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1972 in American television
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1972
This is a list of American television-related events in 1972.
Events
Date Event Ref. January 21 The first convention of Star Trek fans is held at the Statler-Hilton Hotel in New York City. "The First Star Trek Convention, or How I Got my Geek Cred" Wired. January 3, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2021. March 18 After losing a 15-year court battle over the legality of its business relationship with The Herald-Traveler, CBS' Boston, Massachusetts affiliate WHDH-TV Channel 5 signs off the air after the movie Fixed Bayonets! finished at 1 am. At 3 a.m. on March 19, WCVB takes over the Channel 5 frequency, simultaneously switching affiliations to the ABC network following CBS' loss of interest in the channel during the long legal wrangle. The CBS affiliation returned to WNAC-TV until its 1982 shutdown. May The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson relocates from New York City to the NBC Studios in Burbank, California. It would return to New York in 2014 when The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is launched. August 26 Effective with this issue, TV Guide discontinues the practice of using a "C" to indicate color programs, and instead starts using a "BW" for monochrome, saving a lot of printer's ink in the process. At the time about half of the TV households in the U.S. had color sets. September 4 The Price Is Right premieres on CBS. As of 2026, it is the longest-running game show on American television. October 1 The famous Move Closer to Your World theme makes its debut on WPVI-TV in Philadelphia.1972-08-30 Philadelphia The Philadelphia Inquirer November 8 Home Box Office (HBO) launches at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, initially available to subscribers of Teleservice Cable (now Service Electric Cable TV and Communications) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.HBO Home Box Office first broadcast https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18804318/hbo_home_box_office_first_broadcast/ Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Newspapers.com 39 November 8, 1972 August 13, 2019HBO Guides: November 1974 http://hboguides.com/1974/1974-11.html HBO Guide Home Box Office, Inc. The HBO Guide Archive June 27, 2020 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20180815060609/http://hboguides.com/guides/1974/1974-11.html August 15, 2018 HBO's inaugural program and event telecast, a National Hockey League (NHL) game between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks from Madison Square Garden,STERLING CABLE TV IN 200-EVENT DEAL https://www.nytimes.com/1972/11/02/archives/sterling-cable-tv-in-200event-deal-signs-with-madison-square-garden.html Louis Calta The New York Times November 2, 1972 July 17, 2020 is transmitted that evening over channel 21—its original assigned channel on the Teleservice system—to its initial base of 365 subscribers in Wilkes-Barre.HBO Started 20 Years Ago in Wilkes-Barre https://apnews.com/7234e60624a3ac1b2c33c4fb690dc235 Kelly P. Kissel Associated Press November 9, 1992 July 22, 2020 The first movie presentation shown on the service airs immediately after the hockey game concludes: the 1971 film Sometimes a Great Notion, starring Paul Newman and Henry Fonda.HBO Soundtrack: Home Box Office 5 Years http://hboguides.com/guides/1977/1977-11.html HBO on Air Home Box Office, Inc. The HBO Guide Archive November 1977 June 28, 2020 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20180602095411/http://hboguides.com/guides/1977/1977-11.html June 2, 2018Risk: A Game of Cable Domination http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/HBO.html Kimberly C. Van Schoick Pennsylvania Center for the Book Penn State University Fall 2010 January 23, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130515203331/http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/HBO.html May 15, 2013 liveAnd the winner is. Broadcasting Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 11 April 30, 1984 December 31 The first installment of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve airs on NBC, beginning a yearly tradition of Dick Clark-hosted New Year's specials. Today in TV History: The Very First ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’. Decider. December 31, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
Programs
Debuts
Date Debut Network January 13 Me and the Chimp CBS January 14 Sanford and Son NBC January 15 Emergency! June 21 The Super ABC September 4 Gambit CBS The Joker's Wild The New Price is Right September 9 Runaround NBC The New Scooby-Doo Movies CBS Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids September 11 The Rookies ABC September 12 Maude CBS Temperatures Rising ABC September 13 The Julie Andrews Hour September 14 The Waltons CBS September 15 Ghost Story NBC September 16 Bridget Loves Bernie CBS The Bob Newhart Show The Streets of San Francisco ABC September 17 M*A*S*H CBS October 3 4 Country Reporter KDFW October 14 Kung Fu ABC November 4 Great Performances PBS December 10 The Moonstone
Ending this year
Date Show DebutJanuary 1 The Funky Phantom1971January 8Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!1971March 1 The Courtship of Eddie's Father1969March 10 O'Hara, U.S. Treasury1971March 12The Jimmy Stewart ShowMarch 25 Bewitched1964March 31 Bright Promise1969April 13My Three Sons1960April 27 Me and the Chimp1972August 23 The Super1972September 2The Road Runner Show 1966December 23Josie and the Pussycats 1970
TV movies and miniseries
September 19: The Woman Hunter (CBS)
Births
1972 in television#Births
Deaths
1972 in television#Deaths
Networks and services
Network launches
Network Type Launch date Notes Source Family Broadcasting Corporation Cable Unknown Home Box Office Cable November 8 First ever premium movie channel created by Time Life; oldest pay television service in the United States
Television stations
Sign-ons
Date City of License/Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/Ref. January 1 Aberdeen, South Dakota KDSD-TV 16 PBS via SDPB January 4 Chattanooga, Tennessee WRIP-TV 61 Independent January 14 Bude, Mississippi WMAU-TV 17 PBS Part of Mississippi ETV Meridian, Mississippi WMAW-TV 14 February 14 Fort Lauderdale-Miami, Florida WSCV 51 Independent Previously on-air as WSMS-TV (1969-1970) March 8 Dayton, Ohio WPTD 16 PBS March 19 Boston, Massachusetts WCVB-TV 5 ABC May 7 Greenville/Washington, North Carolina WUNK-TV 25 PBS via UNC-TV May 19 Oxford, Mississippi (Memphis, Tennessee) WMAV-TV 18 NET Part of Mississippi ETV August 16 Los Angeles, California KBSA 46 Independent August 29 Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands WTJX-TV 12 PBS September 12 Green Bay, Wisconsin WPNE-TV 38 PBS Part of Wisconsin Public Television September 14 Bethel, Alaska KYUK-TV PBS Part of AlaskaOne September 15 Greenwood, Mississippi WMAO-TV 23 PBS Part of Mississippi ETV October 16 Corpus Christi, Texas KEDT 16 PBS October 20 Farmington, New Mexico KOBF 12 NBC Satellite of KOB-TV/Albuquerque, New Mexico October 23 Camden, New Jersey (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) WNJS 23 PBS Part of the New Jersey Network October 29 Greenville, South Carolina WGGS 16 Religious independent November 20 Huntington Beach, California/Los Angeles, California KOCE-TV 50 PBS December 17 Grand Rapids, Michigan WGVC 11 PBS December 28 Marquette, Michigan WNMU-TV PBS Unknown date Bethel, Alaska KYUK-TV 4 PBS Eventual AlaskaOne station Hanford/Fresno, California KFTV 21 SIN
Network affiliation changes
Date City of license/Market Station Channel Old affiliation New affiliation Notes/Ref. March 19 Boston, Massachusetts WNAC-TV 7 ABC CBS Now defunct March 23 Meridian, Mississippi WHTV 24 Silent NBC Became a satellite of WTVA/Tupelo, Mississippi until becoming a CBS affiliate in 1980. WTOK-TV 11 CBS (primary) NBC (secondary) CBS (exclusive) Now an ABC affiliate
Station closures
Date City of license/Market Station Channel Affiliation Sign-on date Notes March 18 Boston, Massachusetts WHDH-TV 5 CBS November 26, 1957 December 31 Lubbock, Texas KMXN-TV 34 Spanish independent October 24, 1967 Unknown date Baltimore, Maryland WMET-TV 24 Independent March 1, 1967
See also
1972 in television
1972 in film
List of American films of 1972
References
External links
List of 1972 American television series at IMDb
October 2021
1972
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