1987 in American television#Programs

|After being canceled by CBS at the end of the 1984–85 season, Charles in Charge resurfaces in first-run syndication, where it would run for an additional four seasons.

|Remington Steele is resumed by NBC after a six-month hiatus. During the hiatus, the series' main actor Pierce Brosnan won the film role of James Bond, only to lose the role when NBC unexpectedly renewed the television series. Remington Steele adopts a TV-movie length format but only runs for a few installments before being canceled permanently.

|NBC announces purchase of CBS affiliate WTVJ, and stripped off WSVN, thus the switch did not take effect until two years later.

|R. Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself at a televised press conference. The decision by some companies to broadcast the footage results in a debate concerning journalistic ethics.

|After being dropped by CBS following its third season, Airwolf is resurfaces on the USA Network, who funded the fourth season, to be produced in Canada by Atlantis and The Arthur Company (owned by Arthur L. Annecharico) in association with MCA. This was intended to increase the number of episodes to make the show eligible for broadcast syndication. The principal cast is deemed too expensive to hire, so entirely new cast is created. Jan-Michael Vincent (Stringfellow Hawke) however, appears in the first transitional episode. This particular iteration of Airwolf would last for a single, 24 episode long season, concluding on August 7, 1987.

|CBS' broadcast of Super Bowl XXI becomes the first NFL game to be broadcast in Dolby Surround sound and in stereo.{{cite web|title=Small-format video technology pictured for 1987|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1987/BC-1987-01-05.pdf|work=Broadcasting Magazine|access-date=April 5, 2017|pages=178–180|date=January 5, 1987}} CBS also debuted the theme music (composed by Lloyd Landesman) that would later be used for their college football coverage during this game, as well as its open that was used through 1990.

|PBS broadcasts the critically acclaimed series Eyes on the Prize.

|In the very special episode of Valerie titled "Bad Timing", David and a former girlfriend debate whether to have sex.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/08/nyregion/albany-tv-station-cancels-nbc-show-over-condom-issue.html | title= Albany TV station cancels NBC show over condom issue | work=The New York Times| agency=Associated Press | date=February 8, 1987 | access-date=August 14, 2008}}{{cite news | author=Lewin, Tamar | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/08/arts/new-sex-mores-are-chilling-tv-ardor.html | title= New sex mores are chilling TV ardor | work=The New York Times | date=March 8, 1987 | access-date=August 14, 2008}} The episode featured the first use of the word condom on a prime time television program.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G7esYC1LNM4C&q=%22hogan+family%22+condom&pg=PT21|title=Totally Awesome 80s: A Lexicon of the Music, Videos, Movies, TV Shows, Stars, and Trends of that Decadent Decade|first=Matthew|last=Rettenmund|date=October 15, 1996|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9780312144364|via=Google Books}} Parental advisory warnings were issued in ads for the episode and NBC placed an advisory warning before the episode aired stating that parents may want to watch the episode with their children. Because of the episode's subject matter, some of NBC's affiliates either aired the show outside of prime time or refused to air it at all. The episode was later released to home video, especially for teachers and health educators to use as a tool to promote safe sex.

|Pee-wee Herman guest stars on the NBC sitcom 227.

|Amerika, the science-fiction drama miniseries, showing life ten years after the United States is defeated and occupied by the USSR, was broadcast on ABC.

|David Hartman anchors ABC's Good Morning America for the final time. He would be succeeded by Charles Gibson, who would anchor the program alongside Joan Lunden.

|James Coco makes his final recurring appearance as Tony Micelli's father–in–law, Nick Milano on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss? Just one day later, Coco would die of a heart attack at the age of 56. The Season 4 episode "A Farewell to Nick" would later be produced in Coco's honor.

|On CBS, Frank Sinatra makes a guest appearance on Magnum P.I., in what would be his last credited screen performance.

|KETK-TV in Jacksonville, Texas signs on the air, giving the Tyler market its first full-time NBC affiliate. (NBC had previously been shared on KLTV with CBS (until KLMG-TV signed on in 1984), and later ABC which KLTV retains as a full-time affiliate.)

|"A, My Name is Alex", a special hour-long episode of Family Ties is broadcast on NBC. The second half-hour was broadcast without commercials. The episode would win numerous awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Humanitas Prize and a Writers Guild of America Award for writing as well as a DGA Award.

|Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as the host of The PTL Club after involvement in a sex scandal.

|The first ever Soul Train Music Awards is broadcast in syndication.

|On CBS, The Price Is Right surpasses Concentration as the longest-running daytime game show in history.

|The forerunner to the Kids' Choice Awards, dubbed 'The Big Ballot', airs on Nickelodeon. The Big Ballot was actually aired over four consecutive weeks (with the movie winners, TV winners, music winners, and finally sports winners being announced for each week) as part of the movie review program Rated K: For Kids by Kids.

|In front of 93,173 fans Hulk Hogan retains the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 3 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan defeating his former friend André The Giant.

|CBS Sports uses the song "One Shining Moment" for the first time during the highlight package at the end of their coverage of NCAA men's basketball tournament final.

|On ABC's Moonlighting, Maddie and David consummate their relationship after two and a half years of romantic tension.

|The Fox TV network makes its prime-time debut, marking the first time since 1955 that there were four U.S. networks with prime-time programming. The network debuted two shows, Married... with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show, which are broadcast three times each during the night so that viewers watching other networks can switch over and sample the shows.

|During an episode of the ABC late-night news program Nightline devoted to the upcoming 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in Major League Baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Al Campanis makes racially insensitive comments when asked about the scarcity of black field or general managers in MLB. Campanis would be fired two days later.

|Bill Murray announces a Chicago Cubs-Montreal Expos game at Wrigley Field on WGN. Working alongside Steve Stone, Murray was filling in while broadcaster Harry Caray was recovering from a stroke. Caray would eventually return to the booth on May 19.

|Matt Groening's The Simpsons debuts as a series of short animated segments as part of The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox.

|Independent station in New York City, WOR-TV changes its call sign to WWOR-TV.

|Valerie Harper makes her final appearance as Valerie Hogan on what was initially called Valerie. After Harper was fired from the series following contractual disputes, the NBC series was renamed Valerie's Family and finally, The Hogan Family come the fourth season.

|Mr. Belvedere is canceled after three seasons; however criticism causes ABC executives to rethink the decision and renew the series for a fourth season. (Since the fall programming schedules were already set, Mr. Belvedere would not premiere until late October.)

|Shelley Long makes her final regular appearance as Diane Chambers on the NBC sitcom Cheers. She would appear once more in the series finale in 1993.

|Pamela Ewing's car speeds out of control, crashes into a tanker, and explodes on the season finale of the CBS drama Dallas.

|The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, which features Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner reprising their roles as Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers respectively, airs on NBC. This would be followed by two more television movies, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989) and Bionic Ever After? (1994).

|CBS becomes the last American network to cease a chime intonation at the beginning of telecasts; satellite feeds have made the tones obsolete (their function was to signal to the affiliates to start broadcasting the network feed in synchronization with the others).

|U.S. daytime television was interrupted for the Iran-Contra hearings.

|Genie Francis, of General Hospital fame, starts a new soap opera role as Diana Colville on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, which she will play until 1989.

|The initial pilot for Good Morning, Miss Bliss airs on NBC. One year later, the series proper would air on the Disney Channel, becoming the first program to be produced by a major television network for cable TV. After one season on Disney Channel, Good Morning, Miss Bliss would be retooled into Saved by the Bell, which would air as part of NBC's Saturday morning line-up.

|Actor Crispin Glover appears on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman to promote River's Edge.{{cite magazine|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2009/02/13/top-10-disastrous-letterman-interviews/slide/crispin-glover-goes-back-to-the-crazy/|title=Crispin Glover Goes Back to the Crazy – Top 10 Disastrous Letterman Interviews|date=February 13, 2009|magazine=Time|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413194926/http://entertainment.time.com/2009/02/13/top-10-disastrous-letterman-interviews/slide/crispin-glover-goes-back-to-the-crazy/|archive-date=April 13, 2013|url-status=live}} To the surprise of Letterman and the audience, Glover appears wearing platform shoes and a wig. During the interview, Glover behaves erratically and nearly kicks Letterman in the face, causing Letterman to walk off the set.{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-letterman-late-night-moments/|title=David Letterman's Most Memorable Late-Night Moments|last=Reed|first=Ryan|date=20 May 2021|website=Ultimate Classic Rock|access-date=29 May 2021}} Four years later, the film Rubin & Ed premiered, in which Glover has a starring role as titular character Rubin Farr. After the release of Rubin & Ed, some speculated that Glover was acting in-character as Rubin Farr during his appearance on Late Night.{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Lory|date=1999|title=Party in a Box: The Story of the Sundance Film Festival|publisher=Gibbs Smith|page=3|isbn=978-0879058616|quote=The movie starred Crispin Glover as Rubin - he was actually in the Rubin character the infamous night he nearly karate-kicked off David Letterman's nose.}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/01/bill-hader-beaver-trilogy-part-iv-sundance-trent-harris-1201354077/|title=Bill Hader To Narrate Cult Film Documentary 'Beaver Trilogy Part IV' – Sundance|last=Yamato|first=Jen|date=20 January 2015|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=29 May 2021}}

|Movietime, forerunner to E!, goes on the air.

|ABC affiliate KRCR-TV in Redding, California launches full-time satellite KAEF-TV in Arcata, California, giving the Eureka market its first full-time ABC affiliate.

|During the 4 p.m. edition of KNBC's Channel 4 News, a gun-wielding man named Gary Stollman gets into NBC's Burbank Studios as a guest of an employee and takes consumer reporter David Horowitz hostage live on the air. With the gun pressed on his side, Horowitz calmly reads the gunman's statements on camera but unbeknownst to the gunman, the news feed has been taken off the air. The unidentified man reveals at the end of his statement that the gun is an empty BB gun and sets the gun down on the news desk, at which point anchorman John Beard quickly confiscates it. The incident leads Horowitz to start a campaign to ban realistic toy guns.{{cite book |last=Carter |first=Gregg Lee |title=Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law, Volume 3 |year=2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-38670-1 |page=832 |edition=2nd |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeGJH48PT0kC&q=horowitz |chapter=Toy Guns}}

|CBS airs the special Michael Jackson: The Magic Returns, which features the broadcast premiere of Jackson's 18 minute long music video "Bad".

|Dick Clark's American Bandstand is broadcast for the 2,751st and last time by ABC, after 30 years on the network. (It continued in syndication, then on cable for 2 more years.)

|The original series of Disney's well known animated series DuckTales begins airing on ITV in the UK before being shown in its normal country.

|CBS begins broadcasting its prime time programs with stereo sound dubbed CBS StereoSound.

|Dan Rather of the CBS Evening News leaves the newscast when a televised tennis match runs two minutes over. He is missing for six minutes.

|The final episode of Down and Out in Beverly Hills, an adaptation of the 1986 film of the same name, airs on Fox. It has the distinction of being the first ever show to be cancelled by Fox; 5 of the 13 produced episodes did not air.[http://www.tv.com/down-and-out-in-beverly-hills/show/2863/episode_listings.html "Down and out in Beverly Hills: 13 episodes"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930082806/http://www.tv.com/down-and-out-in-beverly-hills/show/2863/episode_listings.html |date=September 30, 2007 }}, TV.com

|Filmation's final animated series BraveStarr has its broadcast premiere in syndication.

|DuckTales finally begins airing in the U.S. for the first time ever in syndication.

|NBC debuts a weekday package of sitcoms for its owned-and-operated stations called "Prime Time Begins at 7:30". The shows included are Marblehead Manor (airing Mondays), She's the Sheriff (airing Tuesdays), a series adapted from the George S. Kaufman play You Can't Take It with You (airing Wednesdays), Out of This World (airing Thursdays), and a revival of the short-lived 1983 NBC series We Got It Made closing out the week on Fridays.

|Following its cancellation by ABC after four seasons, the sitcom Webster is relaunched in first-run syndication, where it would run for two additional seasons.

|Long-running sitcom Full House created by Jeff Franklin debuts on ABC.

|Kirstie Alley makes her debut as Rebecca Howe in the sixth-season premiere of Cheers on NBC.

|The pilot episode for the sitcom Second Chance airs on Fox. In the opening scene, as a throwaway joke, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is shown being judged after his death, with the date given as July 29, 2011. In the year after the Berlin discotheque bombing and the U.S. response, the 1987 pilot was playing off Gaddafi's prominent negative perception by the American public. Twenty-four years later, by coincidence, Gaddafi's death (on October 20, 2011) occurred within three months of the "predicted" date and was from the same cause (multiple gunshot wounds).{{cite web|url=http://www.aoltv.com/2011/10/20/matthew-perry-sitcom-second-chance-predicted-gaddafi-die-2011/ |title=Matthew Perry Sitcom 'Second Chance' Predicted Gaddafi Would Die in 2011 |first=Alex |last=Moaba |date=October 20, 2011 |publisher=AOL TV |accessdate=2011-10-20 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021030432/http://www.aoltv.com/2011/10/20/matthew-perry-sitcom-second-chance-predicted-gaddafi-die-2011/ |archivedate=October 21, 2014 }}

|The pilot episode for Star Trek: The Next Generation premieres in syndication.

|Once a Hero, the show's lowest rated program of the season holds its last aired episode on ABC. The following week, specials replaced it until the debut of Sable in its time period on November 7.

|On the final day of the Major League Baseball season, the Detroit Tigers clinch the American League East title against their divisional rivals the Toronto Blue Jays. The game was broadcast on Sunday afternoon on ABC with Al Michaels, Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver on the call.

|Valerie Harper files a lawsuit against NBC and Lorimar for breach of contract after being dismissed from her sitcom Valerie.

|CNN quickly reports on the story of 18-month-old toddler Jessica McClure falling down a well in Midland, Texas, and the event helped make its name.

|Bob Barker stops dyeing his hair brown and appears on the CBS game show The Price is Right for the first time with white hair. He is given a minute-long standing ovation by the audience.

|Max Headroom makes its final airing on its Friday night timeslot on ABC. The previously unaired episodes will later burn off in its Thursday night time slot during the 1988 WGA strike on ABC, replacing Probe. The fourth season opener of Mr. Belvedere and the premiere of Pursuit of Happiness will replace Headroom two weeks later, on October 30 on its Friday night time period.

|ABC allows Game 6 of the World Series between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals to be played at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET) on Saturday afternoon – the only day game of the series, and the last World Series game to date to be played in the daytime (although as the game was played in the Metrodome, the game took place under artificial illumination all the same).

|ABC airs a special, secondary edition of Monday Night Football for the Minneapolis and Denver markets. The game between the Vikings and Broncos was moved from Sunday, October 25 to the following Monday night because the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was being used for Game 7 of the World Series. Gary Bender and Lynn Swann would call this special contest from Minnesota while the rest of the nation sees the Los Angeles Rams face off against the Cleveland Browns.

|The third season of Punky Brewster begins after the series was off the air for over a year and a half. After NBC cancelled it at the end of the 1985–86 season, the show would continue production throughout the 1986–87 season leading up to its return to the air via first-run syndication.

|ESPN broadcasts its first ever Sunday night National Football League game, a contest between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. It marked the first time that a cable television outlet broadcast an NFL game.

|Fox's Salt Lake City affiliate KSTU moves its channel allocation from UHF channel 20 to VHF channel 13.{{Cite news|date=1987-06-29|title=In Brief|work=Broadcasting|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/87-OCR/BC-1987-06-29-OCR-Page-0080.pdf|access-date=2021-12-17}}

|Sonny & Cher reunite for a performance on NBC's late-night talk show Late Night with David Letterman.

|The animated crossover The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones premieres in syndication.

|During a showing of the Doctor Who story "Horror of Fang Rock", PBS member station WTTW-TV Channel 11 in Chicago is interrupted for 88 seconds by a pirate television transmitter overriding the station's transmission signal to broadcast a video of himself in a Max Headroom mask being spanked. The similar incident (for 15–20 seconds) occurred during WGN-TV's newscast when it showed the mask moving up and downwards.

|The very first Survivor Series professional wrestling event is broadcast on pay-per-view. That same night, the World Wrestling Federation's competitor, Jim Crockett Promotions held their fifth annual Starrcade supercard event. Jim Crockett Promotions had previously aired Starrcade only on closed-circuit television. To compete with Starrcade, the WWF introduced the Survivor Series event, and held it on the same night as Starrcade. The WWF also limited the amount of pay-per-view providers that would carry Starrcade by not allowing providers to carry WrestleMania IV if they did not carry Survivor Series exclusively. Only a small amount of providers carried Starrcade, and it drew a 3.30 buy rate while Survivor Series drew a 7.0 buy rate.

|Remote Control, MTV's first original non-musical program and first game show makes its debut.

|San Antonio television station KABB goes on the air.

|Through a short stint with NBC Sports, Gayle Sierens became the first woman to do play-by-play for an NFL regular season football game when she called a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs.

|The first ever Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series premieres in syndication starting off with the first four episodes.

| Unsolved Mysteries

|NBC

| Shell Game

|CBS

| Ohara

|ABC

| The Tortellis

|NBC

| Hard Copy{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97653809/hard-copy-doesnt-get-the-facts-straig/ |title='Hard Copy' doesn't get the facts straight |first=Tom |last=Jicha |agency=Cox News Service |newspaper=Dayton Daily News |location=Dayton, Ohio |page=2-D |date=January 25, 1987 |accessdate=March 14, 2022 |via=newspapers.com}}

|CBS

| Square One TV

|rowspan="2"|PBS

| Eyes on the Prize

| Harry

|ABC

| Rags to Riches

|NBC

| Houston Knights

|CBS

| The Bronx Zoo

|rowspan="2"|NBC

| The Charmings

|ABC

| The Bold and the Beautiful

|rowspan="2"|CBS

| Max Headroom

|rowspan="2"|ABC

| Mariah

|rowspan="2"|CBS

| Nothing in Common

|NBC

| Married... with Children

|rowspan="3"|Fox

| 21 Jump Street

| Sweet Surrender

|NBC

| Bionic Six

|Syndication

| Hard Knocks

|Showtime

| Down and Out in Beverly Hills

|rowspan="2"| Fox

| Mr. President

| The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd

|NBC

| Adventures of the Little Koala

|Nickelodeon

| CBS Summer Playhouse

|CBS

| Home Shopping Game

|Syndication

| Good Morning, Miss Bliss

|Disney Channel

|rowspan="3"|Fox

| Karen's Song

| Animal Crack-Ups

|ABC

| First Impressions

| CBS

| Crossbow

|CBN Cable Network

| Maple Town

| Syndication

| Showtime at the Apollo

|ABC

|rowspan="2"|NBC

|CBS

| Private Eye

|NBC

| Dinosaucers

|rowspan="5"|Syndication

|rowspan="3"|CBS

| The Oldest Rookie

| Out of This World

|rowspan="5"|Syndication

| DuckTales (Original series)

| The Kidsongs TV Show

|ABC

|CBS

| The Highwayman

|rowspan="2"|NBC

|Syndication

| Beverly Hills Teens

|rowspan="2"|Syndication

| Full House

|rowspan="4"|ABC

| Hooperman

| A Different World

|NBC

|rowspan="3"|CBS

| Beauty and the Beast

| Jake and the Fatman

|rowspan="2"|NBC

|Fox

|Syndication

| Dolly

|ABC

|CBS

| Lingo

|rowspan="2"|Syndication

| thirtysomething

|ABC

| Everything's Relative

|rowspan="2"|CBS

|Syndication

| Women in Prison

|Fox

| Finders Keepers

|Nickelodeon

| Beverly Hills Buntz

|NBC

| Sable

|ABC

| CBS This Morning

|CBS

| Remote Control

|MTV

| The Wilton North Report

|Fox

| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

|Syndication

! Title

|1985

|CBS

|rowspan="2"|Same

|Syndication

|January 3

|1982

|NBC

|Same

|January 5

|1978

|Syndication

|Classic Concentration

|NBC

|May 4

|1984

|rowspan="3"|NBC

|rowspan="5"|Same

|Syndication

|September 11

|1985

|Same

|September 12

|1980

|rowspan="3"|Syndication

|rowspan="2"|September 14

|1978

|Syndication

|1963

|ABC

|October 19

! Date

! Title

! Debut

|Heart of the City

|rowspan="3"|1986

|Dads

|Gung Ho

|Too Close for Comfort

|1980

|The Love Boat

|1977

|The New Adventures of Jonny Quest

|1986

|Silver Spoons

|1982

|The Berenstain Bears

|1985

|The A-Team

|1983

|The Wizard

|1986

|Capitol

|1982

|Harry

|1987

|The Colbys

|1985

|Zoobilee Zoo

|rowspan="2"|1986

|You Again?

|1983

|Roxie

|1987

|Amazing Stories

|1985

|Remington Steele

|1982

|Together We Stand

|rowspan="2"|1986

|Easy Street

|Blockbusters

|1980

|Starman

|1986

|Stingray

|1985

|Gimme a Break!

|1981

|1987

|The New Mike Hammer

|1984

|Roomies

|1987

|Fame

|1982

|Hill Street Blues

|1981

|Scarecrow and Mrs. King

|1983

|rowspan="2"|1986

|Outlaws

|Nothing in Common

|1987

|Sidekicks

|rowspan="3"|1986

|Nightlife

|Gung Ho

|Sweet Surrender

|1987

|Airwolf

|1984

|The Ellen Burstyn Show

|1986

|Split Second

|1972

|Down and Out in Beverly Hills

|rowspan="2"|1987

|Photon

|1986

|My Little Pony

|1984

|First Impressions

|rowspan="5"|1987

|Once a Hero

|Maxie's World

|Everything's Relative

|1986

|The Transformers

|1984

|The Jetsons

|1962

|The New Adventures of Beans Baxter

|rowspan="4"|1987

|New Monkees

|Dinosaucers

|Popeye and Son

|1976

|Beverly Hills Teens

|rowspan="3"|1987

|My Pet Monster

|1986

| CBS

|rowspan="2"|USA Network

|rowspan="5"|NBC

|CBS

|rowspan="6"|Syndication

|CBS

|rowspan="2"|ABC

|rowspan="2"|Syndication

|NBC

|Nickelodeon

|ABC

|February 8

|rowspan=4|NBC

|February 15

|February 1

|November 16

|December 28

! Network

! Type

! Launch date

! Notes

! Source

| Cable television

| February 8

|

|

| Broadcast television

| April 5

| Previously had a "soft launch" on October 9, 1986

|

| Cable television

| July 31

|

|

| Cable television

| Unknown

|

|

|Telemundo

|Cable television

|Unknown

|

|

|Univision

|Cable and satellite

|Unknown

|

|

| SuperStation TBS

| Cable television

| Unknown

|

|

! Network

! Type

! Closure date

! Notes

! Source

| Cable television

| January 31

|

|

| Cable television

| Unknown

|

|

! Date

! City of License/Market

! Station

! Channel

! Affiliation

! Notes/Ref.

| Bartlesville/Tulsa, Oklahoma

| KDOR-TV

| 17

| TBN

|

| Hattiesburg/Laurel, Mississippi

| WHLT

| 22

| CBS

| Semi-satellite of WJTV/Jackson

| Marshalltown/Des Moines, Iowa

| K39AS

| 39

|

|

| Orlando, Florida

| WLSY

| 43

| Independent

|

| Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

| KDTX-TV

| 58

| TBN (O&O)

|

| Williamsport, Pennsylvania

| W39BT

| 39

| TBN

|

| Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi

| WXXV-TV

| 25

| Fox

|

| San Juan, Puerto Rico

| WSJN-TV

| 24

| Independent

|

| Charlotte, North Carolina

| WJZY

| 46

| Independent

|

| KETK

| 56

| NBC

|

| Toledo, Ohio

| W48AP

| 48

| Independent

|

| Redwood Falls, Minnesota

| KRWF

| 43

| ABC

| Semi-satellite of KSTP-TV

| Mobile, Alabama

| WFGX

| 35

| Independent

|

| Atlanta, Georgia

| WNGM-TV

| 34

| Independent

|

| Los Angeles, California

| KDDE
{{small|(recalled as KEEF-TV in June)}}

| 68

| Educational independent

|

| Springfield, Massachusetts

| W11BT

| 11

| Independent

|

| Buffalo, New York

| WNEQ-TV

| 23

| PBS

|

| Terre Haute, Indiana

| W65BK

| 65

| TBN

|

| Cleveland/Chattanooga, Tennessee

| WFLI-TV

| 53

| Independent

|

| Sioux Falls, South Dakota

| KTTW

| 7

| Fox

|

| Cocoa/Orlando, Florida

| WRES

| 68

| Educational independent

|

| Kalamazoo/Battle Creek/Grand Rapids, Michigan

| WLLA

| 64

| Christian independent

| Clairemore/Tulsa, Oklahoma

| KXON-TV

| 35

| Educational independent

|

| Darien, Connecticut

| W33BS

| 33

| Audio-only independent

| Pulse 87

| Frederick, Maryland
{{small|(Washington, D.C.)}}

| WFPT

| 62

| PBS

| Part of the Maryland Public Television network

| Houston, Texas

| KETH

| 14

| TBN (O&O)

|

| Arcata/Eureka, California

| KREQ

| 23

| Fox

|

| Baton Rouge, Louisiana

| W49KG

| 49

| Independent

|

| Rochester, Minnesota
{{small|(Mason City, Iowa)}}

| KXLT-TV

| 47

| Independent

| Originally a satellite of KXLI/Minneapolis

| Merrimack/Manchester, New Hampshire

| WGOT

| 60

| Independent

|

| Barstow/Los Angeles, California

| KVVT

| 64

| Independent

|

| Columbus, Ohio

| WOCB-CD
{{small|(original callsign unknown)}}

| 39

| Religious independent

|

| Bloomington, Indiana

| WCLJ-TV

| 42

| TBN

|

| Cheyenne, Wyoming

| KKTU

| 39

| NBC

|

| Columbus, Ohio

| WWAT

| 53

| Independent

|

| Buffalo, New York

| WNYB-TV

| 49

| Independent

|

| Silver City, New Mexico

| KOVT

| 10

| ABC

| Satellite of KOAT-TV/Albuquerque

| Bozeman/Butte, Montana

| KCTZ

| 7

| ABC

|

| Denver, Colorado

| KUBD

| 59

| Independent

|

| Albuquerque, New Mexico

| KLUZ

| 41

| Univision

|

| Rosenberg/Houston, Texas

| KXLN

| 45

| Univision

|

| New Orleans, Louisiana

| K59DG

| 59

| Daystar

|

| Bridgeport, Connecticut
{{small|(New York City)}}

| WBCT-TV

| 43

| Independent

|

| Albuquerque, New Mexico

| KAZQ

| 34

| Religious independent

|

| Richland, Washington

| KTNW

| 31

| PBS

| Satellite of KWSU-TV/Spokane

| Tamuning, Guam

| KTGM

| 14

| ABC (primary)
CBS (secondary)

|

| WMCC

| 23

| Independent

|

| rowspan=2| Chicago, Illinois

| W54AP

| 54

| rowspan=2| Independent

|

| 54

|

| Tampa, Florida

| W57BA

| 57

| Channel America

|

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

| KFTL

| 64

| Independent

|

| Gary, Indiana
{{small|(Chicago, Illinois)}}

| WYIN

| 56

| PBS

|

| South Bend, Indiana

| W12BK (original)

| 12

| Independent

| LPTV translator of WCIU-TV/Chicago

| Galveston/Houston, Texas

| KTMD

| 47

| Telemundo

|

| Chicago, Illinois

| W46AO

| 46

| TBN

|

| W38AQ

| 38

| FamilyNet/America One

|

| Albany, New York

| WOCD

| 55

| Independent

|

| Elkhart/South Bend, Indiana

| W24AI

| 24

| rowspan=2| TBN

|

| W22CH

| 22

|

| San Antonio, Texas

| KABB

| 29

| Independent

|

| rowspan=2| Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands

| WAIG

| 43

| rowspan=2| Independent

|

| 17

|

| WMEG

| 15

| Religious independent

|

| W46AN

| 46

| Tourist information

|

! Date

! City of License/Market

! Station

! Channel

! Old affiliation

! New affiliation

! Notes/Ref.

| Boston, Massachusetts

| WFXT

| 25

| rowspan="10" | Independent

| rowspan="10" | Fox

|

| Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities)

| KLJB-TV

| 18

|

| WEVV-TV

| 44

|

| WMKW-TV

| 30

|

| WCAY-TV

| 30

|

| WEMT

| 38

|

|Columbus, Georgia

|WXTX

|54

|{{Cite news |date=June 19, 1987 |title=Trotting With Fox |pages=15 |work=Ledger-Enquirer}}

|WDBD

|40

|

|WKCH-TV

|43

|{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Reon |date=June 25, 1987 |title=WKCH joins fourth network |page=B7 |newspaper=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |location=Knoxville, Tennessee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89762781/wkch-joins-fourth-network/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130031301/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89762781/wkch-joins-fourth-network/ |archive-date=November 30, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}

|Cape Girardeau, Missouri
{{small|(Paducah, Kentucky/Harrisburg, Illinois)}}

|KBSI

|23

|{{cite news |date=August 5, 1987 |title=KBSI to air Fox Network programs |page=A12 |work=The Paducah Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83435272/kbsi-to-air-fox-network-programs/ |accessdate=August 14, 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Weil |first=Nancy |date=August 16, 1987 |title=KBSI joins Fox; debuts Sept. 7 |page=Television 2 |newspaper=Southern Illinoisan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-kbsi-joins-fox-debu/129479257/ |access-date=August 5, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

| Hagatna, Guam

| KUAM-TV

| 8

| rowspan=2| NBC (primary)
CBS/ABC/Fox (secondary)

| rowspan=2| NBC (primary)
CBS/Fox (secondary)

|

| WSZE-TV

| 10

| Satellite of KUAM-TV/Hagtna, Guam

|Huntsville/Decatur/Florence, Alabama

|WZDX

|54

|Independent

|Fox

|{{Cite news |last=Kaylor |first=Mike |date=October 31, 1987 |title=WZDK [sic] to join Fox network in December |page=2A |work=The Huntsville Times |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/wzdk-join-fox-network-december/jnlvmyesqyumdfsrcostjssnbozbjfdw_wma-gateway018_1677481712794 |url-status=live |access-date=February 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227090450/https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/wzdk-join-fox-network-december/jnlvmyesqyumdfsrcostjssnbozbjfdw_wma-gateway018_1677481712794 |archive-date=February 27, 2023}}{{cite news |date=December 7, 1987 |title=Briefly Noted |page=46 |work=Electronic Media |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_televisionweek_1987-12-07_6_49_0/page/n51/mode/2up?q=WZDX}}

! Date

|Lauren Storm

|Actress (Flight 29 Down)

|Actress (Days of Our Lives, The Secret Circle, Teen Wolf)

|Kristin Cavallari

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

|Lyndsy Fonseca

|Actress (The Young and the Restless, How I Met Your Mother, Nikita, Agent Carter, Turner & Hooch)

|Freddie Stroma

|Actor

|Pablo Santos

|Mexican actor (Greetings from Tucson) (d. 2006)

|Naya Rivera

|Actress (The Royal Family, The Bernie Mac Show, Glee) (d. 2020)

|Joy Taylor

|American media personality

|Zane Holtz

|Canadian actor (Make It or Break It, From Dusk till Dawn: The Series) and model

|Evan Peters

|Actor (Phil of the Future, American Horror Story)

|TV personality

|Actor (Teen Wolf)

|Ruth Bradley

|Irish actress (Humans)

|Kylie Sparks

|Actress (Squaresville)

|Misha Crosby

|British actor (The Lying Game)

|Actress (All That)

|American sports television host

|Alex Murrel

|Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County)

|Heather Morris

|Actress (Glee) and singer

|Actress and martial artist (Total Divas, UFC, WWE, 9-1-1){{Cite web |title=Ronda Rousey Actress, Producer, Writer |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3313925/ |access-date=2023-12-29 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}

|Martin Spanjers

|Actor (8 Simple Rules, Good Luck Charlie)

|Darren Criss

|Actor (Glee, A Very Potter Musical, Transformers: Robots in Disguise) and singer

|Actor

|Henry Cejudo

|Martial artist{{Cite web |last=Iole |first=Kevin |date=2018-08-03 |title=How a near-death experience inspired Henry Cejudo to reach for greatness |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/near-death-experience-inspired-henry-cejudo-reach-greatness-172126938.html |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Yahoo Sports |language=en-US}}

|Scottish actress (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey)

|Julio Torres

|Actor

|Gary LeRoi Gray

|Actor (The Cosby Show, Even Stevens, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Rocket Power, The Fairly OddParents, Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?)

|Jeffery Self

|Actor

|Miles Teller

|Actor

|Elliot Page

|Actor (Pit Pony, hosted Saturday Night Live, 2008)

|Actress

|Ulysses Cuadra

|Voice actor (Rocket Power, Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Zeta Project)

|Natalie Dreyfuss

|Actress (Rita Rocks)

|Michelle Horn

|Actress

|Kesha

|American singer

|Bow Wow

|Rapper (host of 106 & Park)

|Ser'Darius Blain

|Actor

|Rob Kardashian

|Actor (Keeping Up with the Kardashians)

|Actor

|Josie Loren

|Actress

|Jessica Marie Garcia

|Actress

|Mary Kate Wiles

|Actress (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Squaresville) and singer

|Lisandra Tena

|Actress

|Mackenzie Davis

|Actress (Halt and Catch Fire)

|Briga Heelan

|Actress

|Benjamin Stone

|British actor (The Nine Lives of Chloe King)

|Actress and singer (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)

|Sarah Gadon

|Canadian actress (My Dad the Rock Star, Ruby Gloom, Friends and Heroes, Total Drama)

|Maria Molina

|American meteorologist

|Jesse McCartney

|Actor (All My Children, Summerland, Young & Hungry, Young Justice), and singer

|Jamie Renée Smith

|Actress (Ask Harriet)

|Canadian actress (Pretty Little Liars)

|Brooklyn Decker

|Actress (Friends with Better Lives, Grace and Frankie) and model

|Actor (The Real World: D.C.)

|Singer

|Actress

|Samira Wiley

|Actress (Orange is the New Black)

|Jack Cutmore-Scott

|Actor

|Jacqueline MacInnes Wood

|Actress (The Bold and the Beautiful)

|Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

|English actress

|American actress

|Courtland Mead

|Actor (Kirk, Nightmare Ned, Recess, Lloyd in Space)

|John Patrick Amedori

|Actor

|Jessica Lee Rose

|Actress (Lonelygirl15, Sorority Forever, Hooking Up)

|William Moseley

|English actor (The Royals)

|Pat McAfee

|Sports commentator (ESPN, WWE)

|Aidy Bryant

|Actress and comedian (Saturday Night Live, Danger & Eggs)

|Actress and writer

|Eileen April Boylan

|Actress (South of Nowhere, Greek)

|Robbie Rogers

|Television producer

|Candice King

|Actress (The Vampire Diaries) and singer

|Ersan İlyasova

|Baseball player

|Jayne Wisener

|Irish actress (6Degrees)

|Ashlie Brillault

|Actress (Lizzie McGuire)

|Bray Wyatt

|Pro wrestler (WWE) (died 2023)

|Bethany C. Meyers

|American fitness and lifestyle entrepreneur

|Brandi Cyrus

|Actress (Hannah Montana, Cyrus vs. Cyrus: Design and Conquer)

|Bella Heathcote

|Australian actress (Neighbours)

|Noah Reid

|Canadian actor (Pippi Longstocking, Franklin, Rolie Polie Olie)

|American actor

|Javicia Leslie

|Actress

|Curtis Williams

|Actor (The Parent 'Hood)

|Voice actor (Teacher's Pet, Kim Possible, Fillmore!, Lilo & Stitch: The Series)

|Actress (As the World Turns, Men at Work)

|Lalaine

|Actress (Lizzie McGuire)

|Actress

|Rheagan Wallace

|Actress

|Chris Galya

|Actor (Jessie)

|Diana DeGarmo

|Actress (The Young and the Restless)

|Actor (Aaron Stone, Glory Daze)

|Actress (Saturday Night Live, Odd Mom Out) and daughter of Chris Elliott

|Rebecca Breeds

|Australian actress (The Originals)

|Niels Schneider

|French-Canadian actor

|Chelsea J. Wilson

|Actress (Lizzie McGuire)

|Joe Dempsie

|English actor (Skins, Game of Thrones)

|Comedian

|Haley Strode

|Actress (Wendell & Vinnie)

|India de Beaufort

|Actress

|English actor (Gossip Girl)

|Chris Hunter

|Actor (South of Nowhere)

|Charles Rogers

|Actor

|Matt O'Leary

|Actor (Spy Kids)

|Julianna Guill

|Actress (My Alibi, Glory Daze, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce)

|Cristina Vee

|Voice actress (Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Sailor Moon)

|Tilian Pearson

|Singer

|Charly Arnolt

|Sports broadcaster and TV personality (WWE, ESPN, Fox News)

|Canadian actress (The Vampire Diaries)

|Singer

|AnnaLynne McCord

|Actress (American Heiress, 90210)

|Actress

|Jon Jones

|Mixed martial artist{{Cite web |title=Jon Jones Biography |url=https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/bio/_/id/2335639/jon-jones |access-date=2024-08-23 |website=ESPN |language=en}}

|Peter Doocy

|TV journalist

|Bre-Z

|Actress

|Mara Wilson

|Actress

|Michael Welch

|Actor

|Asher Grodman

|Actor

|Genesis Rodriguez

|Actress (Dame Chocolate, Big Hero 6: The Series)

|Brittany Byrnes

|Australian actress (H₂O: Just Add Water)

|Sam Underwood

|Actor

|Katie Leung

|Actress

|Actress

|Ari Boyland

|New Zealand actor (Power Rangers RPM)

|Jemima West

|Anglo-American actress (15/Love, Maison Close, Indian Summers)

|James Buckley

|Actor

|Manny Jacinto

|Actor

|Mika Boorem

|Actress (The Tom Show)

|Cody Kasch

|Actor (Desperate Housewives)

|Blake Lively

|Actress (Gossip Girl)

|Nieves Zuberbühler

|Argentine journalist

|Tiffany Boone

|Actress

|Johanna Braddy

|Actress (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Greek, Video Game High School, UnREAL, Quantico)

|Mazin Elsadig

|Actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation, Stoked)

|Megan Amram

|Writer

|Jeremy Vuolo

|Player

|American sports television personality

|Evan Rachel Wood

|Actress (Once and Again, Westworld) and singer

|Actress

|Wiz Khalifa

|Actor and rapper

|Clayton Snyder

|Actor (Lizzie McGuire)

|Actress

|Alex Saxon

|Actor (The Fosters, Finding Carter, Nancy Drew)

|Elizabeth Henstridge

|Actress (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

|Actor (7th Heaven, Teen Wolf)

|Erin Way

|Actress (I Heart Vampires, Alphas)

|Daren Kagasoff

|Actor (The Secret Life of the American Teenager)

|Augustus Prew

|English actor (Prison Break)

|Danielle Panabaker

|Actress (Shark, The Flash)

|Sarah Natochenny

|Voice actress (Ash Ketchum on Pokémon)

|Teyonah Parris

|Actress (Mad Men, WandaVision)

|Skylar Astin

|Actor (Ground Floor, Graves, Trolls: The Beat Goes On!)

|Grey Damon

|Actor (Friday Night Lights, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Twisted, Star-Crossed, Aquarius)

|Actor (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Animal Kingdom)

|Hilary Duff

|Actress (Lizzie McGuire, Gossip Girl, Younger, How I Met Your Father) and singer

|David Del Rio

|Actor (The Troop)

|Matthew Daddario

|Actor (Shadowhunters)

|Christopher Larkin

|Actor (The 100)

|Actress (The Real World: D.C.)

|Griffin Frazen

|Actor (Grounded for Life)

|Melissa Villaseñor

|Actress (Saturday Night Live)

|Carla Esparza

|Mixed martial artist{{Cite web |title=Carla Esparza (Women's Strawweight) MMA Profile |url=https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2559934/carla-esparza |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=ESPN |language=en}}

|Ashley Newbrough

|Actress (Privileged)

|Jay Pharoah

|Actor (Saturday Night Live)

|Chantal Strand

|Canadian voice actress (Dragon Tales, Sabrina: The Animated Series, Pucca)

|Zac Efron

|Actor (Summerland, High School Musical, Down to Earth with Zac Efron)

|Leah Van Dale

|Pro wrestler (WWE, Total Divas){{Cite web |title=Carmella WWE (Corey Graves' Wife) {{!}} News, Latest Updates & More @ Sportskeeda |url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/player/carmella |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=www.sportskeeda.com}}

|Cleopatra Coleman

|Australian actress (The Last Man on Earth)

|Kevin Jonas

|Actor (Jonas, Married to Jonas) and singer (Jonas Brothers)

|Rachele Brooke Smith

|Actress

|Emily Tyra

|Actress

|Jessica Tovey

|Australian actress (Home and Away)

|Giles Matthey

|British-Australian actor (True Blood, Once Upon a Time)

|Jake Abel

|Actor

|Actor

|Amelia Rose Blaire

|Actress (True Blood, Blue Bloods)

|Snooki

|American reality television personality

|Dolla

|American rapper (d. 2009)

|Karen Gillan

|Scottish actress (Doctor Who)

|Trinity Fatu

|Pro Wrestler (Total Divas){{Cite web |date=2022-04-04 |title=WWE Profile - Naomi |url=https://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/17173369/wwe-profile-page-naomi |access-date=2024-11-18 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}

|Actress (The Young and the Restless)

|American television personality

|Sarah Snook

|Actress

|Michael Angarano

|Actor (Cover Me, Will & Grace)

|Actress

|Orlando Brown

|Actor (Family Matters, Two of a Kind, That's So Raven, Waynehead, The Proud Family, Fillmore!, Clifford's Puppy Days) and rapper

|Jack DeSena

|Actor (All That, 100 Things to Do Before High School, Avatar: The Last Airbender)

|Aaron Carter

|Actor (House of Carters), singer and brother of Nick Carter (died 2022)

|Alex Russell

|Australian actor

|Kate Todd

|Canadian actress

|Michael Socha

|English actor (Once Upon a Time)

|Hallee Hirsh

|Actress (ER, Flight 29 Down)

|Taylor Ball

|Actor (Still Standing)

|English actress (Kerching!, Dream Team, Hollyoaks) and sister of Kara Tointon

|Actor (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Secret Circle, Backstrom)

|Actor (90210, Winx Club, The Bold and the Beautiful)

|Iain De Caestecker

|Actor (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

! Date

|Lloyd Haynes

| style="text-align:center;"|52

|Actor (Room 222)

|Liberace

| style="text-align:center;"|67

|American pianist, singer and actor

|David Susskind

| style="text-align:center;"|66

|Commentator and producer (The David Susskind Show)

|James Coco

| style="text-align:center;"|56

|Actor

|Danny Kaye

| style="text-align:center;"|76

|Actor & comedian (The Danny Kaye Show)

|Dean Paul Martin

| style="text-align:center;"|35

|Actor (Misfits of Science) and singer (Dino, Desi & Billy)

|Patrick Troughton

| style="text-align:center;"|67

|Actor (the Second Doctor on Doctor Who from 1966 to 1969)

|Dick Shawn

| style="text-align:center;"|63

|Actor

|Milt Kahl

| style="text-align:center;"|78

|Animator

|Cathryn Damon

| style="text-align:center;"|56

|Actress (Mary on Soap)

|Rita Hayworth

| style="text-align:center;"|68

|Actress and singer

|Roy Winsor

| style="text-align:center;"|75

|Soap opera writer (Search for Tomorrow)

|Fred Astaire

| style="text-align:center;"|88

|Actor and singer

|Jackie Gleason

| style="text-align:center;"|71

|Actor (The Honeymooners, The Jackie Gleason Show)

|Clara Peller

| style="text-align:center;"|85

|Wendy's spokesperson (Where's the Beef? ad campaign)

|Hayden Rorke

| style="text-align:center;"|76

|Actor (Dr. Bellows on I Dream of Jeannie)

|Quinn Martin

| style="text-align:center;"|65

|Executive producer (The Fugitive and many others)

|Lorne Greene

| style="text-align:center;"|72

|Actor (Ben Cartwright on Bonanza)

|Dan Rowan

| style="text-align:center;"|65

|Comedian (co-host of Laugh-In)

| style="text-align:center;"|84

|Voice actor (Bosko on Looney Tunes)

|Mary Astor

| style="text-align:center;"|81

|Actress{{cite web |title=Mary Astor - American actress |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Astor |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |accessdate=12 June 2018 |language=en}}