1986 in American television#Debuting this year

! Date

|ABC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri, owned by the University of Missouri, swaps affiliations with NBC affiliate KCBJ-TV, reversing a swap that took place in 1982. KCBJ-TV subsequently changes its call letters to KMIZ to reflect the change.

|A Vicks Formula 44 cough medicine advertisement premieres, featuring Peter Bergman from All My Children, in which he told the viewing audience "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV". This phrase, first used during the early 1970s by actor Robert Young of the series Marcus Welby, M.D. fame, was subsequently parodied by many popular culture references.

|Dana Plato makes her final appearance as Kimberly Drummond on ABC's Diff'rent Strokes.

|On NBC's Saturday Night Live, The Replacements perform "Bastards of Young" and "Kiss Me On the Bus", both from the Tim album. The entire band was drunk during both their performances. As one reviewer succinctly observed, the band could quite often be "mouthing profanities into the camera, stumbling into each other, falling down, dropping their instruments, and generally behaving like the apathetic drunks they were." After this incident, they were banned permanently from SNL, although lead singer Paul Westerberg would return as a solo musical guest during the 19th season.

|HBO begins scrambling its signal.

|NBC's pregame coverage for Super Bowl XX includes what became known as "the silent minute"; a 60-second countdown over a black screen (a concept devised by then-NBC Sports executive Michael Weisman). Also featured was an interview by NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw of United States President Ronald Reagan at the White House (this would not become a regular Super Bowl pregame feature until Super Bowl XLIII, when Today show host Matt Lauer interviewed U.S. President Barack Obama).

|NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger spacecraft disintegrates. CNN is the only news service to broadcast the disaster nationally.

|Helen Martin joins the cast of the NBC comedy 227, after appearing on every episode in the 1985–86 season. Martin replaces Kia Goodwin (who was dismissed from the cast after the first season), who portrayed Rose's (Alaina Reed) daughter, Tiffany, before written off the show initially during 1988.

|Culture Club's main singer Boy George appears on an episode of the NBC drama The A-Team.

|Frank Zappa appears on an episode of the NBC drama Miami Vice. Zappa plays a crime boss named "Mr. Frankie" in the episode "Payback".

|Rod Roddy becomes the permanent announcer of the CBS daytime game series The Price Is Right, replacing Johnny Olson, who had died the previous October.

|In honor of the 20th anniversary of the first episode of the television series The Monkees, MTV broadcasts "Pleasant Valley Sunday", a 22-hour marathon of Monkees episodes.

|Bay Area TV station KEMO-TV changes its call sign to KOFY-TV.

|The made-for-TV movie Diary of a Perfect Murder airs on NBC. This pilot episode serves as the basis for Matlock, which premieres September 23.

|A female contestant named Barbara Lowe appears on the game show Jeopardy! winning 5 games with approximately $50,000 in cash winnings. She was later found ineligible after it was revealed that Barbara appeared on about seven different game shows (most notably Bullseye, which was already off the air by the time of Jeopardy! current syndicated run) under four different aliases with as many Social Security numbers. Her winnings were originally withheld until Barbara sued the show's distributors Merv Griffin Enterprises and King World Productions. She ended up receiving her winnings, and was subsequently banned from the 1986 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions and any future tournaments on the show.

|WNEW-TV, TV station in New York changes its call sign to WNYW, in anticipation of its switch to Fox on October.

|Dallas/Fort Worth independent television station KRLD-TV changes its calls to KDAF in anticipation of its switch to Fox in October.

|On the NBC soap opera Search for Tomorrow, the entire town of Henderson is washed away in a flood. Main character Joanne Tourneur's motel is the only structure in town left standing.

|On the Saturday Night Live sketch "Mr. Monopoly", cast member Damon Wayans plays a minor police officer character role as a gay stereotype, which would later result in his firing.{{cite web|last1=Wright|first1=Megh|title=Saturday Night's Children: Damon Wayans (1985–1986)|url=http://splitsider.com/2013/10/saturday-nights-children-damon-wayans-1985-1986/|website=Splitsider|access-date=March 17, 2015|date=October 22, 2013}}{{cite web|last1=Fennessey|first1=Sean|title=SNL and The Curse of the Transitional Season|url=http://splitsider.com/2010/10/snl-and-the-curse-of-the-transitional-season/|website=Splitsider|access-date=March 17, 2015|date=October 13, 2010|archive-date=October 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023211100/http://splitsider.com/2010/10/snl-and-the-curse-of-the-transitional-season/|url-status=dead}} In the season finale however, executive producer Lorne Michaels invited Wayans back to perform stand up on the show, even though he had been fired by Michaels from the show two months prior.

|After four seasons, NBC cancels Remington Steele. This announcement results in Pierce Brosnan being named the newest portrayer of James Bond. As a result of the media frenzy concerning Brosnan's appointment, as well as the corresponding increase of Steele's ratings, NBC reverses its decision and announces Steele will return midway through the 1986–87 season. This results in Bond movie producers withdrawing their offer to Brosnan, though he would take on the role of Bond in 1995.

|MTV beings their annual Spring break coverage.

|Merv Griffin sells his company, Merv Griffin Enterprises, to The Coca-Cola Company for $250,000,000.

|The sitcom Too Close for Comfort is revamped under the new title, The Ted Knight Show. Production for the series is however, halted following star Ted Knight's death from colon cancer on August 26, 1986. Ten of the remaining episodes that were produced would eventually air from September 27, 1986, to February 7, 1987. Rebroadcasts of the single season of The Ted Knight Show would ultimately air under the Too Close for Comfort title.

|The second annual WrestleMania event is broadcast on pay-per-view. It's the only WrestleMania that is not held on the traditional Sunday until the two-night WrestleMania 36 in April 2020. It's also to date, the only WrestleMania to take place at three separate venues: the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York; the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois; and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California.

|NBC broadcasts Return to Mayberry, which reunites sixteen original cast members from The Andy Griffith Show. Return to Mayberry would become the highest-rated television film of 1986.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/work/return-to-mayberry-41130|title=Return to Mayberry|last=Erickson|first=Hal|publisher=allmovie.com|pages=1|accessdate=2009-06-07}}

|The series finale of Benson is broadcast on ABC. In the finale, the term-limited Governor Gatling runs for re-election as an independent candidate with Benson securing the party nomination, setting the stage for the two to go head-to-head in the general election. Benson and Gatling—who had strained relations due to the race—make peace with each other and watch the tight election returns together on television. As the broadcaster begins to announce that a winner is at last being projected, the episode ends on a freeze frame of Benson and Gatling, leaving the series with an unresolved cliffhanger.

|Like the previous films, a separate extended edition for Superman III was produced and aired on ABC. The opening credits were in outer space, featuring the main Superman theme with slight differences. This is followed by a number of scenes, including additional dialogue but not added into any of the official VHS, DVD or Blu-ray cuts of the film. The "Deluxe Edition" of Superman III, released in 2006 on par with the DVD release of Superman Returns, included these scenes in its extra features section as "deleted scenes".{{cite web|url=https://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=articles/unreleased-stuff2|title=Superman Homepage|website=www.supermanhomepage.com}}

|Geraldo Rivera hosts a live two-hour syndicated special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault, infamously coming up empty-handed.

|A man calling himself Captain Midnight jams HBO's signal to protest its monthly fee of $12.95.

|NBC broadcasts the two-part miniseries The Deliberate Stranger, starring Mark Harmon as real life serial killer Ted Bundy. During the second part's broadcast, a few NBC affiliates (including WPXI channel 11 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and KPRC channel 2 Houston, Texas) were interrupted by a frozen scene and a static sound until placing their own technical difficulties tel-op graphics for less than 30 seconds before returning to its fixed program.{{Cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdAZLy8uKSg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/vdAZLy8uKSg |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live|title=KPRC issued technical difficulties during second part|via=YouTube|date=May 5, 1986|access-date=July 12, 2020|language=en-US}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqHpDwxcO9o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/FqHpDwxcO9o |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live|title=WPXI issued technical difficulties during second part|via=YouTube|date=May 5, 1986|access-date=July 12, 2020|language=en-US}}{{cbignore}}

|Tommy Lee of the rock group Mötley Crüe marries actress Heather Locklear.

|NBC unveils its new six-feathered Peacock logo during its 60th anniversary special. It is still used by the network today.

|Bobby Ewing is revealed to be alive and showering in his ex-wife Pam's bathroom in the season finale of the CBS drama Dallas; in the September 26 season premiere, it was shown that the entire 1985–86 season was a dream of hers the night after they agreed to remarry.

|The Stanley Cup Finals between the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens is broadcast in the United States on ESPN. This is the first of three consecutive seasons that ESPN would televise the Stanley Cup Finals before being succeeded by SportsChannel America in 1989.

|Cher calls David Letterman an "asshole" during a taping of NBC's Late Night with David Letterman.

|The NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets is broadcast on CBS. This is notably, the first time the "NBA Finals" branding is officially used, as the "NBA World Championship Series" branding, which had been in use since the beginning of the National Basketball Association, is dropped.

|ABC airs the Indianapolis 500 live for the first time.

|CBS affiliate WCHS-TV in Charleston, West Virginia swaps affiliations with ABC affiliate WOWK-TV, reversing a swap that took place in 1962.

|General Electric completes its acquisition of RCA, owner of NBC at that time, this made Denver's KCNC-TV an NBC owned and operated station.

|St. Louis' CBS affiliate KMOX-TV was changed to KMOV-TV after being bought out by Viacom.

|CBS affiliate WOWT and NBC affiliate KMTV-TV, both in Omaha, Nebraska, agree to swap affiliations, thus reversing a swap that took place in 1956.

|CBS' Washington affiliate WDVM-TV changes its call letters to WUSA-TV. In return, the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul changes its call letters to KARE-TV.

|The opening ceremonies for the first annual Goodwill Games, an international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner in response to the Olympic boycotts of the period, is broadcast on TBS.

|The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, emanating from the Astrodome in Houston, Texas is broadcast on ABC. The American League would defeat the National League by the score of 3–2. This would also turn out to be the final baseball game to be managed by Dick Howser of the American League team and Kansas City Royals. Broadcasters noticed that Howser was messing up signals when he changed pitchers, and Howser later admitted he that felt sick before the game. Shortly thereafter, Howser was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent surgery. On June 17, 1987, Dick Howser died at the age of 51.

|A tornado is broadcast live by NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis when the station's helicopter pilot makes a chance encounter.

|For one week, CBS Evening News anchorman Dan Rather attempts to initiate the use of the word "Courage" as a slogan. The attempt is a failure, and is noticed by other members of the press.

|Oprah Winfrey's Chicago-based talk show goes national.

|The film-review program Siskel & Ebert makes its debut in syndication. Although the two critics have been working as a pair since 1975, this will be their longest running program and will run in various incarnations until 2010.

|ABC becomes the second American network to discontinue use of chime intonations at the beginning of telecasts, switching to satellite feed activation.

|The pilot episode for what would become Lucille Ball's final television series, Life with Lucy, airs on ABC. Only 8 out of the 13 episodes produced were aired before ABC cancelled the series. Unlike Ball's previous sitcoms, Life with Lucy was a failure in the ratings and poorly received by critics and viewers alike, ranking among the worst sitcoms in broadcasting history.

|On the NBC comedy The Facts of Life, Charlotte Rae quits the role of Mrs. Garrett (who marries her old friend Bruce Gaines, played by Robert Mandan), and is replaced by Cloris Leachman, who played Beverly Ann Stickle, Mrs. Garrett's sister.

|CBS returns the 4:00 p.m. timeslot to its affiliates following the cancellation of Press Your Luck a month earlier.

|While walking to his New York City home, CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather is accosted and beaten on the sidewalk by two men, who pummeled and kicked him while repeating the question "Kenneth, what is the frequency?"

|The game show Double Dare premieres on Nickelodeon. Almost overnight, the show would make Nickelodeon (which by this time was struggling and only had a couple of hits, such as You Can't Do That on Television) the most watched cable channel. It would go on to be the channel's longest running game show (and the longest running series overall by episode count).

|The Fox Broadcasting Company (then abbreviated as FBC; now Fox) launches as the United States' fourth commercial broadcast television network, the first such attempt since 1967. Its very first program is The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers.

|Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon{{cite news|last1=Gendel|first1=Morgan|title=Another Groundling Hops To 'Snl'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-09-30-ca-10028-story.html|access-date=23 January 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=30 September 1986}} officially join the cast of Saturday Night Live. The season opener features Madonna, who hosted of the previous season's opener, reading a "statement" from NBC about Season 11's mediocre writing and bad cast choices.{{Cite web|url=http://snltranscripts.jt.org/86/86amadonna.phtml|title=Madonna: "It Was All a Dream" - SNL Transcripts Tonight|date=8 October 2018 }} According to the "statement", the entire 1985–86 season was "...{{nbsp}}all a dream. A horrible, horrible dream."

|Fox signs its first affiliate outside of its charter group, when WTUV in Utica, New York signs-on.

|NBC's broadcast of Game 6 of the World Series, in which the New York Mets came from behind to defeat the Boston Red Sox in ten innings, causes the first cancellation of Saturday Night Live in its eleven-year history up until that point. That night's episode, which was hosted by Rosanna Arquette with musical guest Ric Ocasek, actually filmed starting at 1:30 AM EST. Instead, it aired two weeks later on November 8 with an introduction by Mets pitcher Ron Darling, who playfully apologized for the cancellation.

|As a Halloween special, WPIX in New York City airs the uncut Invasion of the Body Snatchers, followed by an uncut episode of The Twilight Zone.

|A night for programs that could be described as anything but eventful. On ABC, a special celebrating the 15th birthday of Walt Disney World airs followed by the network television premiere of Splash. On NBC, Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star is shown for the first time. While on CBS, part 1 of the miniseries Monte Carlo airs.

|On CBS, Murder, She Wrote{{'}}s Jessica Fletcher crosses over to Magnum, P.I. in a plot that sees her coming to Hawaii to investigate an attempt to murder Robin Masters' guests. She then tries to clear Thomas Magnum when he's accused of killing the hitman.

|The Disney Channel signs off for the last time. From 7 a.m. on December 1, 1986, the channel broadcasts 24 hours a day.

|Singer Darlene Love performs "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for the first time on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. Love would go on to sing the song annually from 1994 to 2014 on David Letterman's succeeding program, CBS' Late Show with David Letterman on the episode before Christmas. The only exception would be 2007, when Love was unable to perform due a Writers' Strike. So a repeat of her 2006 performance was shown instead.

|NBC's Saturday Night Live features a sketch where William Shatner, sick of Star Trek fans asking him inane questions, tells them to "Get a life!"

|Liberace makes what turns out to be his last public appearance on a prerecorded interview with Oprah Winfrey.

| Blacke's Magic

|NBC

| Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak

|rowspan="3"|ABC

| He's the Mayor

| The Redd Foxx Show

| Planet Earth

| PBS

| The Last Precinct

| NBC

| Melba

|CBS

| Fortune Dane

|rowspan="2"|ABC

| Sidekicks

| You Again?

|rowspan="3"|NBC

| Valerie

| Matlock

| Fast Times

|rowspan="2"|CBS

| All Is Forgiven

|NBC

| Morningstar/Eveningstar

|CBS

|rowspan="2"|ABC

| Mr. Sunshine

| Fathers and Sons

|NBC

| Bridges to Cross

|rowspan="2"|CBS

| Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills

| The Canned Film Festival

|Syndication

| Me & Mrs. C

|NBC

| The Mysterious Cities of Gold

|Nickelodeon

| A Current Affair

|rowspan="2"|Syndication

| WWF Superstars of Wrestling

|ABC

| Ghostbusters

|rowspan="5"|Syndication

| The Wizard

|CBS

| It's Garry Shandling's Show

|Showtime

| Our House

|rowspan="3"|NBC

| Easy Street

|rowspan="2"|ABC

|rowspan="3"|CBS

|rowspan="4"|Syndication

| The New Adventures of Jonny Quest

| Rambo: The Force of Freedom

| Jack and Mike

|rowspan="2"|ABC

| Head of the Class

| Crime Story

|rowspan="2"|NBC

| Starman

|rowspan="4"|ABC

| The Ellen Burstyn Show

| Dennis the Menace

|rowspan="2"|Syndication

|CBS

|NBC

| Sledge Hammer!

|rowspan="2"|ABC

| Our World

| Kay O'Brien

|rowspan="2"|CBS

| The New Mike Hammer

|NBC

| WWF Wrestling Challenge

|Syndication

| Designing Women

|rowspan="3"|CBS

| Better Days

| My Sister Sam

|Nickelodeon

| The Late Show

|Fox

| The Cavanaughs

|CBS

| Dads

|rowspan="2"|ABC

| Outlaws

|CBS

! Title

|1981

|NBC

|Same

|CBS

|January 6

|1985

|Syndication

|The Ted Knight Show

|Same

|April 21

|1983

|ABC

|rowspan="3"|Same

|rowspan="3"|Syndication

|September 13

|rowspan="2"|1984

|rowspan="2"|NBC

|September 15

|September 26

! Date

! Title

! Debut

|Body Language

|1984

|Stir Crazy

|rowspan="3"|1985

|Shadow Chasers

|Lady Blue

|Inspector Gadget (returned in 2015)

|1983

|Ripley's Believe It or Not! (returned in 2000)

|1982

|Misfits of Science

|1985

|Planet Earth

|1986

|Diff'rent Strokes

|1978

|Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak

|1986

|Foley Square

|rowspan="2"|1985

|Benson

|1979

|rowspan="2"|1986

|Fast Times

|Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors

|1985

|The Fall Guy

|1981

|Crazy Like a Fox

|1984

|Hardcastle and McCormick

|1983

|Blacke's Magic

|1986

|Charlie & Co.

|1985

|The Joker's Wild (returned in 1990)

|1972

|1963

|1956

|The Love Boat

|1977

|1986

|T. J. Hooker

|1982

|The Merv Griffin Show

|1972

|Star Wars: Droids

|1985

|Knight Rider

|1982

|The Paper Chase

|1978

|Riptide

|1984

|Code of Vengeance

|1985

|Trapper John, M.D.

|1979

|Price Is Right (nighttime) (returned in 1994)

|1972

|Press Your Luck (returned in 2019)

|1983

|Better Days

|rowspan="5"|1986

|Life with Lucy

|Kay O'Brien

|Ghostbusters

|It's Punky Brewster

|rowspan="2"|1985

|Ewoks

|rowspan="3"|1986

|The Canned Film Festival

|1951

|Nickelodeon

|rowspan="2"|TBS

| Disney Channel

|CBS

|rowspan="3"|ABC

|Syndication

|rowspan="5"|NBC

|CBS

|rowspan="4"|Syndication

|ABC

|CBS

|November 3

|ABC

|May 4

! Network

! Type

! Launch date

! Notes

! Source

| Cable television

| April 1

|

|

| Cable television

| June 2

|

|

| Cable television

| November 24

|

|

|Liberty Broadcasting Network

|Cable television

|Unknown

|

|

|Tempo Television

|Cable television

|March

|

|

! Date

! City of License/Market

! Station

! Channel

! Affiliation

! Notes/Ref.

| Quincy, Illinois

| WTJR

| !6

| CTN

|

| Columbus, Ohio

| W17AI

| 17

| Independent

|

| Mansfield, Ohio

| WMFD-TV

| 68

| Independent

|

| Houston, Texas

| KTHT

| 67

| Independent

|

| Pensacola, Florida/Mobile, Alabama

| WHBR

| 33

| CTN

|

| Birmingham, Alabama

| WCAJ

| 68

| Independent

|

| Hot Springs, Arkansas

| KRZB-TV

| 26

| Independent

|

| Syracuse, New York

| WKAF

| 68

| Independent

|

| Urbana, Illinois

| WCCU

| 27

| Independent

| Satellite of WRSP-TV/Springfield

| Rockford, Illinois

| W68BR

| 68

|

|

| Olean/Buffalo, New York

| W20AB

| 20

| ACTS/TempoTV

|

| Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia

| WVFT

| 27

| Independent

|

| Lufkin, Texas

| KHTM-LP

| 13

| Independent

|

| Lynchburg, Virginia

| WJPR

| 21

| Independent

|

| Honolulu, Hawaii

| KBFD

| 32

| Asian independent

|

| KOCV-TV

| 36

| PBS

|

| Jefferson City/Columbia, Missouri

| KNLJ

| 25

| Religious independent

|

| Louisville, Kentucky

| WBNA

| 21

| Independent

|

| West Monroe/Monroe, Louisiana
{{small|(El Dorado, Arkansas)}}

| KMCT-TV

| 39

| Religious independent

|

| Omaha, Nebraska

| KPTM

| 42

| Independent

|

| Stockton, California
{{small|Sacramento/Modesto, California)}}

| KSCH-TV

| 58

| Independent

|

| Rawlins, Wyoming

| KRWY

| 9

| ABC

|

| Florence, Alabama

| WTRT

| 26

| Independent

|

| Lakeland/Tampa, Florida

| WTMV

| 32

| Independent

|

| San Francisco, California

| K30BI

| 30

| The Box

|

| Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

| WUHM-TV

| 22

| Independent

| Satellite of WAPA-TV/San Juan

| Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

| W35BT

| 35

| Cornerstone Television

|

| Joplin, Missouri

| KOZJ

| 26

| PBS

| Satellite of KOZK/Springfield

| Ottumwa, Iowa
{{small|(Kirksville, Missouri)}}

| KOIA-TV

| 15

| Independent

|

| Madison, Wisconsin

| WMSN-TV

| 47

| Independent

|

| Hartford, Connecticut

| W13BF

| 13

| Netspan

|

| Odessa/Midland, Texas

| KPEJ-TV

| 24

| Independent

|

| Beaumont, Texas

| KITU-TV

| 34

| TBN

|

| KJTM-TV

| 38

| Independent

|

| Nashville, Tennessee

| W61AR

| 61

| Independent (primary)
America One (secondary)

|

| Charleston, Illinois

| WEIU-TV

| 51

| Independent

|

| Wilmington, Delaware
{{small|(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)}}

| WTGI-TV

| 61

| Independent (primary)
ABC (secondary)

| Clearednetwork programs not cleared by WPVI-TV until 1988.

| Gadsden/Anniston, Alabama
{{small|(Birmingham/Tuscaloosa, Alabama)}}

| WTJP-TV

| 60

| TBN

|

| Nashville, Tennessee

| W24AE

| 24

| HSN

|

| Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

| WELU

| 32

| Religious independent

|

| Iron Mountain/Marquette, Michigan

| WDHS

| 8

| TBN

|

| Honolulu, Hawaii

| KWHE

| 14

| Independent

|

| Naranjito, Puerto Rico

| WECN

| 64

| Religious independent

|

| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

| K07TX

| 7

| Independent

|

| Monterey/Santa Cruz, California

| KSMS

| 67

| SIN

|

| Erie, Pennsylvania

| WETG

| 66

| Independent

|

| Indianapolis, Indiana

| W31AL

| 31

| EWTN

|

| Portland, Maine

| WPXT

| 51

| Independent

|

| New London/Hartford, Connecticut

| WTWS

| 26

| Independent

|

| Pembina, North Dakota
{{small|(Emerson/Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)}}

| KNRR

| 12

| Independent

| Satellite of KVRR/Fargo

| Great Falls, Montana

| KTGF

| 16

| NBC

|

| Garland/Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

| KIAB-TV

| 23

| SIN (primary)
CTN/HSN (secondary)

|

| W26AB

| 26

| America One (primary)
FamilyNet (secondary)

|

| La Crosse, Wisconsin

| WQOW

| 18

| ABC

|

| St. Joseph, Missouri

| KTAJ-TV

| 16

| TBN

|

| Reno, Nevada

| KREN-TV

| 27

| SIN

|

| Utica, New York

| WTUV

| 33

| Fox

|

| Johnstown/Altoona, Pennsylvania

| WWCP-TV

| 8

| Independent

|

| Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina

| WUNP-TV

| 36

| PBS

| Part of University of North Carolina Public Television

| Clarksville, Indiana
{{small|(Louisville, Kentucky)}}

| W05BA

| 5

| TBN

|

| Bend, Oregon

| K48BL

| 48

| America One

|

| Visalia/Fresno, California

| KNXT

| 49

| Religious independent

|

| Portsmouth, Ohio

| K21BK

| 21

| Independent

|

| San Jose, California
{{small|(San Francisco/Oakland, California)}}

| KLXV-TV

| 65

| TBN

|

| Vallejo, California
{{small|(San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, California)}}

| KPST-TV

| 66

| Asian independent

|

| Salt Lake City, Utah

| KUEN

| 9

| Educational independent

|

| Fort Wayne, Indiana

| WFWA

| 39

| PBS

|

| Norwell/Boston, Massachusetts

| WRYT

| 46

| Independent

|

| La Salle/Chicago, Illinois

| WWTO-TV

| 35

| TBN

|

| Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands

| WTTM-TV

| 27

| Independent

|

! Date

! City of License/Market

! Station

! Channel

! Old affiliation

! New affiliation

! Notes/Ref.

| rowspan=2| Columbia, Missouri

| KMIZ

| 17

| NBC

| ABC

|

| 8

| ABC

| NBC

|

| CharlestonHuntington, West Virginia

| WCHS-TV

| 8

| CBS

| ABC

|

| WOWK-TV

| 13

| ABC

| CBS

|

| rowspan=2| Omaha, Nebraska

| KMTV

| 3

| NBC

| CBS

|

| 6

| CBS

| NBC

|

| Albany, New York

| WXXA-TV

| 23

| rowspan=9| Independent

| rowspan="77" | Fox

|

| KGSW

| 14

|

| KCIT

| 14

|

| KTBY

| 4

|

| WAXA-TV

| 40

|

| WXGZ-TV

| 32

|

| WATL

| 36

|

| W67BE

| 67

|

| KBVO

| 42

|

| WBFF

| 45

| Independent (primary)
ABC/CBS (secondary)

| Previously cleared programs not cleared by WMAR-TV (later WBAL-TV) and WJZ-TV

| WDBB

| 17

| rowspan="23" | Independent

|

| KTRV-TV

| 12

|

| WCCB

| 18

|

| WRSP-TV

| 55

|

| WTAT-TV

| 24

|

| WDSI-TV

| 61

|

| WFLD

| 32

|

| KXRM-TV

| 21

|

| WTTE

| 28

|

| KDAF

| 33

|

| WDKY-TV

| 56

|

| WRGT-TV

| 45

|

| KDSM-TV

| 17

|

| WKBD-TV

| 50

|

| KCIK-TV

| 14

|

| K25AS

| 25

|

| KVRR

| 15

|

| WSMH

| 66

|

| WFTX-TV

| 36

|

| WNAL

| 44

|

| WXMI

| 17

|

| WNRW-TV

| 45

|

| WPMT

| 43

|

| WTIC-TV

| 61

| Independent (primary)
CBS/ABC (secondary)

| Previously cleared ABC or CBS programming not carried by WTNH or WFSB-TV, respectively.

| WOLF-TV

| 56

| rowspan="33" | Independent

|

| KHNL

| 13

|

| WVAH-TV

| 23

|

| WXIN
{{small|(recalled from WPDS-TV)}}

| 59

|

| W49AI

| 49

|

| WAWS

| 30

|

| KSHB-TV

| 41

|

| KRRT

| 35

|

| KADN

| 15

|

| KVHP

| 29

|

| KVVU-TV

| 5

|

| KTTV

| 11

|

| WDRB

| 41

|

| KJTV-TV

| 36

|

| WJPR-TV

| 21

|

| WMSN-TV

| 47

|

| WCIX-TV

| 6

|

| WCGV-TV

| 24

|

| WCOV-TV

| 20

|

| WPMI-TV

| 15

|

| KCBA

| 35

|

| WCAY-TV

| 30

|

| WXIX-TV

| 19

|

| WNEW-TV

| 5

|

| WTVZ

| 33

|

| KTVU

| 2

|

| KAUT-TV

| 43

|

| WOFL

| 35

|

| KOIA-TV

| 15

|

| WYZZ-TV

| 43

|

| KNRR

| 12

| Satellite of KVRR/Fargo

| WTXF-TV

| 29

|

| KNXV-TV

| 15

|

| WPGH-TV

| 53

| Independent (primary)
CBS (secondary)

|

| KJTM-TV

| 38

| rowspan=4| Independent

|

| WPXT

| 51

|

| WNAC-TV

| 64

|

| WLFL-TV

| 22

|

| KRCR-TV

| 7

| ABC (exclusive)

| ABC (primary)
Fox (secondary)

| KAME-TV

| 21

| rowspan=4| Independent

| rowspan=4| Fox

| WRLH-TV

| 35

| WUHF

| 31

| KTXL

| 40

| WSZE-TV

| 10

| NBC (primary)
CBS/ABC (secondary)

| NBC (primary)
CBS/ABC/Fox (secondary)

| Satellite of KUAM-TV/Hagtna, Guam

| KIDY

| 6

| rowspan=6| Independent

| rowspan=20| Fox

|

| KSTU

| 13

|

| WTGS

| 28

|

| KFNB

| 20

|

| WOLF-TV

| 38

|

| WOIO

| 19

|

| KMSS-TV

| 33

| Independent (primary)
CBS (secondary)

|

| KAYU-TV

| 28

| rowspan=4| Independent

|

| KDEB-TV

| 27

|

| KDNL

| 30

|

| WSYT-TV

| 68

|

| KCPQ

| 13

| Independent (primary)
CBS (secondary)

|

| WTOG

| 44

| rowspan=8| Independent

|

| KBRR

| 10

| Satellite of KVRR/Fargo

| XETV-TV

| 6

|

| WUPW

| 36

|

| KOKI-TV

| 23

|

| KMSB

| 11

|

| KWKT-TV

| 44

|

| WTTG

| 5

|

| WJCK

| 50

| ABC (exclusive)

| ABC (primary)
Fox (secondary)

|

| KSAS-TV

| 24

| rowspan=2| Independent

| rowspan=2| Fox

|

| KJTL

| 18

|

| Altoona/Johnstown, Pennsylvania

| WWPC-TV

| 23

| ABC

| Independent

|

! Date

|Anna Brewster

|English actress (Versailles)

|Charlyne Yi

|Actress (House, Steven Universe, We Bare Bears, Summer Camp Island)

|Jesse Draper

|Actress (The Naked Brothers Band)

|Shane Sweet

|Actor (The Journey of Allen Strange, Married... with Children)

|Jaclyn Linetsky

|Canadian voice actress (Mega Babies, What's with Andy?, Caillou) (d. 2003)

|Jessy Schram

|Actress (Last Resort, Falling Skies, Nashville) and singer

|Actress (Drake & Josh)

|Devin Kelley

|Actress (The Chicago Code, Resurrection, Frequency)

|Actress (Glee) and singer

|Julianna Strickland

|YouTube personality and actress

|Daniel Wayne Smith

|Actor (d. 2006)

|Mischa Barton

|Actress (KaBlam!, Once and Again, The O.C.)

|Actor (Phil of the Future, Rita Rocks)

|Drew Tyler Bell

|Actor (The Bold and the Beautiful)

|Ashley Buccille

|Voice actress (Lila Sawyer on Hey Arnold!)

|Lauren Conrad

|Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, The Hills)

|Gemma Arterton

|English actress

|Danielle Vega

|American actress (Barney & Friends)

|Elizabeth Alderfer

|American actress

|Alice Greczyn

|Actress (Quintuplets, The Lying Game)

|Actor (In Treatment)

|Stephen Colletti

|Actor (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, One Tree Hill)

|Anna Hutchison

|New Zealand actress (Power Rangers Jungle Fury)

|Valorie Curry

|Actress

|Tiffany Thornton

|Actress (Sonny with a Chance, So Random!) and singer

|Amber Riley

|Actress (Glee)

|Ophelia Lovibond

|English actress (Holby City, Titanic: Blood and Steel, Elementary)

|Miko Hughes

|Actor (Full House, Life with Louie)

|Bryce Papenbrook

|Voice actor (Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan)

|Justin Berfield

|Actor (Unhappily Ever After, Malcolm in the Middle, Kim Possible)

|Actress

|Teresa Palmer

|Australian actress

|Kingsley Ben-Adir

|British actor

|Sonja Kinski

|Actress

|Margo Harshman

|Actress (Even Stevens, Run of the House)

|Dominique McElligott

|Actress

|Brittany Snow

|Actress (American Dreams, Harry's Law)

|Vadim Schneider

|French-Canadian actor (d. 2003)

|Jamie Bell

|English actor (Turn: Washington's Spies)

|Alexandra Daddario

|Actress (All My Children, White Collar, Parenthood)

|Olesya Rulin

|Russian-born actress (High School Musical)

|Michael Drayer

|American actor

|Ruby Rose

|Australian actress (Orange is the New Black, Batwoman)

|Scott Eastwood

|Actor and son of Clint Eastwood

|Matt Bush

|Actor (Glory Daze, The Goldbergs)

|Steven Strait

|Actor

|Actor

|Jessica Hart

|Australian model

|Lady Gaga

|Singer, songwriter, and actress (American Horror Story)

|Actress (Gwen Tennyson in Ben 10)

|Tessa Ferrer

|Actress (Grey's Anatomy)

|Actor

|Drew Van Acker

|Actor (Tower Prep, Pretty Little Liars)

|Singer (American Idol){{Cite news |last=Levy |first=Glen |date=2010-05-27 |title=Fast Facts: American Idol Winner Lee DeWyze |url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2010/05/27/fast-facts-american-idol-winner-lee-dewyze/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |work=Time |language=en-US |issn=0040-781X}}

|Voice actor (Stinky Peterson on Hey Arnold!)

|Amanda Bynes

|Actress (All That, The Amanda Show, Rugrats, What I Like About You)

|Actor

|Charlotte Flair

|Pro Wrestler (WWE)

|Kay Adams

|Sportscaster

|Jason Ralph

|Actor

|Leighton Meester

|Actress (Gossip Girl, Single Parents) and singer

|Actor (Greek, Last Man Standing)

|Matt McGorry

|Actor (Orange is the New Black, How to Get Away with Murder)

|Ester Dean

|Actress

|Sufe Bradshaw

|Actress (Veep)

|Amber Heard

|Actress (Hidden Palms)

|John DeLuca

|Actor (General Hospital)

|English actor (Teen Wolf, The Originals)

|Jenna Coleman

|English actress (Emmerdale, Doctor Who, Victoria)

|Jenna Ushkowitz

|Actress (Glee) and singer

|Zoran Korach

|Actor (Sam & Cat)

|Host

|Dianna Agron

|Actress (Glee), singer, and dancer

|Actor

|Abby Huntsman

|TV host

|Emily Hart

|Actress (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Sabrina: The Animated Series)

|Actor (The 100)

|Poppy Delevingne

|English model

|Sasheer Zamata

|Actress and comedian (Saturday Night Live)

|Laura Spencer

|Actress (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, The Big Bang Theory)

|Grace Gummer

|Actress (Gigantic, American Horror Story, Extant) and daughter of Meryl Streep and Don Gummer

|Emily VanCamp

|Actress (Everwood, Brothers & Sisters, Revenge)

|Lena Dunham

|Actress (Girls)

|Drew Roy

|Actor (Hannah Montana, Falling Skies)

|Actor (Greek)

|Actress (Ocean Ave., Hope & Faith, New Girl) and model

|Amy Gumenick

|Swedish-born American actress (Arrow, Turn: Washington's Spies)

|Actor (Full House, Smart Guy, Baby Daddy, Kim Possible)

|Welsh actress (Gotham)

|Louisa Krause

|Actress

|Actor

|Da'Vine Joy Randolph

|Actress

|Molly Ephraim

|Actress (Last Man Standing)

|Mark Ballas

|Dancer and choreographer (Dancing with the Stars)

|Seth Rollins

|Pro wrestler{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

|Will Peltz

|Actor

|Josh Segarra

|Actor (Sirens, Arrow)

|Oona Chaplin

|Spanish actress (The Hour, Game of Thrones)

|Amanda Crew

|Canadian actress (Silicon Valley)

|Leslie Carter

|Singer (died 2012)

|Race car driver

|Actor

|Joey Zimmerman

|Actor (Earth 2, Halloweentown)

|Shia LaBeouf

|Actor (Even Stevens)

|Kat Dennings

|Actress (Raising Dad, 2 Broke Girls)

|rowspan="2"|Actresses (Full House, Two of a Kind, So Little Time)

|Marie Avgeropoulos

|Actress (The 100)

|Richard Madden

|English actor (Game of Thrones)

|Canadian actress (15/Love, The Assistants, Being Human)

|Erin Mackey

|Actress (The Parent Trap)

|Dreama Walker

|Actress (Gossip Girl, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23)

|Kaitlin Cullum

|Actress (Grace Under Fire)

|Singer, actress

|Drake Bell

|Actor (The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ben 10)

|Actor

|Shadia Simmons

|Canadian actress

|Actress

|Comedian

|Singer

|Casey Reinhardt

|Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County)

|Lindsay Lohan

|Actress (Another World, 4-time host of Saturday Night Live, Lindsay, Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club) and daughter of Michael Lohan and Dina Lohan

|Leon Frierson

|Actor (All That)

|Jake McDorman

|Actor (Quintuplets, Greek, Limitless)

|Kiely Williams

|Actress (The Cheetah Girls), singer

|Wyatt Russell

|Actor

|Mishael Morgan

|Actress (The Young and the Restless)

|Laura Carmichael

|English actress (Downton Abbey)

|Actress (Sorority Forever), singer and YouTube personality

|Brando Eaton

|Actor (Dexter, Zoey 101, The Secret Life of the American Teenager)

|Actress

|Travis Milne

|Canadian actor (Rookie Blue)

|Osric Chau

|Canadian actor (Supernatural)

|Diane Guerrero

|Actress (Orange Is the New Black, Jane the Virgin, Superior Donuts, Doom Patrol)

|Actress

|Megan Park

|Actress (The Secret Life of the American Teenager, The Neighbors)

|Monica Raymund

|Actress (Lie to Me, The Good Wife, Chicago Fire)

|Alexandra Chando

|Actress (As the World Turns, The Lying Game)

|Actor (Glee, Awkward)

|Brandon Gilberstadt

|Actor (100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd)

|Danielle Keaton

|Actress

|Andrew McFarlane

|Actor (My Wife and Kids)

|Peyton List

|Actress (As the World Turns, The Tomorrow People)

|Ashley Spillers

|Actress (Vice Principals, Rugrats)

|Casey LaBow

|Actress

|Canadian volleyball player

|Actor (Stanley, Desperate Housewives)

|Bryton James

|Actor (Family Matters, The Young and the Restless, Young Justice)

|Kiami Davael

|Actress

|Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live)

|Mario

|Actor

|Actor

|Armie Hammer

|Actor

|Lea Michele

|Actress (Glee, Scream Queens)

|Actress

|Ryan Kelley

|Actor (Teen Wolf)

|Actor (Mad About You, Hey Arnold!)

|Actor

|Camille Mana

|Actress (One on One)

|Davida Williams

|Actress (Lizzie McGuire, Degrassi: The Next Generation, As the World Turns)

|Leah LaBelle

|American singer (American Idol) (d. 2018)

|Sarah Levy

|Actress

|Alfie Allen

|English actor (Game of Thrones)

|Actress (Shameless) and singer-songwriter

|Actress (Awkward)

|A. J. Trauth

|Actor (Even Stevens, Kim Possible)

|Heidi Montag

|Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, The Hills)

|American former YouTuber

|American rapper

|Ian Harding

|Actor (Pretty Little Liars)

|Actress (One on One, Let's Stay Together, Recovery Road, The Proud Family)

|Danielle Jonas

|Actress (Married to Jonas) and television personality

|Mandy Musgrave

|Actress (Days of Our Lives, South of Nowhere)

|Actor

|Aldis Hodge

|Actor (A.T.O.M., Leverage, Turn: Washington's Spies, Underground)

|Kaylee DeFer

|Actress (The War at Home, Gossip Girl)

|Eloise Mumford

|Actress (The River)

|Actress

|Ashley Leggat

|Canadian actress

|American professional baseball pitcher

|Hannah Leder

|Actress

|Lisa Foiles

|Actress (All That)

|Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, The Hills)

|Ki Hong Lee

|South Korean actor (The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)

|Jurnee Smollett

|Actress (On Our Own, Friday Night Lights, The Defenders, True Blood, Underground)

|Camilla Belle

|Actress

|Amber Stevens West

|Actress (Greek, The Carmichael Show, Ghosted, Happy Together)

|Actress (Teen Wolf)

|Lucy Griffiths

|English actress (Robin Hood, True Blood, Preacher)

|Renee Bargh

|Australian entertainment reporter

|Tyler Blackburn

|Actor (Pretty Little Liars, Ravenswood)

|Actor (Moesha, The Proud Family) and rapper

|Raquel Lee

|Actress (The Amanda Show, The Proud Family)

|Voice actress (June on KaBlam!)

|Kristine Leahy

|American television host

|Kyle Gallner

|Actor

|Briana Evigan

|Actress and daughter of Greg Evigan

|English actress (Game of Thrones)

|Actress (90210)

|Drake

|Canadian actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and rapper

|Annabelle Dexter-Jones

|Actress

|Inbar Lavi

|Israeli actress (Prison Break, Underemployed, Gang Related, Imposters)

|Actress

|May Calamawy

|Egyptian-Palestinian actress (Ramy, Moon Knight){{Cite web |title=May Calamawy |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/may_calamawy |access-date=May 8, 2022 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402165609/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/may_calamawy |url-status=live}}

|Italia Ricci

|Canadian actress (Unnatural History)

|Penn Badgley

|Actor (The Young and the Restless, The Mountain, The Bedford Diaries, Gossip Girl)

|Antonia Thomas

|Actress

|Alexz Johnson

|Actress (So Weird)

|Katie Leclerc

|Actress (Switched at Birth)

|Josh Peck

|Actor (The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Grandfathered, Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

|Rafael de la Fuente

|Venezuelan actor (Every Witch Way, Empire, Dynasty)

|Singer

|Cory Michael Smith

|Actor (Gotham)

|Winston Duke

|Actor

|Mitchah Williams

|Actor (Lizzie McGuire)

|Joseph Ashton

|Actor (L.A. Doctors, Hey Arnold!, Rocket Power)

|Actress

|Ashley Fink

|Actress (Glee)

|Jordan Warkol

|Voice actor (Hey Arnold!, Rocket Power)

|British actor (Nashville)

|Comedian and actress

|Maya Kazan

|Actress

|Katie Cassidy

|Actress (Harper's Island, Melrose Place, Arrow), singer and daughter of David Cassidy

|Actor

|Johnny Simmons

|Actor

|Scott Evans

|American host

|Erin McGathy

|American actress

|Chris Chalk

|American actor

|Jo Firestone

|American actress

|Elaine Welteroth

|American television host

|Alex House

|Canadian actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation, Total Drama)

|Actress (Steel Magnolias)

|Sunita Mani

|Actress

|Emma Bell

|Actress (Dallas)

|Actress

|Conner O'Malley

|Actor

|Noël Wells

|Actress (Saturday Night Live, Master of None), voice actress (Wander Over Yonder, Craig of the Creek) and singer

|Kit Harington

|English actor (Game of Thrones)

|Caity Lotz

|Actress (Death Valley, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow)

! Date

|Phil Lynott

|align="center"|36

|Irish musician (Thin Lizzy)

|Donna Reed

|align="center"|64

|Actress (The Donna Reed Show, Dallas)

|Gordon MacRae

|align="center"|64

|Actor and singer

|Leif Erickson

|align="center"|74

|Actor (The High Chaparral)

|James Cagney

|align="center"|86

|Actor and dancer

|Don MacLaughlin

|align="center"|79

|Actor (Chris Hughes on As the World Turns)

|Marlin Perkins

|align="center"|81

|Zoologist, host of (Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom)

|Florence Halop

|align="center"|63

|Actress (Florence on Night Court)

|Ted Knight

|align="center"|62

|Actor (Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show)

|Frank Nelson

|align="center"|75

|Actor

|Cliff Burton

|align="center"|24

|Musician/songwriter (Metallica)

|Forrest Tucker

|align="center"|67

|Actor (F Troop)

|Paul Frees

|align="center"|66

|Voice actor (Boris Badenov on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, 1st voice for the Pillsbury Doughboy)

|Roger C. Carmel

|align="center"|54

|Actor (The Transformers, Adventures of the Gummi Bears)

|Gia Carangi

|align="center"|26

|American model

|Scatman Crothers

|align="center"|76

|Actor (Harlem Globetrotters, Hong Kong Phooey, The Transformers)

|Desi Arnaz

|align="center"|69

|Actor and musician (Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy)