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1969 in American television

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List of years in American television:
1968–69 United States network television schedule
1969–70 United States network television schedule
List of American television programs currently in production

This is a list of American television-related events in 1969.

Events

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Date Event Ref.
January 4 The Huntley–Brinkley Report, NBC's nightly newscast, expands to include a weekend edition that would air on Saturdays, with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley alternating weeks anchoring the news solo. Later, mediocre ratings prompt NBC to replace the duo with other newsmen, with the broadcast's Saturday editions renamed the NBC Saturday News.
January 13 Dick York collapses on the set of Bewitched and is rushed to the hospital. He resigns from the show for health reasons. The character Darrin Stephens is played by Dick Sargent from then until the show's 1972 ending.
February 5 ABC runs the one and only airing of the notorious flop Turn-On, which was canceled after only one episode.
February 19 Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. shoots its final scene and completes its run at approximately 4:31 p.m. at the CBS Studio Center. The final scene wrapped up with Jim Nabors saying the line “How interesting - and did she?”.
June 3 The science fiction television series Star Trek airs its final new episode after being canceled by NBC. Its subsequent sale into rerun syndication soon after leads to a rise in popularity that transforms Star Trek into one of the century's most successful entertainment franchises, which would later spawn sequel series for the next few decades. [1]
July 20 All three commercial television networks broadcast a live transmission from the Moon, which was viewed by 720 million people around the world, with the landing of Apollo 11; at 10:56 p.m. EDT Neil Armstrong (followed soon afterwards by Buzz Aldrin) steps onto the surface; viewers see a scan from broadcasts received at Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station followed by Parkes Observatory in Australia. [2]
September 8 Starting September 8, all daytime programming on both ABC and CBS is presented in color.
September 26 ABC affiliate WLTV in Bowling Green, Kentucky was knocked off the air due to the sabotaging explosion of their transmitter by a local bootlegger who did not appreciate the television exposure of his bootlegging ring. The station returned to the air with limited power on October 6. It would not return to full power until the station's new transmitter facility was activated in 1971. [3][4]
October 18 The Jackson 5 make their national television debut on The Hollywood Palace.
November 13 Vice President Spiro Agnew, in a televised speech from Des Moines, Iowa, stirs up a national controversy by attacking the network news commentaries.
December 7 The now-iconic Christmas television special, Frosty the Snowman, premieres on CBS, based on the song of the same name. The special has aired annually on the same network ever since. [5]

Television programs

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Debuts

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Date Debut Network
February 7 This Is Tom Jones ABC
April 10 Peanuts CBS
April 27[6] The Dudley Do-Right Show ABC
June 7 The Johnny Cash Show[1] ABC
June 15 Hee Haw CBS
September 6 H.R. Pufnstuf NBC
September 8 Where the Heart Is CBS
September 13 The Archie Comedy Hour
Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
September 17 The Courtship of Eddie's Father ABC
Room 222
September 23 Marcus Welby, M.D.
September 24 Medical Center CBS
September 26 The Brady Bunch ABC
September 29 Bright Promise NBC
Love, American Style ABC
November 10 Sesame Street[7] NET

Television films and specials

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First aired Title Network Reference
February 9 A Midsummer Night's Dream CBS
April 11 Fellini, a Director's Notebook NBC
April 13 Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman CBS
September 27 It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown CBS
November 12 Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert NBC
December 7 Frosty the Snowman CBS
December 12 The Archies' Sugar Sugar Jingle Jangle Christmas Show CBS

Changes of network affiliation

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Show Moved from Moved to
Get Smart NBC CBS
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir ABC

Ending this year

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Date Show Network Debut Status Notes
January 4 Wacky Races (returned in 2017) CBS September 14, 1968 Canceled Returned in 2017 on Boomerang’s video-on-demand service
April 13 The Mothers-in-Law NBC September 10, 1967
May 2 Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. CBS September 25, 1964 Ended
June 2 Peyton Place ABC September 15, 1964
June 3 Star Trek: The Original Series[1] NBC September 8, 1966
June 8 The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour CBS February 5, 1967 Canceled
June 8 Peanuts 1969 Canceled Returned in 1973
September 26 Match Game NBC December 31, 1962 Ended Returned in 1973 on CBS

Networks and services

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Network launches

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Network Type Launch date Notes Source
West Virginia Public Broadcasting Regional over-the-air state network July 14
Faith Broadcasting Network Religious television network October 1 Operated on a limited number of station in California
Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting Regional over-the-air state network October 5
UA-Columbia MSG Cable October 15 New York City-area-based cable channel.
Catholic Faith Network Regional religious cable television network Unknown date Possibly the earliest-known religious-formatted cable channel

Television stations

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Sign-ons

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Date City of license/Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/Ref.
January 13 Pikeville, Kentucky WKPI-TV 22 NET Part of the Kentucky Educational Television network as a satellite of WKLE/Lexington, Kentucky.
January 14 Garden City, New York
(New York City) 		WLIW 21
January 25 Monterey, California KMST 46 CBS
February 8 Fayetteville, Arkansas KGTO-TV 36 NBC
February 23 Morgantown, West Virginia WNPB 24 NET Later became part of the West Virginia Public Broadcasting television network
March 3 Bloomington, Indiana WTIU 30 NET
April 14 Eureka, California KEET 13 NET
June 8 St. Louis, Missouri KDNL-TV 30 Independent now an ABC affiliate
July 14 Huntington, West Virginia WVPB-TV 33 NET Part of the West Virginia Public Broadcasting television network
July 30 Nacogdoches, Texas KAEC-TV 19 CBS
August 18 Jacksonville, Illinois
(Quincy, Illinois/Hannibal, Missouri) 		WJJY-TV 14 ABC
August 20 Kingsport, Tennessee
(Johnson City/Bristol, TN-VA) 		WKPT-TV 19 ABC
August 29 Miles City/Billings, Montana KYUS-TV 3 Independent
September 8 Covington, Kentucky
(Cincinnati, Ohio) 		WCVN-TV 52 NET Part of Kentucky Educational Television (KET) as a satellite of WKLE/Lexington
October Manchester, New Hampshire WXPO-TV 50 Independent
October 1 Victoria, Texas KXIX 19 ABC Signed on as a satellite of KIII/Corpus Christi
October 5 Baltimore, Maryland WMPB 67 NET Flagship of Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting
October 7 Marquette, Michigan WJMN-TV 3 NBC
October 16 San Bernardino/Los Angeles, California KHOF-TV 30 Independent Originally licensed in Glendale, California
October 20 Hazard, Kentucky WKYH-TV 57 Independent [8]
October 25 Williston, North Dakota KXMD-TV 11 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)
October 26 Anniston, Alabama WHMA-TV 40 CBS (primary)
NBC (secondary)
October 29 Kansas City, Missouri KCIT-TV 50 Independent
November 19 Elmira, New York WENY-TV 36 ABC

Network affiliation changes

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Date City of license/Market Station Channel Old affiliation New affiliation Notes/Ref.
January Jamestown-Buffalo, New York WNYP-TV 26 CTV (Canada) Independent
January 1 Billings, Montana KULR-TV 8 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		ABC (exclusive) Would re-join NBC in 1987
Lubbock, Texas KCBD 11 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		NBC (exclusive)
KDUB-TV 13 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		CBS (exclusive)
KSEL-TV 28 Independent ABC
May 12 Sioux Falls, South Dakota KORN-TV 46 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		ABC (exclusive) NBC would return to the station (as KDLT) in 1983
August 18 Hannibal, Missouri
(Quincy, Illinois) 		KHQA-TV 7 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		CBS (exclusive) The secondary ABC affiliation ended with the sign-on of WJJY-TV in nearby Jacksonville, Illinois.
August 20 Bristol, Virginia
(Bristol-Kingsport-Johnson City, Tennessee) 		WCYB-TV 5 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		NBC (exclusive) The secondary ABC affiliation ended with the sign-on of WKPT-TV/Kingsport.
Johnson City, Tennessee
(Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA) 		WJHL-TV 11 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		CBS (exclusive)
October 9 Marquette, Michigan WLUC-TV CBS (primary)
ABC and NBC (secondary) 		CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		Secondary NBC affiliation was dropped with the sign-on of WJMN-TV; WLUC would trade network affiliations with WJMN to become an exclusive NBC affiliate in 1992
October 25 Williston, North Dakota KUMV-TV 8 NBC (primary)
ABC and CBS (secondary) 		NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)
Unknown date Great Falls, Montana KFBB-TV 5 ABC (primary)
CBS (secondary) 		ABC (primary)
NBC (secondary)
KRTV 3 NBC CBS
Lubbock, Texas KSEL-TV 28 Independent ABC
Santa Barbara, California KEYT-TV 3 ABC (primary)
CBS (exclusive) 		ABC (exclusive) Changed occurred on the occasion of the consolidation of the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo markets.
Santa Maria, California KCOY-TV 12 NBC (primary)
CBS (secondary) 		CBS (exclusive)
San Luis Obispo, California KSBY 6 NBC (primary)
CBS (secondary) 		NBC (exclusive)

Station closures

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Date City of license/Market Station Channel Affiliation Sign-on date Notes
May Worcester, Massachusetts WJZB-TV 14 Independent (primary)
NBC (secondary) 		December 4, 1953 (as WWOR-TV)
August 31 Corpus Christi, Texas KVDO-TV 22 Independent 1968
Galveston/Houston, Texas KVVV-TV 16 Independent February 1968
September 13 Ventura/Los Angeles, California KKOG-TV 16 December 14, 1968
Unknown date Jamestown-Buffalo, New York WNYP-TV 26 Independent 1966 Returned to the air in 1988 as WTJA
Marion, Indiana WTAF-TV 31 November 3, 1962

Births

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Main article: 1969 in television § Births

Deaths

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Main article: 1969 in television § Deaths

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c TIME 1969: Woodstock, the Moon and Manson: The Turbulent End of the ‘60s. New York: Time Inc. Home Entertainment. 2009. p. 107.
  2. ^ "30th anniversary of Apollo 11: 1969-1999". Apollo 11 30th Anniversary. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  3. ^ Rash, A. V. (September 26, 1969). “WLTV Tower is Blasted By Dynamite.” The Park City Daily News. Bowling Green, Kentucky, p. 1, 18. Archived from the original April 4, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Ryan, Ed (September 27, 1969). “Bowling Green Station’s TV Tower is Dynamited.” The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. B1. Archived from the original April 4, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 164–165. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  6. ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 86–88. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5.
  7. ^ TIME 1969: Woodstock, the Moon and Manson: The Turbulent End of the ‘60s. New York: Time Inc. Home Entertainment. 2009. p. 105.
  8. ^ Nash, Francis M. (1995). Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State. ISBN 9781879688933.
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