2020 in American television

The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2020. 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
1	FuboTV drops the Fox Sports Networks after failing to reach a deal with the regional network group's owners, the Sinclair Broadcast Group/Entertainment Studios joint venture Diamond Sports Group. Representatives with the virtual MVPD service stated that the decision was based on the rates "not being consistent with its mission to provide value and keep costs low to consumers". The move comes a day after FuboTV dropped Disney-owned entertainment networks FX, FXX, FXM and National Geographic, citing concerns over the cost of the full Disney networks bundle resulting in increased subscriber rates.
3	Hearst Television removed its 34 stations from AT&T's pay television services (DirecTV, AT&T U-verse and AT&T TV Now) at 3:00 p.m. EST that afternoon, after failing to come to terms on a new retransmission consent agreement, affecting viewers in 26 television markets. The dispute is settled in less than two days for undisclosed terms.
5	The 77th Golden Globe Awards airs on NBC, hosted by Ricky Gervais for the fifth time. In television, Succession, Fleabag, and Chernobyl were the most awarded, with two awards each. Among television performers, Succession's Brian Cox and The Crown's Olivia Colman won actor and actress honors for Best Performance in a Television Series – Drama, while Ramy's Ramy Youssef and Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge each received honors for Best Performance in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
6–10	As long-time host Pat Sajak continues to recover from last November's intestine surgery, his daughter, country singer Maggie Sajak, co-hosts Wheel of Fortune this week, turning letters while Vanna White continues to fill in for him.
7–14	Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings, and James Holzhauer play against each other in the Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament, a prime time special which aired on ABC. Jennings won the tournament and its $1 million prize after winning the fourth game of the tournament (based on a three-game win structure), eventually regaining the honor on the largest winnings record in the history of American and international television for the first time since Rutter retook the title back in 2014. It also marked the first time both Jennings and Rutter amassed more than $5 million total in terms of their overall game show winnings.
14	CNN and its political correspondent Abby Phillip receive criticism from supporters of Bernie Sanders as well as some media outlets (among them, political talk hosts long criticized by progressives for coverage slanted against Sanders) and journalism organizations (such as the Poynter Institute, which called the moment "stunning in its ineptness, and stunning in its unprofessionalism") for a question Phillip asked during the seventh Democratic presidential debate. The question appeared to dismiss or imply lack of believability of Sanders's denial of a January 13 story by CNN, which claimed that he had told fellow progressive candidate Elizabeth Warren, who asserted validity to the claim despite lack of evidence, that a woman could not win the presidential election during a meeting with her in 2018. Sanders stated the conversation had touched upon the role sexism would play in the 2020 presidential campaign, specifically regarding President Donald Trump's history of verbal attacks against female politicians including Warren; Sanders's campaign alleged Warren and her staff had embellished the details of the discussion. Warren and Sanders were also caught on a hot mic accusing each other of lying on national television.
15	Nexstar Media Group announces plans to launch a three-hour, nightly prime time newscast on its recently acquired cable channel WGN America. The program, titled "News Nation," will be based out of the studios of Nexstar-owned WGN-TV/Chicago, compiling reports from that station and the group's 109 other local news operations nationwide into a cohesive program featuring straight news and feature reporting. (News Nation will be the first national newscast to air on WGN America since the then-superstation feed of WGN-TV carried the similarly formatted 1980–90 syndicated program Independent Network News, distributed by former parent Tribune Broadcasting.)
18	After 30 years, Hank Azaria announces he will no longer voice The Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. This comes after the 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu by comedian Hari Kondabolu in which he claimed the show portrayed "outdated" Indian American cultural stereotypes, racial microaggressions and slurs.
	Cox Media Group removes stations in ten markets (all affected stations were formerly owned by Northwest Broadcasting) from Dish Network and Sling TV at 7:00 p.m. EST that evening, after failing to come to terms on a new retransmission consent agreement. Dish alleges that Cox Media parent Apollo Global Management was seeking to increase its retransmission payments by double the amount they were receiving and had turned down an offer to extend the existing agreement, specifically to allow viewers in Binghamton (WICZ-TV), Syracuse (WSYT), Medford (KMVU-DT), Spokane (KAYU-TV) and Tri-Cities–Yakima (KFFX-TV/KCYU-LD) to watch Fox's coverage of the January 19 NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LIV on February 2. Dish was also granted a temporary restraining order to prevent a blackout involving the 14 Cox Media stations that Apollo jointly owns with Cox Enterprises, despite a multi-year agreement covering those stations it signed in 2019.
21	CMT launches an "equal play" initiative in which, effective immediately, songs by female country music artists will be guaranteed to make up 50% of the videos featured as part of the network's overnight and morning music video blocks. (CMT estimates that it previously offered a 40/60 ratio of music videos featuring female artists compared to those by male artists, itself a larger share of female-led songs than averaged to receive airplay on country radio stations nationwide [accounting for 13% of songs played].) The move is praised by veteran female music artists in the genre (including Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile and Mickey Guyton) and listeners, while some country fans on social media criticized the move to suggest videos would be based on gender instead of song quality.
26	The 62nd Grammy Awards—held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles—aired on CBS with Alicia Keys as the host. Billie Eilish (alongside her brother, songwriter/producer Finneas O'Connell) received the most Grammys, with five wins each, becoming the first artist to win Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist in the same year since Christopher Cross in 1981. In light of the death of retired Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (whose former team uses the Staples Center as its home venue) in a helicopter crash that morning, several tributes to Bryant were featured during the telecast, including a performance of Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" by Keys and group members Shawn Stockman, Wanya and Nathan Morris, while Lil Nas X (who won two awards), Lizzo (who won three awards) and DJ Khaled included tributes to Bryant within their performances. The telecast was watched by 18.7 million people, the lowest amount in 12 years.
	In reporting on the aforementioned death of Kobe Bryant, MSNBC anchor Alison Morris referred to the basketball star's former team as the "Los Angeles Nakers." Morris claims she misspoke, combining the Lakers' team nickname with that of the New York Knicks. However, the slip-up led to accusations that Morris used a racial epithet and calls for her firing.
27	Sinclair Broadcast Group discloses through an SEC filing that it reached a $60-million cash and asset settlement with Nexstar Media Group pertaining to a lawsuit filed in concurrence with the August 2018 termination of the deal by Tribune Media (which merged with Nexstar in September 2019) over its aborted 2017 purchase by Sinclair. Tribune terminated the deal after the FCC designated it for hearing by an administrative judge over concerns about Sinclair's proposed sales of Tribune stations in certain markets (including those where Sinclair had existing station properties) to sidecar licensees in an attempt to comply with FCC national and local ownership rules. Through the settlement, Nexstar will acquire Fox affiliate WDKY-TV/Lexington, Kentucky and certain non-license assets of KGBT-TV/Harlingen, Texas from Sinclair (which will remain owner of the latter's license but relinquished its programming inventory—including its CBS affiliation—to Nexstar-owned NBC affiliate and new outsourcing agreement partner KVEO-TV on January 28), and modifications will be made to Nexstar's affiliation agreements with Sinclair multicast networks Comet and TBD (which Nexstar largely inherited through the Tribune purchase).
	Ion Media announces its purchase of Azteca América affiliate KMCC/Laughlin, Nevada from Entravision Communications for a yet-disclosed price. The deal—which will give the company 71 full-power stations in 62 markets (including 41 based in the 50 largest markets)—will give Ion a Las Vegas-area O&O for its flagship network Ion Television (which has been affiliated locally with KBLR-DT3 since 2016 through an agreement with station parent NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group unit) and sister properties Ion Plus and Qubo (neither of which have local broadcast carriage). It will also break up a duopoly formed between KMCC and Univision affiliate KINC in 2018 (by way of Entravision's purchase of KMCC from Cranston Acquisition LLC in March 2017).
28	ABC affiliate KVII-TV/Amarillo fires morning anchor Anthony Pittman following his January 24 arrest in Randall County, Texas on solicitation and prostitution charges, a class B misdemeanor which carries a 180-day jail sentence and a $2,000 fine. The Sinclair Broadcast Group station also removed his profile from the website the same day. Pittman had worked at KVII since 2013 and prior to that was a fixture as a sports reporter at Fox-affiliated sister station KABB/San Antonio from 2000 to 2010.
29	Winemiller Television, LLC announces it will sell WSCG/Baxley–Savannah to Tri-State Christian Television affiliate company Radiant Life Ministries for $3 million. The sale follows Winemiller's failed sale of the station—a primary Heroes & Icons affiliate with 11 additional subchannel services (including Ion Television, Court TV Mystery, HSN and Cozi TV)—to HC2 Broadcasting in November 2019. Upon completion, the station will likely become the Savannah market's first full-power religious station as an O&O of the religious TCT Network.
	ABC News suspends chief national correspondent Matt Gutman over a false statement he made on-air on January 26 following the death of Kobe Bryant, where Gutman had erroneously reported that all four of Bryant's daughters were on board the helicopter that crashed into the hills of Calabasas, California in a breaking news aired after the start of the 2020 Pro Bowl. Bryant's other three children were not on board the aircraft with their father and 13-year-old sister Gianna, who also perished; Gutman would later apologize for the error. In a statement from ABC News, "Reporting the facts accurately is the cornerstone of our journalism... "As he acknowledged on Sunday, Matt Gutman's initial reporting was not accurate and failed to meet our editorial standards."
30	Sony closes its virtual MVPD television service, PlayStation Vue, after under five years of operation. Increasing carriage costs for broadcast and cable-originated networks are blamed by the company for Vue's closure.
31	Zap2it (which has been owned by Nexstar since its acquisition of Tribune in September 2019) discontinues updates of its TV By the Numbers website after over a decade in operation.

February

Date	Event	Source
2	The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20, to win Super Bowl LIV, which aired live from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Fox (English) and Fox Deportes (Spanish). Singers Jennifer Lopez and Shakira headlined the halftime show. 102 million viewers watched the telecast across Fox's broadcast and digital properties, and the NFL and Verizon's respective digital properties, up slightly from the cumulative 100.7 million that watched 2019's Super Bowl LIII; accounting only for network viewership, Super Bowl LIV was watched by 99.9 million viewers (a 41.6 rating) on Fox and 757,000 viewers on Fox Deportes. An investigation by WFAA/Dallas-Fort Worth later found that viewers filed more than 1,300 complaints to the Federal Communications Commission over the content of the halftime show, which included suggestive dancing by the performers.
3	LBI Media rebrands as Estrella Media, borrowing its new name from flagship Spanish-language network Estrella TV. The move is part of a corporate reorganization through its October 2019 emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection that saw company founder Lenard Liberman divest his equity in the company.
4	Alphabet Inc. announces the discontinuation of the Google Fiber IPTV service to new customers after under nine years of operation in order to focus on the provider's gigabit-based broadband Internet service. The company will transition customers to YouTube TV or competing virtual MVPD fuboTV as part of a new partnership with Google. Existing customers will still have access to the Google Fiber IPTV service for the foreseeable future.
	CBS News releases an excerpt from an interview in which Gayle King asks Lisa Leslie whether rape allegations made against Kobe Bryant complicated the recently passed NBA star's legacy. After facing criticism from 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and other social media users, King blamed CBS for selecting a "salacious" portion of the interview to share without context. For its part, the network said that the excerpt was not reflective of the "thoughtful, wide-ranging interview" that King had conducted.
8	ESPN basketball analyst Barry Booker receives criticism for referring to female gymnasts as "scantily clad girls" in a sidebar with lead announcer Richard Cross—both of whom were presiding over that night's college basketball game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Missouri Tigers—while promoting SEC Network's February 14 telecast of an Alabama–Arkansas women's gymnastics meet. ESPN, the Southeastern Conference and former Arkansas gymnast Sydney McGlone (the latter of whom noted the remark sexualized gymnastics as the sport continues to deal with sexual abuse scandals involving trainers and physicians of gymnasts at the collegiate and professional levels) denounced Booker's comments; Booker later apologized for the remark.
9	The 92nd Academy Awards, presented from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, airs on ABC. This was the second consecutive year that the broadcast did not have a host. The South Korean-language comedy thriller Parasite made history, winning for Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, becoming the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award recognition, as well as the first film not in the English language to win Best Picture. Netflix, which set a record for having the most nominations from a streaming service and studio with 24, surpassing the 15 it received for the previous year's event, took home only two; its heavily touted The Irishman, which was nominated in ten categories, was shut out in every single one. Meanwhile, just two days prior to the airing of the event, AMPAS and ABC came under fire for rejecting a commercial for Frida Mom which depicted a postpartum mother changing her own, visibly wet, absorbent pad in the middle of the night; the academy felt it was too graphic to air during the telecast, citing guidelines laid out in AMPAS that state that, among other items, "feminine hygiene products (and) adult diapers" could not be advertised on the telecast. The rejection sparked outrage from women's groups and from Busy Philipps, who posted the rejected ad on her Instagram account. Ratings wise, this telecast would average at least 23.6 million viewers and a 5.3 rating among the key ad-sales demo of adults 18–49, down 20 percent year-over-year in viewers and 31 percent in adults 18–49.
11	The Conners aired a special live episode the night of the New Hampshire primary on ABC, which incorporated voting results reported by ABC News as they became available into the storyline. The episode was performed twice for Eastern/Central and Pacific Time viewers, the latter of which aired as Bernie Sanders was projected as the primary's winner, finishing at a 1.4 percentage point margin ahead of Pete Buttigieg, and was delayed two minutes—starting less than 10 seconds before the cast was set to start performing that version—to allow a live election update.
12	Altice USA announces its intent to acquire the Sussex County and northern Warren County, New Jersey operations of telecommunications provider Service Electric for $150 million. The deal—which does not include Service Electric's systems in eastern Pennsylvania, and Hunterdon and southern Warren counties in New Jersey, which will continue to be owned by the children of company founder John Walson Sr.—is expected to be completed in the early fall of 2020.
	Former National Hockey League player Jeremy Roenick announces via Twitter that he had been terminated by NBC Sports as an analyst on their NHL coverage two months after an appearance on a Barstool Sports podcast in which he made inappropriate comments about wife and NBC colleague Kathryn Tappen, and fellow NBC NHL analyst Patrick Sharp.
17	The Price Is Right suspends production for the week following the death of host Drew Carey's former fiancé, family/sex therapist Amie Harwick, who died from injuries sustained in a fall off a balcony, allegedly at the hands of ex-boyfriend Gareth Pursehouse, against whom Harwick had a restraining order that expired one week prior to her death. Harwick and Carey began dating in 2017, and were engaged from January 2018 until calling off their engagement in November 2019.
20	ViacomCBS unveils plans to expand flagship SVOD service CBS All Access—which offers mainly original content, and CBS's current and library programs—later in the year, incorporating movies and TV series from Paramount Pictures and CBS Television Distribution's respective libraries, programming from the company's cable networks (including MTV, Nickelodeon [which already supplies some programming to CBSAA], Comedy Central, BET and Smithsonian Channel), and expanded live news and sports offerings. ViacomCBS plans to maintain its other existing ad-supported and subscription streaming services—focusing primarily on a service tier encompassing Pluto TV (which will continue operating as a standalone service available for free to existing users, while incorporating some of its curated channels onto CBSAA's platform), CBS All Access and the Showtime OTT service (which was not confirmed to be available as a CBSAA add-on, despite initial reports on the relaunch plans suggesting so)—while marketing the new CBS All Access to users of the other services.
22	Following Bernie Sanders' wide-margin win in the Nevada Democratic caucuses that night, MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews faces criticism (including from fellow contributor Anand Giridharadas) and calls for his resignation and firing over remarks comparing Sanders' win to Nazi Germany's invasion of the Ardennes and the Low Countries of France in May 1940. The remarks occurred as Sanders, members of his campaign staff and other progressives have expressed discontent over MSNBC's negative coverage of Sanders and his supporters (including by Sanders himself to network president Phil Griffin, who was later reported to be considering pivoting its coverage in order to reflect Sanders' front-runner status in the primaries), with many critics noting that the remarks were particularly offensive given Sanders—who is Jewish—had lost most of his antecedent family members in the Holocaust. Matthews apologized during the February 24 edition of Hardball, describing the invasion reference as a “bad” analogy and stating he would try to do a better job discussing Sanders' candidacy during the campaign season.
24	In a television first, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon records an entire episode from a moving train, the F Line of the New York City Subway, capped by a performance from South Korean boy band BTS inside Grand Central Terminal.
25	Searchlight Capital and fledgling investment firm ForgeLight announce their acquisition of Saban Capital Group, Madison Dearborn Partners and Providence Equity Partners's combined 64% majority interest in Univision Communications (owner of namesake flagship network Univision, UniMás and their 65 respective O&O stations, and cable networks like Galavisión, TUDN and Fusion TV) for an undisclosed sum. Mexican media company and Univision program supplier Televisa will retain a 36% stake in the company. ForgeLight founder/CEO Wade Davis (who formed the company shortly after his December 2019 departure as Viacom CEO upon its re-merger with CBS) will replace Vince Sadusky as Univision Communications's CEO upon the deal's closure.
	Comcast announces its intent to acquire AVOD streaming service Xumo—which will operate as an independent business within the Comcast Cable division upon closure—from Panasonic and Viant Technology for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will likely see Xumo be used to market Xfinity and other Comcast services (such as programming from its cable networks, and upcoming streaming service Peacock), and provide infrastructure for Comcast's streaming VOD technology. The purchase comes as Comcast's NBCUniversal unit is also in discussions to purchase Walmart-owned VOD service Vudu.
	ABC News suspends correspondent David Wright and reassigns him from political reporting over non-neutral remarks he made in a video by conservative group Project Veritas, including criticism of its cross-promotion of ABC parent Disney's TV and film content (primarily on its overnight and morning news programs, Good Morning America, World News Now and America This Morning), and aspects of its White House and presidential campaign coverage. The suspension is criticized by fellow journalists due to Veritas' past reputation for trying to damage the careers of journalists investigating conservative causes as well as ongoing issues with mainstream news organizations restricting journalists' personal political opinions in the current political climate.
27	YouTube TV joins Dish Network/Sling TV and FuboTV in removing Fox Sports Networks—which holds the local rights to 43 teams across the NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball—from its lineup over a carriage dispute with the regional sports network group's joint-venture parent company, Diamond Sports Group (co-owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios). A day later, YouTube TV signed a temporary contract extension to keep Fox Sports Networks amid continuing negotiations between the companies on a new distribution deal.
28	CBS Television Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions announce a temporary suspension of production of the 33rd season of The Amazing Race due to the coronavirus outbreak that had recently spread into Europe. Filming had already been completed on the season's first three episodes (which were all filmed in the United Kingdom), after which all contestants and production staff were forced to return to the United States as a precautionary measure even though none of the personnel involved experienced any signs of the coronavirus.
	Telecommunications provider Cincinnati Bell, which serves mainly portions of the Cincinnati area and has offered IPTV service since 2009, announces its intent to merge with Toronto-based Brookfield Infrastructure Partners for $2.75 billion in stock and cash.
	Lead NFL on CBS analyst Tony Romo reaches an agreement with the network that pays $17 million annually over a minimum of three years, making the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback the highest-paid sports analyst in television history and keeping him within the ViacomCBS fold after a bidding war with ESPN for Romo's services as the two companies begin the process of renewing their NFL broadcast rights.

March

Date	Event	Source
2	AT&T expands distribution of its virtual MVPD service AT&T TV nationwide, after initially operating in five markets within its local telephone service territory. AT&T TV, which is sold on a contractual basis (at $50/month for its base package) similar to traditional multichannel television services, utilizes Android TV-based set-top boxes (which include streaming apps such as Netflix) that are rented to subscribers. Although initially sold as part of bundles with AT&T's internet services, with the national rollout, customers can subscribe without being subscribed to AT&T's internet or wireless telephone services and the service will not count against data caps set by the company. Coinciding with this, AT&T announced it was "wind[ing] down" its IPTV service AT&T U-verse, ceasing to accept new subscribers online and directing them to AT&T TV, and merging its social media accounts into those of AT&T TV. (U-verse TV will remain available to the service's existing subscribers and will continue to accept new subscribers only via telephone calls.)
	Chris Matthews announces his retirement from broadcasting and ending his 26-year run as host of MSNBC's Hardball. Matthews announced the decision in a five-minute opening of the show, then departed the Washington studio, leaving Steve Kornacki in New York to unexpectedly finish the show after it returned from commercial. The move came after weeks of listening to comments and feedback from viewers over remarks he has made, especially about Bernie Sanders, for whom he apologized to after comparing his rise in the 2020 campaign to the German invasion of France, and his notable absence during the network’s coverage of the South Carolina Democratic Primary on February 29, where reports surfaced that a female guest made claims that he attempted to sexually harass her. The series’ hosting slot is left vacant with MSNBC reporters filling the role. Matthews' show aired over three of NBC's cable networks, launching on MSNBC predecessor America's Talking in 1994, then airing on CNBC from 1996 until 1999, with the remainder of its run being on MSNBC.
	On the same day that Fox officially cancelled the drama series Almost Family, a series of sexual assault allegations against actor Timothy Hutton (who played a fertility doctor whose actions brought together the rest of the show's lead characters) were revealed in a Buzzfeed News investigation, as a Canadian ex-model and child actor has come out with a claim that Hutton had raped her when she was 14 years old while his friend watched and later also raped her, which took place in 1983 while he was working on a film in Vancouver, but waited until 2019 to file the complaint. Hutton has denied the charges against him. Almost Family was unlikely to return in any case, as the low-rated series quietly ended its first season with its finale being burned off on a Saturday night a week before.

Future events

March

Date	Event	Source
29	The 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards will air on Fox with Usher as the host.

April

Date	Event	Source
5	The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards will air on CBS, hosted by Keith Urban.
29	The 2020 Billboard Music Awards will air on NBC. Kelly Clarkson will return as host for the third straight year.

June

Date	Event	Source
7	The 74th Tony Awards will air on CBS.
30	Telecommunications provider Rainbow Communications, which serves mostly rural portions of northeastern Kansas (including its headquarters of Everest), will discontinue its cable television service to its customers within the state after 67 years, citing a migration among its customers to television viewing via streaming services (which it accounted for 80% of Rainbow's internet traffic). The company will continue to offer telephone and broadband internet services to its customers, and initiate a "Streaming Care" program in February to assist remaining cable customers who wish to transition to streaming.

July

Date	Event	Source
3	The "repack" of the broadcast spectrum stemming from the FCC's spectrum incentive auction will finish its tenth and final phase. All U.S. television channels will have settled into their final frequencies by this date.
24–August 9	The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan will air on NBC and its cable networks.

August

Date	Event	Source
13	Fox will air the MLB at Field of Dreams, which will be the first ever Major League Baseball game broadcast from Dyersville, Iowa, taking place at the same cornfield location that was depicted in the 1989 film Field of Dreams. The Chicago White Sox, whose controversial 1919 team was fictionally portrayed in the film, will serve as the home team against the 'visiting' New York Yankees.

September

Date	Event	Source
20	The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards wiil air on ABC. This event, like the Oscars, will air live in all time zones.

Television programs

Programs debuting in 2020

Further information: List of 2020 American television debuts

Programs changing networks

Show	Moved from	Moved to	Source
Dirty John	Bravo	USA Network
Vice	HBO	Showtime
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars	VH1	Showtime/VH1
NAACP Image Awards	TV One	BET
One Day at a Time	Netflix	Pop/CBS
Where's Waldo?	Universal Kids	Peacock
A.P. Bio	NBC
Curious George	PBS Kids
Doom Patrol	DC Universe	DC Universe/HBO Max
Sesame Street	HBO/PBS	HBO Max/PBS
Esme & Roy
Search Party	TBS	HBO Max
Gen:Lock	Rooster Teeth
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings	Freeform	Disney+
The Orville	Fox	Hulu
Thomas & Friends	Nick Jr.	Netflix

Milestone episodes and anniversaries

Show	Network	Episode #	Episode title	Episode airdate	Source
The First 48	A&E	15th Anniversary	"Chain of Death"	January 1
Survivor	CBS	20th Anniversary	"Survivor at 40: Greatest Moments and Players"	February 5
Impractical Jokers	TruTV	200th episode	"Hollywood"	February 13
The Real	First-run syndication	1,000th episode	"The Real 1,000"	February 17
Supergirl	The CW	100th episode	"It's a Super Life"	February 23
Mom	CBS	150th episode	"A Judgy Face and Your Grandma's Drawers"	March 12
The Blacklist	NBC		"TBA"	April
Empire	Fox	100th episode	"TBA"	Spring
Superstore	NBC		"TBA"	Fall
American Dad!	TBS	300th episode	"TBA"

Programs returning in 2020

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
Supernanny	2011	Revival	ABC	Lifetime	January 1
Steve (as Steve on Watch)	2019		First-run syndication	Facebook Watch	January 6
Party of Five	2000	Reboot	Fox	Freeform	January 8
The Biggest Loser	2016		NBC	USA Network	January 28
Manhunt: Unabomber (as Manhunt: Deadly Games)	2017	Revival	Discovery Channel	Spectrum Originals	February 3
XFL	2001	Reboot	NBC/TNN/UPN	ESPN/ABC/Fox/FS1	February 8
The Soup	2015	Revival	E!	same	February 12
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings	2018	New season	Freeform	Disney+	February 14
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition	2012	Revival	ABC	HGTV	February 16
Star Wars: The Clone Wars	2014	New season	Netflix	Disney+	February 21
Forensic Files (as Forensic Files II)	2011	Revival	Court TV/TruTV	HLN	February 23
Bride & Prejudice (as Bride & Prejudice: Forbidden Love)	2016		FYI	Lifetime	February 26
Opry	2009	New season	GAC	Circle
Amazing Stories	1987	Reboot	NBC	Apple TV+	March 6
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (as Cosmos: Possible Worlds)	2014	New season	Fox/National Geographic	same	March 9
The Wall	2018		NBC		March 15
One Day at a Time	2019		Netflix	Pop/CBS	March 24
Vice	2018		HBO	Showtime	March 29
Legends of the Hidden Temple	1995	Reboot	Nickelodeon	Quibi	April
The Fugitive	2001		CBS
Reno 911!	2009	Revival	Comedy Central		April 6
Celebrity Ghost Stories	2014		LMN	A&E	April 8
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire	2019	New season	First-run syndication	ABC
Search Party	2017		TBS	HBO Max	May
Singled Out	2019	Reboot	MTV/YouTube	Quibi	Spring
Top Gear America	2017		BBC America	Motor Trend
Supermarket Sweep	2003	Revival	PAX	ABC
A.P. Bio	2019	New season	NBC	Peacock	Summer
Saved by the Bell	1993	Revival
Punky Brewster	1988		First-run syndication
Tyler Perry's House of Payne	2012		TBS	BET
Animaniacs	1998		Kids' WB	Hulu	Fall
Walker, Texas Ranger (as Walker)	2001	Reboot	CBS	The CW
The Boondocks	2014		Adult Swim	HBO Max
Adventure Time (as Adventure Time: Distant Lands)	2018	Specials	Cartoon Network		TBA
What Not to Wear	2013	Revival	TLC	same
Making the Band	2009		MTV
Eco-Challenge (as World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji)	2002		USA Network	Amazon Prime Video
Monster Garage	2006		Discovery Channel	TLC
Lizzie McGuire	2004		Disney Channel	Disney+
Rugrats		TBD/Unclear	Nickelodeon	same
12 oz. Mouse	2018	New season	Adult Swim
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	2019	Special	Netflix
Punk'd	2015	Reboot	BET	Quibi

Programs ending in 2020

End date	Show	Channel	First aired	Status	Source
January 1	Spinning Out	Netflix	2020	Canceled
January 10	Harvey Girls Forever!		2018	Ended
January 19	Ray Donovan	Showtime	2013	Canceled
January 24	The Ranch	Netflix	2016	Ended
January 26	Star Wars Resistance	Disney Channel/Disney XD	2018
January 28	Arrow	The CW	2012
January 29	Homicide Hunter	Investigation Discovery	2011
January 30	The Good Place	NBC	2016
	New Looney Tunes	Boomerang	2015
January 31	BoJack Horseman	Netflix	2014
February 9	Power	Starz
	Shimmer and Shine	Nickelodeon	2015
February 19	Criminal Minds	CBS	2005
February 21	Fresh Off the Boat	ABC	2015
February 22	Almost Family	Fox	2019	Canceled
March 1	Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure	Disney Channel	2017	Ended
March 2	Hardball with Chris Matthews	MSNBC	1997
March 22	Henry Danger	Nickelodeon	2014	Ending
March 27	Steven Universe Future	Cartoon Network	2019
April 3	Future Man	Hulu	2017
	Hawaii Five-0	CBS	2010
April 8	Modern Family	ABC	2009
April 9	Will & Grace	NBC	1998
April 17	Strike Back	Cinemax	2011
April 26	Homeland	Showtime
May 6	Brockmire	IFC	2017
May 8	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	Disney+	2008
May 14	How to Get Away with Murder	ABC	2014
May 18	Supernatural	The CW	2005
Summer	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	ABC	2013
	Blindspot	NBC	2015
TBA	Shameless	Showtime	2011
	Doc McStuffins	Disney Junior	2012
	Vikings	History	2013
	The 100	The CW	2014
	If Loving You Is Wrong	Oprah Winfrey Network
	Empire	Fox	2015
	You Me Her	Audience	2016
	Goliath	Amazon Prime Video
	Van Helsing	Syfy
	Fuller House	Netflix
	Lucifer
	13 Reasons Why		2017
	GLOW
	Dear White People
	Claws	TNT
	Corporate	Comedy Central	2018
	Trinkets	Netflix	2019
	The Mel Robbins Show	Syndication		Canceled

Entering syndication in 2020

A list of programs (current or canceled) 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.

Show	Seasons	In Production	Notes	Source
Schitt's Creek	6	Yes	Will end after six seasons on CBC Television and Pop in winter 2020.

Networks and services

Launches

Network	Type	Launch date	Notes	Source
Circle	Over-the-air multicast/ OTT streaming	January 1	Circle, which focuses on country music and its related lifestyle, is a Nashville-based venture between Gray Television and the Opry Entertainment division of Ryman Hospitality Properties. It's Gray's first owned entry into the multicast arena, while it brings Ryman (formerly Gaylord Entertainment) back to TV network ownership after it sold cable's The Nashville Network and Country Music Television to CBS in 1997. Gray and CBS-owned stations form the major launch groups for Circle, whose schedule will include the return of the weekly Grand Ole Opry broadcast to television.
Yahoo! Finance	Cable (via Verizon FiOS)/ OTT streaming	January 27	Verizon Media extends its Yahoo Finance business and financial news website into a 24-hour linear news channel initially available on Verizon FiOS channel 604, serving as a competitor to CNBC, Fox Business and Cheddar; Yahoo Finance's bell-to-bell stock market programming is also streamed live from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ET on the site's webpage.
Black News Channel	Cable and digital	February 10	Founded by former Oklahoma U.S. Representative J. C. Watts, the network will be devoted to covering the African American community in news, sports and entertainment.
Marquee Sports Network	Cable and digital	February 22	A regional sports network venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, Marquee will take over as the team's exclusive primary broadcaster from NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-TV and WLS-TV, along with surrounding team programming and other sports content.
LX	Over-the-air multicast/ OTT streaming	April	Announced by NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations on September 23, 2019, LX (an abbreviation for Local X, and adapted from the name of its sister lifestyle production subsidiary LXTV) is a digital news service—building on experimental news offerings and research by NBCUniversal-owned stations—that will be available through a streaming service and over-the-air multicast network, which will provide original local news content aimed at young adults 18-45 who traditionally do not watch news on conventional television. (LX originally began providing news content via a dedicated website and on various social media networks such as YouTube on the date of the launch announcement.) While the broadcast version—which will be based out of the Dallas–Fort Worth duopoly of NBC O&O KXAS-TV and Telemundo O&O KXTX-TV, which will produce three-hour daily morning and prime time newscasts for LX—will be ad-supported, commercial breaks on LX will be fewer and of shorter length than other conventional television platforms.
Peacock	OTT streaming	April 15 (Xfinity subscribers); July 15 (full launch)	Peacock will be ad-supported, and access will reportedly be free for linear TV subscribers, while those without a provider can pay separately for a subscription. An ad-free version will also be available at an additional cost. The company will concurrently retain its 30% stake in Hulu.
HBO Max	OTT streaming	May	HBO Max will be a paid subscription streaming service featuring original content as well as content from Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, CNN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Crunchyroll and other WarnerMedia brands and programs being transferred from HBO (consisting of children's programs from the Sesame Workshop library) and the soon-to-close Audience.

Conversions and rebrandings

Old network name	New network name	Type	Conversion date	Notes	Source
JUCE TV	Positiv	Over-the-air multicast/ Cable and satellite	January 26	On January 26, the Trinity Broadcasting Network relaunched its youth-oriented multicast service JUCE TV—which had been moved to a 24-hour DT5 feed on TBN's owned-and-operated stations on January 13, after being placed in a time-share with sister children's network Smile concurrent with the June 2015 launch of TBN Salsa on that feed—as Positiv. The relaunched network—which, unusual for a service whose over-the-air broadcasts are transmitted exclusively over non-commercial stations, is partially advertiser-supported—features family and faith-based films (including many in TBN's existing library that aired on the network under its JCTV/JUCE TV format). TBN relegated the "JUCE" brand to a dedicated YouTube channel offering original short-form content aimed at Christian youth, which the ministry launched on October 23, 2019.
Live Well Network	Localish	Over-the-air multicast	February 17	On January 21, ABC Owned Television Stations announced that Live Well Network—which has been carried exclusively on ABC's eight O&O stations since it retracted from national distribution in 2014—will be rebranded on February 17, as a television extension of the Localish digital lifestyle brand launched by ABC in September 2018. The relaunched network will feature long-form variants of several programs already featured on the Localish website, which focuses on short-form series focusing on local storytelling, food, leisure and health.
Showcase	Sho*BET	Premium cable and satellite	Summer (Date TBD)	On February 20, ViacomCBS announced that Showtime's tertiary multiplex channel, Showcase—which, since its July 2001 rebranding, has focused on theatrical and first-run feature films from parent network Showtime's various film distributors as well as Showtime's library of original made-for-cable films, documentaries and comedy specials—will be relaunched as Sho*BET, an African American-oriented service co-branded with sister basic cable network BET. The channel will offer movies and series (including original scripted content from Showtime and BET's respective libraries) aimed at black audiences. Sho*BET will be the second premium cable co-branding effort involving BET, which previously owned BET Movies: Starz! (now Starz In Black) in a joint venture with Showtime rival Starz from the multiplex channel's 1997 launch until 2001, when BET Networks opted out of the venture following its purchase by Viacom.
DIY Network	Magnolia Network	Cable and satellite	October 4	Chip and Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper fame announced in an interview on the November 9, 2018 edition of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon they were returning to the fold of the former Scripps Networks Interactive networks now owned by Discovery, Inc. to launch a new full-time network based on their Magnolia lifestyle brand after taking a year's hiatus to consider other offers outside of HGTV. The Gaines will have the minority stake in the network. Discovery announced on January 16 it would launch October 4.

Closures

Network	Type	End date	Notes	Source
MHz WorldView	Over-the-air multicast	March 1	MHz Networks announced on January 8, 2020 that MHz Worldview will cease operations as they prepare to transition to MHz Choice, MHz Network's paid-subscription digital streaming service, and MHz Now, its free ad-supported streaming service.
Audience	DirecTV/U-verse/AT&T TV-exclusive	Spring	On January 8, 2020, it was announced by AT&T that Audience, a network exclusive to AT&T platforms, would be discontinued (later to be confirmed by Rich Eisen, whose daily radio show is carried by the network, as February 29, but never came to fruition) and will transition to a barker channel advertising and previewing programming found on the upcoming HBO Max SVOD service.

Television stations

Subchannel launches

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation	Source
January 1	Birmingham, Alabama	WBRC	6.5	Grit (moved from 6.3)
	Huntsville, Alabama	WAFF	48.5	Grit (moved from 48.3)
	Montgomery, Alabama	WSFA	12.3	Circle
	Anchorage, Alaska	KTUU-TV	2.3
	Tucson, Arizona	KOLD-TV	13.3
	Los Angeles, California	KCAL-TV	9.3
	Sacramento, California	KMAX-TV	31.5
	San Francisco, California	KBCW	44.5
	Dover, Delaware (Salisbury, Maryland)	WMDE	36.4
	Gainesville/Ocala, Florida	WCJB-TV	20.4
	Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida	WBFS-TV	33.5
	Panama City, Florida	WECP-LD	18.4	Heroes & Icons (moved from 18.3)
	Sarasota, Florida	WWSB	40.2	Circle
	St. Petersburg/Tampa, Florida	WTOG	44.5
	West Palm Beach, Florida	WFLX	29.3
	Albany, Georgia	WALB	10.5
		WGCW-LD	36.2
	Augusta, Georgia	WRDW-TV	12.4
	Columbus, Georgia	WTVM	9.3
	Savannah, Georgia	WTOC-TV	11.3
	Thomasville, Georgia (Tallahassee, Florida)	WCTV	6.3
	Honolulu, Hawaii	KGMB	5.2
	Caldwell/Boise, Idaho	KNIN-TV	9.4
	Evansville, Indiana	WFIE	14.4	Grit (moved from 14.3)
	South Bend, Indiana	WNDU-TV	16.3	Circle
	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	KCRG-TV	9.6
	Ottumwa, Iowa/Kirksville, Missouri	KYOU-TV	15.5	Grit (moved from 15.3)
	Topeka, Kansas	WIBW-TV	13.3	Circle
	Hutchinson/Wichita, Kansas	KWCH-DT	12.4
	Hazard, Kentucky	WYMT-TV	57.3
	Lexington, Kentucky	WKYT-TV	27.3
	Louisville, Kentucky	WAVE	3.3
	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	WAFB	9.3
	New Orleans, Louisiana	WVUE-DT	8.5	Grit (moved from 8.3)
	Shreveport, Louisiana	KSLA	12.2	Grit (moved from 12.4)
	Bangor, Maine	WABI-TV	5.4	Circle
	Boston, Massachusetts	WSBK-TV	38.5
	Detroit, Michigan	WKBD-TV	50.5
	Flint/Saginaw/ Bay City, Michigan	WJRT-TV	12.6	WeatherNation TV (moved from 12.3)
	Onondaga/Lansing, Michigan	WILX-TV	10.3	Circle
	Jackson, Mississippi	WLBT	3.3
	Cape Girardeau, Missouri/ Paducah, Kentucky	KFVS-TV	12.3
	Springfield, Missouri	KYTV	3.5
	Grand Island/Hastings, Nebraska	KGIN	11.5
	Lincoln, Nebraska	KOLN	10.5
	Reno, Nevada	KOLO-TV	8.4
	Secaucus, New Jersey (New York City)	WWOR-TV	48.2
	Riverhead, New York (New York City)	WLNY-TV	55.5
	Charlotte, North Carolina	WBTV	3.3
	Greenville/New Bern/ Washington, North Carolina	WITN-TV	7.6
	Wilmington, North Carolina	WECT	6.3
	Bismarck, North Dakota	KFYR-TV	5.4
	Dickinson, North Dakota	KQCD-TV	7.4
	Minot, North Dakota	KMOT	10.4
	Williston, North Dakota	KUMV-TV	8.4
	Cincinnati, Ohio	WCPO-TV	9.5	Laff
		WXIX-TV	19.5	Ion Television
	Shaker Heights/Cleveland, Ohio	WOIO	43.2	Circle
	Toledo, Ohio	WTVG	13.4
	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	WPSG	57.5
	Jeannette/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	WPCW	19.5
	Ponce, Puerto Rico	WTIN-TV	2.11	Telemundo
	Mayaguez, Puerto Rico	WNJX-TV	2.12
	San Juan, Puerto Rico	WAPA-TV	4.3	Local weather
Charleston, South Carolina	WCSC-TV	5.4	Grit (moved from 5.3)
Columbia, South Carolina	WIS	10.3	Circle
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	WMBF-TV	32.5	Grit (moved from 32.3)
Lead, South Dakota	KHSD-TV	11.2	Circle
Rapid City, South Dakota	KOTA-TV	3.2
Knoxville, Tennessee	WVLT-TV	8.4
Memphis, Tennessee	WMC-TV	5.4	Grit (moved from 5.3)
Borger/Amarillo, Texas	KEYU	31.3	Circle
Fort Worth/Dallas, Texas	KTXA	21.4
Lubbock, Texas	KCBD	11.2
Tyler/Longview, Texas	KLTV	7.2
Burlington, Vermont	WCAX-TV	3.5	Ion Television (moved from 3.3)
Harrisonburg, Virginia	WSVW-LD	30.3	Circle
Richmond, Virginia	WWBT	12.4	Court TV Mystery (moved from 12.3)
Roanoke, Virginia	WDBJ	7.3	Heroes & Icons (moved from 7.2)
Tacoma/Seattle, Washington	KSTW	11.5	Circle
Huntington/Charleston, West Virginia	WSAZ-TV	3.3
Weston/Clarksburg, West Virginia	WDTV	5.4
Green Bay, Wisconsin	WBAY-TV	2.6	Ion Television (moved from 2.3)
January 6	Colorado Springs, Colorado	KKTV	11.3	Circle
January 7	Fort Kent, Maine (Presque Isle)	WWPI-LD	16.1	NBC
January 13	Lake Charles, Louisiana	KVHP	29.4	Ion Television (moved from 29.3)
	Wichita Falls, Texas/Lawton, Oklahoma	KAUZ-TV	6.3	Circle
TBA	Los Angeles	KWHY-TV	22.8	Spanish News
April 1	Lafayette, Louisiana	KLWB	50.3	Telemundo

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 1	Mayagüez, Puerto Rico	WORA-TV	5.1	Telemundo	ABC	On June 27, 2019, WORA-TV announced that it will end an affiliation agreement with WKAQ-TV by December 31, leaving Telemundo without a western affiliate after more than four years. Later, Hemisphere Media Group, the owners of WAPA-TV, announced that Telemundo would air on a subchannel of WNJX-TV by January 1, 2020. On December 18, WORA-TV announced that it will move ABC programming to channel 5.1 on January 1, with the Televisión Española news channel 24H airing on 5.2 from that date on.
January 28	Harlingen/McAllen/ Brownsville, Texas	KGBT-TV	4.1	CBS	Temporarily silent	With Nexstar Media Group acquiring the non-license assets of KGBT from Sinclair Broadcast Group through the settlement of Tribune Media's 2018 lawsuit against Sinclair, Nexstar—which assumed the rights to KGBT's programming and news operation—decides to move KGBT's CBS schedule to a subchannel on the KVEO spectrum; the move results in KGBT ending its affiliation with CBS after 66 years and its main channel going temporarily silent until replacement programming is added. KVEO's former subchannel affiliations with Estrella TV, Court TV Mystery and Grit also move to the KGBT spectrum (on three new subchannels) to accommodate additional bandwidth needed for KVEO to transmit the former KGBT CBS programming feed on its DT2 subchannel.
			4.4	New subchannel	Estrella TV
			4.5	New subchannel	Grit
			4.6	New subchannel	Court TV Mystery
		KVEO-TV	23.2	Estrella TV	CBS

Subchannel affiliation

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Prior affiliation	New affiliation	Source
January 1	Birmingham, Alabama	WBRC	6.3	Grit (moved to 6.5)	Circle
	Huntsville, Alabama	WAFF	48.3	Grit (moved to 48.5)
	Panama City, Florida	WECP-LD	18.3	Heroes & Icons (moved to 18.4)
	Evansville, Indiana	WFIE	14.3	Grit (moved to 14.4)
	Ottumwa, Iowa/Kirksville, Missouri	KYOU-TV	15.3	Grit (moved to 15.5)
	New Orleans, Louisiana	WVUE-DT	8.3	Grit (moved to 8.5)
	Shreveport, Louisiana	KSLA	12.2	Grit (moved to 12.4)
	Flint/Saginaw/ Bay City, Michigan	WJRT-TV	12.3	WeatherNation TV (moved to 12.6)
	Cincinnati, Ohio	WCPO-TV	9.3	Laff	Bounce TV
		WXIX-TV	19.2	Bounce TV (moved to WCPO-DT 9.3)	Heroes & Icons
			19.3	Grit	Circle
			19.4	Ion Television (moved to 19.5)	Grit
		WBQC-LD	25.9	Heroes & Icons	Start TV
	Charleston, South Carolina	WCSC-TV	5.3	Grit (moved to 5.4)	Circle
	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	WMBF-TV	32.3	Grit (moved to 32.5)
	Memphis, Tennessee	WMC-TV	5.3	Grit (moved to 5.4)
	Belton, Texas (Waco/Temple/Bryan)	KNCT	46.2	MeTV (simulcast of KWTX-DT 10.3)
	Burlington, Vermont	WCAX-TV	3.5	Ion Television (moved from 3.3)
	Richmond, Virginia	WWBT	12.2	Court TV Mystery (moved to 12.3)
	Roanoke, Virginia	WDBJ	7.2	Heroes & Icons (moved to 7.3)
	Green Bay, Wisconsin	WBAY-TV	2.3	Ion Television (moved to 2.6)
January 13	Lake Charles, Louisiana	KVHP	29.3	Ion Television (moved to 29.4)

Station closures

Station	Channel	Affiliation	Market	Date	Notes	Source
KYMA	11.#	NBC	Yuma, Arizona	January 13	On January 13, 2020, the KYMA-DT program streams and intellectual unit were moved to the channel 13 facility, which changed call letters from KSWT to KYMA-DT. The former KYMA-DT's license was surrendered eight days later as a condition of the acquisition of Northwest Broadcasting by Apollo Global Management in 2019. The virtual channel numbering of the former KYMA streams remains the same.
WNYS	43.#	MyNetworkTV	Syracuse, New York		The same license surrender situation occurs in Syracuse, with WSYT's license turned in, and its intellectual unit becoming the third subchannel of sister Fox affiliate WSYT. It also retains its existing virtual channels.
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 1	David Stern	77	Commissioner of the National Basketball Association from 1984–2014 who oversaw the launches of NBA TV and NBA League Pass.
	Barry ZeVan	82	American television weathercaster at Minneapolis–St. Paul stations KARE and KSTP-TV and Washington, D.C. station WJLA-TV
January 3	Robert Blanche	57	American film and television actor best known as Patrick Bonanno on Leverage
January 7	Silvio Horta	45	American film and television writer (co-creator of Ugly Betty; creator of Jake 2.0 and The Chronicle)
January 8	Buck Henry	89	American actor, comedian, producer, writer, and director (co-creator and writer for Get Smart, Captain Nice and Quark; regular on The New Steve Allen Show and That Was The Week That Was, recurring guest host on Saturday Night Live, guest roles in Murphy Brown and Will and Grace, and recurring roles on 30 Rock and Hot in Cleveland)
	Edd Byrnes	87	American actor/singer, best known for playing Kookie on 77 Sunset Strip
January 12	William Bogert	83	American actor, best known for his semi-regular role as Brandon Brindle on Small Wonder, Kent Wallace from Chappelle's Show's Frontline spoofs, William Bellamy in Centennial, and the "Confessions of a Republican" ad for Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 U.S. Presidential election (and later on reprised the role for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign)
January 15	Rocky Johnson	75	WWE Hall of Fame professional wrestler; father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
January 18	Jack Van Impe	88	American televangelist, host of Jack Van Impe Presents
January 19	Gene London	88	American children's show host and puppeteer at WCAU/Philadelphia, New York City stations WABD and WABC-TV, and NBC
January 20	Len Goorian	100	Longtime producer and Hall of Fame broadcaster at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati
January 23	Jim Lehrer	85	American television journalist (anchor of PBS NewsHour from 1975 to 2011 and co-creator of the program, moderator of twelve United States presidential debates from 1988 to 2012)
	Tyler Gwozdz	29	American entrepreneur and contestant on season 15 of The Bachelorette
January 26	Leo Fernández III	60	Puerto Rican reporter and paparazzo, worked at WKAQ-TV, WAPA-TV, WLII and WJPX
	Kobe Bryant	41	American Oscar-winning and Olympic Gold medalist basketball player (Los Angeles Lakers), author, producer, and documentarian. (Contributor for NBA TV programs and specials; guest appearances on All That, Sister, Sister and Ridiculousness; commercial work included Sprite, McDonald's, Nutella, Nike, and Nintendo)
January 27	Jack Burns	86	American actor, comedian, writer, and voice actor (regular role as Deputy Sheriff Warren Ferguson on The Andy Griffith Show, voice roles as Ralph Kane in Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, and Sid the Squid in Animaniacs, co-host of The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour, writer for Hee Haw and The Muppet Show, co-writer/recurring regular on Fridays, guest hosted Saturday Night Live, and the voice of Larry, one half of the crash test dummies in the Ad Council's seat belt advertising campaign.
January 28	Marj Dusay	83	American actress best known as the second Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light, Monica Warner on The Facts of Life, and a guest starring role as Kara in the Star Trek episode "Spock's Brain".
January 30	Fred Silverman	82	American television executive with all of the Big Three television networks between 1963 and 1981 (vice president of CBS from 1970 to 1975, president of ABC from 1975 to 1978 and president of NBC from 1978 to 1981); founder of The Fred Silverman Company. Also producer on Scooby-Doo, The Waltons, Charlie's Angels, Rich Man, Poor Man, Roots, and Shōgun.
January 31	Anne Cox Chambers	100	American media proprietor (Cox Enterprises), daughter of James M. Cox

February

Date	Name	Age	Notability	Source
February 3	Bob Griffin	85	Longtime Ark-La-Tex television sports and news anchor (KSLA, KTBS-TV)
February 4	Gene Reynolds	96	Longtime television producer and director (M*A*S*H, Lou Grant)
February 5	Kirk Douglas	103	American actor (TV work includes guest spots on The Jack Benny Program, The Johnny Cash Show, Tales from the Crypt, The Simpsons, Touched by an Angel, and Saturday Night Live; and the TV movies Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1973), Victory at Entebbe, Mousey, Draw!, Amos, Queenie, The Secret, Take Me Home Again, and Empire State Building Murders)
February 7	Orson Bean	91	American actor, comedian, panelist, and activist (best known for his role in The Twilight Zone episode "Mr. Bevis", regular roles on Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman and Desperate Housewives, recurring roles in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and The Facts of Life, game show appearances include To Tell The Truth and Super Password, guest appearances include Superstore, Hot In Cleveland and Grace & Frankie)
February 8	Robert Conrad	84	American actor best known as James T. West in The Wild Wild West and Tom Lopaka on Hawaiian Eye. Also starred on The D.A., Assignment Vienna, Centennial, and Baa Baa Black Sheep.
February 14	Lynn Cohen	86	American actress best known as Magda on Sex and the City and Judge Elizabeth Mizener on Law & Order
February 16	Jason Davis	35	American actor best known as the voice of Mikey Blumberg on Recess
February 17	Ja'Net DuBois	87	Actress best known as Willona Woods on Good Times, Florence Avery on The PJs, and Grandma Ellington on The Wayans Bros. Also sang The Jeffersons theme song.
February 19	Bob Cobert	95	American composer (composed theme songs to Dark Shadows, Password, Blockbusters, Chain Reaction and many others)
February 20	Sy Sperling	78	American consumer products executive, founder and spokesman of Hair Club
February 22	B. Smith	70	American model, publisher, author, lifestyle designer, chef, and television personality (host of B. Smith With Style, and made two appearances on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood)
February 25	Lee Phillip Bell	91	American television producer (The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless)

March

Date	Name	Age	Notability	Source
March 2	James Lipton	93	American actor, writer, and host of Inside the Actors Studio. Other TV credits include The Simpsons, Arrested Development, and Glee