| Date | Event |
|---|
| January 1 | VH1 begins in the United States. |
| January 4 | Sesame Street broadcasts its 2,000th episode. |
| January 7 | During an appearance on ABC's Good Morning America , actor Yul Brynner, who was suffering from terminal lung cancer, mentioned his wish to make a public service announcement to be run after his death to tell others to not smoke. |
| January 20 | For the first time ever, the Super Bowl is televised by ABC, who join the annual broadcast rotation of the game with CBS and NBC. This also marked the first time that a Super Bowl had closed captioning provided in real-time. In this game, the San Francisco 49ers would defeat the Miami Dolphins 38-16. |
| January 24 | The first part of a two part Family Ties episode airs on NBC concerning Elyse Keaton going into labor while performing on-air at her husband, Steven's TV station. |
| February 4 | NBC becomes the first commercial television network to use satellite interconnection for its stations; as a result, it is the first network to discontinue use of chime intonations at the beginning of each telecast, to signal to its affiliates to start broadcasting the network feed. |
| February 8 | CBS airs the final episode of The Dukes of Hazzard . |
| February 10 | CBS airs the first part of a two part miniseries that examines the so-called "Atlanta child murders" of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Atlanta officials criticized [1] [2] The Atlanta Child Murders, claiming that it distorted [3] the facts [4] of the case. [5] After a series of negotiations, CBS executives agreed [6] to insert a disclaimer [7] alerting viewers that the film is based on fact but contains fictional elements. [8] |
| March 2 | The NBC situation comedy Gimme a Break! broadcasts an episode live. |
| March 18 | Capital Cities Communications, a station owner group based in Albany, New York, stuns the broadcast industry by announcing that it is acquiring ABC for $3.5 billion. The move will prompt the company to sell off several of its television and radio stations to satisfy FCC ownership limits. The deal will be finalized on January 3, 1986. [9] [10] |
| March 20 | Norman Lear sells Tandem Productions and Embassy Television companies to The Coca-Cola Company, which also owns Columbia Pictures company, for $485 million. |
| March 22 | KXXV signs on the air in Waco as an NBC affiliate. However, the NBC affiliate didn't last long, and it moved to ABC. |
| March 31 | The World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) telecasts WrestleMania to select pay-per-view areas (and to a greater extent, closed-circuit locations across the country). The event is wildly successful (drawing over a million viewers on closed-circuit) and marks the beginning of the annual series of WrestleMania events which continue to air on pay-per-view to this day. There is, however, a near-riot in Pittsburgh when a technical glitch prematurely ends the feed at the Civic Arena, prompting the WWF to appease angry fans by showing the event in its entirely on ABC affiliate WTAE-TV two weeks later. [11] [12] [13] |
| April 1 | Financial News Network stopped airing on broadcast stations, and began a 24-hour cable feed, with the introduction of Score. |
| April 6 | The first edition of World Championship Wrestling to be produced by Jim Crockett Promotions airs on TBS. |
| April 9 | The series finale of Three's a Crowd airs on ABC, ending John Ritter's run as Jack Tripper which begin with the debut of Three's Company back in 1977. |
| April 11 | KMSS commences broadcasting in Shreveport, Louisiana, making it the first station in the market to sign on the air since KTBS signed on in 1955 and the first independent station in the market. It would later become one of the few charter affiliates of Fox in Louisiana. |
| April 27 | Frank Glieber makes what turns out to be his final play-by-play assignment for CBS Sports, which is Game 1 of the NBA playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. Glieber would die of a heart attack four days later. Glieber was also scheduled to call Game 4 of the Los Angeles-Portland series alongside James Brown for CBS, but he would ultimately be replaced by Verne Lundquist. |
| April 28 | WLIG commences broadcasting. (The call letters would change to WLNY-TV on September 1, 1996). |
| April 29 | The two-night adaptation of Ken Follett's The Key to Rebecca , shown on WPIX Channel 11 in New York City, has non-pixelated toplessness from both of its female stars, Season Hubley and Lina Raymond. |
| May 4 | News Corporation and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation announces their intent on purchasing Metromedia's television stations and Metromedia Producers Corp. for $3.5 billion. This would soon lay the ground work for the Fox Broadcasting Company, which would debut in October 1986. |
| May 9 | Nicholas Colasanto makes his final appearance as Coach Ernie Pantusso on Cheers . While he technically last appeared in the cold opening of "Rescue Me", Colasanto's last filmed appearance as Coach was in the episode "Cheerio, Cheers". Following Colasanto's death, Woody Harrelson, would join the cast as his replacement, Woody Boyd beginning in the fourth season. |
| May 11 | The first episode of Saturday Night's Main Event is broadcast by NBC, the first time that professional wrestling had been broadcast by network television since the 1950s. |
| Dolph Sweet makes his final appearance as Chief Carl Kanisky on Gimme a Break! . The Season 4 finale aired on NBC three days after his death. |
| May 12 | During halftime of the Boston Celtics – Philadelphia 76ers NBA playoff game, CBS televises the first ever NBA draft lottery. |
| May 14 | On The CBS Morning News , co–anchor Phyllis George interviews false rape accuser Cathleen Mae Webb and the man whom she had falsely accused, Gary Dotson. In an effort to get the two to make amends to each other, George makes a simple suggestion: "How about a hug?" Both Webb and Dotson graciously refuse. That infamous interview alienates audiences and is blasted by critics, helping to put an unpleasant close to George's television career at this initial mark. |
| May 15 | The season finale of Dynasty on ABC sees the entire wedding party of Amanda Carrington (Catherine Oxenberg) and Prince Michael of Moldavia (Michael Praed) shot by revolutionaries in what is known as the Moldavian Massacre. |
| May 17 | The season finale of Dallas on CBS finds character Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) on his deathbed after his crazed ex-sister-in-law Katherine Wentworth (Morgan Brittany) runs him down with her car. |
| May 19 | WOIO-TV commences broadcasting in Cleveland. Initially an independent station, it will become a charter affiliate of Fox in 1986 and switch to CBS in 1994 as a result of the 1994 United States broadcast TV realignment. |
| May 25 | CBS [14] [15] [16] airs the fourth game of the Major Indoor Soccer League's championship series between the San Diego Sockers and the Baltimore Blast. This would be the final year the MISL would have games aired on network television. CBS used Gary Bender and Kyle Rote Jr. [17] on commentary. |
| May 30 | The USA Network airs its final National Hockey League telecast, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. NHL contests wouldn't be seen in any shape or form on USA again until the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs. |
| June 14 | ABC broadcasts its 2,311th and last daytime episode of Family Feud after 9 years. Richard Dawson gives an emotional speech at the end of the broadcast. Dawson would return to the series during 1994 for one more season. Meanwhile, on CBS, Press Your Luck broadcasts the episode in which all three contestants would be invited back after a mistake on a question about the cartoon character Sylvester was corrected by Mel Blanc telephoning Peter Tomarken at the end of the show. |
| June 24 | Kathie Lee Johnson (later Gifford) officially joins Regis Philbin as his co-host on WABC's The Morning Show . Their chemistry proves to be successful as The Morning Show soon becomes number 1 in the market [18] and goes on to debut in national syndication on September 5, 1988, when the title is changed to Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. |
| July 1 | Nick at Nite, a nighttime program service with an emphasis on classic television reruns, is launched in the United States, being broadcast on the same channel as Nickelodeon. At the same time, A&E, which previously shared Nickelodeon's channel, begins broadcasting as its own 24-hour cable channel in January of that year on a separate satellite transponder. |
| July 2 | The final episode of The Jeffersons airs on CBS. |
| July 4 | NBC's Minneapolis/St. Paul (Twin Cities) affiliate WTCN-TV changes its name to WUSA-TV to reflect its co-ownership with USA Today . This would be displaced a year after by KARE-TV. |
| July 13 | The Live Aid concerts are broadcast from London and Philadelphia. In the U.S., the concerts are broadcast by MTV and over-the-air syndication, with ABC joining in a 3-hour prime-time period. |
| July 16 | NBC's telecast of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game out of the Metrodome in Minnesota is the first program to be broadcast in stereo [19] by a television network. |
| Rock Hudson joined his old friend Doris Day for a Hollywood press conference announcing the launch of her new TV cable show Doris Day's Best Friends in which Hudson was videotaped visiting Day's ranch in Carmel, California, a few days earlier. He appeared gaunt and his speech was nearly incoherent; during the segment, Hudson did very little speaking, with most of it consisting of Day and Hudson walking around as Day's recording of "My Buddy" played in the background, with Hudson noting he had quickly tired out. His appearance was enough of a shock that the reunion was broadcast repeatedly over national news shows that night and for days to come. |
| July 22 | Douglas Marland starts his critically acclaimed eight-year run writing for the CBS soap opera As the World Turns . |
| August 4 | Capital Cities Communications continues its acquisition of ABC when its CBS affiliate in Durham, North Carolina, WTVD, swaps affiliations with ABC affiliate WRAL-TV in Raleigh. [20] |
| August 19 | A taping of an outdoor interview for NBC's Today is interrupted by David Letterman, who, while taping his own Late Night , leans out of an office window and announces, "My name is Larry Grossman (then-president of NBC News) and I'm not wearing any pants!" |
| September 2 | NBC becomes the first broadcast network in the U.S. to broadcast its prime time programs with stereo sound. |
| September 5 | Showtime begins airing weekly 10 p.m. showings of 52 hours worth of "lost" episodes of The Honeymooners . |
| September 8 | Capital Cities Communications continues its acquisition of ABC when KFSN-TV, its CBS affiliate in Fresno, California, swaps affiliations with the market's existing ABC affiliate, KJEO. |
| September 9 | ABC affiliate WSAV-TV swaps affiliations with NBC affiliate WJCL, thus reversing a swap that took place in 1982. [21] |
| The Price Is Right returns to daily syndication after a five-year hiatus, but with Tom Kennedy hosting. After 170 episodes produced, the show went on hiatus until 1994. Besides Johnny Olson, Gene Wood and Rod Roddy shared announcing duties. |
| September 14 | In part one of a three-part season premiere of The Facts of Life on NBC, Edna's Edibles, which had been the main locale of the long-running series since 1983, is burned to the ground. Edna Garrett and the girls would rebuild and replace it with an ice cream and gift shop named Over Our Heads. |
| September 16 | After a 22-year hiatus, new episodes of The Jetsons debut. The syndicated revival would run for two seasons. |
| Cleveland's CBS affiliate WJKW-TV changes its name back to WJW-TV. |
| September 18 | "Top Ten Things That Almost Rhyme With Peas" is the subject of the first "Top 10 List" on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman . |
| September 22 | The first Farm Aid concert is telecast from Champaign, Illinois, in syndication and by TNN. |
| September 23 | Jackie Gleason and Art Carney reunite in the CBS movie Izzy and Moe . |
| Broadcast on NBC two nights before the start of Family Ties ' fourth season, the Keatons take a vacation to England in television film Family Ties Vacation. The movie was later split into four individual episodes when the series entered syndication. |
| September 27 | The pilot episode for a revival of the anthology television series, The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. This particular iteration of The Twilight Zone would run for three seasons, the first two on CBS and the final one in syndication. |
| September 28 | ABC broadcasts an episode of The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians called "The Fear", in which Batman's origin is depicted for the first time in media outside of the comic books. |
| Three years after being canceled by ABC following its second season, the sitcom It's a Living is relaunched for the first-run syndication market. It would continue for four more seasons before its conclusion in 1989. |
| September 29 | Howard Cosell makes what turns out to be his final assignment for ABC Sports, a Major League Baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins from the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Cosell is later removed from his scheduled announcing duties for that year's World Series due to the controversy surrounding his book I Never Played the Game . Cosell is replaced on the ABC broadcasts by Tim McCarver, who would work the 1985 World Series alongside Al Michaels and Jim Palmer. |
| October 4 | The PBS program Electric Company concludes after 8 straight years in reruns. |
| NBC officially wins the rights to broadcast the 1988 Summer Olympics from Seoul, South Korea. |
| October 6 | Jem and the Holograms debuts as one of four six-minute matinée segments on Super Sunday . [It becomes a regular half-hour program in 1986]. |
| Spectrum is discontinued. |
| October 20 | The I Dream of Jeannie reunion movie, I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later is broadcast on NBC. It's the first of two reunion movies, as the next one, would be broadcast six years later. |
| November 5 | CBS broadcasts the made-for-television drama film Stone Pillow . It stars Lucille Ball, in an attempt to make a dramatic "breakout" from her years in comedy, as an older homeless woman with few resources and even fewer options. The film received rather mixed reviews, but was a ratings success. The telecast ranked 9th out of 68 programs airing that week, and brought in a 23.3 rating and a 33 share. [22] The success of the film led Ball to make one last attempt to return to her comedy roots with Life with Lucy the next year. |
| November 6 | KRRT-TV goes on the air, giving the San Antonio market its first independent station. |
| November 8 | The final episode of The Price Is Right with Johnny Olson as announcer is broadcast by CBS. Olson had died on October 12; the show was broadcast as an "in memoriam" tribute to him on October 29. |
| November 9 | On NBC, Saturday Night Live begins its 11th season, with Lorne Michaels returning as executive producer and an all-new cast that includes Jon Lovitz and Dennis Miller. |
| November 17 | Kane & Abel , a miniseries based on the bestselling Jeffrey Archer novel, debuts on CBS. |
| November 18 | Elmo, a new character for Sesame Street , is introduced on PBS. In the same episode, the adult cast of Sesame Street come face-to-face with Aloysius Snuffleupagus for the first time since the character's 1971 introduction. |
| November 28 | Jim Crockett Promotions and the National Wrestling Alliance hold the third annual Starrcade event. Transmitted via closed-circuit television, this particular event took place from the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina and Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia, with the event going back and forth from both arenas. |
| December 3 | Copacabana , an original musical featuring Barry Manilow (based on his 1978 song of the same name), Annette O'Toole, and Estelle Getty, is broadcast by CBS. |
| Courteney Cox uses the word "period" (referring to menstruation) on U.S. television for the first time, in a commercial for Tampax brand tampons. |
| December 5 | A Wheel of Fortune contestant Terry Wharton missolves a puzzle "The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat" (a quote from Jim McKay), leaving $62,400 cash unclaimed. This was to date, the largest cash unclaimed for a round in the history of the show, which, at the time, would have set then the biggest winnings record during the maingame alone. [23] |
| December 12 | General Electric announces plans to purchase RCA, owner of NBC for $6.3 billion, and eventually wants to convert General Electric's TV station KCNC into a NBC owned and operated station. The deal would be finalized on June 9, 1986. |
| December 29 | In Waco, ABC affiliate KCEN swaps affiliations with NBC affiliate KXXV. |
