1976 in American television

1976-77 American network television schedule

This is a list of American television-related events in 1976.

Events

• January 1—NBC replaced the peacock logo with a modern N made up of two trapezoids, similar to the Nebraska Educational Television's one.
• January 17—The Blues Brothers made their debut on NBC's Saturday Night Live singing Slim Harpo's song "I'm a King Bee" in their Killer Bees costumes. Their first appearance as The Blues Brother proper occurred in 1978.
• April 24—Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels made an on-air offer to pay The Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were apparently watching the show together in New York and considered walking down to the studio to accept the check.
• May 22—Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels raised his previous offer to The Beatles from $3,000 to $3,200.
• July 1—Showtime was launched.
• November 7—Beginning tonight, NBC aired the movie Gone with the Wind on TV over two nights due to its length. The event was the highest-rated television event of the season - for a while, anyway.
• November 9—The Museum of Broadcasting was opened, located on the first three floors of the Paley Foundation building in New York City. The museum would later be renamed the Museum of Television and Radio.
• US television game show Match Game was the #1 rated game show on television for the fourth consecutive year.
• January 11 - 12 - Jane Alexander and Edward Herrmann were "Eleanor and Franklin" in a two-part ABC special.
• February 1 - The first installment of the 12-hour miniseries "Rich Man, Poor Man" aired on ABC, making Nick Nolte a star.
• February 2 - Jackie Gleason, Audrey Meadows, and Art Carney were reunited in an ABC special, "The Honeymooners - The Second Honeymoon".
• June 7 - David Brinkley joined John Chancellor as co-anchor of NBC Nightly News, an attempt by the network to bolster ratings against Walter Cronkite and to hark back to the good old days of the Huntley-Brinkley Report.
• September 6 - In an experiment, New York station WOR-TV (now WWOR in Secaucus, N. J.) replaced its usual programming for five nights with exclusively British shows from Thames Television.
• October 4 - Barbara Walters joined Harry Reasoner as co-anchor of ABC's evening newscast. The two did not get along, and ratings did not improve.
• February 29 - The movie "The Sound of Music" was televised for the first time, on ABC.
• October 11 - Jane Pauley showed up for her first day of work on the Today show.
• July 11 - KEVN signed on in Rapid City, South Dakota, ending the problem of CBS duplication in western Nebraska.
• December 17 - At 1:00 p.m. (ET), WTCG-TV of Atlanta (now WPCH-TV) began satellite transmission of its regular programming to four cable systems, thus becoming the first superstation.

Debuts

ABC

• January 14—The Bionic Woman (1976–1978).
• January 27—Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983).
• March 9 —Family (1976–1980)
• July 12—Family Feud (1976–1985, 1988–1995, 1999–present).
• August 5—What's Happening!! (1976–1979).
• September 11 - The Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show, The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, Jabberjaw, The Krofft Supershow.
• September 22—Charlie's Angels (1976–1981).

CBS

• August 14 - Ark 2/Clue Club
• August 31—Alice (1976–1985).

NBC

• October 3—Quincy, M.E. (1976–1983).

In syndication

• January—The P.T.L. Club premieres (1976–1987).
• April—In Search of... (1976–1982).
• August—New Howdy Doody Show (1976–1977).
• September 27—The Muppet Show premieres on ITV in the United Kingdom and in syndication in the United States (1976–1981).

PBS

• January 13 - "The Adams Chronicles", a 13-week history of the great American family.
• January 21 - "Dance in America".

Television shows

Template:TVEvent signifies that this show has a related event in the Events section above.

ABC

• American Bandstand (1952–1989).
• The Edge of Night (1956–1984).
• General Hospital (1963–present).
• One Life to Live (1968–present).
• All My Children (1970–present).
• Monday Night Football (1970–present).
• Columbo (1971–1978).
• Schoolhouse Rock! (1973–1996).
• The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978).
• Happy Days (1974–1984).
• Baretta (1975–1978).
• Barney Miller (1975–1982).
• Good Morning America (1975–present).
• Ryan's Hope (1975–1989).
• Tom and Jerry (1965–1972, 1975–1977, 1980–1982).
• Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979).

CBS

• Love of Life (1951–1980).
• Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).
• The Guiding Light (1952–present).
• Face the Nation (1954–present).
• Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984).
• As the World Turns (1956–present).
• The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1978).
• 60 Minutes (1968–present).
• Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980).
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977).
• All in the Family (1971–1979).
• The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978).
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1984).
• M*A*S*H (1972–1983).
• Maude (1972–1978).
• The Price Is Right (1972–present).
• The Waltons (1972–1981).
• Barnaby Jones (1973–1980).
• Kojak (1973–1978, 2005–present).
• Match Game '76 (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999).
• The Young and the Restless (1973–present).
• Good Times (1974–1979).
• Rhoda (1974–1978).
• Tattletales (1974–1978, 1982–1984).
• The Jeffersons (1975–1985).
• One Day at a Time (1975–1984).

NBC

• Meet the Press (1947–present).
• The Today Show (1952–present).
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962-1992).
• The Doctors (1963–1982).
• Another World (1964–1999).
• Days of our Lives (1965–present).
• The Wonderful World of Disney (1969–1979).
• McCloud (1970–1977).
• McMillan and Wife (1971–1977).
• Emergency! (1972–1977).
• Sanford and Son (1972–1977).
• The Tomorrow Show (1973–1982).
• Chico and the Man (1974–1978).
• The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (1974–1984).
• Land of the Lost (1974–1976).
• Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983).
• Police Woman (1974–1978).
• The Rockford Files (1974–1980).

Template:TVEvent Saturday Night Live (1975–present).

• Wheel of Fortune (1975–present).

PBS

• Sesame Street (1969–present).
• Masterpiece Theatre (1971–present).

In syndication

• Candid Camera (1948–present).
• Truth or Consequences (1950–1988).
• The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982).
• The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981).
• Hee Haw (1969–1993).
• Soul Train (1971–present).
• Dinah! (1974-1980).
• Match Game PM (1975–1981).

Ending this year

ABC

• March —The Rookies (1972—1976)
• May—Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969–1976).

CBS

• March— Cannon (1971—1976)
• September— Medical Center (1969–1976)