1998 in American television
| List of years in American television: |
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| 1997–98 United States network television schedule |
| 1998–99 United States network television schedule |
| List of American television programs currently in production |
The following is a list of events affecting American television during 1998. Events listed include television series debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel initiations, closures and rebrandings, as well as information about controversies and disputes.
Events
January
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 3 | Jim McKay announces that Wide World of Sports has been cancelled by ABC after 37 years. |
| 5 | An affiliation swap occurs in Sacramento, California: KMAX-TV switches its affiliation to UPN after being purchased by Paramount Stations Group, while The WB affiliates with KQCA. |
| 12 | CBS acquires the rights to the AFC of the NFL as part of a $4 billion, eight-year contract; Fox and ABC renew their agreements for the NFC and Monday Night Football, respectively (Super Bowl XXXII, broadcast on January 25, would be NBC's last NFL game until 2006). |
February
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 9 | Prevue Channel (now Pop) revamps its programming to include short-form segments. The revamp lasts until January 31, 1999, when the channel is renamed TV Guide Channel. |
March
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 10 | Showtime launches a new multiplex channel, Showtime Extreme, which airs action and adventure films, thrillers, gangster films and sporting events. The channel's launch coincided with Viacom's channels (excluding the Showtime networks) moving from USSB to DirecTV. |
| 29 | BBC Worldwide debuts BBC America. |
April
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 4 | CatDog premieres on Nickelodeon after the 1998 Kids' Choice Awards. The show was not aired until October. |
| 6 | Long running British children's television series Teletubbies begins its U.S. television debut on PBS. |
| 9 | The Price Is Right's 5,000th episode is broadcast on CBS. On the show, every pricing game is played for a car (something Price had only done once before. It has been repeated only once since then). At the beginning of the show, CBS announces it has renamed Studio 33 (the studio at CBS Television City where The Price Is Right has taped since its 1972 return) the Bob Barker Studios in honor of the show's then-host and executive producer. |
| 11 | The National Cable Television Association announces they will discontinue the CableACE awards, due to the Emmy Awards recognizing cable programming. |
| 18 | Toon Disney – devoted to carrying animated series and movies, 24 hours a day, is launched by The Walt Disney Company. |
| 24 | A second special episode of Dallas, Dallas: War of the Ewings, airs on CBS seven years after the original series finished. |
| 30 | Seven television stations broadcast the suicide of maintenance worker Daniel V. Jones on live television. The incident causes many to criticize Los Angeles television stations' practice of airing police pursuits live and calls for proposed changes in the way live coverage of events are handled in the future. |
May
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 11 | ZDTV, a technology-based cable channel, debuts. |
| 14 | 76.3 million people tune in to The Finale of Seinfeld on NBC. |
| 28 | Former Saturday Night Live actor and comedian Phil Hartman, then featuring on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio, the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons, and announcer of Cartoon Network is shot and killed by his wife (who then kills herself). |
June
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 11 | United Video Satellite Group, parent company of the Prevue Channel (now Pop), acquires TV Guide from News Corporation for $800 million and 60 million shares of stock worth an additional $1.2 billion. In recognition of this, Prevue Channel will rebrand to the TV Guide Channel on February 1, 1999.[1][2] |
| 29 | Lifetime Movie Network, a movie channel from Lifetime, debuts. |
August
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 15 | More than a year after its acquisition by News Corporation's Fox Kids Worldwide, Inc., The Family Channel is re-initiated as Fox Family Channel, with the network now targeting a younger family-oriented audience than that of its predecessor. |
| A pre-season football game in Vancouver, British Columbia between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks is CBS's first NFL football broadcast since January 1994. | |
| 16 | KATH-LP in Juneau, Alaska signs on the air, giving the Juneau market its first full-time NBC affiliate. The sign-on was delayed for a month due to delays in receiving the equipment required to place the station on the local GCI cable system (Sister station KSCT-LP in Sitka, the market's former Fox affiliate, had already switched to NBC).[3][4] |
| 31 | Pax TV (now named Ion Television), a family-oriented broadcast network owned by Paxson Communications, begins broadcasting. The network was originally carried for Paxson-owned stations by a number of paid programming services (as well as the overnight Christian block The Worship Network), branded as the Infomall Television Network until at the time of its network launch.[5] |
September
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 | The revived edition of Hollywood Squares resumes syndication. Tom Bergeron serves as host. |
| 21 | The WB launches its programming service of cable-only networks, branded as the 100+ Station Group. It was originally known as The WeB, which was from its launch until March of next year. Several cable providers that carried The WB's programming on WGN Superstation feed (until it was dropped the following September) were replaced by its own service.[6] |
October
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Style Network debuts. |
| 4 | UPN adds two additional nights of programming to its schedule with primetime series added to Friday nights, including a movie block on Thursday nights. |
| 15 | Plinko, one of the most-popular pricing games on The Price Is Right increases its middle slot to $10,000, making its top prize $50,000. |
| 19 | Fox Family Channel airs new block: 13 Nights of Halloween. |
November
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 18 | The Powerpuff Girls Premieres on Cartoon Network, becoming Hanna-Barbera’s Final TV show, distributing episodes until 2001 when Cartoon Netowrk studios took over until the series ended in 2005. |
| 20 | The Rugrats Movie, based on Nickelodeon's hit series Rugrats is released in theaters. The movie introduces the character of Dil Pickles, who became a main character in Rugrats the following January. The Rugrats Movie was a commercial success, making a grand total of $100,494,675 domestically and another $40,400,000 in international markets.[7] To promote the movie, Nickelodeon put all Rugrats episodes on hiatus for the week. It was the first time since 1994 that Rugrats was not part of Nick's daily schedule. |
Programs
Debuts
Ending this year
Entering syndication this year
| Show | Seasons | In production | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Hope | 4 | Yes | [8] |
| Dave's World | 4 | No | [5] |
| Doug | 6 | Yes | |
| Diagnosis: Murder | 5 | Yes | [5] |
| ER | 4 | Yes | [9] |
| Friends | 4 | Yes | [10] |
| The Nanny | 5 | Yes | [11] |
| New York Undercover | 4 | No | [12] |
| Newsradio | 4 | Yes | [13] |
| Sister, Sister | 5 | Yes | [14] |
| This Old House | 19 | Yes | [15] |
| Touched by an Angel | 4 | Yes | [5] |
Returning this year
| Show | Last aired | Previous network | New network | Date of return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kids Say the Darndest Things | 1995 | CBS | Same | January 9 |
| Sailor Moon | 1996 | USA Network and TBS | Toonami | June 15 |
| The NFL Today | 1994 | CBS | Same | September 6 |
| Doug | 1997 | ABC | September 12 | |
| Hollywood Squares | 1989 | Syndication | September 14 | |
| Love Connection | 1994 | September 21 | ||
| Match Game | 1991 | ABC | Syndication |
Changes of network affiliation
| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
|---|---|---|
| For Your Love | NBC | The WB |
| TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes | ABC | |
| Sliders | Fox | Sci-Fi Channel |
| The Magic School Bus | PBS | Fox Kids |
| Shining Time Station | Fox Family Channel | |
| Sailor Moon | USA Network/TBS | Toonami |
| Flipper | Syndication | PAX |
| All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series | Fox Family Channel | |
| Match Game | ABC | Syndication |
| Doug | Disney Channel | |
| Dragon Ball Z | UPN Kids/Kids' WB! | Toonami |
Miniseries
| Title | Network | Date of airing |
|---|---|---|
| The Last Don 2 | CBS | May 3 |
| Peter Benchley's Creature | ABC | May 17 |
| Thanks of a Grateful Nation | Showtime | May 31 |
Television stations
Station launches
| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2 | Rochester, New York | WBGT-LP | 40 | UPN |
| June 1 | Lexington, Kentucky | WAOM | 67 | |
| June 15 | Live Oak, Florida | WFXU | 57 | Fox |
| July 16 | Pocatello/Idaho Falls, Idaho | KFXP | 31 | |
| August 15 | Helena, Montana | KMTF | 10 | |
| August 17 | Juneau, Alaska | K05JR | 5 | NBC |
| August 27 | Albany, New York | WVBG-LP | 25 | Independent |
| August 31 | Charlottesville, Virginia | WADA-LP | 55 | PAX TV |
| September 8 | Mitchell, South Dakota | KDLV-TV | 5 | NBC |
| October 5 | Charleston/Huntington, West Virginia | WHCP | 30 | The WB |
| November 6 | Bakersfield, California | K24EJ | 24 | Fox |
Stations changing network affiliation
Births
Deaths
| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 4 | Mae Questel | 89 | Actress (voice of Olive Oyl in Popeye the Sailor) |
| January 5 | Sonny Bono | 62 | Singer and entertainer (The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour) |
| January 21 | Jack Lord | 77 | Actor (Steve McGarrett on Hawaii Five-O) |
| February 3 | Fat Pat | 27 | American rapper |
| February 6 | Carl Wilson | 51 | Singer-songwriter (The Beach Boys) and brother of Brian Wilson |
| February 19 | Grandpa Jones | 84 | Comedian and musician (Hee Haw) |
| February 23 | Philip Abbott | 74 | Actor (The F.B.I.) |
| March 10 | Lloyd Bridges | 85 | Actor (Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt) |
| April 17 | Linda McCartney | 56 | Musician (guest star on The Simpsons) (Paul McCartney's wife) |
| May 14 | Frank Sinatra | 82 | Singer, actor, and producer |
| May 28 | Phil Hartman | 49 | Actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, NewsRadio) |
| July 6 | Roy Rogers | 86 | Singer and actor (The Roy Rogers Show) |
| July 21 | Robert Young | 91 | Actor (Father Knows Best, Marcus Welby, M.D.) |
| July 30 | Buffalo Bob Smith | 80 | Children's show host (Howdy Doody) |
| August 2 | Shari Lewis | 65 | Puppeteer (Lamb Chop's Play-Along) |
| September 23 | Mary Frann | 55 | Actress (Joanna on Newhart) |
| October 2 | Gene Autry | 91 | Musical performer (The Gene Autry Show) |
| October 3 | Roddy McDowall | 70 | Actor (Tales of the Gold Monkey) |
| November 17 | Dick O'Neill | 70 | Actor (Family Matters, Home Improvement) |
| Esther Rolle | 78 | Actress (Florida on Maude and Good Times) | |
| December 6 | Michael Zaslow | 56 | Actor (Roger Thorpe on Guiding Light) |
| December 14 | Norman Fell | 74 | Actor (Stanley Roper on Three's Company) |
| December 22 or 23 | Michelle Thomas | 30 | Actress (Myra on Family Matters, Justine on The Cosby Show) |
| December 25 | Richard Paul | 58 | Actor (Carter Country, Match Game) |
See also
References
- ↑ "News Lite: TV Guide Deal Sets Up Broadcast Opportunity". Los Angeles Daily News. HighBeam Research. June 12, 1998. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ↑ "The $2 Billion Acquisition of TV Guide". Folio. HighBeam Research. January 1, 1999. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Juneau-based television station to hit airwaves soon". Juneau Empire. June 26, 1998. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ↑ "New local television station to hit airwaves Monday". Juneau Empire. August 16, 1998. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Lisa de Moraes (August 29, 1998). "On Monday, the Genesis of PAX TV". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved February 25, 2013 – via HighBeam Research. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "A Salute to The WB 100+ Station Group on its Fifth Anniversary" (PDF). TelevisionWeek. September 22, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-11-05 – via RussellMyerson.com.
- ↑ "THE RUGRATS MOVIE". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ↑ from Broadcasting & Cable
- ↑ from Broadcasting & Cable
- ↑ from Broadcasting & Cable
- ↑ from Broadcasting & Cable
- ↑ from Broadcasting & Cable
- ↑ from Broadcasting & Cable
- ↑ from Broadcasting & Cable
- ↑ from Broadcasting & Cable
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