| List of years in American television: |
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| 1967–68 United States network television schedule |
| 1968–69 United States network television schedule |
| List of American television programs currently in production |
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) has prompted 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 was 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 aired 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. | |
| WABC-TV debuted the Eyewitness News format on behalf of news director Al Primo. | ||
| November 22 | An interracial kiss was aired in the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren". The kiss was shared by William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols. | |
| 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. |
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 | 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
| Title | Network | Date(s) of airing | Notes/Ref, |
|---|---|---|---|
| He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown | CBS | February 14 | |
| Elvis | NBC | December 3 | Elvis Presley's first television appearance in seven years; highest rated television special of 1968. |
Networks and services
Network launches
| Network | Type | Launch date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Educational Television | Regional Over-the-air public broadcast | September 23 |
Network conversions and rebrandings
| Network | Type | Conversion date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Network Incorporated | Hughes Television Network | Unknown |
Television stations
Sign-ons
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
Main article: 1968 in television § BirthsDeaths
Main article: 1968 in television § DeathsReferences
- "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.
- 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.
- ^ 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
| (1967 ←) 1968 in television (1969 →) | |
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