
| September 17 | *Battlestar Galactica* | ABC |
| *Lifeline* | NBC | |
| September 18 | *WKRP in Cincinnati* | CBS |
| September 20 | *Dick Clark's Live Wednesday* | NBC |
| *In the Beginning* | CBS | |
| *Vega$* | ABC | |
| September 22 | *Who's Watching the Kids?* | NBC |
| September 23 | *Apple Pie* | ABC |
| *The American Girls* | CBS | |
| September 24 | *Mary* | |
| October 1 | *Centennial* | NBC |
| October 30 | *A.M. Weather* | PBS |
| November 2 | *David Cassidy: Man Undercover* | NBC |
| November 3 | *Diff'rent Strokes* | |
| November 27 | *The White Shadow* | CBS |
Resuming this year
| Show | Last aired | Previous network | Retitled as/Same | Returning | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *High Rollers* | ||||||||
| *Tic Tac Dough* | ||||||||
| *Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!* | ||||||||
| *Jeopardy!* |
Ending this year
| Date | Show | Debut |
|---|---|---|
| January 7 | *We've Got Each Other* | 1977 |
| January 9 | *The Betty White Show* | |
| January 10 | *The Fitzpatricks* | |
| January 13 | *The Better Sex* | |
| January 14 | *Tabitha* | |
| January 21 | *The Skatebirds* | |
| January 25 | *Szysznyk* | |
| January 28 | *Search and Rescue: The Alpha Team* | |
| February 6 | *Logan's Run* | |
| March 6 | *The Six Million Dollar Man* | 1973 |
| March 18 | *Kojak* | |
| *The Robonic Stooges* | 1977 | |
| March 25 | *The Tony Randall Show* | 1976 |
| *What Really Happened to the Class of '65?* | 1977 | |
| March 29 | *The Carol Burnett Show* | 1967 |
| March 30 | *Police Woman* | 1974 |
| March 31 | *Tattletales* | |
| April 1 | *The Bob Newhart Show* | 1972 |
| April 6 | *Black Sheep Squadron* | 1976 |
| April 7 | *Quark* | 1977 |
| April 14 | *Richie Brockelman, Private Eye* | 1978 |
| April 18 | *Sam* | |
| April 20 | *A.E.S. Hudson Street* | |
| April 21 | *Knockout* | 1977 |
| *To Say the Least* | ||
| April 22 | *Maude* | 1972 |
| April 24 | *Baby... I'm Back!* | 1978 |
| April 28 | *C.P.O. Sharkey* | 1976 |
| April 29 | *Another Day* | 1978 |
| April 30 | *On Our Own* | 1977 |
| May 10 | *Rollergirls* | 1978 |
| May 11 | *The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour* | |
| May 12 | *The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams* | 1977 |
| May 13 | *The Ted Knight Show* | 1978 |
| *The Bionic Woman* | 1976 | |
| *Columbo* | 1971 | |
| May 18 | *Baretta* | 1975 |
| *Fish* | 1977 | |
| May 29 | *Sugar Time!* | |
| June 6 | *Man from Atlantis* | |
| June 29 | *James at 16* | |
| June 30 | *Husbands, Wives & Lovers* | 1978 |
| *Pass the Buck* | ||
| July 7 | *ABC Evening News* | 1970 |
| July 21 | *Chico and the Man* | 1974 |
| *The Gong Show* | 1976 | |
| July 22 | *Free Country* | 1978 |
| August 3 | *The Harvey Korman Show* | |
| August 27 | *Switch* | 1975 |
| September 1 | *Fred Flintstone and Friends* | 1977 |
| September 2 | *The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour* | |
| *The Krofft Supershow* | 1976 | |
| September 29 | *For Richer, For Poorer* | 1977 |
| September 30 | *Apple Pie* | 1978 |
| October 5 | *W.E.B.* | |
| October 6 | *The Waverly Wonders* | |
| October 8 | *Mary* | |
| October 16 | *Operation Petticoat* | 1977 |
| October 18 | *In the Beginning* | 1978 |
| October 28 | *Laff-A-Lympics* | 1977 |
| November 10 | *The American Girls* | 1978 |
| December 1 | *Fabulous Funnies* | |
| December 2 | *Buford and the Galloping Ghost* | |
| *Galaxy Goof-Ups* | ||
| *Yogi's Space Race* | ||
| December 4 | *Lucan* | 1977 |
| December 9 | *Rhoda* | 1974 |
| December 15 | *Who's Watching the Kids?* | 1978 |
| December 16 | *The New Fantastic Four* | |
| December 23 | *The Scooby-Doo Show* | 1976 |
| *Scooby's All-Stars* | 1977 | |
| *Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!* | 1969 | |
| December 27 | *Dick Clark's Live Wednesday* | 1978 |
Made-for-TV movies and miniseries
| Title | Network | Date of airing |
|---|---|---|
| *The Dain Curse* | CBS | May 22–24 |
| *King* | NBC | February 12–14 |
| *Holocaust* | April 16–19 | |
| *Zuma Beach* | September 27 | |
| *Centennial* | October 1–February 4 | |
| *Donner Pass: The Road to Survival* | October 24 | |
| The Time Machine | November 5 | |
| *Someone's Watching Me!* | November 29 |
Networks and services
Launches
| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Theater Network | Cable television | September 1 | ||
| INSP | Cable television | Unknown | ||
| WGN-TV | Cable television | November 9 | ||
| Operation Prime Time | Cable television | Unknown |
Network conversions and rebrandings
| Network | Type | Conversion date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hughes Television Network | Paramount Television Service | April | |
| Paramount Television Service | Hughes Television Network | Unknown |
Closures
There are no closures for Cable and satellite television channels in this year.
Television stations
Station launches
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 3 | Rock Hill, South Carolina | ||||
| (Charlotte, North Carolina) | WNSC-TV | 30 | PBS | Part of South Carolina ETV | |
| February 9 | Martin, South Dakota | KZSD-TV | 8 | Part of South Dakota Public Broadcasting | |
| March 23 | Washington, D.C. | WPXW-TV | 66 | Religious independent | |
| March 26 | Manassas, Virginia/Washington, D.C. | WTKK | 66 | ||
| May 1 | Mason City, Iowa | KYIN | 24 | PBS | Part of Iowa Public Television |
| August 6 | Cheyenne, Oklahoma | KWET | 12 | Part of the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority | |
| August 9 | Shreveport, Louisiana | KLTS-TV | 24 | Part of Louisiana Public Broadcasting | |
| August 18 | El Paso, Texas | KCOS | 13 | ||
| August 21 | Cookeville, Tennessee | WCTE | 22 | ||
| September 2 | Phoenix, Arizona | KTVW | 23 | Spanish International Network | Now a Univision affiliate |
| September 9 | KNXV-TV | 15 | Independent | ||
| September 26 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | WPTT-TV | 22 | ||
| September 27 | Montpelier, Vermont | WNNE | 31 | NBC | Signed on as a satellite of WPTZ-TV/Plattsburgh, New York |
| October 1 | Juneau, Alaska | KTOO-TV | 3 | PBS | Satellite of KAKM/Anchorage |
| October 24 | Salt Lake City, Utah | KSTU | 20 (now 13) | Independent | |
| November 12 | Fort Smith, Arkansas | KLMN-TV | 24 | CBS | |
| November 27 | Rockford, Illinois | WQRF-TV | 39 | Independent | |
| December 17 | Kansas City, Missouri | KYFC | 50 | Was previously on air as KCIT-TV from 1969 to 1971. |
Network affiliation changes
| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1 | Charlotte, North Carolina | WCCB | 18 | ABC | Independent | |
| WRET-TV | 36 | Independent | NBC | |||
| WSOC-TV | 9 | NBC | ABC |
Station closures
| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Sign-on date | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | Greenfield, Massachusetts | WRLP | 32 | NBC | June 29, 1957 | |
| August 15 | Warrensburg/Sedalia, Missouri | |||||
| (Columbia/Jefferson City) | KMOS-TV | 6 | CBS | July 8, 1954 | ||
| (as an independent station) | Returned to the air December 22, 1979 as a PBS member station |
Births
| Date | Name | Notability | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2 | ||||
| January 3 | ||||
| January 5 | ||||
| January 7 | ||||
| January 8 | ||||
| January 9 | ||||
| January 10 | ||||
| January 14 | ||||
| January 15 | ||||
| Eddie Cahill | ||||
| January 24 | ||||
| January 26 | ||||
| February 2 | ||||
| February 3 | ||||
| Eliza Schneider | ||||
| February 6 | ||||
| February 7 | ||||
| February 14 | ||||
| Danai Gurira | ||||
| February 16 | ||||
| February 20 | ||||
| Chelsea Peretti | ||||
| Jay Hernandez | ||||
| February 21 | ||||
| February 24 | ||||
| February 28 | ||||
| March 1 | ||||
| Jensen Ackles | ||||
| March 5 | ||||
| March 8 | ||||
| March 11 | ||||
| March 14 | ||||
| March 16 | ||||
| Brooke Burns | ||||
| March 17 | ||||
| March 19 | ||||
| March 23 | ||||
| David Tom | ||||
| Nicholle Tom | ||||
| Perez Hilton | ||||
| March 24 | ||||
| March 25 | ||||
| April 1 | ||||
| April 2 | ||||
| Deon Richmond | ||||
| April 3 | ||||
| April 6 | ||||
| Tim Hasselbeck | ||||
| April 7 | ||||
| Jimmy Akingbola | ||||
| April 12 | ||||
| April 13 | ||||
| April 15 | ||||
| April 17 | ||||
| Adam Jamal Craig | ||||
| April 19 | ||||
| Sheinelle Jones | ||||
| April 20 | ||||
| Matt Austin | ||||
| Matthew Wilkas | ||||
| April 22 | ||||
| April 23 | ||||
| April 26 | ||||
| Pablo Schreiber | ||||
| Stephen Williams | ||||
| April 28 | ||||
| Robert Oliveri | ||||
| April 29 | ||||
| May 1 | ||||
| May 2 | ||||
| May 4 | ||||
| May 5 | ||||
| May 8 | ||||
| May 9 | ||||
| May 10 | ||||
| Kenan Thompson | ||||
| May 12 | ||||
| Malin Akerman | ||||
| May 13 | ||||
| May 15 | ||||
| Caroline Dhavernas | ||||
| May 16 | ||||
| May 17 | ||||
| Carlos Peña | ||||
| May 22 | ||||
| May 24 | ||||
| May 26 | ||||
| Adam Robitel | ||||
| May 27 | ||||
| May 28 | ||||
| June 1 | ||||
| June 2 | ||||
| Nikki Cox | ||||
| June 4 | ||||
| June 5 | ||||
| Rob Nelson | ||||
| June 6 | ||||
| June 7 | ||||
| June 8 | ||||
| June 9 | ||||
| Brian Patrick Wade | ||||
| June 10 | ||||
| DJ Qualls | ||||
| June 11 | ||||
| June 12 | ||||
| Timothy Simons | ||||
| Jeremy Rowley | ||||
| June 13 | ||||
| June 15 | ||||
| June 18 | ||||
| June 19 | ||||
| Zoe Saldaña | ||||
| Mía Maestro | ||||
| June 20 | ||||
| Quinton Jackson | ||||
| June 21 | ||||
| June 24 | ||||
| June 26 | ||||
| June 27 | ||||
| June 29 | ||||
| Luke Kirby | ||||
| Nicole Scherzinger | ||||
| July 1 | ||||
| July 2 | ||||
| July 4 | ||||
| Andrea Gabriel | ||||
| July 6 | ||||
| Tamera Mowry | ||||
| Tia Mowry | ||||
| July 8 | ||||
| July 9 | ||||
| Sundance Head | ||||
| Kyle Davis | ||||
| July 11 | ||||
| July 12 | ||||
| Topher Grace | ||||
| July 13 | ||||
| July 15 | ||||
| July 18 | ||||
| July 19 | ||||
| Mark Proksch | ||||
| Marcela Valladolid | ||||
| July 21 | ||||
| Justin Bartha | ||||
| July 22 | ||||
| July 24 | ||||
| August 2 | ||||
| August 3 | ||||
| August 6 | ||||
| August 8 | ||||
| August 15 | ||||
| August 18 | ||||
| August 20 | ||||
| August 22 | ||||
| August 23 | ||||
| August 24 | ||||
| August 25 | ||||
| August 26 | ||||
| August 28 | ||||
| Rachel Kimsey | ||||
| August 29 | ||||
| September 4 | ||||
| September 6 | ||||
| September 7 | ||||
| September 12 | ||||
| Ruben Studdard | ||||
| September 13 | ||||
| September 16 | ||||
| Matthew Rogers | ||||
| September 17 | ||||
| September 18 | ||||
| September 20 | ||||
| September 22 | ||||
| September 23 | ||||
| Josh Miller | ||||
| Anthony Mackie | ||||
| September 25 | ||||
| September 28 | ||||
| Nikki McKibbin | ||||
| October 1 | ||||
| Nicole Atkins | ||||
| October 3 | ||||
| Jake Shears | ||||
| Christian Coulson | ||||
| October 4 | ||||
| Phillip Glasser | ||||
| Mark Day | ||||
| October 5 | ||||
| Morgan Webb | ||||
| Jesse Palmer | ||||
| October 7 | ||||
| October 10 | ||||
| October 14 | ||||
| October 15 | ||||
| October 16 | ||||
| Novie Edwards | ||||
| October 17 | ||||
| October 18 | ||||
| Jake Farrow | ||||
| October 20 | ||||
| David Caspe | ||||
| October 21 | ||||
| Michael McMillian | ||||
| October 22 | ||||
| October 25 | ||||
| October 26 | ||||
| October 27 | ||||
| October 28 | ||||
| Justin Guarini | ||||
| October 30 | ||||
| October 31 | ||||
| November 1 | ||||
| November 2 | ||||
| November 6 | ||||
| Taryn Manning | ||||
| Erik Cole | ||||
| November 9 | ||||
| November 10 | ||||
| Diplo | ||||
| David Paetkau | ||||
| November 12 | ||||
| November 15 | ||||
| November 17 | ||||
| Tom Ellis | ||||
| Rachel McAdams | ||||
| November 18 | ||||
| November 19 | ||||
| Chad Doreck | ||||
| November 20 | ||||
| November 24 | ||||
| November 28 | ||||
| November 29 | ||||
| November 30 | ||||
| December 1 | ||||
| December 2 | ||||
| December 7 | ||||
| December 8 | ||||
| December 9 | ||||
| December 10 | ||||
| December 11 | ||||
| December 12 | ||||
| December 13 | ||||
| December 18 | ||||
| Ravi Patel | ||||
| Katie Holmes | ||||
| December 19 | ||||
| December 20 | ||||
| December 22 | ||||
| Anthony Jeselnik | ||||
| December 23 | ||||
| December 28 | ||||
| December 30 | ||||
| Tyrese Gibson |
Deaths
| Date | Name | Age | class="unsortable" | Notability | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 13 | |||||||
| February 28 | |||||||
| March 18 | |||||||
| April 22 | |||||||
| May 21 | |||||||
| June 29 | |||||||
| July 3 | |||||||
| September 7 |
References
References
- (April 14, 1978). "Metromedia out to teach KDOG new tricks". [[Houston Chronicle]].
- "The Stars Salute Israel at 30 (1978)". Barbra Archives.
- (March 15, 1978). "WTVI way short of goal". [[The Charlotte News]].
- (April 29, 1978). "WRET-TV joining with NBC". The Charlotte News.
- (April 25, 1978). "WRET Goes All Out To Woo NBC". [[The Charlotte Observer]].
- (April 29, 1978). "WRET-TV Will Tune In To NBC Network". The Charlotte Observer.
- "Kimberley Locke".
- Willis, Dorothy. "The New Improved Version of BJ Penn, UFC MMA Warrior".
- (1978-01-14). "HUBERT H. HUMPHREY IS DEAD AT 66 AFTER 32 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE".
Info: Wikipedia Source
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