2019 in American television

The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2019. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, and cancellations; channel launches, closures, and re-brandings; stations changing or adding their network affiliations; and information about controversies and carriage disputes.

Notable events

January

Date	Event	Source
2	Tribune Media removes their broadcast stations, subchannels, and cable network WGN America from Spectrum systems in a number of markets due to the lack of a new retransmission consent agreement with the nation's second largest cable provider. A short one-day extension had been made to 5 p.m. ET is allow Spectrum viewers to watch New Year's Day event content on Tribune stations, averting a midnight deadline on December 31, but the stations are pulled at that point among an impasse between Tribune and Spectrum parent Charter Communications. The dispute is settled on January 11 in the early morning hours, on undisclosed terms.
	Four months after Julie Chen departs The Talk (in the wake of husband Les Moonves losing his chairmanship at the network), frequent fill-in and Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba officially joins the host panel of CBS' daytime talk show.
	NBC Sports Chicago announces it has reached agreements with Wirtz Corporation and Jerry Reinsdorf to become the exclusive broadcaster for Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox games beginning this year. The deal marks the departure of all three teams from WGN-TV, with the Cubs expected to follow, albeit through the creation of their own network.
3	National Geographic Channel puts the current season of StarTalk on hiatus while the network investigates sexual harassment claims against host Neil deGrasse Tyson. On February 15, it was announced that Cosmos: Possible Worlds would be delayed from its original March premiere due to the ongoing investigation.
6	NBC televises a late Sunday afternoon NFL Wild Card playoff for the first time (Fox instead broadcast the Seahawks/Cowboys game the previous evening), where the Philadelphia Eagles escape Soldier Field in Chicago with a 16–15 victory after a game-ending field goal miss by Bears kicker Cody Parkey. The game serves as a sizable lead-in to the Golden Globes, which starts on time. Parkey appeared on the network's Today five days later to talk about his miss, a move that rankled the Bears front office as well as local sportswriters and fans.
	The 76th Golden Globe Awards airs on NBC, hosted by Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg. It is the first telecast in an eight-year deal to keep the ceremony on the network. In addition, Oh became the first Asian performer to make history as a host and a winner for her role in Killing Eve. Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody won as Musical or Comedy and drama respectively. The Kominsky Method and The Americans win top honors as best television comedy and drama. Afterwards, E! issued an apology to The Good Place star Jameela Jamil during their live red carpet telecast of the Golden Globes, in which they accidentally typed in Kamilah Al-Jamil instead of the actress' real name. Kamilah (played by Rebecca Hazlewood) is the sister of Jameela's character Tahani Al-Jamil, who that character is famously envious of for being one-upped, and Jamil later tweets that it 'is legit the funniest thing I have ever seen' and that it was 'a joyous mistake'.
7	NBC affiliate WHEC-TV/Rochester, New York announces the firing of chief meteorologist Jeremy Kappell, three days after a weathercam network check-in of area cameras during a weather segment saw him appear to refer to the city's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park with the racial epithet "coon" during a glance at the park's weathercam. Kappell asserts that he was speaking too fast and stumbled over his words, which he cited occurred with other media personalities in the past including ESPN's Mike Greenberg. However, Rochester mayor Lovely Warren, an African-American, called for Kappell's firing because it was "wrong, hurtful and infuriating." The station apologized for not stepping in to address the matter immediately.
8	After nearly two years in office, President Donald Trump gave his first prime time address, to talk about the partial federal government shutdown, specifically its key issue, proposed funding for the Mexico–United States barrier. The networks also aired a response from Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer following the address, in which they explained their opposition to Trump's proposal to fund the border wall and to reopen the departments affected by the shutdown. The shutdown ended on January 25 with a short-term deal to re-open to the government that does not include funding for the border wall.
10	Tribune Media's Fox affiliate KCPQ Tacoma-Seattle fires a news editor after reviewing a video footage of President Donald Trump's presidential address on immigration that the station aired on its 10 p.m. newscast that appears to be altered, which showed a more orange-toned Trump with his tongue protruding after making a statement, making him more saturated and the tongue doctored. In a statement from news director Erica Hill (unrelated to the CNN anchor): "This does not meet our editorial standards, and we regret if it is seen as portraying the president in a negative light."
	Netflix announced that its upcoming series OBX would begin production in South Carolina instead of shooting in North Carolina due to the latter state's House Bill 2, otherwise known as "the bathroom bill," which requires transgender people use the public restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate. Although North Carolina repealed a section of the law in 2017, it didn't completely overturn it due to a clause that forbids municipalities from enacting nondiscrimination ordinances for any group not included in North Carolina state law until 2020.
	In an emotion-filled final broadcast, Mark Rosen bids farewell to WCCO-TV/Minneapolis, retiring after a nearly 50-year tenure as sports reporter/anchor for the CBS O&O.
11	Fox announces they do not intend to bid on the Fox Sports Networks that federal regulators have said The Walt Disney Company must divest after Disney completes its acquisition of many of the 21st Century Fox assets. The move paves the way for other companies to go after some or all of the 22 regional services.
	Megyn Kelly officially exits NBC News, receiving the full amount due her in her $69 million contract and being free to join any other employer. The announcement comes four days after Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones were named permanent co-hosts of Today Third Hour, which replaced Kelly's Megyn Kelly Today following its October 2018 cancellation in the wake of Kelly's controversial blackface comments.
13	The 24th Critics' Choice Awards are broadcast on The CW. Taye Diggs serves as emcee of the ceremonies, which combines accolades in both film and television, and is highlighted by ties in two categories, best film actress (Glenn Close for The Wife and Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born) and best actress in a TV film or limited series (Amy Adams for Sharp Objects and Patricia Arquette for Escape at Dannemora).
14	Executive producers Alec Sulkin and Rich Appel, along with creator Seth MacFarlane, confirm Family Guy would no longer write jokes against the LGBT community due to societal changes which have seen the jokes become frowned upon over time. The decision was confirmed in a fourth wall break in the January 13 episode entitled "Trump Guy" in which Peter Griffin (voiced by MacFarlane) tells President Trump that Family Guy would be trying to "phase out" gay jokes.
16	Brittany Noble, a former news anchor at CBS affiliate WJTV/Jackson, Mississippi, files a complaint against the station and its owner Nexstar Media Group with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over workplace discrimination. Noble, who is African-American and a recent mother, cites racial harassment and issues involving management refusing to allow her to wear her hair naturally and her attire, along with improper accommodations which did not allow her to properly pump breast milk. She was dismissed without explanation from the station in May 2018 during time off she took after her grandfather's death, and not told she was terminated until months later.
	Sinclair Broadcast Group launches Stirr, a free over-the-top content platform. The platform mostly carries Sinclair's owned-and-operated digital subchannel networks and customized feeds from their local broadcast stations.
17	Bob Costas officially exits NBC Sports, ending a tenure with the company that spanned over 38 years. Costas noted that his interest in the sports properties NBC held at the time had waned (he had retired from NFL coverage after the 2016 season), and that his favorite sport, baseball, was not among them, as it hadn't since 2000. He has indicated that he would like to continue on television, suggesting a talk show in the vein of his previous shows On the Record and Later. Costas continues his work for MLB Network.
	Former CBS Corporation CEO Leslie Moonves states he will challenge his firing and denial of his $120 million golden parachute payout from the network in arbitration, and continues to deny the sexual harassment allegations which resulted in his firing the previous fall.
	Netflix offers an apology to Julie Morin, the mayor of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada, over the use of footage that was featured in the 2018 horror film Bird Box, which had used news footage of the community's 2013 rail disaster, which resulted in the destruction of the town's centre and the death of 47 people. Netflix licensed the footage of the disaster from the stock image vendor Pond 5, who then issued a statement that the footage "was taken out of context," and wanted to "sincerely apologize." Pond 5 footage of the crash was also used in Netflix's Travelers (which was removed). Netflix then stated that they had no plans to remove the footage from Bird Box despite further complaint by Quebec Culture Minister Nathalie Roy on the subject, but changed their minds on March 14 and agreed to remove the scene from future airings on the streaming service.
	General Motors pulls their Chevrolet "Real People, Not Actors" ad campaign for the time being after Toyota, Honda, and Ford each challenged the series' claims as misleading. The complaints were brought to light by the consumer advocacy organization Consumer World, which claimed GM's data is made up from late model vehicles (2014-2015) rather than new vehicle stock, some of which are models now out of production. The Ipsos survey was regarded by the other three manufacturers and Consumer World as outdated.
18	Wendy Williams extends her hiatus from her eponymous daytime talk show dating back to the holidays due to medical complications from Graves' disease and a shoulder injury, her second such break within a year. The show would feature guest hosts from January 28 on, until Williams is declared medically fit to return; she would return March 4.
	Singer R. Kelly's longtime record label, RCA Records, officially drops him from their label, in the aftermath and fallout of Lifetime's docu-series Surviving R. Kelly which had already resulted in music retailers, artists, and radio stations pulling his music, refusing to put further promotional effort into its sale or addition to playlists, and stopping the sale of catalog collaborations and duets with Kelly.
21	After a five-year battle court battle over copyrighted material and fair use pertaining to news gathering and sharing, Fox News Channel and TVEyes, a media monitoring service which mainly archives the video of television news services for the purposes of permanent text transcription of closed captioning text, reached a settlement, in which TVEyes agreed to a permanent injunction and will no longer be permitted to carry copyrighted content from Fox News Channel and the broadcast Fox network's Fox News Sunday.
	Fox News Channel immediately issues an apology and blames a "technical error" for a graphic that ran during Fox & Friends earlier in the morning that reported the death of Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was very much alive at the time of the incident and recently had surgery to treat cancerous nodules, of which she had since recovered. Steve Doocy told viewers "At the beginning of (Ainsley Earhardt's) interview with the process, a technical error in the control room triggered a graphic of Ruth Bader Ginsberg with a date on it.... That was a mistake. That was an accident." Earhardt also apologized, calling it a "big mistake".
22	With Tom Hanks as the sole guest and a surprise cameo by Milo Ventimiglia, TBS' Conan returns from a three-month hiatus with a retooled format that's a departure from host Conan O'Brien's previous late-night work: a shorter program length (from 60 to 30 minutes), which is more comedy-intensive, and without a house band or host's desk, and a more casual-style wardrobe. Longtime sidekick Andy Richter also returns.
23	Viacom announces its intent to buy free Internet television provider Pluto TV for $340 million.
27	Rent: Live airs on Fox to a mixed-to-negative critical reception, with the caveat that portions of the adaptation of the Tony-winning musical used pre-taped dress rehearsal footage mixed with live presentation due to Brennin Hunt, who plays Roger, injuring his foot during the last-minute rehearsals. The prerecorded dress rehearsal was carried for the majority of the show, with only the final fifteen minutes of the program, which consisted of the end of the show and an encore performance of "Seasons of Love" featuring the original Broadway cast, broadcast live. The special posted a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 3.42 million viewers, ranking the lowest among NBC and Fox's musical specials throughout the 2010s, though the adult content of Rent meant it could not meet ratings parity with the higher rated family-friendly productions. The lack of understudies was also criticized by reviewers and social media, citing Hunt's accident.
28	CNN's live Town Hall broadcast, which featured Democratic California Senator Kamala Harris, who on January 21, announced her campaign to run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2020 United States presidential election and moderated by host Jake Tapper, drew 1.95 million viewers in the 10 o'clock hour, making it the largest for a single-candidate town hall in CNN history.
29	Empire actor Jussie Smollett is said to be the victim of an attack by two unknown individuals in the Streeterville section of Chicago during the early morning hours. Chicago police say the suspects yelled racial and homophobic slurs at Smollett, who is African-American and gay, then punched him and poured a chemical substance on him. One of the attackers also put a rope around Smollett's neck. The incident was initially investigated as a hate crime. However, law enforcement suspected that Smollett paid the pair, later identified as brothers, to carry out the attack on him. While Smollett has denied any wrongdoing, he was charged on February 20 with filing a false report, which in Illinois is a Class 4 felony. Police claim Smollett staged the attack because he was "dissatisfied with his salary." Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct on March 8. Smollett was later cleared of all charges on March 26.
31	Nexstar Media Group announces that three stations owned by Dreamcatcher Broadcasting (ABC affiliate WNEP-TV/Scranton–Wilkes-Barre and the combined duopoly of CBS affiliate WTKR and CW affiliate WGNT/Norfolk), which are operated by Tribune Media (which Nexstar is acquiring) under a shared services agreement, would be divested in order to comply with FCC regulations. Nexstar already owns NBC affiliate WAVY-TV and Fox affiliate WVBT in the Norfolk market and maintains a grandfathered SSA between Nexstar-owned NBC affiliate WBRE-TV and CBS affiliate WYOU (owned by Mission Broadcasting) in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre market.

February

Date	Event	Source
3	The New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 13–3 in Super Bowl LIII from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, in a game generally criticized for slow and dull gameplay. The game aired on CBS in English, and ESPN Deportes in Spanish (with said ESPN Deportes audio simulcast on CBS's SAP channel). The halftime show featured Maroon 5 with guests Travis Scott and Big Boi. The performance included a brief animated sequence featuring the cast of SpongeBob SquarePants, including Rodger Bumpass in his role as Squidward Tentacles, based on and including footage from the 2001 episode "Band Geeks". This was an intended tribute to the show's creator Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away in November from ALS. The sequence was a result of a petition that garnered over 1.1 million signatures. The ratings, however, were the lowest since Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, with a 44.9 rating, down 5 percent from the Super Bowl LII telecast in 2018.
4	Just a year after it was announced as its next Broadway adaptation, NBC announced that it is canceling the scheduled May 27 performance of Hair Live! to fully focus on general audience broad-audience live musicals. This is the third time in recent years that NBC has postponed or scrapped a live production, as scheduling conflicts have resulted in Jennifer Lopez putting plans to bring Bye Bye Birdie Live! to television on hold, likewise with a planned adaptation of A Few Good Men Live.
5	The Daily Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Late Night with Seth Meyers all broadcast live episodes following President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon shot his opening monologue and first guest segment, with Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie live as well.
6	The Simpsons was renewed for its thirty-first and thirty-second seasons, bringing the series to 713 episodes, making it the first American primetime scripted series to surpass 700 episodes.
8	United Communications announces that the company will sell its three television stations – primary CBS/subchannel-only Fox affiliate KEYC-TV in Mankato, Minnesota, and the Watertown, New York duopoly of CBS affiliate WWNY-TV and Fox affiliate WNYF-CD (as well as the latter's repeater, WWNY-CD) – to Gray Television for $45 million. In advance of the purchase, Gray will assume control of the stations under a local marketing agreement to take effect March 1. The sale marks the end of United Communications, Howard Brown's holding company for his print and television assets; Brown had died in 2011, and his heirs sold off the print assets beginning in 2016.
9	Extra co-host AJ Calloway is suspended by the show's production company Warner Bros. Television amid allegations of sexual misconduct, triggering a broader investigation.
10	The 61st Grammy Awards, hosted by Alicia Keys, air on CBS, once again from the Staples Center in Los Angeles after originating from New York City the previous year. Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves (who won four Grammys) wins Album of the Year while "This is America" by Childish Gambino wins Song and Record of the Year.
	In an interview with ESPN's Outside the Lines, longtime NBC Sports anchor Bob Costas said he was dropped from the network's coverage of Super Bowl LII after remarks he made a few months earlier at a University of Maryland symposium that the sport of football "destroys people's brains." Costas was told by executives at NBC that the comments "crossed the line." Additionally, NBC forbade Costas from sharing an essay he had written regarding the 2015 film Concussion because it was in the process of bidding for the rights to the NFL's Thursday Night Football package at the time. Costas officially departed NBC after 40 years in January.
11	Following an investigation into a growing amount of sexual harassment allegations which had already seen him removed from Rooster Teeth's online series RWBY and a number of upcoming anime convention appearances, dubbing company Funimation severs ties with voice actor Vic Mignogna, removing him from all current roles.
	Corday Productions files a breach of contract and fraud lawsuit against Sony Pictures Television – in the Los Angeles County Superior Court involving Days of Our Lives, for which Sony co-produces the series with Corday and NBC, along with handling international distribution. The suit seeks more than $20 million in restitution on allegations by Corday that include, among other claims, that SPT forced it to absorb budget deficits for producing the NBC soap opera, had declined to offer Days to certain foreign territories including Great Britain and France (even as Corday's share of distribution revenues decreased by over 50% in recent years) and failed to pay millions of dollars in profits, in an effort to "eliminate competition" with CBS's The Young and the Restless, a series Corday holds a 1% stake in, but is majority-owned by SPT and has maintained the #1 ratings position among American soaps for years. Representatives for Sony described the claims made in the suit – which was filed over a month after NBC renewed Days for a fifty-fifth season – as "meritless."
	During a rally for Donald Trump in El Paso, Texas, a supporter of the President's entered the section reserved for news media and attacked Ron Skeans, a photojournalist for the BBC. According to the broadcaster, "Skeans was violently pushed and shoved by a member of the crowd." However, he was not hurt and security removed the man. After calls from journalism advocates to condemn the incident, the White House asked for civility among future attendees of a Trump event.
15	Apollo Global Management officially acquires Cox Media Group's 14 television stations, along with its entire Dayton cluster that consists of CBS affiliate WHIO-TV, radio sisters WHIO-AM& FM, WHKO, and WZLR/W266BG, and newspapers Springfield News-Sun and Dayton Daily News, the latter cluster retaining its legacy in the market due to Cox's origins that began in 1889 with the purchase of the Daily News by founder James M. Cox. The deal, estimated to be around $3 billion, will also include some joint venture agreements with Cox's radio, newspaper, and other media properties owned by the Atlanta-based company. This will be Apollo's second television group acquisition, as it has purchased Okemos, Michigan-based Northwest Broadcasting, which owns 21 stations in ten markets and plans to combine them with the Cox assets once the deal is approved by the FCC. The Cox family will continue to have a minority stake in the television properties.
	Federal authorities arrested United States Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Paul Hasson in Silver Springs, Maryland on gun and drug charges, as well as planning to use the weapons he was stockpiling to assassinate individuals associated with the Democratic Party, activists, and broadcast journalists that he felt had a bias or liberal agenda in order to support his white supremacy beliefs. Prosecutors noted that prior to his arrest Hasson kept a hit list that featured reporters and hosts from CNN and MSNBC on his computer and using research on his targets through way of search engines over the course of two years, believing that killing them would inspire a race war and by advocating "biological attacks followed by attack on food supply" in his manifestos. Among the intended targets Hasson planned to kill on his list that he labeled as "Traitors" included Joe Scarborough, Chris Hayes, Don Lemon and Ari Melber.
17	For the first time ever, the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour enters reruns as Buzzr, whose parent company Fremantle co-owns the show's archive with MGM Television, adds the show to its schedule. The series had never been seen on television since its first run was canceled in 1984 due to a number of reasons, including cross-ownership complications, the fact that the series archive has not yet been digitized or restored to 21st-century broadcast standards, and the alleged displeasure of co-host Gene Rayburn, who died in 1999, with the series.
21	Actress, director, and producer Mindy Kaling signed a massive six-year, mid-eight-figure overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, ending a relationship she had with Universal Television since her tenure as a regular and writer on The Office in 2005. The news comes days after Universal signed Nahnatchka Khan to a rich four-year overall deal that saw the Fresh Off the Boat creator leave her longtime home at 20th Century Fox TV.
24	The 91st Academy Awards aired on ABC with no host for the first time since the 1989 ceremony. Kevin Hart, who was scheduled to host this event, backed out due to his previous comments regarding the LGBTQ community who found them homophobic, of which he apologized amid the backlash against him. The event saw Netflix with 15 nominations, the most ever for a studio owned by a streaming service. Ten of those nominations were for Roma, resulting in three awards, including Best Director for Alfonso Cuarón. Green Book won three awards, including Best Picture, and Bohemian Rhapsody won four awards, the most for the ceremony, including Rami Malek for Academy Award for Best Actor. Black Panther also received three awards. All categories were broadcast, following the Academy reversing a decision to move the presentation of four categories, Best Cinematography, Best Live Action Short Film, Best Film Editing, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, to commercial breaks. A similar attempt to shorten the show, by cutting down the number of Best Original Song nominee performances, was reversed on January 31. The event, which clocked in at 3 hours and 19 minutes, 35 minutes shorter than the 2018 telecast, did not feature any montages or comedic bits, posted a 21.6 rating/36 share in metered-market households, up about 14 percent over the 2018 broadcast, with 30 million viewers, even though it would be the second-smallest audience on record since the 2008 telecast, which had 32 million viewers tuning in.
	A news crew from San Francisco's KPIX-TV is robbed of their equipment, and their security guard is shot in the leg at the Oakland Public Library while covering a teachers' strike against the Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, California. Two suspects were arrested soon after.
25	To celebrate its fifth anniversary, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon pays homage to the format of The Larry Sanders Show, airing dramatic behind the scenes moments with guests Tina Fey, Robert Irwin, and the band Florida Georgia Line, and during cameos by Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, who all secretly express animosity at Fallon (and vice versa) during the show's taping. The episode ended with a cameo from the show's executive producer, Lorne Michaels.
	Tribune Media's CW affiliate KDAF-TV/Dallas–Ft. Worth forms a partnership with Urban One's Rhythmic Top 40 KBFB to launch a pop/lifestyle culture-centric morning show simulcast called The Beat on 33, hosted by the DJs from KBFB's Veda Loca in The Morning program (Veda Loca and co-hosts J-Cruz, Jazzi Black and DJ Kayotik).
26	The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is allowing the approved 2018 merger between AT&T and Time Warner (now WarnerMedia) to stand after the court ruled that the Trump Administration's Justice Department had failed to prove that the transaction valued between $85 and $105 billion that would give the nation's largest telecom control over CNN, TBS and TNT amounted to enhanced leverage that would harm the marketplace, a decision that resulted in the merger to go forward. The administration, and notably President Donald Trump, had been against the merger since November 2017, noted by Trump's vocal distaste of CNN and his pledges on the campaign trail to not allow this type of media power consolidation, of which the media industry in general have pointed out that the move was immediately seen through a political perspective, with many suspecting undue interference. Circuit Judge Judith Rogers cited "The government's objections that the district court misunderstood and misapplied economic principles and clearly erred in rejecting the quantitative model are unpersuasive" as a reason for her ruling.
27	In a 66-page ruling that was kept private until now, a $179 million award was handed down by arbitrator Peter Lichtman against 21st Century Fox over a 2015 dispute involving the 2005–2017 crime drama series Bones, in which executive producer Barry Josephson, stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel, and Kathy Reichs (a forensic anthropologist who authored the Temperance Brennan novels that formed the basis for the series), filed lawsuits in California state court claiming they had been defrauded by Fox of their rightful profit participation. Lichtman concluded that president Peter Rice, Fox TV CEO Dana Walden, and Fox TV chairman Gary Newman "appear to have given false testimony in an attempt to conceal their wrongful acts." According to the ruling, Fox has taken a "cavalier attitude toward its wrongdoing" and exhibited a "company-wide culture and an accepted climate that enveloped an aversion for the truth" by lying, cheating and committing fraud at the expense of the show's stars and Josephson, who was told by Fox it was their most profitable series, taking in nearly half a billion dollars in its first seven seasons, while it hid the fact that Bones was calculated to be a money loser, which meant there would be no profit sharing (a practice known as Hollywood accounting). Officials at Fox say they will appeal the ruling.
	Musician T-Pain, in costume as "Monster", beat fellow singers Gladys Knight (as "Bee") and Donny Osmond (as "Peacock") to win the first season of The Masked Singer.
28	HBO CEO Richard Plepler, a 28-year veteran of the company, resigns. Turner Broadcasting System President David Levy, a 33-year veteran, did the same the next day. Both came after AT&T's buyout of Time Warner was approved by a federal court two days earlier.

March

Date	Event	Source
4	Gray Television announced that it is will acquire NBC affiliate WVIR-TV/Charlottesville, Virginia from Waterman Broadcasting. Concurrently, Gray will also sell its Charlottesville triopoly of CBS affiliate WCAV, ABC affiliate WVAW-LD and Fox affiliate WAHU-CD to the Lockwood Broadcast Group. Following the closure of the sale, Gray will not maintain any continuing relationship with WCAV/WVAW under any form of outsourcing agreements, joint retransmission negotiations or news production arrangements, nor will Gray and Lockwood will maintain any options or financial guarantees involving the duopoly or other television stations owned by the two groups. The sale will leave NBC affiliate WBBH-TV and ABC-affiliated LMA partner WZVN-TV (owned by Montclair Communications) as Waterman's only remaining television properties.
	The Turner Broadcasting System begins dissolution as WarnerMedia reorganizes its assets. HBO, TBS, TNT and truTV will come under the jurisdiction of WarnerMedia Entertainment, led by former NBC and Showtime executive Robert Greenblatt. WarnerMedia News & Sports will oversee CNN, HLN, Turner Sports, Bleacher Report and AT&T SportsNet and be headed by CNN president Jeff Zucker. Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang and Turner Classic Movies will be moved to the jurisdiction of Warner Bros. Long-term plans are for the company to end the use of founder Ted Turner's name.
5	In the wake of HBO's airing of the controversial documentary Leaving Neverland, a fallout involving the criticism of the special occurs, concerning the credibility of the victims featured in the documentary, of whom were later interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in a follow up special After Neverland that aired March 4 and simulcast with OWN, and a $100 million lawsuit filed by Jackson's estate on February 21, claiming that the four-hour program violates a contractual non-disparagement clause to carry a 1992 concert from Bucharest as part of Jackson's HIStory World Tour. The documentary pulled in an average of about 1.11 million viewers overall for the two nights it aired, making it the third most-watched documentary in HBO's history. Two days later, 20th Century Fox Television, following a decision of the show's producers due to their concerns about the claims made in Leaving Neverland, pulls The Simpsons episode "Stark Raving Dad" – which featured Jackson (who was credited under the pseudonym John Jay Smith) as mental patient Leon Kompowski – from circulation in television reruns and most streaming platforms carrying the program's episode library.
6	In a fiery interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning, singer R. Kelly vehemently denies that he sexually abused women, allegations for which he faces criminal charges. King was commended on social media for remaining stoic while Kelly at one point got up out of his chair and began to scream and pound his chest. "It wouldn't have done any good if we both got hysterical," King told co-host Norah O'Donnell. Most of the 80-minute-long interview would subsequently be aired in full in a prime time special on March 8.
	The Democratic National Committee announces it will not allow Fox News to host any of its 2020 presidential primary debates, saying the "network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates". The move comes on the heels of a New Yorker article (featured in the magazine's March 11 issue) that detailed the close ties between Fox News and the Trump administration, which illustrated Fox News's scuttling of a story by now-former columnist/on-air contributor Diana Falzone about Trump's alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels in order to protect Trump during his candidacy and the dual influence of Fox News pundits and Trump on their respective rhetoric and the administration's policies. The decision sparks a debate, with many liberals and progressives supporting the move citing concerns about potential bias creeping into Fox News' debate coverage due to the network's conservative slant and Republicans and some moderate Democrats contending the move would be counterproductive to the Democratic Party's efforts to defeat Trump in the 2020 election.
	Just one day after Jeopardy! completed airing its first All-Star Games event (won by the team of Brad Rutter, Larissa Kelly and Dave Madden) to commemorate its 35th anniversary, host Alex Trebek announces across the show's social media platforms that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in order to announce the news on his own terms. Acknowledging that his long-term prognosis is extremely poor, Trebek says he intends on honoring his recently signed contract to host the series until the end of the 2021-22 season for as long as he is able.
8	Showtime has announced that it is cancelling SMILF after its final airing March 31 and its distributor ABC Signature Studios suspended a two-year deal with series creator and star Frankie Shaw after lawmakers in Massachusetts — where the Boston-set series at least partially shoots — wrote a letter urging the show's tax incentives to be suspended pending the outcome of ABC Studios' investigation into the series. In addition, local legislators and activists called on the state's Attorney General Office to launch a separate and independent investigation into the matter. The fallout came to light after The Hollywood Reporter did a story in December 2018 involving allegations of abusive behavior and violations of industry rules that resulted in one performer leaving the series amid claims her contract was breached due to two mishandled sex scenes, and numerous employees contacting Disney's anonymous tip line about an array of issues and complaints that attracted the attention of major talent guilds, including allegations of separating writers by race. Shaw, who is being accused of these claims, is vehemently denying any wrongdoing made on the set of SMILF.
	The New York Yankees buy back a majority stake in their regional sports network, YES Network, from Fox Sports Regional Networks. The buyback is part of Fox Sports Regional Networks' divestiture in the wake of the proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney; along with the Yankees, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Amazon and The Blackstone Group will be among the Yankees' minority partners in YES when the purchase closes in July.
11	Fox News Channel issues an apology to its viewers, this time for comments made against U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D–MN-5) by host Jeanine Pirro during her March 10 broadcast, in which Pirro attacked the Somali-American politician by saying that she is "Sharia-compliant" and has practiced "Sharia-adherence behavior" by wearing a hijab, and went further to add "Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which is antithetical to the U.S. Constitution?" The remarks was also condemned by Hufsa Kamal, who also happens to serve as associate producer for Bret Baier's news show, reminding Pirro that "You have Muslims working at the same network you do, including myself. K thx." Fox issued a statement saying "We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro's comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar... They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly." Omar also accepted Fox News' apology through a tweet: "Thank you... No one's commitment to our constitution should be questioned because of their faith or country of birth." Pirro, who has yet to make an apology, later stated that she would offer an invitation to have Omar on the show. On March 12, three advertisers, NerdWallet, Letgo, and Novo Nordisk, announced that they'll no longer air spots on Justice with Judge Jeanine due to her rhetoric opinions, which comes at the same time her colleague Tucker Carlson is also facing backlash over anti-Semitic, racial, and homophobic comments he made over the last decade on the Bubba the Love Sponge Show (which variously aired over broadcast radio and Sirius XM Satellite Radio) that were unearthed and placed online by Media Matters, which Carlson has defended and doubled down upon and the watchdog organization says they plan to keep monitoring their actions. Fox News cancelled the March 16 broadcast and five days later (on March 21) announced that a March 23 episode of Pirro's show will not air because of the controversy. Pirro's social accounts have also gone silent as reports are pointing to the host having been placed on suspension until further notice, which has already drawn the attention of President Donald Trump, who has posted a series of Twitter feeds in support of Pirro.
12	CBS Corporation announces its has acquired Lionsgate's 50% interest in Pop. CBS – which will operate the network as part of its CBS Cable Networks unit – acquired a 50% stake in the network (then known as the TV Guide Network, and in the process of phasing out the scrolling grid that it had been using since it launched as a program listings service in 1981) from Lionsgate for an investment of $100 million. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed by either company.
13	CBS Sports announces it will trade the rights for Super Bowl LVI in 2022 to NBC in exchange for Super Bowl LV. The move is made to prevent a conflict between the National Football League championship and the 2022 Winter Olympics, which NBC holds the rights to and is scheduled to begin broadcasting two days prior. Furthermore, it allows CBS to position the game alongside its coverage of the NCAA Men's Final Four in 2021.
14	The 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards aired on Fox. This is the first ceremony to be broadcast by the network, having most recently been broadcast by WarnerMedia-owned networks TNT, TBS, and truTV.
	Matt Shepard, Kirk Gibson, and Jack Morris become Fox Sports Detroit's new full-time Detroit Tigers announcers. They are succeeding long-time announcers Mario Impemba and Rod Allen, whose contracts weren't renewed due to an alleged physical altercation after a game last season, which caused then-backup announcers Shepard and Gibson to take their places for its final weeks.
	Crown Media cuts ties with actress Lori Loughlin, who starred in the Hallmark Channel drama series When Calls the Heart and the Garage Sale Mystery film series for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, following her indictment and arrest stemming from her involvement in a bribery scandal centering on college admissions that also snared fellow actress Felicity Huffman (whose husband, actor William H. Macy, was also named as an unindicted co-conspirator). Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli are accused of paying "bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters [Olivia Jade and Bella Giannulli] designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC," according to the 200-page indictment. Hallmark also decided to pull all episodes (including those that were scheduled to air) of When Calls the Heart, with the show's producers confirming on March 18 that her character, Abigail Stanton, would be written out, likewise with the Garage Sale Mystery films, including one that was about to begin production before her arrest. Netflix also fired Loughlin from her recurring role as her former Full House character Rebecca "Becky" Donaldson in Fuller House, on which she appeared in 13 episodes over four seasons.
15	The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules that was approved by the United States Congress in 2018, called the Reimbursement Expansion Act, which will go towards reimbursing FM stations as well as low-power and translator television stations that were "forced to incur costs to permanently relocate, temporarily or permanently modify their facilities, or purchase or modify auxiliary facilities" due to the ongoing television repack. The rules apply to all FM signals that were licensed and operating on April 13, 2017 that shared a tower with a repacked television station, of which will be eligible for reimbursement, estimated at $150 million, including costs for relocating, modifications of facilities or to build auxiliary facilities while a television station was rebuilding their facilities. A statutory deadline have been put in place to implement the rules, ending March 23.
18	The 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament bracket, intended to be announced during a special program on ESPN at 7 p.m. EDT, is inadvertently revealed in full within side-screen on-screen graphics four hours earlier by sister network ESPNU, during a rerun of the Bracketology analysis program from ESPN the evening before. As a result, some schools cancelled public celebrations for teams expecting to be placed in the tourney and their fans, or had to change those celebrations, along with some schools trying to keep the early news from their athletes in order to not ruin their celebrations. ESPN issued an apology for the error.
19–20	The Walt Disney Company's purchase of 21st Century Fox consummates. This is the second spin-off of assets from the former News Corporation in five years; the company spun off its print assets in 2014. What is now Fox Corporation now only holds the Fox Broadcasting Company, its owned-and-operated station group, MyNetworkTV, and its news and national sports bureaus.
20	Nexstar Media Group and Tribune Media announce that the former will sell 19 television stations to Tegna Inc. and the E. W. Scripps Company in separate deals worth $1.32 billion, in a move to reduce Nexstar's national ownership reach under the federally-imposed 39% cap and alleviate ownership conflicts with existing Nexstar properties. Tegna will acquire eleven stations (Tribune-operated WTIC–WCCT/Hartford, WPMT/Harrisburg, WNEP-TV/Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, WQAD-TV/Quad Cities and KFSM-TV/Fort Smith–Fayetteville and Nexstar-operated WATN–WLMT/Memphis, WOI–KCWI/Des Moines and WZDX/Huntsville) for $740 million and Scripps will purchase eight stations (Tribune-operated WPIX/New York City, WSFL-TV/Miami-Fort Lauderdale, KSTU/Salt Lake City, WTKR–WGNT/Norfolk, WXMI/Grand Rapids and WTVR-TV/Richmond, and Nexstar-owned KASW/Phoenix) for $580 million. Scripps gave Nexstar an option to buy back WPIX (which was likely divested as the station operates its digital signal on VHF, which, as the New York market accounts for 6.44% of U.S. television households, would put Nexstar over the national cap as it does not cannot be counted for 50% of its total reach under the "UHF discount") between March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2021. Due to the sale of WPIX, following closure of the Nexstar–Tribune merger, KTLA/Los Angeles will become Nexstar's largest station by market size.
26	Univision Communications and Dish Network settle a major carriage dispute that began in June 2018, as well as all pending litigation between the two companies, immediately restoring Univision, UniMas, Univision Deportes Network, Galavisión, Tlnovelas and FOROtv to the Dish, DishLatino, and Sling lineup.

April

Date	Event	Source
2	Publisher Little, Brown and Company released The Legends of Greemulax, the teen fantasy novel written by Ellie Kemper's titular character in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The book was actually written by Sarah Mlynowski. The release coincided with April being Child Abuse Prevention month, as NBCUniversal is making a donation from the proceeds in support of Prevent Child Abuse America.
	Vin Di Bona Productions, the producers of America's Funniest Home Videos, placed Vice President of business development and strategy Philip Shafran on administrative leave in the wake of a March 19 lawsuit filed against the company by three unidentified women, who claimed that they were being racially and sexually harassed during their tenure in 2018, as well as their dismissal in October of that year, and, according to one of the women, discovered the following November that the company had moved her from a salaried employee status to that of an hourly employee in July, all of which pointed to actions directed by Shafran. The women are hoping to seek a jury trial, which is pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
3	Marshall Broadcasting files a lawsuit against Nexstar Media Group in the New York Supreme Court, accusing it of sabotaging the value of Fox affiliates KPEJ/Odessa–Midland, KMSS-TV/Shreveport and KLJB/Davenport for future direct acquisition under a waiver of duopoly rules (which allow groups to seek approval for duopolies involving two of a given market's four highest-rated stations), being undermined in favor of Nexstar under the terms of Marshall's financing deal with that group (which Nexstar is alleged to have threatened to withdraw), being given an $16-million overevaluation of the collective worth of the stations, and withholding retransmission fees. (Prior to the 2014 deal with Nexstar, which was designed to appeal to FCC efforts to encourage broadcast ownership by minorities and address conflict-related divestitures through Nexstar's acquisitions of Communications Corporation of America and Grant Broadcasting, Marshall owner Pluria Marshall Jr. [who is African American] had struggled to obtain financing for station purchases – including a rebuffed 2008 offer to buy stations from eventual Nexstar acquiree Media General – dating to the late 1980s.) Nexstar issued a statement calling the allegations "spurious and without merit.”
4	News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG) announces its intent to acquire ABC affiliate KQTV/St. Joseph, Missouri from Heartland Media for $13.65 million. The deal would result in News-Press & Gazette maintaining a monopoly on broadcasting and print media in St. Joseph (where the company is headquartered) as it already owns the namesake St. Joseph News-Press newspaper, the NPG-founded trio of KCJO-LD (CBS), KNPG-LD (NBC) and KNPN-LD (Fox), and local news rebroadcast channel News-Press NOW. While it would be a quadropoly in structure, the purchase may not violate FCC broadcast ownership rules as KQTV is a full-power station while NPG's three existing stations are all low-powered. (FCC local ownership rules restrict a single broadcasting company from owning more than two of the four highest-rated television stations in the same market, but applies the rule exclusively to full-power stations due to their broader signal reach.) However, it could be subject to antitrust issues under DOJ review, due to the concentration of St. Joseph's print and broadcast media outlets under one entity in exceedance of its measure of market concentration constituting a tight oligopoly under the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index.
5	Kathie Lee Gifford left Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda after 11 years to focus on other projects. Jenna Bush Hager will assume the co-host role of the hour thereafter.
8	Nexstar Media Group announces its intent to sell the Indianapolis duopoly of WISH-TV (The CW) and WNDY-TV (MyNetworkTV) to Circle City Broadcasting I Inc. (owned by DuJuan McCoy, who already owns CBS/Fox affiliate WEVV-TV/Evansville through his existing company Bayou City Broadcasting) for $42.5 million. The sale of the two stations – which Nexstar acquired as part of its 2016 acquisition of Media General – hinges on obtaining a waiver from FCC rules that prohibit common ownership of two of the four highest-rated stations within a media market to acquire the duopoly of WXIN (Fox) and WTTV and satellite WTTK (CBS) as part of its merger with Tribune Media.
	By this date, ATSC 3.0 test broadcasts had begun in Phoenix, Arizona; Dallas, Texas; and Lansing, Michigan. There had been plans to use Phoenix as the "test pad" for all-ATSC 3.0 broadcasting in 2018; since no consumer ATSC 3.0 receivers have yet been publicly released, these plans have been postponed indefinitely.
9	Sara Gilbert announces she will step down as co-host and moderator of The Talk at the end of its ninth season. Gilbert – who has been part of the CBS talk show's panel since she created it in 2010 – cited difficulty balancing her day-to-day role on the show with her acting opportunities (including her role as Darlene Conner on the Roseanne spin-off The Conners, which ABC renewed for a second season two weeks prior) and her desire to produce other projects for her decision to leave the show, in order to lighten her workload so she can spend additional time with wife Linda Perry and their three children. Gilbert did not disclose whether she will retain her role as executive producer of the show.
	Professional gambler James Holzhauer wins $110,914 on his fourth appearance on Jeopardy!, the first time a contestant has won more than $100,000 in one show during regular play.
11	PBS member station WGBY-TV Springfield–Holyoke, Massachusetts (a semi-satellite of Boston's WGBH-TV and licensed to parent organization, the WGBH Educational Foundation) and the six-station local network of New England Public Radio announce a merger between the two organizations, rebranding as New England Public Media. The newly-formed organization will take advantage of the two entities' strength to provide better news and arts coverage of Western Massachusetts, with WGBHEF investing $6 million over six years in the new venture. All owners of the various stations involved (including the WGBHEF for WGBY, and Amherst College, American International College, UMass and the New England Public Radio Foundation for NEPR's stations) will retain control of their individual licenses and facilities.
14	After nearly four decades of legal issues that prevented it from being offered in syndication with the exception of DVD releases, MeTV began airing the first five seasons (1967-72) of The Carol Burnett Show in its original format, marking the first time since its CBS broadcasts that it has aired on any television broadcast entity. MeTV currently airs Carol Burnett & Friends, which has aired in syndication and cable since 1977, featuring packaged sketches from seasons six through eleven (1972 to 1978).
17	James Holzhauer sets another record winning $131,127 on his 10th appearance, beating his April 9 record of $110,914, mainly due to a $60,000 wager in Final Jeopardy! (itself a record for the show).

Future events

May

Date	Event	Source
1	The 2019 Billboard Music Awards will be televised on NBC for the second straight year with Kelly Clarkson returning as host. Cardi B leads with a record-setting 21 nominations, a first for this event, while Mariah Carey will receive this year's Icon award.

September

Date	Event	Source
22	The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on Fox.

Television programs

Programs debuting in 2019

These shows are scheduled to premiere in 2019. The premieres date may be changed depending on a variety of factors.

First aired	Title	Channel	Source
January 1	Pinky Malinky	Netflix
	Windy City Rehab	HGTV
January 2	The Masked Singer	Fox
	Mythbusters Jr.	Science Channel
January 3	The Titan Games	NBC
January 5	Tails of Valor	CBS
January 7	America's Got Talent: The Champions	NBC
January 8	Good Trouble	Freeform
	Project Blue Book	History
	Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club	MTV
January 9	Schooled	ABC
January 10	Fam	CBS
January 11	Sex Education	Netflix
January 13	Tigtone	Adult Swim
January 14	The Passage	Fox
January 15	Roswell, New Mexico	The CW
January 16	Deadly Class	Syfy
	Wayne	YouTube Premium
January 17	Backyard Envy	Bravo
January 18	Carmen Sandiego	Netflix
	Gigantosaurus	Disney Channel/Disney Junior
January 20	Black Monday	Showtime
January 21	Dating: No Filter	E!
January 24	The Other Two	Comedy Central
January 25	Sydney to the Max	Disney Channel
January 27	Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty	Nickelodeon/Nicktoons
January 28	Care Bears: Unlock the Magic	Boomerang
January 29	Now or Never	ESPN2
	Ahora o Nunca	ESPN Deportes
February 1	Russian Doll	Netflix
February 3	The World's Best	CBS
	Hanna	Amazon Video
February 5	American Soul	BET
February 6	Betty en NY	Telemundo
February 8	PEN15	Hulu
February 12	Boomerang	BET
	Miracle Workers	TBS
February 13	Weird City	YouTube Premium
February 14	Dating Around	Netflix
February 15	The Umbrella Academy
	Proven Innocent	Fox
	Doom Patrol	DC Universe
February 24	Whiskey Cavalier	ABC
February 25	The Enemy Within	NBC
	Vice Live	Viceland
February 26	Mexican Dynasties	Bravo
February 27	Alien News Desk	Syfy
	Will Smith's Bucket List	Facebook Watch
March 7	The Order	Netflix
March 8	DC Super Hero Girls	Cartoon Network
	Costume Quest	Amazon Video
March 10	Now Apocalypse	Starz
	Buddy vs. Duff	Food Network
March 12	Videos After Dark	ABC
March 15	Shrill	Hulu
	Turn Up Charlie	Netflix
	Love, Death & Robots
March 18	The Fix	ABC
	The D.L. Hughley Show	TV One
	Show Offs	BYUtv
	Dwight In Shining Armor
March 19	The Village	NBC
	Mental Samurai	Fox
March 20	The Act	Hulu
	Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists	Freeform
	Battle of the Ages	BYUtv
	Dinner Takes All
March 27	Million Dollar Mile	CBS
	What We Do in the Shadows	FX
March 28	Abby's	NBC
	Tacoma FD	TruTV
March 30	Victor and Valentino	Cartoon Network
April	My House is Your House	HGTV
April 1	Ultraman	Netflix
April 2	Growing Up Chrisley	USA Network
April 4	In the Dark	The CW
April 5	Warrior	Cinemax
April 7	Collector's Call	MeTV
April 9	The Code	CBS
April 11	Black Summer	Netflix
April 12	Huge in France
	Special
April 13	Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta	CNN
April 14	Bake You Rich	Food Network
April 15	Duff Takes the Cake
	No Good Nick	Netflix
April 16	Bless This Mess	ABC
April 19	Ramy	Hulu
	Ryan's Mystery Playdate	Nickelodeon
	Rilakkuma and Kaoru	Netflix
	The New Negroes with Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle	Comedy Central
April 21	Jeremy Wade's Dark Waters	Animal Planet
	Fish or Die
April 22	Live Rescue	A&E
April 23	Games People Play	BET
	1969	ABC
April 24	Skyscrapers: Engineering the Future	Science Channel
April 26	Chambers	Netflix
	Street Food
April 28	The Red Line	CBS
	The Redemption Project with Van Jones	CNN
April 30	On Tour with Asperger's Are Us	HBO
May	City vs. Burbs	HGTV
	The Aquarium	Animal Planet
May 3	Tuca & Bertie	Netflix
	Dead to Me
	Masters of Disaster	Discovery Channel
May 7	Texicanas	Bravo
May 9	Klepper	Comedy Central
May 10	The Society	Netflix
May 13	L.A.'s Finest	Spectrum Originals
	Say Yes to the Nest	HGTV
May 21	Blood & Treasure	CBS
May 23	Christina on the Coast	HGTV
May 28	Songland	NBC
May 29	The InBetween
	Property Brothers: Forever Home	HGTV
May 31	Good Omens	Amazon Video
	Swamp Thing	DC Universe
June	90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way	TLC
	Ambitions	Oprah Winfrey Network
	Married Life
	7 Seeds	Netflix
	Pennyworth	Epix
June 2	Perpetual Grace, LTD
	American Princess	Lifetime
	NOS4A2	AMC
	The Weekly	FX
June 3	Malibu Rescue	Netflix
June 6	Unspouse My House	HGTV
	Hero Ink	A&E
June 7	The Big Stage	The CW
June 9	Legends of the Deep	Science Channel
June 10	RuPaul	Fox
June 12	First Responders Live
June 14	Too Old to Die Young	Amazon Video
	Los Espookys	HBO
June 16	Euphoria
	City on a Hill	Showtime
June 17	Grand Hotel	ABC
June 20	Family Food Fight
	Holey Moley
	Reef Break
	Spin the Wheel	Fox
Third Quarter	BBQ Brawl: Flay v. Symon	Food Network
	Code of the Wild	Travel Channel
	The Zoo: San Diego	Animal Planet
Summer	Snowpiercer	TNT
	South Side	Comedy Central
	Pearson	USA Network
	Amphibia	Disney Channel
	Just Roll With It
	Growing Up Hip Hop: New York	WE tv
	Hypnotize Me	The CW
	Mysteries Decoded
	Pandora
	Red Bull Peaking
	Jinn	Netflix
July	The Family Chantel	TLC
	Peyton's Places	ESPN+
July 6	Supersize My Pool	HGTV
	Pools Off the Deep End
	Pool Hunters
	Pool Kings
July 9	Bring the Funny	NBC
July 15	Molly of Denali	PBS Kids
July 19	Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya	Netflix
July 25	Cash Pad	CNBC
	Listing Impossible
July 26	The Boys	Amazon Video
July 31	Kengan Ashura	Netflix
	Sherman's Showcase	IFC
	No One Saw a Thing	Sundance TV
August	When Hope Calls	Hallmark Movies Now
	David Makes Man	Oprah Winfrey Network
September	A Little Late with Lilly Singh	NBC
	Untitled Chelsea Handler white privilege docu-series	Netflix
September 3	Valley of the Damned	Investigation Discovery
September 9	Tamron Hall	First-run syndication
	The Kelly Clarkson Show
September 19	Five Day Biz Fix	CNBC
September 27	The Politician	Netflix
Fall	Green Eggs and Ham
	Judge Jerry	First-run syndication
	Where's Waldo?	Universal Kids
	The Morning Show	Apple TV+
	Truth Be Told
Fourth Quarter	Uncharted	Science Channel
	The Whole Truth with Sunny Hostin	Investigation Discovery
	The Interrogator
	Relic Hunter	Travel Channel
	Witches of Salem
	Ghost Nation
	Shadows of History
	The Witcher	Netflix
	Pony	Nickelodeon
October	The Casagrandes
	Harley Quinn	DC Universe
November 12	The Mandalorian	Disney+
	The World According to Jeff Goldblum
	Encore!
	High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
	The Imagineering Story
	Marvel’s Hero Project
	SparkShorts
November 15	Xavier and the Secret Museum	PBS Kids
December	Levius	rowspan=2 Netflix
rowspan=2 Late	Untitled Goop docu-series
Untitled Jean-Luc Picard series	CBS All Access
TBA	Sadie Sparks	Disney Channel
	Gabby Duran & the Unsittables
	First Wives Club	BET
	Wonder Park	Nickelodeon
	Glitch Techs
	Fashion Ally
	Infinity Train	Cartoon Network
	ThunderCats Roar
	Godfather of Harlem	Epix
	Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?	Boomerang
	Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs!
	T.O.T.S.	Disney Junior
	The Rocketeer
	Messiah	Netflix
	The Last Kids on Earth
	Wizards
	Historical Roasts
	The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
	Heartstrings
	Space Force
	Love Alarm
	Creepshow	Shudder
	Watchmen	HBO
	The Righteous Gemstones
	His Dark Materials
	Mrs. Fletcher
	High Guardian Spice	Crunchyroll
	The Gilded Age	NBC
	That's My Jam
	Carnival Row	Amazon Video
	Undone
	Close Enough	TBS
	On Becoming a God in Central Florida	YouTube Premium
	Untitled Coyote Peterson Project	Animal Planet
	Looney Tunes Cartoons	TBA

Television films and specials

These television films and specials are scheduled to premiere in 2019. The premiere dates may be changed depending on a variety of factors.

First aired	Title	Channel	Source
January 19	Brexit: The Uncivil War	HBO
January 21	Bixler High, Private Eye	Nickelodeon
January 27	Rent: Live	Fox
February 2	Death of a Cheerleader	Lifetime
February 15	Kim Possible	Disney Channel
February 17	Elvis All-Star Tribute	NBC
March 3	Leaving Neverland	HBO
March 8	Lucky	Nickelodeon
March 16	Flip that Romance	Hallmark Channel
March 18	The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley	HBO
March 23	Love to the Rescue	Hallmark Channel
March 30	A Brush with Love
April 6	True Love Blooms
	Native Son	HBO
April 12	Black Hole Hunters	Smithsonian Channel
April 13	The Resurgence: Demarcus Cousins	Showtime
	Bottled With Love	Hallmark Channel
	Secrets in a Small Town	Lifetime
April 19	VICE: Special Report – The Future of Work	HBO
April 20	I Am Somebody's Child: The Regina Louise Story	Lifetime
	How High 2	MTV
	Easter Under Wraps	Hallmark Channel
April 27	Love Takes Flight
May 3	At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal	HBO
May 4	A Paris Romance	Hallmark Channel
May 5	Cher: Do You Believe?	Reelz
May 6	Bachelorette Reunion: The Biggest Bachelorette Reunion in Bachelor History Ever!	ABC
May 7	Foster	HBO
May 11	A Feeling of Home	Hallmark Channel
May 14	What's My Name - Muhammad Ali	HBO
May 17	Meghan and Harry Plus One	CBS
	No Exit
May 18	Sailing into Love	Hallmark Channel
May 19	JBFA: Stories from the 2019 James Beard Awards	ABC
	Jeffrey Dahmer: Killer Cannibal Part 1	Reelz
May 20	Jeffrey Dahmer: Killer Cannibal Part 2
May 25	Love in the Sun	Hallmark Channel
May 31	Deadwood: The Movie	HBO
June 18	The Profit: An Inside Look	CNBC
Summer	Descendants 3	Disney Channel
	Apollo: The Forgotten Films	Science Channel
Late	Psych: The Movie 2	USA Network
TBA	Bye Bye Birdie Live!	NBC
	A Few Good Men Live!
	ABBA: Thank You for the Music, An All-Star Tribute
	The Banana Splits	Syfy
	Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling	Nickelodeon
	Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus!

Miniseries

First aired	Title	Channel	Source
January 3	Surviving R. Kelly	Lifetime
January 13	Valley of the Boom	National Geographic
January 27	I Am the Night	TNT
February 15	Fast Layne	Disney Channel
April 1	The Substitute	Nickelodeon
	Gemusetto Machu Picchu	Adult Swim
April 9	Fosse/Verdon	FX
April 22	Gentleman Jack	HBO
May 5	The Spanish Princess	Starz
May 6	Chernobyl	HBO
May 17	Catch-22	Hulu
May 27	The Hot Zone	National Geographic
May 31	When They See Us	Netflix
June 7	Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City
June 30	The Loudest Voice	Showtime
July 31	Four Wedding and a Funeral	Hulu
TBA	Devs	FX
	Mrs. America

Programs changing networks

Show	Moved from	Moved to	Source
Milo Murphy's Law	Disney XD	Disney Channel/Disney XD
Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Indianapolis 500	ABC	NBC
Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Fox
Lucifer		Netflix
Designated Survivor	ABC
Impact!	Pop	Pursuit Channel/Twitch
Drop the Mic	TBS	TNT
The Joker's Wild
iHeartRadio Music Awards	TBS/TNT/TruTV	Fox
WWE SmackDown	USA Network
Project Runway	Lifetime	Bravo
You		Netflix
Stellar Awards	TV One	BET
The Expanse	Syfy	Amazon Video
Inside the Actors Studio	Bravo	Ovation
Running Wild with Bear Grylls	NBC	National Geographic
Killing Eve	BBC America	BBC America/AMC
Final Space	TBS	Adult Swim
The Weekly	FX	FX/Hulu

Milestone episodes

Show	Network	Episode #	Episode title	Episode airdate	Source
The Bold and the Beautiful	CBS	8,000th	"#8000"	January 4
The Simpsons	Fox	650th	“Mad About the Toy”	January 6
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon	NBC	1,000th	"Molly Shannon/Zachary Quinto/Robert Irwin"	January 23
Arrow	The CW	150th	"Emerald Archer"	February 4
Supernatural		300th	"Lebanon"	February 7
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	NBC	450th	"Facing Demons"	February 21
American Dad!	TBS	250th	"Persona Assistant"	February 25
Henry Danger	Nickelodeon	100th	"Secret Room"	March 2
Fresh Off the Boat	ABC		"Under the Taipei Sun"	April 5
Last Man Standing	Fox	150th	"Yass Queen"	April 19
Live PD	A&E	200th	"04.19.19"
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic	Discovery Family		"Twilight's Seven"	April 20
SpongeBob SquarePants	Nickelodeon	20th anniversary	"SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout"	July 12
Last Call with Carson Daly	NBC	2,000th	TBA (series finale)	TBA

Programs returning in 2019

The following shows will return with new episodes after being canceled or ended their run previously:

Show	Last aired	Type of Return	Previous channel	New/returning/same channel	Return date	Source
Young Justice (as Young Justice: Outsiders)	2013	New season	Cartoon Network	DC Universe	January 4
Brooklyn Nine-Nine	2018		Fox	NBC	January 10
True Detective	2015		HBO	same	January 13
Temptation Island	2003	Revival	Fox	USA Network	January 15
Desus & Mero (as Desus & Mero)	2018		Viceland	Showtime	February 21
The Twilight Zone	2003		UPN	CBS All Access	April 1
30 Minute Meals	2012		Food Network	same
Wife Swap	2015		ABC	Paramount Network	April 4
A Double Shot at Love (as Double Shot at Love With DJ Pauly D and Vinny)	2009		MTV	same	April 11
Lucifer	2018	New season	Fox	Netflix	May 8
Paradise Hotel	2008	Revival	MyNetworkTV	Fox	May 9
Executed with Deborah Norville	2017		Reelz	same	May 21
The Real World			MTV	Facebook Watch	Spring
Card Sharks	2002		First-run syndication	ABC	June 12
Press Your Luck	2003		Game Show Network
The Hills (as The Hills: New Beginnings)	2010		MTV	same	June 24
Beverly Hills, 90210 (as 90210)	2000		Fox		Summer
All That	2005		Nickelodeon
Ripley's Believe It or Not!	2003		TBS	Travel Channel
Veronica Mars	2007		The CW	Hulu	July 26
Top Gear America	2017	Reboot	BBC America	Motor Trend	Fall
Inside the Actors Studio	2018	New season	Bravo	Ovation	October 13
Are You Afraid of the Dark?	2000	Revival	Nickelodeon	same	October 20
Blue's Clues (as Blue’s Clues & You!)	2004		Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.		November
Clifford the Big Red Dog	2003	Reboot	PBS Kids	PBS Kids/Amazon Video	Late
The Expanse	2018	New season	Syfy	Amazon Video
Mad About You	1999	Revival	NBC	Spectrum Originals
The Daily Line	2010		Versus	NBC Sports Regional Networks	TBA
Eco-Challenge (as Eco-Challenge 2019)	2002		USA Network	Amazon Video
America Unearthed	2015		H2	Travel Channel
Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?			Fox	Nickelodeon
E! True Hollywood Story	2012		E!	same
Crank Yankers	2007		Comedy Central
Celebrity Deathmatch			MTV
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (as Cosmos: Possible Worlds)	2014	New season	Fox/National Geographic
Designated Survivor	2018		ABC	Netflix

Programs ending in 2019

End date	Show	Channel	First aired	Status	Source
January 1	A Series of Unfortunate Events	Netflix	2017	Ended
January 11	Friends from College			Canceled
January 18	The Punisher
January 25	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt		2015	Ended
February 8	One Day at a Time		2017	Canceled
February 17	Counterpart	Starz
	Berlin Station	Epix	2016
February 24	Avengers Assemble	Disney XD	2013	Ended
March 10	Crashing	HBO	2017
March 19	Teachers	TV Land	2016
March 28	Broad City	Comedy Central	2014
March 31	SMILF	Showtime	2017	Canceled
April 3	You're the Worst	FXX	2014	Ended
April 5	Crazy Ex-Girlfriend	The CW	2015
April 11	Vice Live	Viceland	2019	Cancelled
April 13	Bizaardvark	Disney Channel	2016	Ended
April 20	Knight Squad	Nickelodeon	2018	Ending
April 23	Being Mary Jane	BET	2013
April 25	Gotham	Fox	2014
May 6	Into the Badlands	AMC	2015
	Shadowhunters	Freeform	2016
May 10	Easy	Netflix
May 12	Veep	HBO	2012
May 16	The Big Bang Theory	CBS	2007
May 19	Game of Thrones	HBO	2011
	Star vs. the Forces of Evil	Disney Channel/Disney XD	2015
June 29	The Son	AMC	2017
July 31	Jane the Virgin	The CW	2014
Summer	iZombie		2015
	Legion	FX	2017
	Big Little Lies	HBO
	Orange Is the New Black	Netflix	2013
	Elementary	CBS	2012
	Suits	USA Network	2011
Fall	Mr. Robot		2015
	The Man in the High Castle	Amazon Video
	Transparent		2014
	Homeland	Showtime	2011
	My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic	Discovery Family	2010
	Preacher	AMC	2016
	Fuller House	Netflix
December	Arrow	The CW	2012
TBA	Doc McStuffins	Disney Junior
	New Looney Tunes	Boomerang	2015
	Game Shakers	Nickelodeon
	Killjoys	Syfy
	Jessica Jones	Netflix
	The Amazing World of Gumball	Cartoon Network	2011
	Last Call with Carson Daly	NBC	2002
	The Affair	Showtime	2014
	The Deuce	HBO	2017
	Page Six TV	First run syndication		Canceled

Entering syndication in 2019

A list of programs (current or cancelled) that have accumulated enough episodes (between 65 and 100) or seasons (three or more) to be eligible for off-network syndication and/or basic cable runs.

Networks and services

Network launches

Network	Type	Launch date	Notes	Source
NewsNet	Over-the-air multicast/ OTT streaming	January 1	Owned by NewsNet LLC and based on the all-news formats of Cadillac, Michigan low-power station WMNN-LD and Norfolk, Nebraska-based News Channel Nebraska, of which the network's founders were involved in their development, NewsNet will maintain a traditional news wheel format (similar in structure to the 1982–2005 format of HLN, and the formats of defunct all-news networks such as All News Channel and Satellite News Channel), with updates throughout the broadcast day during breaking news events, while excluding political- and panel-based shows that fill the afternoon and nighttime lineups of most cable news channels. In addition to offering local advertising slots, NewsNet – which originated through an unsuccessful 2017 Kickstarter campaign under the working title, the Local News Network (LNN), before its founders opted to obtain investor backing to fund the venture – will offer prospective affiliates airtime for local news inserts, with a turnkey local news production service option available to stations without their own local news departments.
Cleo TV	Cable/satellite	January 19	Owned by Urban One and launching initially on Spectrum and Xfinity systems (for the latter, it is part of meeting the commitments made by Comcast to obtain approval of its 2011 merger with NBCUniversal to begin carrying ten independently-owned and operated networks, including eight owned and/or operated by minorities, by 2019), Cleo TV – derived from Egyptian ruler Cleopatra – will focus on lifestyle and entertainment programming aimed at women of color in the millennial and Gen X demographic. The network's content will focus on programming that "defies negative and cultural stereotypes of today's modern women," with a broad mix of short- and long-form programming (including travel, home design, relationship and financial advice and cooking programs, as well as talk shows, docu-series, sitcoms and movies). It will also serve as a de facto replacement for Fuse, which was removed on Xfinity systems at the start of the year due to channel drift concerns involving its schedule of low-interest sitcoms and films.
PBS Living	OTT streaming	March 14	Overseen by PBS Distribution and launching on Amazon's Prime Video Channels subscription service (which already carries two PBS-branded streaming channels, PBS Kids and PBS Masterpiece), PBS Living will feature a mix of lifestyle and how-to content distributed for public television by American Public Television and individual PBS member stations. The $2.99-per-month service, which will also offer an introductory seven-day free trial, will feature a mix of classic and recent programs from the cooking, home, culture and travel genres seen on PBS and the similarly formatted OTA multicast network Create (such as The French Chef, This Old House, Antiques Roadshow, No Passport Required and Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Television), with new content being added each month.
Court TV	Over-the-air multicast/ OTT streaming	May 8	Announced on December 10, 2018, the E. W. Scripps Company's Katz Networks unit will "reboot" Court TV – utilizing, through Katz/Scripps's acquisition of intellectual property rights to the name, format and other assets from the Turner Broadcasting System, the format originally used by cable network TruTV from its July 1991 launch until December 2007 – as a digital multicast network focusing on live coverage and in-depth analysis of high-profile courtroom proceedings as well as true crime-focused shows from (the cable) Court TV's program library (including some to which soon-to-be sister network Escape has held syndication rights). The network will initially be available on stations owned by Scripps, Tribune Broadcasting (which will likely have its Court TV affiliation agreements inherited by Nexstar Media Group upon closure of its acquisition of Tribune), Entravision Communications, Citadel Communications and Univision Communications, with an initial reach of more than 50% of U.S. television households and concurrent cable carriage of 25% of U.S. cable homes.
ACC Network	Cable/satellite	August 22	The linear ACC Network was initially announced in 2016 by ESPN and the NCAA Division I's Atlantic Coast Conference. ESPN has purchased the rights to ACC football and basketball from the conference's long-time syndication partner Raycom Sports, which has broadcast ACC sporting events from December 1982 until after the 2019 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament. The network will feature live game broadcasts and related coverage of the ACC and its member schools. This also makes the ACC the fourth Division I conference to have a dedicated television network after the Big Ten, Pac-12, and Southeastern Conference.
Disney+	Over-the-top streaming	November 12	Similar to sister service ESPN+, Disney+ will be a streaming subscription service featuring original films and series based on new and existing properties, including Marvel and Star Wars content, with Disney CEO Robert Iger also making claims the vast majority of Disney's film library will be available through the service, including previously discontinued titles that were placed into the Disney Vault.
Apple TV+	Over-the-top streaming	Fall	Apple Inc. will launch a streaming subscription service with original content available via its Apple TV digital media players. The service will be alternately available through the "Apple TV App" on the Roku and Amazon Fire TV platforms, along with apps allowing the use of Apple's AirPlay technology through several Smart TV's.

Network closures

Network	Type	End date	Notes	Source
KidsClick	OTT streaming service/broadcast programming block	March 31	KidsClick, a multi-platform children's programming effort developed by Sinclair Broadcast Group, was abruptly discontinued as a syndicated programming block on March 31, less than two years after its July 2017 launch; its companion over-the-top streaming service subsequently wound down operations over the following week. The hybrid service was the first major effort since Vortexx ended in 2014 to provide a children's television lineup on American broadcast television that was not bound to FCC educational programming requirements, providing a daily three-hour block of mostly imported and off-network animated series from the past ten years to its affiliates (largely, those owned and/or operated by Sinclair) and a digital multicast network for national availability (This TV from the block's launch until July 2018, and Sinclair-owned TBD from May 2018 onward). Because of the abrupt closure, stations that carried the daily KidsClick program block began substituting it with paid programming and other syndicated programming, while TBD replaced it with paid programming and an expanded one-hour Wednesday-Friday block of E/I-compliant programs in its former timeslot.

Television stations

Station launches

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation	Source
January 1	Vero Beach, Florida (West Palm Beach/Boca Raton/Fort Piece)	WWCI-CD	10.1	NewsNet
	Santa Cruz, California (San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose)	KAAP-LD	24.7
	Louisville, Kentucky	W50CI-D	8.6
	Detroit, Michigan	WHNE-LD	14.9
	Manteo, North Carolina (Norfolk/Portsmouth/Newport News/Virginia Beach)	W17CT-D	17.4
	Houston, Texas	KBPX-LD	46.12
	State College, Pennsylvania (Johnston-Altoona)	WHVL-LP	29.3
	Buffalo, New York	WBXZ-LP	56.11
January 2	Odessa/Midland, Texas	KOSA-TV	7.4	Ion Television
		KTLE-LP	7.5	Telemundo
			7.6	MyNetworkTV
			7.7	Heroes & Icons
February 1	Green Bay, Wisconsin	WBAY-TV	2.4	Heroes & Icons
			2.5	Start TV

Stations changing network affiliation

Major affiliation changes

This section outlines affiliation changes involving English and Spanish language networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, The CW, Univision, etc.), and format conversions involving independent stations. Digital subchannels will only be mentioned if the prior or new affiliation involves a major English and Spanish broadcast network or a locally programmed independent entertainment format.

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Prior affiliation	New affiliation	Notes	Source
January 2	Waco/Temple/ Killeen, Texas	KWTX-DT2	10.2	The CW (via The CW Plus)	Telemundo	As a byproduct of its August 28, 2018, purchase of the license from the Central Texas College Board of Trustees (which was possible as KNCT broadcasts on a channel originally reserved for commercial broadcasting prior to channel 46's establishment as a PBS member station in November 1970), Gray Television – which has held the local affiliation rights for The CW Plus since September 2006 – relocates KWTX-DT2's CW programming to the main channel of the KNCT spectrum. KNCT, which will become part of a duopoly with CBS affiliate KWTX-TV, will also carry programming from MeTV on its DT2 subchannel (with a simulcast on newly established KWTX-DT3) and Start TV on its DT3 subchannel.
	Belton/Killeen/ Temple/Waco, Texas	KNCT	46.1	Silent transition from PBS	The CW (via The CW Plus; relocated from KWTX-DT2)
			46.2		MeTV
			46.3		Start TV
	Odessa/Midland, Texas	KOSA-TV	7.2	MyNetworkTV	The CW	As a result of Gray Television acquiring the Midland/Odessa-area affiliation rights for the two networks from NBC affiliate KWES-TV through the company's acquisition of Raycom Media, Gray relocates CW Plus and Telemundo programming to KCWO-TV (which had been serving as a KWES satellite, as KWAB-TV, since 1962) and simulcast feeds on the DT2 and DT3 subchannels of KOSA-TV. KOSA-DT2's former main schedule (including content from the MyNetworkTV programming service) moves to KTLE-LD6 (whose parent station's Telemundo affiliation will also be added as a simulcast on KOSA-DT3), with KOSA-DT3's former Heroes & Icons affiliation concurrently moving to KCWO-DT3 and KTLE-DT7 and Ion Television programming being added to KOSA-DT4.
			7.3	Heroes & Icons	Telemundo
	Big Spring, Texas (Odessa/Midland)	KCWO-TV	4.1	NBC (as satellite of KWES-TV)	The CW (via The CW Plus; relocated from the former KWAB-DT2)
			4.2	The CW (via The CW Plus)	Telemundo
			4.3	Telemundo	Heroes & Icons
January 28	Honolulu, Hawaii	KHII-TV	9.1	MyNetworkTV (as KFVE)	MyNetworkTV (as KHII)	With Nexstar taking ownership of KFVE from Gray Television in order for the latter to comply with FCC rules pertaining to its acquisition of CBS affiliate KGMB and NBC affiliate KHNL from Raycom Media, Nexstar changed the station's call letters to KHII (which retains its MyNetworkTV affiliation) and adopted a separate programming inventory featuring additional newscasts produced by Fox-affiliated sister KHON-TV (bringing that station's news output to 43 hours across both stations, the most among Hawaii's television stations) and syndicated shows moved over to the station from KHON and its CW-affiliated DT2 subchannel. Concurrently, KFVE's intellectual unit (including Hawaii News Now newscasts and Hawaii-centric specials as well as syndicated programs) moved to the second digital subchannel of KHNL (downgraded to 4:3 SD due to bandwidth limitations, relegating the HD feed of the former KFVE [which retains its existing "K5" brand as a subchannel-only service] exclusively to statewide pay television providers). Charter Spectrum also moved "K5"'s cable channel position from 5 (SD)/1005 (HD) to 22 (SD)/1022 (HD); Gray later announced that K5 will be replaced with Decades, with its local content moving to KGMB and KHNL. Antenna TV was also relocated to KHNL-DT3, while Grit moved to KHNL-DT4.
		KHNL	13.2	Antenna TV	"K5" (independent)/Hawaii News Now (to become Decades)
			13.3	Grit	Antenna TV
			13.4	New subchannel	Grit
February 1	Janesville, Wisconsin (Madison)	WIFS	57.1	Independent	Ion Life	Since losing The CW affiliation to WMTV-DT2 in September 2016, the Byrne Acquisition Group-owned WIFS had been a locally focused independent station. The abrupt move to Ion Life and the addition of Ion Television to a new 9th subchannel is part of Ion Media's new strategy to acquire cable/satellite carriage for Ion Life via primary channel must-carry rules (Ion Television's main channel utilizes the national cable feed for Madison area cable carriage). With the move, some of WIFS' local and syndicated content move to TVW, the MyNetworkTV-affiliated second subchannel of WISC-TV (which had carried Ion Television on its third subchannel).
			57.9	New subchannel	Ion Television
Spring/Summer (TBD)	Los Angeles, California	KCET	28.1	Educational independent	PBS	On April 25, KCETLink Media Group and the KOCE-TV Foundation announced a planned consolidation of the operations of their respective educational stations in Southern California, KCET and Huntington Beach-based PBS station KOCE-TV, by the end of the first half of 2018. KCET – which dismembered from the service in 2011, due to increasing membership costs – will rejoin PBS as a secondary outlet; however, KOCE will remain the primary PBS member station for the Los Angeles market. Once the merger is completed, both stations will continue to provide their respective existing programming and multicast services; KOCE will also move its operation from the station's existing facility in Costa Mesa (which would be retained as a secondary facility) to KCET's studios in Burbank.

Subchannel affiliation

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Prior affiliation	New affiliation	Source
January 1	Florence, Alabama (Huntsville-Decatur)	WXFL-LD	10.1	Youtoo America	NewsNet
	Cathedral City, California (Palm Springs)	KAKZ-LD	4.4	QVC
	Kansas City, Kansas	KCKS-LD	25.2	Justice Network
	Sublette, Kansas	KDGL-LD	23.5	Retro Television Network
	Topeka, Kansas	WROB-LD	25.2	Justice Network
	Wichita, Kansas	KCTU-LD	5.4	Opportunity Knocks TV
	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	WLFT-CD	30.3	HSN
	Nashville, Tennessee	WJDE-LD	31.4	HSN
	Dalton, Georgia (Chattanooga, Tennessee)	WDNN-CD	49.3	Retro Television Network
	Arlington Heights, Illinois (Chicago)	WRJK-LP	22.6	Charge!
January 7	Fresno/Visalia, California	KVBC-LP	13.9	My Life TV
January 28	Shaker Heights, Ohio (Cleveland)	WOIO	19.2	MeTV	MyNetworkTV (additional secondary affiliation in overnight hours with MeTV remaining primary; shifted from secondary overnight affiliation on WUAB)

Station closures

Station	Channel	Affiliation	Market	Date	Notes	Source
WVTA	41.#	PBS	Windsor, Vermont	TBD	Vermont PBS announced on February 17, 2017 that it will sell the broadcast license for WVTA, which transmits from Mount Ascutney, for $56 million in the FCC spectrum auction. In a statement, the member network said that its other signals will be upgraded to cover the viewing area (southeastern Vermont and southwestern New Hampshire) served by WVTA.

Deaths

January

Date	Name	Age	Notability	Source
January 2	Bob Einstein	76	Actor best known as Super Dave Osborne on Super Dave, Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire, and several other shows; also played Marty Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry Middleman on Arrested Development. Also comedy writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. Brother of Albert Brooks.
	Gene Okerlund	76	Professional wrestling announcer and interviewer for AWA, WWF/WWE and WCW and member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Made a guest appearance on The A-Team and a Mountain Dew commercial. Also appeared in live-action segments of Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling.
	Daryl Dragon	76	Musician (Captain & Tennille, The Beach Boys), co-host of The Captain and Tennille Show.
January 3	John Falsey	67	Writer/producer, most noted for work on St. Elsewhere, Northern Exposure, and I'll Fly Away
January 4	Louisa Moritz	72	Cuban-American actress (The Joe Namath Show, Love, American Style, Ironside, One Day at a Time, Chico and the Man, The Rockford Files and The Incredible Hulk)
January 6	W. Morgan Sheppard	86	Actor (Max Headroom, Star Trek, seaQuest DSV) and voice actor (Biker Mice from Mars, Gargoyles, Prep & Landing)
January 9	Verna Bloom	80	Actress (Where Have All the People Gone?, Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic, Playing for Time)
	Stefanos Miltsakakis	60	Greek-American MMA-fighter and actor (Matlock, Eerie, Indiana, Baywatch, Martial Law, Nash Bridges and Cold Case)
January 15	Bill Anagnos	60	American stuntman (TV work includes recurring spots on Banshee, The Sopranos, and Kennedy)
	Bradley Bolke	93	American voice actor, known for his role of Chumley Walrusin Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
	Carol Channing	97	Emmy Award-winning actress, singer, dancer and comedienne (TV work includes several guest spots on What's My Line?, a recurring role on The Love Boat, and the voice of Grandmama on The Addams Family)
January 16	Sam Christensen	70	American casting director
January 17	Barbara Claman	89	American casting director
	Anthony Potter	84	American producer and writer
	Daniel C. Striepeke	88	American makeup artist (TV work includes several episodes of Planet of the Apes and Mission: Impossible)
January 20	William Swan	90	American actor
January 21	Russell Baker	93	Writer, columnist, and host of Masterpiece Theater
	Kaye Ballard	93	American actress, comedienne, and singer, best known as Kaye Buell in The Mothers-in-Law, Angie Pallucci in The Doris Day Show, a regular on both Kraft Music Hall and The Perry Como Show, and a record-setting 50 guest appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
	Steve Bean	58	American comedian and actor
	Merwin Goldsmith	81	American actor (Goodtime Girls, Ryan's Hope, Kennedy, Law & Order and The Good Wife)
January 22	Kevin Barnett	32	Comedian, actor and writer (The Carmichael Show, Broad City). Co-creator of Rel.
	James Frawley	82	American director and producer (The Monkees, That Girl, Paper Moon, Magnum, P.I., Vengeance Unlimited, Thieves, Judging Amy, Three Moons Over Milford, Ghost Whisperer, Side Order of Life and Grey's Anatomy)
January 25	Fatima Ali	29	Pakistani-born American chef and reality show contestant (Chopped, Top Chef)
	Steve Bell	83	News anchor (Good Morning America, World News This Morning, USA Updates, KYW-TV/Philadelphia) and correspondent for ABC News
January 26	Ken Welch	92	American composer, composed music for The Carol Burnett Show
January 27	Erica Yohn	90	Character actress (guest spots on Rhoda, ER, Night Court, Murphy Brown, and Picket Fences)
January 29	James Ingram	66	Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter (appeared as himself in Suburgatory and a participant on Celebrity Duets; his 1983 number-one Billboard Hot 100 single "Baby Come to Me" with Patti Austin was featured in General Hospital)
	Fernando Gaitán	58	Colombian screenwriter, producer, television executive, and journalist, whose telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea was adapted into the American dramedy Ugly Betty and the Telemundo remake Betty en NY, of which he served as a consultant on both programs
January 30	Dick Miller	90	Actor (recurring roles on Fame and The Flash)
January 31	Candice Earley	68	American actress best known for her role of Donna Beck in All My Children

February

Date	Name	Age	Notability	Source
February 1	Harold Bergman	99	American actor
	Neal James	55	American reality television actor (Call of the Wildman)
	Lisa Seagram	82	American actress, acting teacher, and realtor (TV credits include Batman, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, My Three Sons, My Favorite Martian, The Double Life of Henry Phyfe, Perry Mason, McHale's Navy, Honey West, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. and Burke's Law)
February 3	Kristoff St. John	52	American actor; best known for playing Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless. Also played Adam Marshall on Generations.
	Julie Adams	92	Actress (recurring roles on Murder, She Wrote, Capitol, Code Red, and The Jimmy Stewart Show)
February 4	Gary LaPierre	76	News anchor (WBZ-TV/Boston)
February 5	George Klein	83	Host of Talent Party on WHBQ-TV/Memphis
February 7	Albert Finney	82	English actor, producer, and director, who won an Emmy and Golden Globe for his performance as Winston Churchill in The Gathering Storm. Also portrayed Sidney Kentridge in The Biko Inquest, which he co-produced.
February 9	Salvatore Bellomo	67	Belgian professional wrestler; best known for wrestling preliminary matches in the WWF during the 1980s
February 10	Linda Sawyer	57	Television producer, writer and director at ABC, MTV and HBO, freelance production work for programs on VH1 and PBS, and podcaster
	Jan-Michael Vincent	74	American film/TV actor, best known for his television roles as Lincoln 'Link' Simmons in the Danger Island segments of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Jeffrey Hastings in The Survivors, Byron Henry in The Winds of War, and Stringfellow Hawke in Airwolf
	Carmen Argenziano	75	Actor (recurring roles on Stargate SG-1, Booker, L.A. Law, Melrose Place, and The Young and the Restless)
February 12	Pedro Morales	76	Puerto Rican WWE Hall of Fame professional wrestler
February 14	David Horowitz	81	Consumer advocate and television show host, alumnus of KNBC Los Angeles and host of Fight Back! with David Horowitz.
February 16	Jerry Blum	86	American radio executive (most notably GM/president of Atlanta's WQXI and WQXI-FM, 1960-1989) and the inspiration for Gordon Jump's Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson character on WKRP in Cincinnati
	Patrick Caddell	68	Pollster and Fox News contributor
	Ken Nordine	98	Voice-over artist and poet (TV work includes Sesame Street)
February 17	Perry Wolff	97	News documentary producer for CBS News (several projects, most notably A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy)
February 21	Beverley Owen	81	Actress best known for playing Marilyn Munster in the first thirteen episodes of The Munsters
	Peter Tork	77	Bassist/keyboardist/singer for The Monkees and actor on the TV show of the same name
February 22	Clark James Gable	30	Host of Cheaters. Grandson of Clark Gable.
	Brody Stevens	48	Actor and comedian (star of Brody Stevens: Enjoy It!, guest spots on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Friday, Premium Blend, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, Fox NFL Sunday, Conan, Comedy Bang! Bang!, The Burn with Jeff Ross, Kroll Show, The Ben Show, @midnight, and Chelsea Lately)
	Morgan Woodward	93	Actor best known as Marvin "Punk" Anderson on Dallas. Also guest spots on several other shows including a record amount of roles as several different characters on Gunsmoke.
February 23	Katherine Helmond	89	American actress best known as Jessica Tate on Soap, Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss?, Doris Sherman on Coach and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves Raymond.
February 26	Mitzi Hoag	86	American actress (notable for her regular role as Liz Platt in We'll Get By, and recurring roles in Here Come the Brides and The Facts of Life)
	Jeraldine Saunders	95	American writer, lecturer, model, and astrologer. Best known as the creator of The Love Boat, (based on her 1974 memoir Love Boats) and whose career as a cruise director was fictionalized in the series as Julie McCoy (played by Lauren Tewes), and the author of "Omarr's Astrological Forecast" (with then-husband Sydney Omarr)
February 27	Nathaniel Taylor	80	Actor best known for playing Rollo Lawson on Sanford and Son
February 28	André Previn	89	German-born American conductor, composer, and musician (conductor/host of Previn & The Pittsburgh, Music director for The Donald O'Connor Show)

March

Date	Name	Age	Notability	Source
March 2	Janice Freeman	33	Singer (contestant on season 13 of The Voice)
March 4	Keith Flint	49	British singer/dancer and member of the Alternative Dance group The Prodigy (TV appearances include MTV Music Video Awards and guest hosting 120 Minutes; his vocals and videos from "Breathe" (a 1997 VMA winner for Viewer's Choice) and "Firestarter" have been used in numerous television programs and commercials)
	Luke Perry	52	American actor best known as Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210, a recurring role as Fred Andrews on Riverdale and guest spots on Family Guy, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Will & Grace.
	Ted Lindsay	93	Canadian Hall of Fame ice hockey player (U.S. TV work included color commentary for the NHL on NBC during the 1970s)
	Chris Pallies	63	American professional wrestler (better known as King Kong Bundy) and occasional actor (recurring role on Married... with Children, whose lead characters were surnamed Bundy in homage to the wrestler)
March 5	Susan Harrison	80	American actress, best known for playing the "Ballerina" in The Twilight Zone episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" and the mother of Darva Conger, the winner of Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?
March 7	Dick Beyer	88	Legendary professional wrestler
	Marshall Brodien	84	Magician (Wizzo the Wizard on The Bozo Show)
March 9	Jed Allan	84	Actor best known as C.C. Capwell on Santa Barbara, Don Craig on Days of Our Lives, Rush Sanders on Beverly Hills, 90210, Scott Turner on Lassie, Harold Johnson on The Bay, and the host of Celebrity Bowling
March 10	Rex Sorensen	73	American broadcaster, television/radio executive, and real estate developer (owner of the Sorensen Media Group, the parent company of ABC affiliate KTGM and Fox affiliate KEQI-LP Tamuning, Guam)
March 16	Larry DiTillio	79	American TV writer (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Beast Wars: Transformers, Babylon 5)
	Richard Erdman	93	American actor (recurring roles on Community, Where's Raymond, The Tab Hunter Show, and Saints and Sinners)
	Tom Hatten	92	Host of The Popeye Show and Family Film Festival on KTLA/Los Angeles
March 17	Dick Dale	81	American musician, whose pioneering surf music sound was used in numerous television programs, most notably his signature songs "Pipeline" and "Misirlou"; TV credits include The Ed Sullivan Show
	Norman Hollyn	66	TV/film editor (TV work includes episodes of The Equalizer and Wild Palms)
March 20	Jacqueline Rossetti	65	Radio/television personality, broadcaster, and programmer in the Honolulu market (known on air as "Honolulu Skylark"), notably as co-host/emcee for The Merrie Monarch Festival broadcasts and co-founder/host of the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, both during its broadcast tenure on KITV.
	Eunetta T. Boone	63	American television writer and producer (One on One, Raven's Home, The Hughleys, Cuts, The Parent 'Hood, My Wife and Kids, Lush Life, Living Single)
March 21	Chris Corley	55	American voice-over artist on MLB Network and numerous TV stations
March 23	Denise DuBarry	63	American actress and producer. Founder and president of Palm Springs Women in Film and Television, and creator of The Broken Glass Awards (Credits include Baa Baa Black Sheep, Days of Our Lives, CHiPs and The Love Boat)
	Larry Cohen	77	American director, producer, and writer (creator of Branded, Blue Light, Coronet Blue, Griff, and The Invaders)
March 24	Joseph Pilato	70	Actor (recurring roles on Big Bad Beetleborgs and Digimon)
March 26	Yoji Harada	46	Japanese tattoo artist and reality show personality (Miami Ink)
March 31	Ermias Asghedom	33	Eritrean American rapper, remixer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and actor, known by his stage name Nipsey Hussle (appeared in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)

April

Date	Name	Age	Notability	Source
April 4	Al Wilson		Appeared on WWE SmackDown from 2002-2003.
April 9	Charles Van Doren	93	Author whose fraudulent winning streak on the scripted game show Twenty One was a defining moment in the 1950s quiz show scandals and the subject of the film Quiz Show in which he was portrayed by Ralph Fiennes; also appeared on and wrote for Wide Wide World and The Today Show
April 12	Georgia Engel	70	Character actress best-known role was the recurring Georgette Franklin (Baxter) on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Also starred in Jennifer Slept Here and Goodtime Girls and was the voice of the Snuggle Bear in the Snuggle commercials.