This is a list of American television-related events in 1970.
Events edit
| Date | Event | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| January 19 | CBS launches Operation 100, a plan to beat NBC’s ratings in the last 100 days of the 1969-70 television season. This plan was accompanied with the slogan, “The man can’t bust our network.” | |
| March 7 | The “eclipse of the century,” which occurred on the East Coast of the United States, is covered by the news departments of all three American networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC). | [1] |
| March 16 | The FCC closes the “Miami channel 10” case as the station becomes WPLG. | |
| July 31 | Chet Huntley anchors his final newscast with David Brinkley and retires, bringing down the curtain on a 14-year career at NBC News and, thus, as chief anchor of The Huntley-Brinkley Report. The next Monday, August 3, the program is renamed NBC Nightly News, its current title as of 2022. | |
| August 2 | NBC expands full-service newscasts to seven nights a week with NBC Sunday News; it replaces The Frank McGee Report. | |
| September 5 | The Banana Splits Adventure Hour airs on NBC for the last time, airing the same Christmas Special, which was previously shown on December 13, the previous year. Freeform aired it again on New Year's Eve in 2016. | |
| October 5 | The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) goes on the air for the first time as the replacement for its predecessor National Educational Television (NET). Most NET member stations joined PBS upon the latter's sign-on. |
Television programs edit
Debuts edit
| Date | Debut | Network |
|---|---|---|
| January 5 | All My Children | ABC |
| January 30 | The Tim Conway Show | CBS |
| February 17 | McCloud | NBC |
| March 30 | A World Apart | ABC |
| The Best of Everything | ||
| Somerset | NBC | |
| September 12 | Josie and the Pussycats | CBS |
| September 17 | The Flip Wilson Show | NBC |
| Nancy | ||
| September 19 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | CBS |
| September 20 | The Tim Conway Comedy Hour | |
| September 21 | NFL Monday Night Football | ABC |
| September 24 | Barefoot in the Park | |
| The Odd Couple | ||
| September 25 | The Partridge Family |
Ending this year edit
| Date | Program | Network | First aired | Status | Notes/References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 3 | The Flying Nun | ABC | 1967 | Ended | |
| Here Come the Brides | 1968 | Canceled | |||
| April 4 | Petticoat Junction | CBS | 1963 | Ended | |
| April 16 | Dragnet | NBC | January 12, 1967 | ||
| May 7 | Daniel Boone | NBC | 1964 | Ended | |
| May 15 | Get Smart | 1965 | Ended | ||
| May 26 | I Dream of Jeannie | ||||
| June 14 | Spider-Man | ABC | 1967 | Ended | |
| June 19 | The Tim Conway Show | CBS | 1970 | Ended | |
| October 31 | Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! | CBS | 1969 | Canceled | Returned in 1978 as The Scooby-Doo Show on ABC |
| December 13 | The Tim Conway Comedy Hour | CBS | 1970 | Ended | |
| December 19 | H.R. Pufnstuf | NBC | 1969 | Canceled | The show remained on the NBC Saturday morning schedule in reruns until August 1972. |
Networks and services edit
Network launches edit
| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBS | Over-the-air public television | October 5 | PBS was launched to replace the National Educational Television service. Most NET member stations signed up to become PBS member stations upon the network's launch. |
Network closures edit
| End date | Network | Type | First air date | Notes/references |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 5 | National Educational Television | Over-the-air public television | May 16, 1954 |
Television stations edit
Sign-ons edit
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Hagerstown, Maryland | WHAG-TV | 25 | NBC | Now an independent station | |
| Marlborough, New Hampshire (Boston, Massachusetts) |
WSMW-TV | 27 | Independent | |||
| January 5 | Wichita, Kansas | KPTS | 8 | NET | Became a PBS member station on October 5. | |
| February 1 | Jackson, Mississippi | WMAA-TV | 29 | NET | Flagship of Mississippi ETV; became a PBS member station on October 5. | |
| February 8 | Iowa City/Cedar Rapids, Iowa | KIIN | 12 | NET | Part of Iowa Public Television; became a PBS member station on October 5. | |
| February 15 | College Station/Bryan, Texas | KAMU | 12 | NET | Became a PBS member station on October 5. | |
| February 24 | Bend, Oregon | KVDO-TV | 3 | Independent | ||
| February 28 | Utica, New York | WUTR | 20 | ABC | ||
| March 4 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | WTCI | 45 | NET | Became a PBS member on October 5. | |
| March 5 | Evansville, Indiana | WNIN | 9 | NET | ||
| March 7 | La Crosse, Wisconsin | WXOW | 19 | ABC | ||
| April 5 | Chicago, Illinois | WSNS-TV | 44 | Independent | ||
| May | Salina, Kansas | K06LZ | 6 | NBC | Originally a low-power translator of KSNW/Wichita | |
| May 2 | Flagstaff, Arizona | KOAI-TV | 2 | NBC | ||
| May 12 | Butte, Montana | KTVM | 6 | NBC | ||
| June 1 | Dubuque, Iowa | KDUB-TV | 40 | ABC | ||
| July 18 | Savannah, Georgia | WJCL-TV | 22 | ABC | ||
| August 1 | Pierre, South Dakota | KTSD-TV | 10 | NET | Part of South Dakota Public Broadcasting; became a PBS member station on October 5. | |
| August 7 | Dothan, Alabama | WDHN-TV | 18 | ABC | ||
| August 10 | Kansas City, Missouri | KBMA-TV | 41 | Independent | now an NBC affiliate | |
| August 31 | Louisville, Kentucky | WKMJ-TV | 68 | NET | Satellite of WKLE/Lexington, Kentucky as part of the Kentucky Educational Television network; became a PBS member on October 5. | |
| September 13 | Demopolis, Alabama | WIIQ | 41 | NET | Part of the Alabama Public Television network; became a PBS member three weeks later. | |
| September 21 | Yakima, Washington | KAPP | 35 | ABC | ||
| October 3 | Jackson, Mississippi | WAPT | 16 | ABC | ||
| October 4 | Indianapolis, Indiana | WFYI | 20 | NET | Became a PBS member station the day after its inaugural sign-on. | |
| October 29 | Columbus, Georgia (Auburn, Alabama) | WYEA-TV | 38 | NBC | ||
| Kennewick, Washington | KVEW | 42 | ABC | Semi-satellite of KAPP/Yakima | ||
| October 30 | Hagåtña, Guam (Agana) | KGTF | 12 | PBS | ||
| November 1 | Grandview/Bluefield/Beckley, West Virginia | WSWP | 9 | PBS | Part of the West Virginia Public Broadcasting television network | |
| November 23 | Belton, Texas | KNCT | 46 | PBS | ||
| December 21 | Buffalo, New York | WUTV | 29 | Independent | Now a Fox network affiliate. | |
| Unknown date | Missoula, Montana | KPAX-TV | 8 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
||
| New York City | W53AA | 53 | CBS | Low-powered translator of WCBS-TV; now Azteca America affiliate WKOB-LD on channel 42 | ||
| Port Jervis, New York | W64AA | 64 | Independent | Low-powered translator of WNEW; now Estrella TV affiliate WASA-LD on channel 24 | ||
| New York City | W73AP | 73 | Independent | Low-powered translator of WPIX; now First Nations Experience affiliate WNDT-CD on channel 14 |
Network affiliation changes edit
| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Paterson, New Jersey (New York City, New York) |
WXTV | 41 | Bilingual independent | Spanish International Network | |
| February 1 | El Centro, California (Yuma, Arizona) |
KECY-TV | 9 | ABC | CBS | Change occurred due to the shutdown of previous NBC affiliate KIVA. |
| Yuma, Arizona | KBLU-TV | 13 | CBS | NBC | ||
| May 31 | Birmingham, Alabama | WAPI-TV | 13 | NBC (primary) CBS (secondary) |
NBC (exclusive) | |
| Anniston, Alabama | WHMA | 40 | CBS (primary) NBC (secondary) |
CBS (exclusive) | ||
| Birmingham, Alabama | WBMG | 42 | ||||
| Tuscaloosa, Alabama | WCFT-TV | 33 | Independent | CBS | ||
| September 13 | Rapid City, South Dakota | KOTA-TV | 23 | CBS | ABC and NBC (joint primary) | |
| KRSD-TV | 3 | NBC | CBS | |||
| October 3 | Jackson, Mississippi | WLBT | 3 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) |
NBC (exclusive) | |
| Unknown date | Anchorage, Alaska | KHAR-TV | 13 | Independent | NBC | |
| KTVA | 11 | CBS (primary) NBC (secondary) |
CBS (exclusive) | |||
| Kalispell, Montana | KCFW | 9 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) |
||
| Missoula, Montana | KECI-TV | 13 | ||||
| Miles City-Billings, Montana | KYUS-TV | 3 | Independent | NBC | ||
| Pasco, Washington | KEPR | 19 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
CBS (exclusive) | Semi-satellite of KIMA/Yakima | |
| Richland, Washington | KNDU | 25 | ABC (primary) NBC (secondary) |
NBC (exclusive) | Semi-satellite of KNDO/Yakima | |
| Yakima, Washington | KIMA | 29 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
CBS (exclusive) | ||
| KNDO | 23 | ABC (primary) NBC (secondary) |
NBC (exclusive) | |||
| Hazard, Kentucky | WKYH-TV | 57 | Independent | NBC | [2] |
Station closures edit
| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Sign-on date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 31 | Yuma, Arizona | KIVA | 11 | NBC | October 8, 1953 | |
| February 6 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | WSMS-TV | 51 | Independent | December 6, 1968 | Returned to air February 14, 1972, as WKID |
| February 23 | St. Petersburg, Florida | WSUN-TV | 38 | Independent | May 5, 1953 | |
| March 18 | Nacogdoches, Texas | KAEC-TV | 19 | CBS | July 30, 1969 | |
| June | Manchester, New Hampshire | WXPO-TV | 50 | Independent | November 6, 1969 | |
| July 26 | Greensboro, North Carolina | WUBC | 48 | Independent | November 6, 1967 | |
| September 1 | Richardson, Texas | KRET-TV | 23 | Educational independent | February 29, 1960 |
Births edit
Deaths edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ ABC NEWS 3:40 – March 7, 1970: Total Solar Eclipse The region near Nejapa, Mexico, is first to experience total darkness in midday.
- ^ Nash, Francis M. (1995). Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State (PDF). ISBN 9781879688933 – via World Radio History.