1968 in American television Television related events in the USA during 1968
This is a list of American television -related events in 1968.
Events
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 TV 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 worldwide, with a report that there is a Santa Claus . This marked the fourth television broadcast from the spacecraft during the space mission.
[ 5]
Other events and statistics in 1968
The last round-screen color TV sets were produced by all American manufacturers.
Television programs
Debuts
Ending this year
Date
Show
Network
Debut
January 6
Iron Horse
ABC
September 26, 1966
January 6
Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor
CBS
September 9, 1967
January 6
The Herculoids
CBS
September 9, 1967
January 15
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
NBC
1964
January 20
Birdman and the Galaxy Trio
1967
January 20
Shazzan
CBS
September 9, 1967
February 10
Maya
NBC
September 26, 1967
March 2
ABC Scope
ABC
November 11, 1964
March 6
Lost in Space
CBS
1965
March 7
Cimarron Strip
September 7, 1967
March 11
The Lucy Show
1962
March 12
He & She
September 6, 1967
March 14
Garrison's Gorillas
ABC
1967
March 14
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
September 6, 1967
Narch 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
April 1
Cowboy in Africa
ABC
September 11, 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
September 9, 1967
September 8
Milton the Monster
ABC
October 9, 1965
September 9
Premiere
CBS
1968
September 21
The Fantastic Four
ABC
September 9, 1967
November 2
The Adventures of Superboy
CBS
1966
December 28
Super President
NBC
September 16, 1967
Unknown
The Gumby Show
Syndication
1957
The Road Runner Show (returned in 1971)
CBS
1966
Television specials
Networks and services
Network launches
Network conversions and rebrandings
Television stations
Sign-ons
Date
City of License /Market
Station
Channel
Affiliation
Notes/Ref.
January 1
Macon, Georgia
WMUM-TV
29
NET
Part of the Georgia Public Broadcasting television network
January 2
San Francisco, California
KBHK-TV
44
Independent
January 4
Joplin, Missouri
KUHI-TV
16
CBS
January 6
Dayton, Ohio
WSWO-TV
26
Independent
January 19
Cleveland, Ohio
WKBF-TV
61
Independent
February
Galveston, Texas
KVVV-TV
16
Independent
February 4
Brookings, South Dakota
KESD-TV
8
NET
Part of South Dakota Public Broadcasting
February 5
Dallas, Texas
KDTV
39
Independent
February 13
Lexington /Jackson, Tennessee
WLJT-TV
11
NET
February 15
Vincennes, Indiana
WVUT
22
NET
February 26
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
WVTB
18
NET
Satellite of WETK /Burlington ; part of the Vermont ETV network
March 15
Las Vegas, Nevada
KLVX
10
NET
March 18
Rutland, Vermont
WVER
9
NET
Satellite of WETK /Burlington; part of the Vermont ETV network
Windsor, Vermont
WVTA
24
April 1
San Francisco, California
KEMO-TV
20
Bilingial independent
April 11
Hanover, New Hampshire
WHED-TV
15
PBS
Part of New Hampshire Public Television
May 12
Binghamton, New York
WSKG-TV
46
NET
May 21
Keene, New Hampshire
WEKW-TV
49
NET
Satellite of WENH-TV /Durham, NH as part of New Hampshire Public Television
June 2
Lexington, Kentucky
WBLG-TV
62 (now on 36)
ABC
June 10
Kalispell, Montana
KCFW
9
CBS
Meridian, Mississippi
WHTV
24
CBS
August 1
Fon du Lac, Wisconsin
KFIZ-TV
34
Independent
Newport, Kentucky (Cincinnati, Ohio )
WXIX-TV
19
Independent
August 4
Paterson, New Jersey /New York City , New York
WXTV
41
Independent
August 19
Burlington, Vermont ((Plattsburgh, New York )
WEZF-TV
22
ABC
Olney, Illinois
WUSI-TV
16
NET
Satellite of WSIU-TV /Carbondale, Illinois
September 9
Louisville, Alabama
WGIA
43
NET
Part of the Alabama Educational Television network.
September 15
Lorain /Cleveland, Ohio
WUAB
43
Independent
Detroit, Michigan
WXON-TV
62 (now 28)
Independent
Palm Springs, California
KMIR-TV
36
NBC
Poplar Bluff, Missouri
KPOB-TV
15
ABC
Satellite of WSIL-TV of Harrisburg, Illinois
September 22
Springfield, Missouri
KMTC
27
ABC
September 23
Ashland, Kentucky
WKAS [ 21]
25
NET
Part of Kentucky Educational Television [ 21]
Bowling Green, Kentucky
WKGB-TV [ 21]
53
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
WKZT-TV [ 21]
23
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
W64BR
64
Translator of WKMA/Madisonville, Kentucky; part of Kentucky Educational Television
Lexington, Kentucky
WKLE [ 21]
46
Flagship of Kentucky Educational Television
Madisonville, Kentucky
WKMA-TV [ 21]
35
Part of Kentucky Educational Television
Morehead, Kentucky
WKMR [ 21]
38
Owenton, Kentucky
WKON [ 21]
52
Somerset, Kentucky
WKSO-TV [ 21]
29
September 30
Macon, Georgia
WCWB-TV
41
NBC
October 5
Palm Springs, California
KPLM-TV
42
ABC
October 9
Murray, Kentucky
WKMU [ 21]
21
NET
Part of Kentucky Educational Television
October 26
Sacramento, California
KTXL
40
Independent
November 4
Durham /Raleigh, North Carolina
WRDU-TV
28
NBC
Tampa, Florida
WTOG
44
Independent
November 11
Lubbock, Texas
KSEL-TV
28
Independent
November 18
Hastings, Nebraska
KHNE-TV
29
NET
Part of Nebraska ETV
December 4
Little Rock, Arkansas
KETS
2
NET
Flagship of the Arkansas Educational Television Network
December 6
Fort Lauderdale /Miami, Florida
WSMS-TV
51
Independent
December 9
Merriman, Nebraska
KRNE-TV
12
NET
Part of Nebraska ETV
December 11
El Centro, California (Yuma, Arizona , USA /Mexicali , Baja California , Mexico )
KECC-TV
9
ABC
December 14
Ventura /Los Angeles , California
KKOG-TV
16
Independent
December 16[ 22]
Hazard, Kentucky
WKHA [ 21]
35
NET
Part of Kentucky Educational Television
December 18
Fort Myers, Florida
WBBH-TV
20
NBC (primary) ABC (secondary)
December 24
Augusta, Georgia
WAGT
26
NBC
December 28
San Francisco, California
KUDO
38
Independent
Unknown date
Corpus Christi, Texas
KVDO-TV
22
Independent
Hollywood /Miami, Florida
WYHS
69
Independent
Satellite of WCIX-TV (now WFOR-TV ) Miami
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
Births
Deaths
References
^ "The 'Heidi' game in Birmingham" . Birmingham Rewound. October 25, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
^ Matt Schudel (July 5, 2012). "NBC Chief faced "Heidi Bowl" wrath (obituary for Julian Goodman)" . The Washington Post .
^ Lowry, Cynthia (November 18, 1968). " 'Heidi' Blocks Out Football Game; TV Viewers Deluge NBC Switchboard". Lancaster New Era . p. 8.
^ "Looking back on 50 years of history at Eyewitness News" . November 16, 2018.
^ The Apollo 8 Flight Journal - Video Index - NASA
^ Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series . The Scarecrow Press. pp. 212– 213. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2 .
^ Bianculli, David (February 19, 2018). "It's A Beautiful 50th Birthday For 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' " . NPR . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present . Random House. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1 .
^ Schemering, Christopher (September 1985). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia . pp. 158– 166. ISBN 0-345-32459-5 .
^ Waggett, Gerard J. (November 1997). "One Life to Live ". The Soap Opera Encyclopedia . Harper Paperbacks . pp. 163–188 . ISBN 0-06-101157-6 .
^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981 . Scarecrow Press. pp. 8– 9. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5 . Retrieved March 14, 2020 .
^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 378. ISBN 978-1476665993 .
^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 426– 427. ISBN 978-1538103739 .
^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present . Ballantine Books. p. 898. ISBN 0-345-45542-8 .
^ "Adam-12 episode/season list (season 7 of 7)" . IMDb. Retrieved February 5, 2012 .[unreliable source? ]
^ Mayberry RFD , TV Guide
^ Day's TV work - Doris Day.com
^ "The Mod Squad" . St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture .
^ Journey to the Unknown episode guide .
^ "The Andy Griffith Show - American television program" . Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved September 21, 2022 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Nash, Francis M. (1995). Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State . ISBN 9781879688933 .
^ Television Factbook 1979, pages 970-b
External links