1970 in American television

none 1970 This is a list of American television-related events in 1970. Events Date Event Ref. January 1 WXTV becomes a full time Spanish-language station based in Paterson, New Jersey, which it remains into the 21st century. In this case, it becomes an affiliate of SIN, the network's first affiliate east of the Mississippi River. January 19 CBS launches Operation 100, a plan to beat NBC’s ratings in the last 100 days of the 1969-70 television season. This plan was accompanied with the slogan, “The man can’t bust our network.” March 7 The “eclipse of the century,” which occurred on the East Coast of the United States, is covered by the news departments of all three American networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC). ABC NEWS 3:40 – March 7, 1970: Total Solar Eclipse The region near Nejapa, Mexico, is first to experience total darkness in midday. March 16 The FCC closes the “Miami channel 10” case as the station becomes WPLG. July 31 Chet Huntley anchors his final newscast with David Brinkley and retires, bringing down the curtain on a 14-year career at NBC News and, thus, as chief anchor of The Huntley-Brinkley Report. The next Monday, August 3, the program is renamed NBC Nightly News, its current title as of 2022. August 2 NBC expands full-service newscasts to seven nights a week with NBC Sunday News; it replaces The Frank McGee Report. September 5 The Banana Splits Adventure Hour airs on NBC for the last time, airing the same Christmas Special, which was previously shown on December 13, the previous year. Freeform aired it again on New Year's Eve in 2016. October 5 The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) goes on the air for the first time as the replacement for its predecessor National Educational Television (NET). Most NET member stations joined PBS upon the latter's sign-on. Television programs Debuts Date Debut Network January 5 All My Children ABC January 30 The Tim Conway Show CBS February 17 McCloud NBC March 30 A World Apart ABC The Best of Everything Somerset NBC September 12 Josie and the Pussycats CBS September 17 The Flip Wilson Show NBC Nancy September 19 The Mary Tyler Moore Show CBS September 20 The Tim Conway Comedy Hour September 21 NFL Monday Night Football ABC September 24 Barefoot in the Park The Odd Couple September 25 The Partridge Family Ending this year Date Program Network First aired Status Notes/References January 3Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying MachinesCBS1969EndedJanuary 17The Perils of Penelope PitstopCBS1969EndedJanuary 23The Good GuysCBS1968EndedFebruary 7The Hollywood PalaceABC1964EndedFebruary 10CBS PlayhouseCBS1967EndedMarch 13The Ghost & Mrs. Muir ABC 1968 (on NBC)EndedApril 3 The Flying Nun ABC 1967EndedHere Come the Brides 1968CanceledApril 4 Petticoat Junction CBS 1963 Ended April 16 Dragnet NBC January 12, 1967April 24Death Valley DaysSyndication1952EndedMay 7 Daniel Boone NBC1964EndedMay 15 Get Smart 1965 EndedMay 26 I Dream of JeannieJune 12The Tim Conway ShowCBS1970EndedJune 14 Spider-Man ABC1967 EndedJuly 31The Huntley–Brinkley ReportNBC1956 EndedSeptember 5The Banana Splits NBC 1970EndedSeptember 5The New Adventures of Superman CBS 1966EndedSeptember 27The Original Amateur Hour CBS 1970EndedOctober 31Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! CBS1969Canceled Returned in 1978 as The Scooby-Doo Show on ABCDecember 13 The Tim Conway Comedy Hour CBS1970EndedDecember 17Barefoot in the ParkABC1970Ended December 19 H.R. Pufnstuf NBC 1969 Canceled The show remained on the NBC Saturday morning schedule in reruns until August 1972. Networks and services Network launches Network Type Launch date Notes Source PBS Over-the-air public television October 5 PBS was launched to replace the National Educational Television service. Most NET member stations signed up to become PBS member stations upon the network's launch. Network closures End date Network Type First air date Notes/references October 5 National Educational Television Over-the-air public television May 16, 1954 Television stations Sign-ons Date City of License/Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/Ref. January 1 Hagerstown, Maryland WHAG-TV 25 NBC Now an independent station Marlborough, New Hampshire (Boston, Massachusetts) WSMW-TV 27 Independent January 5 Wichita, Kansas KPTS 8 NET Became a PBS member station on October 5. February 1 Jackson, Mississippi WMAA-TV 29 NET Flagship of Mississippi ETV; became a PBS member station on October 5. February 8 Iowa City/Cedar Rapids, Iowa KIIN 12 NET Part of Iowa Public Television; became a PBS member station on October 5. February 15 College Station/Bryan, Texas KAMU 12 NET Became a PBS member station on October 5. February 24 Bend, Oregon KVDO-TV 3 Independent February 28 Utica, New York WUTR 20 ABC March 4 Chattanooga, Tennessee WTCI 45 NET Became a PBS member on October 5. March 5 Evansville, Indiana WNIN 9 NET March 7 La Crosse, Wisconsin WXOW 19 ABC April 5 Chicago, Illinois WSNS-TV 44 Independent May Salina, Kansas K06LZ 6 NBC Originally a low-power translator of KSNW/Wichita May 2 Flagstaff, Arizona KOAI-TV 2 NBC May 12 Butte, Montana KTVM 6 NBC June 1 Dubuque, Iowa KDUB-TV 40 ABC July 18 Savannah, Georgia WJCL-TV 22 ABC August 1 Pierre, South Dakota KTSD-TV 10 NET Part of South Dakota Public Broadcasting; became a PBS member station on October 5. August 7 Dothan, Alabama WDHN-TV 18 ABC August 10 Kansas City, Missouri KBMA-TV 41 Independent now an NBC affiliate August 31 Louisville, Kentucky WKMJ-TV 68 NET Satellite of WKLE/Lexington, Kentucky as part of the Kentucky Educational Television network; became a PBS member on October 5. September 13 Demopolis, Alabama WIIQ 41 NET Part of the Alabama Public Television network; became a PBS member three weeks later. September 21 Yakima, Washington KAPP 35 ABC October 3 Jackson, Mississippi WAPT 16 ABC October 4 Indianapolis, Indiana WFYI 20 NET Became a PBS member station the day after its inaugural sign-on. October 29 Columbus, Georgia (Auburn, Alabama) WYEA-TV 38 NBC Kennewick, Washington KVEW 42 ABC Semi-satellite of KAPP/Yakima October 30 Hagåtña, Guam (Agana) KGTF 12 PBS November 1 Grandview/Bluefield/Beckley, West Virginia WSWP 9 PBS Part of the West Virginia Public Broadcasting television network November 23 Belton, Texas KNCT 46 PBS December 21 Buffalo, New York WUTV 29 Independent Now a Fox network affiliate. Unknown date Missoula, Montana KPAX-TV 8 CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) New York City W53AA 53 CBS Low-powered translator of WCBS-TV; now Azteca America affiliate WKOB-LD on channel 42 Port Jervis, New York W64AA 64 Independent Low-powered translator of WNEW; now Estrella TV affiliate WASA-LD on channel 24 New York City W73AP 73 Independent Low-powered translator of WPIX; now First Nations Experience affiliate WNDT-CD on channel 14 Network affiliation changes October 2019 Date City of license/Market Station Channel Old affiliation New affiliation Notes/Ref. January 1 Paterson, New Jersey (New York City, New York) WXTV 41 Bilingual independent Spanish International Network February 1 El Centro, California (Yuma, Arizona) KECY-TV 9 ABC CBS Change occurred due to the shutdown of previous NBC affiliate KIVA. Yuma, Arizona KBLU-TV 13 CBS NBC May 31 Birmingham, Alabama WAPI-TV 13 NBC (primary) CBS (secondary) NBC (exclusive) Anniston, Alabama WHMA 40 CBS (primary) NBC (secondary) CBS (exclusive) Birmingham, Alabama WBMG 42 Tuscaloosa, Alabama WCFT-TV 33 Independent CBS September 13 Rapid City, South Dakota KOTA-TV 23 CBS ABC and NBC (joint primary) KRSD-TV 3 NBC CBS October 3 Jackson, Mississippi WLBT 3 NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) NBC (exclusive) Unknown date Anchorage, Alaska KHAR-TV 13 Independent NBC KTVA 11 CBS (primary) NBC (secondary) CBS (exclusive) Kalispell, Montana KCFW 9 CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) Missoula, Montana KECI-TV 13 Miles City-Billings, Montana KYUS-TV 3 Independent NBC Pasco, Washington KEPR 19 CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) CBS (exclusive) Semi-satellite of KIMA/Yakima Richland, Washington KNDU 25 ABC (primary) NBC (secondary) NBC (exclusive) Semi-satellite of KNDO/Yakima Yakima, Washington KIMA 29 CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) CBS (exclusive) KNDO 23 ABC (primary) NBC (secondary) NBC (exclusive) Hazard, Kentucky WKYH-TV 57 Independent NBC Nash Francis M. 1995 Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Towers-Over-Kentucky-Nash-1995.pdf World Radio History 9781879688933 Station closures Date City of license/Market Station Channel Affiliation Sign-on date Notes January 31 Yuma, Arizona KIVA 11 NBC October 8, 1953 February 6 Fort Lauderdale, Florida WSMS-TV 51 Independent December 6, 1968 Returned to air February 14, 1972, as WKID February 23 St. Petersburg, Florida WSUN-TV 38 Independent May 5, 1953 March 18 Nacogdoches, Texas KAEC-TV 19 CBS July 30, 1969 June Manchester, New Hampshire WXPO-TV 50 Independent November 6, 1969 July 26 Greensboro, North Carolina WUBC 48 Independent November 6, 1967 September 1 Richardson, Texas KRET-TV 23 Educational independent February 29, 1960 Births 1970 in television#Births Deaths 1970 in television#Deaths See also 1970 in television 1970 in film 1970 in the United states List of American films of 1970 References External links List of 1970 American television series at IMDb September 2022 1970 *