2016 in American television

The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2016. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, and cancellations; channel launches, closures, and rebrandings; stations changing or adding their network affiliations; and information about controversies and carriage disputes.

Notable events

January

Date	Event
1	Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards co-host the local telecast of the Rose Parade on CW affiliate KTLA/Los Angeles for the final time. The duo announced in September 2015 that they were relinquishing their hosting duties for the annual event, an assignment that dated back to 1982.
	Full episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson return to American television, airing nightly on Antenna TV, the result of an agreement between the Tribune Broadcasting-owned multicast network and Carson Productions. The airings, billed simply as Johnny Carson (as NBC has ownership of The Tonight Show brand) consist of episodes taped in Burbank between 1972 and 1992 (90-minute episodes made from 1980 and earlier air on weekends, while 60-minute broadcasts made from 1980 onward air weeknights at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time). This date's re-airing of the January 1, 1982 episode, which featured Eddie Murphy and McLean Stevenson as guests, marks the first time the Carson-era Tonight Show has aired on television (outside of a compiled clip series) since his retirement in May 1992.
	WSVI, the ABC affiliate serving the United States Virgin Islands, ends its affiliation with the network due to technical issues and joins Ion Television. Lilly Broadcasting, owners of WSEE-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania which already serves as the default CBS affiliate in the Virgin Islands, is commissioned to provide a replacement ABC affiliate for cable viewers, and promptly imports WENY-TV in Elmira, New York.
4	CBS affiliate WJHL-TV in Johnson City, Tennessee announces that it is affiliating its DT2 subchannel with ABC effective February 1, taking the Tri-Cities' ABC affiliation from WKPT-TV. In a statement by George DeVault, president of Holston Valley Broadcasting, owners of WKPT-TV, he stated that despite negotiating in good faith with a "loyal" affiliate of ABC, and having agreed in principle on a 5-year extension, the network had chosen to explore other options, and showed a preference to being affiliated with a station owned by a larger group (WJHL-TV is owned and operated by Media General). WKPT-TV subsequently shuts down its news operation on January 29 and switches to MyNetworkTV on February 1 (taking that affiliation from sister station WAPK-CD, who in turn takes WJHL-DT2's former MeTV affiliation).
7	NBCUniversal formally launches Seeso, a subscription-based, over-the-top streaming service that features new and classic comedy programming. The service, which features archived content (including stand-up comedy specials, and episodes of series such as Saturday Night Live and Monty Python's Flying Circus) as well as original series, is initially available for $3.99 per month (the site soft-launched on December 3, 2015 with a one-month, web-only beta trial offered to prospective subscribers).
	More than a dozen television stations owned by Cordillera Communications in the Western and Southern United States are removed from Dish Network in a retransmission dispute. The stations are restored on January 10 after the two sides reach an agreement.
9	The Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Houston Texans in an AFC Wild Card playoff game. ESPN's coverage of the game is simulcast on sister broadcast network ABC, making it the first National Football League game to air on the latter network since Super Bowl XL in 2006. ABC previously held the rights to Monday Night Football from 1970 until it shifted over to ESPN in 2006. ABC is still required to air the games in both teams' primary market.
12	ABC Family changes its name to Freeform. The rebranding, the result of audience tests that revealed infrequent viewers perceived the channel as strictly family-oriented, firms the network's programming focus towards teenagers and young adults ages 14–34 (or "becomers", as the network terms them). It also, according to network president Tom Ascheim, refutes claims that founding owner Christian Broadcasting Network has required "Family" to permanently remain in the channel's name since its 1990 sale to International Family Entertainment. Freeform will maintain much of the former ABC Family's existing programming including feature films, series (including Shadowhunters, which premieres on this date), seasonal programming blocks, and religious programs (most notably weekday airings of The 700 Club, which CBN does require the channel to air).
14	TouchVision discontinues operations. Based at Weigel Broadcasting's Chicago headquarters, the service provided newsreel-style news coverage tailored to a younger demographic, offering content to mobile and tablet platforms as well as select television stations.
17	Master of None and Mr. Robot are among the notable TV winners at the 21st Critics' Choice Awards, an event simulcast live on A&E, Lifetime and LMN. For the first time, the event combines categories comprising its previously separate television and film ceremonies into a single three-hour telecast, the result of a September 2015 decision reached by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association and the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
18	In a series of tweets she stated that while she had "only ever liked boys" in the past and that she was "open to liking any gender," Girl Meets World star Rowan Blanchard (who is 14) confirms that she identifies as queer, marking the first time a teenage entertainer from a current Disney Channel television series to come out and reveal their sexual preference.
19	Major League Baseball reaches an agreement to expand its offerings of online game broadcasts, including team-specific packages. The agreement comes on the day a trial against MLB, Comcast, and DirecTV was to have begun. The class action lawsuit, filed by a group of fans, sought to overturn MLB's placement of territorial restrictions for "out of market" broadcasts and blackouts of "in market" games.
23	ABC begins airing a package of eight selected NBA games on Saturday evenings under the NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC banner. The move will also see the network airing only six single Sunday afternoon games, ending the doubleheaders that resulted in the adjustments to the scheduling of NBA broadcasts. Sister cable channel ESPN will continue to air NBA telecasts on Wednesday and Friday evenings.
27	Nexstar Broadcasting Group agrees to acquire Media General in a $4.6 billion deal. Should regulatory approval be obtained, the combined company, to be known as Nexstar Media Group, will become the largest broadcaster in terms of audience reach, owning or operating 171 full-power stations in 100 markets. The deal comes after Meredith Corporation backs out of its deal to acquire Media General. That deal, announced in September 2015, came before Nexstar announced its own larger, unsolicited bid for Media General.
	Sinclair Broadcast Group announces it will acquire Tennis Channel in a $350 million deal.
29	Nexstar Broadcasting Group stations in nine markets are removed from Cox Communications' cable systems at midnight due to a retransmission dispute. The stations return to Cox Cable after the two sides reach an agreement on February 4.

February

Date	Event
1	The National Football League announces that CBS and NBC will share the league's Thursday Night Football package in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Both networks will each air and produce five games and NFL Network will simulcast those games and air eight additional games exclusively.
	The E. W. Scripps Company and Time Warner Cable quietly come to terms on a new carriage and retransmission consent contract. This is ahead of time for the former Journal Communications stations merged into Scripps in April 2015 (whose previous agreement would have ended on July 31), and averts any threat of Scripps' NBC stations being removed from Time Warner systems during the 2016 Summer Olympics.
3	With advancing age (92) and health issues limiting his abilities to run the company, Sumner Redstone steps down as executive chairman at CBS Corporation. CEO Leslie Moonves is named Redstone's successor, while his daughter Shari Redstone retains her role as vice chairman. Redstone will retain a title of chairman emeritus at CBS, the same title he acquires on February 4 at Viacom, whose board names Philippe Dauman to succeed him as its executive chairman.
7	Super Bowl 50, in which the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers, attracts 111.9 million viewers to CBS' English-language broadcast, the third most watched program in TV history. The game is also simulcast in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
12	Univision and Donald Trump confirm that they reached a confidential out-of-court settlement in a breach-of-contract lawsuit Trump filed against Univision. The Spanish-language broadcaster had backed out of its commitment in 2015 to air the Miss USA pageant in light of comments Trump expressed in the early days of his presidential campaign regarding illegal immigration to the United States. The comments resulted in a major fallout with celebrities, sponsors, and other pageant backers, including NBCUniversal, which exited from its joint venture with Trump in the Miss Universe Organization (Trump would buy out NBCU's stake and later sell the full organization to WME/IMG).
13	Kanye West performs two songs from his album The Life of Pablo on Saturday Night Live, before announcing the release of his album exclusively on Tidal at the conclusion of his second performance.
15	Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift are among the notable winners at the 58th Grammy Awards. The show airs on CBS, which offers an option for Pacific and Mountain time zone stations to air the broadcast live, allowing the event to air live in all time zones for the first time ever.
17	ABC announces that its entertainment president, Paul Lee, has left the network. Channing Dungey is immediately tapped as Lee's successor, becoming the first African-American to head programming at a major broadcast network.
28	MSNBC confirms it has parted ways with on-air host Melissa Harris-Perry. The move comes two days after it was revealed that Harris-Perry, in an e-mail to co-workers, voiced frustration over recent pre-emptions of her her eponymous weekend show for expanded election coverage, editorial control of her show, and lack of communication from network executives over those issues.
	Spotlight (best picture) and Mad Max: Fury Road (six awards) are among the notable winners at the 88th Academy Awards. Chris Rock hosts the ABC telecast, an event that faced controversy coming in over the absence of minorities in the major acting categories for the second consecutive year.
	Despite the time difference (Hawaii is five hours behind the Eastern Time Zone), KITV/Honolulu (under their new ownership of SJL Broadcasting) ends its practice of tape-delaying the Academy Awards to prime time and, for the first time, joins the rest of the ABC network in airing the Oscars live as it happens (the event aired at 3:30PM Hawaii time).
29	Raleigh-area stations WRAL-TV and WNCN swap their network affiliations, with WRAL joining NBC and WNCN joining CBS. The switch comes after management of the Capitol Broadcasting-owned WRAL could not meet what it called "one-sided" reverse compensation demands from CBS.
	H2, History's secondary network, becomes Viceland, a lifestyle channel aimed at millennials which will include programming about music, cooking, sports, technology and hard-hitting documentaries. The change comes after A&E Networks purchased a 10% stake in Vice Media, Inc. in August 2014.
	Tribune Media announces that it will review various "strategic alternatives" to increase the company's value to shareholders, which include a possible sale of the entire company and/or select assets, or the formation of programming alliances or strategic partnerships with other companies, due to the decrease in its stock price since its August 2014 spin-off of Tribune Publishing and a $385 million revenue write-down for the 2015 fiscal year, partly due to original scripted programming expenditures for WGN America since it converted the cable network from a superstation in 2014. In addition to WGN America, Tribune Media's assets include 42 television stations (two of which are operated under shared services agreements with Dreamcatcher Broadcasting), regional cable news channel Chicagoland Television and a 30% stake in Food Network (which is majority owned by Scripps Interactive).

March

Date	Event
4	Four Spanish language networks owned by Univision Communications (Univision, UniMás, Galavisión and Univision Deportes) are removed by AT&T U-verse nationwide due to a carriage dispute. The Univision-owned networks were re-added by the provider on March 24, 2016, following the signing of a new retransmission agreement with the broadcaster.
15	Dish Network sues NBCUniversal for breach of contract in reply to their ongoing carriage dispute. Three days later, it announced it will continue to carry NBCU's channels for another 10 days while seeking arbitration from the FCC.
23	Georgia's supreme court overturns a lower court injunction that prevented Gray Television from combining operations of Augusta station WAGT (NBC) with its own WRDW-TV (CBS). Gray acquired WAGT as part of its purchase of Schurz Communications' broadcast properties, a deal the FCC approved on the condition that Gray and Schurz terminate WAGT's shared services and joint sales agreements with Media General-owned WJBF (ABC). Media General won the injunction on February 26 (10 days after Gray took over WAGT), arguing their agreements to operate WAGT were still in force until their expiration in 2020. The FCC on March 10 launches an investigation into Media General's actions in the matter, with Media General agreeing on July 14 to pay a $700,000 fine.
28	OK!TV is rechristened Celebrity Page. The retitling of the program is the result of a change in content partners for the Unconventional Studios-produced, Trifecta-distributed entertainment news program, from American Media (parent of OK! magazine) to the Meredith Corporation, whose lifestyle print magazines will provide content for the show. It returns Meredith content to television syndication ten months after the broadcasting and publishing company's national version of the Better Show was canceled.
	Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announces he will veto a bill passed by the state's legislature that would allow businesses in the state to deny services based on their religious beliefs. The legislation, HB 757 (referred to as the Free Exercise Protection Act), faced opposition and boycott threats from several studios, producers, and media companies involved in the state's TV industry, who contend that the bill would allow discrimination against those in the LGBT community.
	A cross-show, cross-network meeting of DC Universe characters takes place, as Barry Allen (Grant Gustin of The CW's The Flash) travels into National City's dimension to team with Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) in the "Worlds Finest" episode of CBS' Supergirl. It's the first crossover involving a CW series character on a CBS program. (Both Flash and Supergirl are produced by Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment. Their parent company, Warner Bros., owns The CW equally with CBS.)
29	The FCC commences an incentive auction to acquire broadcast spectrum used by television stations. The two-phase process, which is expected to conclude by autumn, began with a "reverse auction" on May 31, participating stations (about 1,800 in 150 markets that transmit on UHF channels 30 to 51 are eligible) are offered bids from the FCC to sell part or all of their bandwidth, with price estimates descending in each round. A "forward auction" followed on August 16, in which the repurposed spectrum will be sold to telecommunications providers, at escalating bids, to upgrade and expand their wireless broadband and Wi-Fi networks. Stations that opt to sell their bandwidth will be given the option to cease or continue operations (those choosing the latter can enter into an agreement with another station's owner to share a digital channel). Most stations that remain in operation will be subsequently reassigned to lower channel numbers, with their vacated frequencies reallocated for wireless use. Revenue to be accrued from the sale/repurposing of spectrum is projected to be as much as $60 billion, with most of the proceeds going to the broadcasters.
30	CBS announces an affiliation deal with WWAY/Wilmington, NC to move its programming to the station's DT2 subchannel on January 1, 2017 (The move will not affect WWAY's primary affiliation with ABC; the DT2 channel currently carries The CW). CBS will move from low-powered WILM-LD (owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company, which dropped CBS from WRAL-TV/Raleigh on February 29).
	WTAE-TV/Pittsburgh dismisses news anchor Wendy Bell after she posts material on her official Facebook page considered stereotypical of African-Americans in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Wilkinsburg, PA that claimed five lives. In the post, which was later taken down, Bell described the killers, who were yet to be identified or arrested, as "young black men" who the criminal justice system was familiar with and who "have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs." Management for the ABC-affiliated WTAE and parent company Hearst Television said Bell's comments displayed an "egregious lack of judgment" and "were inconsistent with the company's ethics and journalistic standards." Bell, who had been an 18-year veteran of WTAE, claims she was referring to black-on-black crime in general and didn't get a "fair shake" from the station.
31	In the wake of a Hollywood Reporter investigation into "pay-to-play" casting workshops, ABC Studios dismisses Criminal Minds casting director Scott David. David, who had been with the CBS series since its 2005 debut, was profiled as one of several proprietors of acting workshops (David's is named The Actors Link) that charge actors to perform scenes for and gain advice from those directly involved in the casting of TV projects — in essence, paying a fee to audition. Such a practice has been deemed illegal under a 2009 California law (The Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act) that has never been fully enforced by local officials.

April

Date	Event
1	The Nexstar-owned Lafayette, Louisiana duopoly of KLAF-LD (NBC) and KADN (Fox) launch a news department, beginning with three weekday and two Saturday and Sunday newscasts on KLAF, and a weeknight-only prime time newscast on KADN. A weekday morning newscast on KLAF subsequently debuted on April 4. The programs on KLAF-LD replace news simulcasts from Baton Rouge sister station WVLA-TV, which KLAF had carried since it became Lafayette's NBC affiliate on July 1, 2015, while the KADN newscast replaces a five-minute news summary that previously aired on the station. The launch of the news department follows the physical expansion and equipment upgrade of the KLAF/KADN studios in Lafayette.
	John McMurray, a meteorologist at WJRT-TV/Flint/Tri-Cities (whose reports were also syndicated on several Michigan radio stations), retires after 47 years on the air.
4	Fox affiliate WZDX/Huntsville, Alabama debuts its in-house news department with the relaunch of its nightly 9:00 p.m. newscast, which expands from 30 to 60 minutes. The change followed the April 3 termination of a news share agreement with Calkins Media-owned WAAY-TV that – since it took over production of the program from the Independent News Network in September 2009 – saw the ABC affiliate produce news content for WZDX (which was acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group as part of its 2013 purchase of Grant Broadcasting System II), as well as Nexstar's $3.3 million renovation of the station's studio facility in northern Huntsville.
	The Villanova Wildcats defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels 77-74 in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, which aired on cable television for the first time ever as part of a deal which will see the championship alternate between TBS and CBS.
5	The Starz Inc. channels undergo a brand reformatting, as Starz introduces a new universal logo for its channels and Encore is renamed Starz Encore to unify the brand identity for the group's two flagship premium cable channels. The extension of the Starz brand to Encore (which ironically launched Starz in 1994, as part of its themed multiplex) will also include the addition of repeats of Starz original programming on some of the latter's channels. The Starz reformat also corresponds with the launch of the network's over-the-top/TV Everywhere service equivalent to HBO Now and Showtime's OTT service for mobile devices and digital media players simply known as Starz, and the merger of Encore and MoviePlex content from their individual apps – Encore Play and MoviePlex Play – into that service.
7	The Fox reality talent competition series American Idol airs its final episode after fifteen seasons. Trent Harmon is named the final winner, while La'Porsha Renae is runner-up. The finale showcased featuring appearances by all fourteen previous winners, several finalists and personalities from the series' history.
11	Calkins Media announces that the company will sell its three television stations (all of which are ABC affiliates) to Raycom Media. Raycom will acquire WWSB/Sarasota and WTXL-TV/Tallahassee, Florida outright, while its partner company American Spirit Media will acquire the license assets of WAAY-TV/Huntsville, Alabama, with Raycom likely operating it under an outsourcing agreement with its existing NBC affiliate in that market, WAFF.
12	Al Jazeera America ceases programming with a three-hour retrospective special. Lauded for its journalism since its August 2013 launch, the network was plagued by persistently low ratings (particularly during prime time), lack of tanglible cable carriage, and internal controversies. A limited number of the approximately 700 staffers laid off by the shutdown of AJAM and its website (which went into archive-only mode on February 26) may be transferred to its sister network, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera English.
14	After 11 years, USA Network retires its "Characters Welcome" slogan in favor of a new brand positioning, "We the Bold", that encapsulates the network's evolved programming strategy.
17	The Sunday edition of NBC's morning news/talk show Today makes a revamp with the debut of Sunday Today with Willie Geist. The newly reformatted program, anchored by the weekday show's third-hour anchor Willie Geist, provides news coverage and in-depth profiles of the people and ideas shaping American culture (a behind-the-scenes look at the Broadway musical Hamilton is featured on the premiere episode). The new format brings it into line with its rival, CBS News Sunday Morning (where Geist's father Bill has been a longtime contributor).
20	Saying in a statement that they are "an inclusive company," ESPN dismisses Curt Schilling for unacceptable conduct after he shares a photo on Facebook deemed critical of transgender people. It is the latest in a series of controversial political statements made by the former Major League Baseball pitcher turned ESPN analyst.
21	With the sudden passing of Prince at his Paisley Park Studios complex/home on this date, TV Guide changed their background logo from red to purple, joining the local media outlets in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, along with other businesses based in the area, in honor of the musician. In addition, MTV also changed its logo to purple and suspended its regular programming to air Prince's videos and movies as a tribute to being a core artist on the channel during its days as a non-stop music video channel. Two days later, Jimmy Fallon hosted a retrospective Saturday Night Live special titled "Goodnight Sweet Prince" featuring Prince's past performances on the show, as well as a compilation of clips of "The Prince Show", in which Fred Armisen as Prince and Maya Rudolph as Beyoncé hosted a talk show together.
25	KICU-TV/San Jose rebrands from "TV 36" to "KTVU Plus." The new branding for the Fox-owned independent station reflects KICU's relationship to its Fox-affiliated Bay Area sister station KTVU/Oakland and includes an expansion of KTVU-produced news programming on KICU.
26	The Department of Justice and the FCC approves the merger between Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, including Charter's acquisition of Bright House Networks. The finalized deal is subject to conditions, including requirements for Charter to refrain from implementing usage-based billing, nor use its dominant position to hinder online video services (including a prohibition on interconnection fees). Charter would formally complete the transactions on May 18, becoming the second-largest cable provider in the U.S. On the same day, Time Warner and Charter both rebrand as Spectrum.
27	Core Media Group – the parent of 19 Entertainment, the production company behind American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance – files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the wake of falling profits and the ratings decline of Idol that resulted in the series ending its 15-year run. Among the parties who Core owes money to include $3.37 million to creator Simon Fuller and an additional $398 million to third parties, including Tennenbaum Capital Partners and Crestview Media Investors.
28	After setting his own car on fire, a 25-year-old man dressed in a panda costume and surgical mask who claimed to have a bomb strapped to his chest enters the lobby of the facility housing Sinclair Broadcast Group's Baltimore flagship stations, WBFF (Fox), WNUV (The CW) and WUTB (MyNetworkTV), and demands them to broadcast his message about the U.S. space program, resulting in the evacuation of staff from the studio complex. After exiting the studios, the man is later shot and wounded by police, who discover that the supposed bomb was in fact a flotation device filled with aluminum foil-wrapped chocolate candy bars with wiring attached to them.

May

Date	Event
1	General Hospital and the Live hosting team of Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan are among the notable winners at the 43rd Daytime Emmy Awards. The ceremony has an online-only broadcast for the second time in three years, one year after a successful conventional telecast on Pop.
6	Network Knowledge, a member network of four PBS stations (three full-power outlets and one translator) serving Central Illinois, drastically reduces its broadcast schedule over-the-air to offer 12 to 13 hours of programming a day (weekdays from 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. and weekends from 10:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.), as part of money-saving efforts enacted to account for the Illinois state budget stand-off, along with other further reductions in donor revenue and production contracts. The regional network continues to provide a 24-hour schedule over local cable providers and AT&T U-verse through a direct fiber optic link to Comcast (the schedule reduction also affects satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network, which both receive the signals of the Network Knowledge stations through the OTA feed).
7	A revamped weekend edition of CBS' evening newscast debuts. Titled the CBS Weekend News and anchored by Reena Ninan (on Saturdays) and Elaine Quijano (on Sundays), the newscast draws from the resources of the network's online news channel, CBSN.
9	NBC Sports confirms that Mike Tirico will join the network effective July 1, becoming its lead play-by-play announcer for the late half of the season of Thursday Night Football, which is shared with NFL Network. He officially joins the network on July 14 as part the network's coverage of The Open Championship. Tirico had been a 25-year veteran of ESPN, where he covered various sports in an anchor or announcer capacity, most notably play-by-play on Monday Night Football since 2006. Tirico will be succeeded in the ESPN MNF booth by Sean McDonough. However, the NFL officially nixes the plan for Tirico to announce TNF games on August 20, claiming that contract language for NBC to carry the late half games specifies that the network's top team of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth are required to announce the games without a possibility of substitution, despite their commitments to Sunday Night Football.
12	CBS officially announces the cancellation of CSI: Cyber after two seasons, ending the sixteen season television run of the CSI franchise. The network also announces that freshman drama Supergirl will move to The CW for its second season, with the latter network now airing four original DC Comics based series across its prime time lineup (alongside Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash).
13	Michael Strahan ends his four-year-run as co-host of Live with Kelly and Michael. It is a bittersweet end to what had been a controversial situation, which began on April 19 when Strahan announced he would leave the show to become a full-time host on ABC's Good Morning America, which he joined as a correspondent in 2014. Caught by surprise by Strahan's announcement, Live co-host Kelly Ripa was absent for three episodes (the latter two coinciding with an already planned vacation with husband Mark Consuelos), reportedly in protest over what she felt was ABC's prioritization of GMA over Live (the latter is distributed by ABC's syndication arm). With Strahan's departure, guest co-hosts will sit alongside Ripa on Live until a permanent co-host is named.
14	Logo broadcasts the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. This was the first time that the annual pan-European song competition was broadcast live on American television.
15	For the first time in its history, The Simpsons incorporates a live-to-air animation segment featuring motion capture technology. The three-minute live scene, part of the episode "Simprovised" (in which Homer Simpson takes up improvisational theatre), features Homer (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) talking about things he "could only be saying live on that day" and answering questions fielded from viewers on Twitter between May 1 and May 4.
	In recognition of his retirement from CBS News, Morley Safer is feted by 60 Minutes with a one-hour tribute titled "Morley Safer: A Reporter's Life", a special – airing as part of an extended two-hour edition of the newsmagazine – which chronicled his journalism career and notable stories during his tenure with the program. Safer (who died four days later on May 19) had been a correspondent with 60 Minutes since 1970.
16	A U.S. District Court judge dismisses WHDH/Boston's lawsuit against NBC parent Comcast, clearing the way for the network to set up its own NBC O&O station in the Boston market (possibly using the company's existing Telemundo station WNEU) on January 1, 2017, one day after its contract with WHDH expires. WHDH owner Sunbeam Television filed the suit on March 10 in a challenge to the move NBC originally announced on January 7. WHDH contended that NBC's move would violate a caveat in the 2011 Comcast/NBCUniversal merger to commit to over-the-air broadcasting and public interest issues (the signal of the Merrimack, New Hampshire-based WNEU reaches only the northern half of the Boston market, with marginal coverage in the city proper).
	MyNetworkTV affiliate KRON-TV/San Francisco launches an hour-long newscast at 10:00 p.m. The program (which resulted in the station reducing its half-hour 11:00 p.m. newscast to 15 minutes and moving MyNetworkTV's second hour of programming to late night) competes with those aired in that hour on fellow Bay Area stations KTVU/Oakland (Fox) and KBCW (The CW, the latter is produced by CBS O&O sister KPIX). KRON had previously attempted a 10:00 p.m. newscast when it experimented with timeshifting network prime time programs and its late news one hour early in August 1992 as an NBC affiliate, only to resume airing them in the traditional 8:00-11:35 p.m. (Pacific Time) slot in September 1993 due to declining ratings (with its late news ratings falling behind KTVU's long-dominant prime time newscast).
20	Due to technical issues, a Whitney Houston hologram that was going to perform with Christina Aguilera on The Voice for the season finale the following Tuesday was axed.
22	The Weeknd and Adele are among the notable winners at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. The ceremony (which also featured Adele's music video premiere for "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)", Madonna's special tribute performance to Prince (who died on April 21) and Britney Spears and Celine Dion being honored as Millennium Award and Icon Award recipients, respectively) broadcasts live on ABC in all time zones for the first time (following the same practice done by CBS' 58th Grammy Awards in February), and sets a record of 3.1 rating and 9.60 million in total viewers, the lowest for the awards ceremony since the 2012 telecast.
23	After months of stalled negotiations between the company and network co-parent CBS Corporation concerning financial terms (specifically the amount of reverse compensation that the network sought from the group's stations in exchange for carrying its programming), Tribune Media reaches a new affiliation agreement with The CW through the 2020-21 season, involving 12 of its stations (including WPIX/New York City and KTLA/Los Angeles). The company's Chicago flagship WGN-TV is exempt from the deal, and will instead become an independent station – with the CW affiliation moving to MyNetworkTV O&O WPWR-TV – after the network's initial ten-year agreement with Tribune (signed in January 2006) expires on September 1 (details are outlined further in that date's entry).
24	Nyle DiMarco is crowned the 22nd season winner of Dancing with the Stars, becoming the first deaf contestant to win the show.
27	Nexstar Broadcasting Group announces the sale of five television stations, including one it is divesting to comply with ownership conflicts with Media General-owned stations prior to receiving FCC approval of its merger with that group. Nexstar plans to sell CW affiliate WCWJ/Jacksonville, Florida and NBC affiliate WSLS/Roanoke-Lynchburg, Virginia to Graham Media Group for $120 million (with the former's sale creating a duopoly – Graham's first – with independent station WJXT pending approval, and the latter alleviating a conflict with the Nexstar-owned duopoly of Fox affiliate WFXR and CW affiliate WWCW); Fox affiliate KADN-TV and NBC affiliate KLAF-LD to Bayou City Broadcasting for $40 million (to alleviate a conflict with Media General-owned CBS affiliate KLFY-TV); and CBS affiliate KREG-TV/Glenwood Springs, Colorado to Marquee Broadcasting for $350,000 (KREG, which is considered part of the Denver DMA, is expected to cease operating as a satellite of KREX-TV/Grand Junction upon consummation of the sale).
	In celebration of its 100th original television movie Adventures in Babysitting, Disney Channel celebrates the milestone by airing all 99 of the network's previous original movies released between 1997 and 2015 in the lead-up to the June 24 premiere of the made-for-TV remake of the 1987 feature film, starting with a four-day marathon of 51 of the channel's most popular original movies over the Memorial Day long weekend, followed by airings of these and the remaining 48 films afterwards and through the month of June.
	In interviews with The Cincinnati Enquirer and WVXU, talk show host Bill Cunningham announces he will end his self-titled daytime TV talk show, produced by Tribune Media and ITV Studios America and airing on The CW, after five seasons to focus solely on his local radio show for WLW/Cincinnati and family matters. The CW will fill the void Cunningham leaves behind by adding a new talk show hosted by Robert Irvine that will debut in September.
29	With tickets for the race sold out, the local TV blackout is lifted for the Indianapolis 500. It's the first time since 1950, and the first time since ABC began live "flag-to-flag" coverage of the event in 1986, that the race airs live in central Indiana. WRTV/Indianapolis carries the ABC broadcast live after airing it only on tape-delay in previous years.

June

Date	Event
1	Trinity Broadcasting Network and the international congregation Hillsong Church launch Hillsong Channel, a joint venture channel in line with the Sydney, Australia-based Hillsong's American expansion plans (the network launches by coincidence one day after the death of TBN co-founder Jan Crouch). Hillsong replaces The Church Channel, which launched in January 2002 and focused on church services and other evangelistic programming; its replacement by Hillsong makes the new channel available over-the-air on the second subchannels of TBN's O&Os, as well as on select cable and satellite providers.
	WTGS/Savannah, Georgia assumes production responsibilities for its nightly 10:00 p.m. newscast. The transfer of news operations in-house by the Fox-affiliated WTGS follows the May 31 termination of a news share agreement with Hearst Television-owned WJCL, under which the ABC affiliate had been producing a prime time newscast for WTGS since 1996 (WTGS was co-managed with WJCL under a concurrent shared services agreement from 1993 until 2014, when, to alleviate a conflict with its existing ownership of NBC affiliate WSAV-TV that was created by the group's merger with LIN Media, Media General sold WJCL to Hearst and the non-license assets of WTGS to Sinclair Broadcast Group, which later acquired the latter's license outright).
3	Gray Television announces its intent to purchase WBAY-TV/Green Bay, Wisconsin (ABC) and NBC affiliate KWQC-TV/Davenport, Iowa from Media General for $270 million. The deal is expected to be completed concurrently with the closing of the Media General/Nexstar Broadcasting Group merger. The divestitures of WBAY and KWQC will allow Nexstar to comply with FCC ownership rules in advance of the deal's approval proceedings (Nexstar already owns and operates stations in both markets, including CBS-affiliated WFRV-TV/Green Bay and WHBF-TV/Davenport).
5	In a segment for HBO's Last Week Tonight about the debt-buying industry, especially "zombie debt" (debt long thought to be settled and buried but comes back to life for collection), host John Oliver announces what is termed as the biggest giveaway in TV history: Oliver reveals he set up an organization called "Central Asset Recovery Professionals" (aka CARP), which purchased, for $60,000, under $15 million in medical debts owed by 9,000 debtors, information on which CARP forwards to a debt-forgiving agency. Oliver's debt giveaway surpasses Oprah Winfrey's $8 million automobile giveaway in a 2004 episode of her talk show.
10	Fox Sports Networks dismisses reporter Emily Austen after she makes questionable comments about ethnic groups in a podcast for Barstool Sports. Austen had worked on a per-event basis for Fox's Florida-based regional networks, Fox Sports Florida and Fox Sports Sun, including serving as a sideline reporter for Tampa Bay Rays and Orlando Magic broadcasts.
12	42 stations owned and/or operated by Tribune Broadcasting in 34 states, as well as WGN America, are removed from Dish Network due to a carriage dispute pertaining to a proposal in which Tribune wanted the satellite provider to increase the amount of retransmission revenue shared with the group. In response, Dish Network offers free over-the-air antennas to affected customers.
	Showtime airs the series finale of House of Lies, the first American scripted television series episode shot in Cuba since the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
	In the wake of a mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub that left 50 people dead and 53 wounded, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, TNT pulls the third-season premiere of The Last Ship from the schedule due to a similar story line involving an explosion at a nightclub. The episode was rescheduled to premiere the following Sunday.
13	USA Television MidAmerica Holdings (a joint venture between Heartland Media and MSouth Equity Partners) announces its intent to purchase five small-market stations being spun off by Nexstar Broadcasting Group and Media General for $115 million. USA Television will acquire Fox affiliate WFFT/Fort Wayne, Indiana and ABC affiliate KQTV/St. Joseph, Missouri from Nexstar, and CBS affiliates KIMT/Rochester, Minnesota, WTHI/Terre Haute and WLFI/Lafayette, Indiana from Media General. The divestitures will allow Nexstar to comply with FCC ownership rules (specifically pertaining to national market coverage for station owners) in advance of the approval proceedings of the merger of both groups (Nexstar already owns NBC affiliate WTWO and operates ABC affiliate WAWV-TV in Terre Haute, and plans to acquire Media General-owned CBS affiliate WANE-TV in Fort Wayne).
19	The 2016 NBA Finals, which saw the Cleveland Cavaliers win their first championship ever (ending a 52-year drought for Cleveland sports teams) after defeating the previous champions (as well as a rematch from 2015 Finals) the Golden State Warriors with a 93-89 victory at Oracle Arena in Oakland, posted its largest ratings ever, as Game 7 scored a massive 30.8 million viewers, which follows the record-breaking 18.9 rating among metered market households that arrived earlier on Monday and stands as the biggest showing ABC has ever had for a NBA game since the network started broadcasting the league back in 2003. It also breaks a record among highly rated NBA Finals telecasts, which was previously held by a match between the Chicago Bulls (in what would become the final game Michael Jordan would play with the team) and the Utah Jazz in 1998.
26	Adult Swim launches the first television episode on Vine, the pilot episode of Brad Neely's Harg Nallin' Sclopio Peepio.
27	The FCC makes minor changes to its media cross-ownership rules, specifically those pertaining to radio and television stations. While the outlined rules retain existing limits allowing ownership of two television stations (in addition to restoring rules on joint sales agreements overturned by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on May 25) and continued prohibition on ownership of a newspaper and a radio and/or a television station in a single market (with a possible exception that would call for relaxations of the rule that would provide exemptions for failing properties under waivers), the proposed rules now prohibit a broadcaster or owner of two network affiliates that rank among the four highest-rated stations within one market from changing a station's primary network affiliation as a way to circumvent the ban, although this rule does not apply to dual affiliations that a station may offer via digital multicasting.
29	NBC affiliate WRAL-TV/Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina becomes the first television station to launch a full-time commercial ATSC 3.0 digital signal, under an FCC-issued experimental license. The Capitol Broadcasting Company flagship station – which had launched the first digital television signal in the U.S. in 1996, using the current ATSC 1.0 standard – signs on the feed with an HD simulcast of its noon newscast and a 4K ultra-high-definition broadcast of the documentary, Take Me Out to the Bulls Game. Initially having only a small signal range of the area around the station's studio facility, WRAL plans to conduct public tests and measurement of the 3.0 signal throughout the market in 2017.
30	Lionsgate announces it will acquire Starz Inc. and its suite of premium entertainment networks (Starz, Starz Encore and MoviePlex) in a $4.4 billion cash and stock deal. Barring a divestiture of Lionsgate's interest in the latter service, the acquisition – which is expected to close by the end of 2016 – will add three additional premium services to the studio's portfolio, as it already owns a 30% stake in Epix as part of a joint venture with Viacom (through Paramount Pictures) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
	The Walt Disney Company reportedly reaches a deal with Major League Baseball to acquire a 33-percent stake in its interactive media unit, valued at $3.5 billion, with an option to obtain an additional 33-percent stake in the next four years. Bloomberg speculates Disney could use the service to create an attractive online-streaming model for its ESPN sports properties.
	Ramar Communications Inc. announces its intent to purchase Fox affiliate KASA-TV/Santa Fe/Albuquerque from Media General for $2.5 million. KASA's sale to Ramar, which will create a quadropoly with 3 other Ramar-owned low-power stations in the market (Telemundo affiliate KTEL-CD, Movies! affiliate KUPT-LD and MeTV affiliate KRTN-LD), is expected to be completed concurrently with the closing of the Media General/Nexstar Broadcasting Group merger (Nexstar plans to acquire CBS affiliate KRQE from Media General, and the company plans to operate CW affiliate KWBQ and MyNetwork TV affiliate KASY owned by Tamer Media). It will also lead to the likely migration of Fox programming to a KRQE subchannel, with Telemundo programming moving to KASA.

July

Date	Event
4	NBC broadcasts the 40th anniversary of Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. The 2016 edition – hosted by Today and MSNBC's Tamron Hall and Willie Geist – featured a 25-minute fireworks display over the East River in New York City and performances by Meghan Trainor, Kenny Chesney, Pitbull, 5 Seconds of Summer, Sara Bareilles, DNCE and Jennifer Holliday (the latter of whom performed a recorded version of "America the Beautiful" with the United States Air Force Band, which was played during the fireworks display). Traditionally held every Fourth of July since 1976, the Macy's fireworks show was first televised on WPIX/New York City and in syndication in 1991 before moving to NBC for its national broadcast in 2000.
5	PBS issues an apology after airing old footage of Washington, D.C. fireworks display during its live broadcast of A Capitol Fourth. In a statement, PBS stated that the show decided to intercut the footage of fireworks from its previous concerts due to an overcast weather condition in Washington, D.C. on Monday night (July 4), which caused several reactions from its viewers.
6	Fox affiliate WLUK-TV/Green Bay, Wisconsin announces a multi-year deal with ESPN for local over-the-air simulcast rights to the cable network's Monday Night Football broadcasts featuring the Green Bay Packers. WLUK's deal is noteworthy in that it leaves ABC affiliate WBAY-TV without scheduled Packers broadcasts for the 2016 NFL season. WBAY, the oldest TV station in the Green Bay/Fox Cities market, had carried at least one Packer game each season (either through its affiliations with CBS or ABC, its former simulcast deal with ESPN, or through local pre-season broadcasts) since it signed on in 1953.
11	Just moments before KPNX/Phoenix reporter Joe Dana wraps up a story, his cameraman catches a 60-year-old man slapping a woman in a wheelchair on air. The live shot, and its resulting viral status, sparks outrage from viewers, resulting in the man's immediate arrest minutes after viewers call the police.
21	21st Century Fox announces that Roger Ailes has resigned as chairman and chief executive of Fox News Networks, LLC (the parent division of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network) effective immediately, with Fox executive co-chairman Rupert Murdoch succeeding Ailes on an interim basis. Ailes, who had been with Fox News since its founding in 1996 and will transition into a non-corporate role as Murdoch's advisor, has been facing several accusations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination, notably from former FNC personality Gretchen Carlson, who filed a lawsuit against Ailes on June 30 following the announcement that her contract with the channel was not renewed. Fox later settled with Carlson for $20 million.
	Citing "difficulty acquiring parts," Japanese electronics manufacturer Funai announces it will discontinue production of VHS video cassette recorders at the end of July. Funai is believed to be the last-known company still manufacturing VCR technology.
24	CNN suspends the contract of analyst Donna Brazile after she is named interim chief of the Democratic National Committee, a role she'll oversee until after the end of the 2016 elections (Brazile is also the DNC's vice-president); she later resigned on October 16. The move comes as Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Florida's 23rd) steps down as DNC chair (one day before the start of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia) in the wake of a series of leaked DNC e-mails involving staffers making negative remarks toward Bernie Sanders during his challenge against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries.
28	A major change takes place on Sesame Street when producers of the Sesame Workshop-produced HBO/PBS children's program announce that longtime cast members Bob McGrath (Bob Johnson), Roscoe Orman (Gordon Robinson) and Emilio Delgado (Luis Rodriguez), all of whom had been on the show for over 40 years, would not return as a result of a retooling of the show for its upcoming 47th season (McGrath is the longest tenured of the three, having starred on Sesame Street since its series premiere in 1969).

August

Date	Event
1	On the 35th anniversary of the original MTV's launch, parent company Viacom rebrands VH1 Classic as MTV Classic, with an emphasis on MTV programming from the 1990s and 2000s. It is the third rebranding of a Viacom Media Networks music channel in 2016 (CMT Pure Country became CMT Music on January 4, while Palladia became MTV Live on February 1), and is the last of the group's VH1-branded digital networks to be transferred under the brand of one of its sister networks (VH1 Soul was rebranded as BET Soul in December 2015). The first program on MTV Classic is an archived recording of MTV's first hour of programming from this date in 1981, which also aired on its 30th anniversary in 2011.
	Quincy Media shuffles network affiliations in four Midwestern markets. As part of a restructuring resulting from FCC ownership restrictions cited in relation to its 2015 purchase of several Granite Broadcasting stations, ABC affiliate WPTA-TV assumes the NBC affiliation for Fort Wayne, Indiana for its second subchannel (MyNetworkTV was moved to WPTA-DT3), while longtime NBC station WISE-TV (owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting) takes the CW affiliation formerly held by WPTA-DT2 for its main channel; in Duluth, Minnesota, NBC station KBJR-TV also adds a subchannel-only affiliation with CBS, taking over for SagamoreHill-owned KDLH, which assumes KBJR-DT2's former CW affiliation (the MyNetworkTV affiliation remains on KBJR-DT3). Through an unrelated agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group announced on July 27, the Fox affiliation in South Bend, Indiana moves to the existing second subchannel of Sinclair's CBS affiliate WSBT-TV, resulting in WSJV/Elkhart shuttering its news department and reducing its staff to an FCC-minimum two-person skeleton crew, with only a few staffers from WSJV being retained for the new Fox operation. After a 60-day transition period, WSJV will move its Heroes & Icons affiliation to its main channel while awaiting a rumored dissolution in the FCC spectrum auction. In exchange for the South Bend Fox affiliation, Quincy acquires the ABC and CW affiliations associated with Sinclair's WHOI/Peoria, Illinois, creating a duopoly with NBC affiliate WEEK-TV, with WHOI's ABC and CW affiliations moving to WEEK's second and third subchannels, respectively.
5–21	The 2016 Summer Olympics – which were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – airs on NBC, Telemundo and seven of their sister cable networks (NBCSN, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, Golf Channel, NBC Universo and USA Network), with a combined 6,700 hours of live coverage being broadcast across the NBCUniversal-owned linear networks, two dedicated basketball- and soccer-only channels and NBC Sports' streaming platforms. Outside of the opening and closing ceremonies, which aired on a one-hour delay, and a limited selection of high-profile events (such as gymnastics), this marked the first Olympics since 1996 in which NBC aired most events live in the Continental United States (Rio is located in the UTC-03:00 time offset – corresponding to the North American Atlantic Time Zone – during the Southern Hemisphere winter). As it had to some extent for the 2016 games, the network has faced criticism in recent years for tape delaying many high-profile Olympic events to prime time to accrue higher viewership for the telecasts, as well as for delaying the opening and closing ceremonies for editorial reasons, as coverage of post-event results has become widely available online through news and social media outlets. The Olympics also become the first sports telecast to provide a live Descriptive Video Service audio track for the blind, with NBC offering real-time descriptions for its prime time event coverage (the first program to feature real-time DVS audio was NBC's November 2015 telecast of The Wiz Live).
6	With one final assignment on this date (the network's coverage of the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony), Tom Jackson retires after a 29-year career as a NFL studio analyst for ESPN.
	Hulu shifts to a subscription-only model, placing the content featured on its main website behind a pay wall. The streaming service's free content – which notably includes the "rolling five" recent episodes of various broadcast and cable series – moves to Yahoo! View, a new service launched as part of an expansion of an existing partnership between Hulu and Yahoo!.
12	Thomas Gibson is dismissed from the cast of Criminal Minds. The firing of Gibson, who had played Aaron Hotchner on the CBS crime drama since its September 2005 premiere, comes after his involvement in an on-set argument with series writer/co-executive producer Virgil Williams over an episode storyline, which led to Gibson physically assaulting Williams by kicking the writer in the shin.
13–14	Two television news crews in Milwaukee are involved in incidents during riots stemming form a fatal shooting of an armed African-American suspect by police: on the 13th, a crew from CBS affiliate WDJT-TV is attacked by a group of protesters and their equipment is stolen while reporting from the location of a burned-out gas station set afire during the protests. On the 14th, a crew from ABC affiliate WISN-TV is forced to retreat from the area after protesters throw rocks and other objects at the station's vehicle.
17	The News-Press & Gazette Company announces that it will switch the primary affiliation of CW Plus affiliate KBJO-LD in St. Joseph, Missouri to NBC sometime in the fall (later confirmed to be November 1), with the KNPG-LD call letters assigned to its Telemundo-affiliated sister station on UHF channel 30 being transferred to KBJO's channel 21 license at that time (KBJO's existing CW affiliation will move to a new DT2 subchannel). This will give the St. Joseph market its first locally based NBC affiliate (the network has been available locally through its affiliates from the adjacent Kansas City market, WDAF-TV until that station's September 1994 switch to Fox and KSHB-TV afterward) and its fourth locally based major network affiliate (News-Press & Gazette also owns Fox affiliate KNPN-LD, which signed on alongside KBJO-LD in July 2012 as competitors to Nexstar-owned ABC affiliate KQTV). It will also leave CBS and MyNetworkTV as the only networks available in St. Joseph through Kansas City-based stations (their respective affiliates for that market, KCTV and KSMO-TV, are viewable over-the-air and carried on Suddenlink, DirecTV and Dish Network in St. Joseph).
21	Coinciding with the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Olympic Channel, an over-the-top digital platform service of the International Olympic Committee, launches. The service – which aims to maintain year-round interest in Olympic sports between iterations of the Summer and Winter Olympics, especially among a younger audience – features coverage of competitions in Olympic sport, as well as short and long-form content focusing on Olympic athletes.
22	Major changes take place on NBC's morning news/talk show Today, with former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush becoming the new anchor of its third-hour segment Today's Take, succeeding Willie Geist (who will continue to anchor Sunday Today with Willie Geist and on MSNBC's Morning Joe), and Natalie Morales moving to Los Angeles to become its West Coast anchor, as well as a host of KNBC-produced syndicated entertainment news program and its spinoff, Access Hollywood Live. In addition, the program announces that it will not have a separate news anchor following Morales' West Coast transition, and instead, anchors Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie read the headlines during the program's first two hours, marking the second time that the program without having a separate news anchor since Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley held that position from 1979 to 1981.

September

Date	Event
1	The CW affiliation in Chicago moves from Tribune Media flagship station WGN-TV, which becomes an independent station, to Fox-owned MyNetworkTV O&O WPWR-TV (which retains the latter network's schedule as a late-night offering). The switch – which ends WGN's 21-year tenure as a network affiliate (it became a WB affiliate in January 1995, then joined The CW in September 2006) – will allow the station to carry additional sports telecasts it produces through its local broadcast contracts with the Chicago Cubs (MLB), White Sox (MLB), Bulls (NBA) and Blackhawks (NHL) that it previously had to lease to WPWR (and WCIU-TV beforehand) due to network-imposed annual preemption limits. The CW's move to WPWR – announced concurrently with the May 23 renewal of an affiliation agreement involving Tribune's 12 other CW-affiliated stations – marks the first time that Fox has aligned one of its stations with the network under a long-term deal (as The CW initially chose to affiliate with most of Tribune and CBS's WB and UPN stations, instead of Fox's UPN affiliates) and the second time it has operated a CW affiliate (to fulfill an existing contract, Fox ran WJZY/Belmont-Charlotte, North Carolina as a CW station for three months after completing its purchase of the station before converting it into a Fox O&O in July 2013). WPWR also becomes the largest station by market size to maintain a dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliation.
5	Doug Llewelyn returns to the The People's Court as the host and litigant interviewer, a role he had previously maintained for the entirety of the first run of the series, during Judge Wapner's tenure (1981-1993).
6	After 14 years, Greta Van Susteren announces that she is stepping down as host of On the Record and leaving Fox News Channel effective immediately to pursue other opportunities, taking advantage of her contract clause that allowed her to leave the network if she chooses, later explaining that she felt her tenure and the environment at the network there was "unhappy." Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume is tapped as On the Record's interim host for the rest of the 2016 election cycle.
7	In a 3-2 vote, the FCC formally abolishes an ownership percentage discount it had applied to television stations on the UHF band (channels 14 and upward) which had become outmoded after the digital transition, when the vast majority of stations moved to the UHF band. The discount, which was implemented in 1985 at a time UHF stations were stigmatized before cable television stunted the band's former disadvantages, applied 50% of a UHF station's market reach to the station owner's nationwide household cap (which currently resides at 39%). Station groups that maintained a combined market reach totaling over the national cap (such as Tribune Broadcasting, Ion Media Networks and Univision Communications) prior to the initial 2013 rulemaking proposal will not be forced to sell stations as a result of the discount's elimination, though they will need to conform to the cap in future transactions. The abolishment of the UHF discount has been panned by groups such as Sinclair Broadcast Group and Fox Television Stations, since the national cap would not concurrently be raised nor would a reversed "VHF discount" in the digital age (VHF stations are more prone to digital interference) be applied to account for competition in the broadcasting marketplace, restricting them from acquiring additional stations.
	With the USS Intrepid (CV-11) in New York City as a backdrop, NBC and MSNBC air the Commander-in-Chief Forum. The Q&A event, sponsored by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, featured the respective Democratic and Republican candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, fielding questions from moderator Matt Lauer and active, reserve and retired members of the military in separate half-hour segments. The event draws 15 million viewers but also wide criticism – from the media, viewers and NBC executives – over Lauer's performance, which was seen as too rushed and biased, especially towards Clinton during the first half (a narrow focus on her controversial use of a private e-mail server, constraining time for questions on her national security proposals), while being too soft and easy on Trump in the second half (with Lauer primarily focusing on Trump's controversial statements about veterans and not disputing Trump's claim that he never supported the Iraq War).
9	Viacom Media Networks completes the cycle of rebranding their smaller cable networks, replacing MTV Hits and moving it under the editorial control of Nickelodeon under the new name NickMusic. The network will retain the contemporary hit format originated by MTV Hits, with its music video content being re-targeted towards children ages 2–14 (complimenting the radio network it operates in partnership with iHeartMedia, Nick Radio).
10	MSG Western New York launches with a prime time cut in. The new regional sports network, a joint venture between MSG and Pegula Sports and Entertainment, carries the Buffalo Sabres broadcasts that had been on MSG, as well as the midday Instigators (formerly Hockey Hotline) daily Sabres talk show and the Buffalo Bills' existing in-house radio and television products that had aired on WGR (where those broadcasts will continue to air on radio) and WKBW-TV.
12	During Dancing with the Stars' 23rd season premiere, swimmer and contestant Ryan Lochte is attacked by two audience members after his first performance with dancing partner Cheryl Burke. Lochte and Burke are unharmed, and security rushes the attackers off-camera while host Tom Bergeron forces a commercial break. The attack comes amid a series of backlashes for Lochte, who was suspended by USA Swimming for 10 months after falsely telling authorities in Rio de Janeiro that he was robbed at gunpoint while competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
17	Fox College Football begins a series of game broadcasts available in virtual reality with a game between Ohio State and Oklahoma. The broadcasts are made through a smartphone app that requires a stereoscope and TV Everywhere authentication.
18	The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards air on ABC, with Jimmy Kimmel as host. The ceremony includes 5 awards, including outstanding limited series, for The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (the night's award leader); repeat wins for Game of Thrones and Veep as outstanding drama and comedy series, respectively; and first-time wins for actors Rami Malek (lead drama actor, for Mr. Robot) and Tatiana Maslany (lead drama actress, for Orphan Black).
22	With its 13th season premiere, Grey's Anatomy surpasses NYPD Blue as ABC's longest-running one-hour primetime dramatic series. The Shonda Rimes-produced medical drama debuted on ABC in March 2005.
25	Charles Osgood hosts CBS News Sunday Morning for the final time, retiring from TV broadcasting after 49 years, 45 of them as a reporter and anchor with CBS News and 22 as Sunday Morning host. Osgood will remain with CBS as a radio commentator for The Osgood File. Jane Pauley will take over for Osgood as Sunday Morning host on October 9, becoming only the 3rd host in the show's history after Osgood and Charles Kuralt.
26	Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York hosts the first of three Presidential debates between major party candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The scheduling of this debate and one set for October 9 at Washington University in Saint Louis raised the ire of the campaign for Republican nominee Trump, which worried their scheduling opposite primetime NFL games would drive down debate viewership (Trump claimed the campaign of Democratic nominee Clinton influenced the schedule). Despite the Trump camp's worries, the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which is responsible for debate scheduling (and set the dates one year in advance), holds firm on its schedule, and this date's debate attracts an estimated record of 84 million viewers across 13 networks, surpassing the 81 million who watched a Jimmy Carter/Ronald Reagan debate in 1980.
28	Modern Family makes history with the episode "A Stereotypical Day," which introduced for the first time ever the youngest transgendered child to be featured on a television series. Jackson Millarker, a real life transgendered child actor (at age 8), is cast as Lily's transgender friend Tom in this breakthrough episode.

October

Date	Event
2	Two broadcasting legends end their long careers: Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully retires from broadcasting after a record 67 years with the team, while Dick Enberg ends a seven-year run as television voice of the San Diego Padres, and a 60-year career on national TV. Both Scully and Enberg were also known for national TV work for CBS Sports and NBC Sports.
7	The Washington Post releases raw footage from a 2005 Access Hollywood segment in which then-Apprentice host and future Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, in a hot mic conversation with Access Hollywood co-host Billy Bush, makes lewd comments about women, including Trump's implying that his celebrity allowed him parlance to make unwanted sexual advances toward women. The video's release creates an immediate uproar, with several of Trump's fellow Republicans renouncing their support for him or calling him to withdraw from the campaign, a move Trump vows not to do. The fallout also affects others mentioned in or appearing on the tape: Both Entertainment Tonight co-host Nancy O'Dell (who co-hosted Access Hollywood with Bush at the time and whom Trump admitted to seducing) and Days of Our Lives actress Arianne Zucker issue statements about their vow to rise above a distrustful Trump, while Bush would be suspended by NBC from his position as Today's third hour co-host on October 9, a move that would lead to a formal separation on October 17.
8	NBC partners with Litton Entertainment to expand The More You Know into a three-hour Saturday morning E/I block aimed at 13 to 16-year-olds, giving Litton editorial control of four of the five educational children's blocks for the major commercial networks. Extended early second day 2016 Ryder Cup coverage postponed the block's original full rollout on October 1, with all but two of the programs featured on the block being pre-empted on the originally scheduled launch date on most NBC affiliates.
10–14	In celebration of CBS Daytime's 30th year of dominance in the ratings (one of the longest winning streaks in television history), CBS celebrates the milestone by making special appearances by the cast of the network's programs (Let's Make a Deal, The Price Is Right, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Talk) on each other's shows. In addition, the network announces that it will also unveil a special exhibit, titled "CBS Daytime #1 For 30 Years" (running from October 12 to November 27) at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, California, honoring its five current shows, as well as legacy programs (including former soap operas As the World Turns and Guiding Light), and a planned four-week consecutive special panels, featuring the stars and producers from the network's daytime lineup.
13	With the 12th-season premiere episode "Keep Calm and Carry On", Supernatural becomes the first series to reach a record 11 seasons on The CW. The show is the last remaining CW series that carried over from predecessor networks UPN or The WB (it debuted on the latter network in September 2005).
	After a twelve-year run, Nancy Grace ends her self-titled program on HLN to pursue newer media ventures.
16	Fox's The Simpsons reaches the 600-episode plateau with its 27th Treehouse of Horror episode, a Halloween tradition that dates back to the series' 2nd season in 1990. The Simpsons is the longest-running scripted primetime series in U.S. television history by number of seasons (28) and second-longest by number of episodes (behind Gunsmoke's 635-episode run).
22	Telecom giant AT&T confirms its plan to buy Time Warner in an $85.4 billion merger that, if approved by federal regulators, would bring the HBO and Cinemax suites, the Turner Broadcasting networks, and the Warner Bros. studio under the same umbrella as AT&T's telecommunication holdings, which already includes DirecTV, the Root Sports networks, cable channel Audience, and shares of Game Show Network and MLB Network.
24	Univision O&O KDTV-DT moves its studios from 50 Fremont Center in San Francisco's Financial District to a new state-of-the-art building in San Jose, becoming the third television station in the Bay Area market to be based from that city after NBC O&O KNTV and their sister station, Telemundo's KSTS. The station also switches its newscasts in high definition, beginning with the relaunch of its morning newscast "Al Despertar" as Despierta Área de la Bahía.
25	Coinciding with the start of the 2016–17 NBA regular season, NBA Team Pass, a spin-off of the NBA League Pass out-of-market sports package, launches. The service, which will initially be available to Dish Network subscribers for a monthly fee, is an unbundled version of its parent package – which carries games from all 30 NBA teams across multiple channels – that allows subscribers to watch games from individual league teams of their choice throughout the regular season. The launch follows the NBA's July announcement that it would begin selling NBA League Pass in a refined a la carte offering, and introduce a pay-per-view-style structure allowing subscribers to pay to watch a single game for a one-time fee of $6.99.
26	Artistic Media Partners announces the sale of all four of its Lafayette radio stations (WBPE, WYCM, WAZY-FM and WSHY) to Lafayette TV, LLC. On the same day, the latter company (owned by business investors Bill Christian and Mike Reed) launch their new television station, WPBI-LD, which carries programming from Fox and NBC via digital multicasting. Prior to the launch, WXIN and WTHR/Indianapolis served as the default Fox and NBC affiliates for the Lafayette area, respectively. The launch of WPBI leaves ABC, The CW, and MyNetworkTV as the only three networks available in the Lafayette area through their stations in Indianapolis (Their respective affiliates for that market, WRTV, WISH-TV, and WNDY-TV, are receivable over-the-air and are also carried on Comcast, Dish Network, and DirecTV in the Lafayette market).
31	Participant Media shuts down Pivot, citing lack of viewership by millennials, its targeted demographic.

November

Date	Event
2	The Department of Justice files an antitrust lawsuit against DirecTV, alleging that it engaged in unlawful information-sharing with rival pay television providers regarding their resistance to carrying Spectrum SportsNet LA, a network operated as a joint venture between Time Warner Cable (now a Charter subsidiary) and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
	The 50th edition of the Country Music Association Awards airs on ABC, with Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood returning as hosts. The event also saw country music artists Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks being awarded as Lifetime Achievement Award, Pinnacle Award and Entertainer of the Year Award recipients, respectively, and a surprise duet between The Dixie Chicks and Beyoncé on the latter's "Daddy Lessons," which was met with critical praise from the audience and social media as the show's most highlighted performance.
	The Chicago Cubs break their 108-year championship drought with a 10-inning victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. Fox's broadcast of the game attracts 40.045 million viewers, the largest national audience for a Major League Baseball game since Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
7	CBS' The Odd Couple dedicates an episode to Garry Marshall with an assembly of actors from Marshall-produced series Happy Days (Ron Howard, Marion Ross, Anson Williams and Don Most), Mork & Mindy (Pam Dawber), and Laverne & Shirley (Cindy Williams and Marshall's sister Penny). Garry Marshall produced the 1970-75 version of The Odd Couple and served as a consultant on the current version, where he once made a guest appearance as Oscar Madison's (Matthew Perry) father.
	With its titular character (played by Gina Rodriguez) no longer a virgin, The CW comedy-drama/telenovela spoof Jane the Virgin sees the series' title modified, with "The Virgin" crossed out in favor of substitutes.
8	Northern Lights Media, a subsidiary of Gray Television, announces that it will purchase the Fairbanks, Alaska triopoly of NBC affiliate KTVF, Fox affiliate KFXF-LD and CBS affiliate KXDD-CD from a joint venture of Chena Broadcasting and Tanana Valley Television Company for $8 million. Pending FCC and Justice Department approval, the transaction will expand Gray's presence in Alaska, as it already owns Anchorage NBC affiliate KTUU-TV (which it acquired through Gray's 2015 merger acquisition of Schurz Communications' television group) and MyNetworkTV affiliate KYES-TV (which it acquired through a separate deal with Fireweed Communications that was made while the Schurz transaction was ongoing).
11	Donald Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski ends his controversial tenure as a political commentator at CNN.
12	Dave Chappelle hosts Saturday Night Live, his first comedic TV appearance since abruptly leaving his sketch comedy show in 2005. The profane language that Chappelle used in a stand-up routine (centering partly on Donald Trump's election as President) in the episode's monologue and a Walking Dead spoof sketch led NBC affiliate WRAL-TV/Raleigh to censor portions of the broadcast, resulting in viewer complaints across social media outlets who questioned whether the station was intentionally censoring the show or was experiencing technical problems with the NBC network feed. In an apology statement noting that it would review such procedures, WRAL vice president/general manager Steven D. Hammel confirmed that the station ducked profanities that did not comply with the station's longstanding internal obscenity policies (Chappelle used two of ten profanities barred under the policy a total of nine times).
15	After 30 years of serving the Memphis market as a reporter and lead anchor, CBS affiliate WREG-TV's Claudia Barr announced that she is retiring from broadcasting at the end of the month. Barr, who began her career at WHBQ-TV, has been with WREG as its anchorwoman since 2006.
20	Justin Bieber and Drake are among the notable winners at the 2016 American Music Awards. The ceremony, which was hosted by Gigi Hadid and Jay Pharoah and broadcast on ABC, also saw actor Robert Downey Jr. presenting the Award of Merit to rock singer Sting and Hadid imitating President-elect Donald Trump's wife Melania's controversial speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention in July, for which she issued an apology on social networking site Twitter the next day.
22	Just three months after winning gold medal with her Final Five teammates in gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Laurie Hernandez is crowned the 23rd season winner of Dancing with the Stars, becoming the youngest contestant to win the show.
24	The 90th edition of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs on NBC, with Today anchors Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker as hosts, and simulcast in Spanish on its sister network Telemundo, with hosts Jessica Carrillo and Carlos Ponce (marking the latter network's first Spanish-language broadcast of the parade since 2006). The parade (with its route taken place from 77th Street and Central Park West to Macy's flagship store in Herald Square at 34th Street) featured balloons (including Felix the Cat balloon's first appearance since the 1937 parade), floats, marching bands, as well as music and Broadway performances including the cast of NBC's upcoming live musical Hairspray Live!, Brett Eldredge, Sarah McLachlan, Aloe Blacc, Maddie and Tae, The Muppets, Daya, Kelsea Ballerini, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Rockettes, and Tony Bennett.
27	In Week 12 of the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals & Los Angeles Rams (formerly St. Louis) had lost games simultaneously marking the first time in NFC West history that each team lost on the same day. The 49ers had reached a franchise loss of 10 games consecutively while the Seahawks have a record of 7 wins and 3 losses with 1 game ending in a tie versus Arizona on NBC Sunday Night Football during Week 9.
30	MundoMax ceases operations and all affiliation contracts, resulting in dozens of employees in several departments being laid off (including administration, programming, promotions, research and sales in Los Angeles, New York and Miami). Launched in 2012 as MundoFox (a joint venture between Fox International Channels and RCN Televisión), the Spanish-language broadcast television network cited dismal ratings (which had not been tabulated since Nielsen Media terminated their contract with the network at the end of September), along with an affiliate base which was unable to acquire cable carriage due to their mainly low-power status where must-carry status was unable to be executed. Several affiliates (specifically, KGMC/Clovis-Fresno, California and WXCW-DT2/3/Naples-Fort Myers, Florida) will switch to Liberman Broadcasting-owned Estrella TV, with Azteca and other Spanish-language networks as possibilities for new affiliations.
	AT&T launches DirecTV Now, an over-the-top subscription service featuring channels owned by AMC, Discovery, Disney, Fox, NBCUniversal, Viacom, Turner and Univisión.

December

Date

Event

1

WVNC-LD in Watertown, New York signs on the air, giving the Watertown market not only its first full-time NBC affiliate, but also in-market affiliates of all four major commercial networks. WVNC-LD is also SagamoreHill Broadcasting's first television holding in the Northeast. In addition, plans are underway for WVNC-LD to commence a local news operation in early 2018, which would mark the first competition for dominant CBS affiliate WWNY-TV since ABC affiliate WWTI shut down its operation in 2009.

Future Events

December

Date	Event
5	Tegna Media's New Orleans CBS affiliate WWL-TV will carry CBS This Morning for the first time since the late 1980s, making it the last CBS affiliate to clear the program. The station's 7:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. block of its local morning news program, Eyewitness Morning News is being moved to its sister station, MyNetworkTV affiliate WUPL, which have been carrying CBS This Morning (and its predecessor The Early Show) since 2005.
TBA	Light TV, a family-oriented digital television network created by Roma Downey's LightWorkers Media and owned by MGM Television and Digital (which is run by Downey's husband Mark Burnett), will launch. Its charter affiliates will be digital subchannels of Fox stations owned by Fox Television Stations, which will serve as a partner in the joint venture, with the network drawing its programming from the respective television and film libraries of Fox and MGM.
	After 23 years in both radio and television, WTMJ-TV-AM/Milwaukee host Charlie Sykes will retire from broadcast media, including ending his locally based Sunday morning talk show Sunday Insight on WTMJ-TV, but he will continue to manage his website RightWisconsin.com with WTMJ owner E.W. Scripps Company and occasionally contribute analysis for MSNBC.

TBA

Event
Apple plans to launch an online TV service, and is in talks with programmers to offer a slimmed-down bundle of TV networks featuring 25 channels, including three of the five major networks (ABC, CBS and Fox). The service will be available on Apple devices such as Apple TV. Apple is hoping that Comcast will be part of the proposed new venture, but a fall out between the two companies over Comcast's decision to launch its X1 Web-enabled set-top box on its own has made it impossible to set up a deal.
Beauty iQ, a spin-off home shopping network of QVC, will launch. The network, which will initially be available in 40 million U.S. homes, will be dedicated to cosmetics, fragrances and skincare products, offering live programming each Wednesday through Sunday in prime time and recorded segments for the remainder of its schedule.

Television programs

Programs debuting in 2016

These shows are scheduled to premiere in 2016. The premiere dates may be changed depending on a variety of factors.

First aired	Show	Channel	Source
January 1	The Rap Game	Lifetime
	Shock Trauma: Edge of Life	Discovery Life
January 3	Bordertown	Fox
	Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life
	Glada Entertains	Food Network
January 4	Diesel Brothers	Discovery Channel
	Bachelor Live	ABC
January 5	Pitch Slapped	Lifetime
	10 Things	truTV
	The Shannara Chronicles	MTV
	Killing Fields	Discovery Channel
	Zoe Ever After	BET
January 6	Skin Tight	TLC
	Criminals at Work	BET
January 7	Angel from Hell	CBS
	My Diet Is Better Than Yours	ABC
	Shades of Blue	NBC
January 8	Ex Isle	WE tv
January 10	Live to Tell	History
January 11	Lego Nexo Knights	Cartoon Network
January 12	Shadowhunters	Freeform
January 13	Second Chance	Fox
	Teachers	TV Land
January 14	Colony	USA Network
	Idiotsitter	Comedy Central
	Greatest Party Story Ever	MTV
January 17	Angie Tribeca	TBS
	Billions	Showtime
	Mercy Street	PBS
	The Real Housewives of Potomac	Bravo
January 18	Nature Cat	PBS
January 19	Planet Primetime	Travel Channel
	Fit to Fat to Fit	A&E
January 20	Kocktails with Khloé	FYI
January 21	Baskets	FX
	Dark Net	Showtime
	Legends of Tomorrow	The CW
	Recipe for Deception	Bravo
January 23	NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC	ABC
January 25	Lucifer	Fox
	Recovery Road	Freeform
	Stevie J & Joseline: Go Hollywood	VH1
January 26	Outsiders	WGN America
January 28	You, Me and the Apocalypse	NBC
	Jo Frost: Nanny On Tour	Up TV
February 2	American Crime Story	FX
	Rattled	TLC
February 5	Animals.	HBO
	Bunnicula	Cartoon Network
February 8	Full Frontal with Samantha Bee	TBS
February 9	Not Safe with Nikki Glaser	Comedy Central
February 11	Those Who Can't	truTV
February 14	Vinyl	HBO
February 16	11.22.63	Hulu
February 17	Fat Chance	TLC
February 19	Love	Netflix
February 26	Fuller House
February 29	truInside	truTV
March 1	Tour Group	Bravo
March 2	Hap and Leonard	SundanceTV
	Lab Rats: Elite Force	Disney XD
	The Real O'Neals	ABC
March 3	The Family
	Late Night Snack	truTV
March 4	Slasher	Chiller
March 7	Little People	Sprout
	Damien	A&E
March 8	Of Kings and Prophets	ABC
	Little Big Shots	NBC
	Separation Anxiety	TBS
March 9	Underground	WGN America
	The Internet Ruined My Life	Syfy
March 11	Flaked	Netflix
	Netflix Presents: The Characters
March 12	Party Over Here	Fox
	School of Rock	Nickelodeon
March 13	Life or Debt	Spike
March 15	Crowded	NBC
March 16	Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders	CBS
March 22	Heartbeat	NBC
March 24	The Catch	ABC
March 29	Like a Boss	Oxygen
March 30	Lopez	TV Land
	The Path	Hulu
	Quit Your Day Job	Oxygen
March 31	Rush Hour	CBS
April 1	The Ranch	Netflix
	Wynonna Earp	Syfy
April 4	The Powerpuff Girls 2016	Cartoon Network
April 5	America's Greatest Makers	TBS
	Chasing Destiny	BET
April 10	Dice	Showtime
	The Girlfriend Experience	Starz
April 11	The Detour	TBS
	Hunters	Syfy
April 12	Game of Silence	NBC
April 13	Strong
April 14	American Grit	Fox
	The Dude Perfect Show	CMT
April 16	Dramaworld	Viki
April 19	Containment	The CW
April 20	There Goes The Motherhood	Bravo
April 21	Comedy Knockout	truTV
May 2	Houdini & Doyle	Fox
	The Loud House	Nickelodeon
May 8	Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen	Food Network
May 9	Peanuts	Cartoon Network/Boomerang
May 11	Chelsea	Netflix
May 17	Coupled	Fox
May 20	Lady Dynamite	Netflix
May 22	Preacher	AMC
May 23	Mygrations	National Geographic Channel
May 27	Counterfeit Cat	Disney XD
May 30	Atomic Puppet
May 31	Maya & Marty	NBC
June 1	Cleverman	SundanceTV
June 3	Outcast	Cinemax
June 5	Feed the Beast	AMC
June 12	Still the King	CMT
June 13	BrainDead	CBS
	Guilt	Freeform
	Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge	NBC
June 14	Animal Kingdom	TNT
	Uncle Buck	ABC
	Wrecked	TBS
June 22	American Gothic	CBS
	Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons	HBO
June 23	Queen of the South	USA Network
June 24	Bizaardvark	Disney Channel
June 26	Roadies	Showtime
June 28	Dead of Summer	Freeform
July 5	Crashletes	Nickelodeon
	Greatest Ever	truTV
	Fangbone!	Disney XD
July 15	Stranger Things	Netflix
July 17	Vice Principals	HBO
July 22	Elena of Avalor	Disney Channel
July 24	Ozzy & Jack's World Detour	History
August 1	Future-Worm!	Disney XD
August 12	The Get Down	Netflix
August 14	Chesapeake Shores	Hallmark Channel
August 23	Better Late Than Never	NBC
August 24	Cleveland Hustles	CNBC
September 6	The 11th Hour	MSNBC
	Atlanta	FX
September 8	Better Things
September 9	One Mississippi	Amazon Video
	Quarry	Cinemax
	Jagger Eaton's Mega Life	Nickelodeon
September 11	Rob & Chyna	E!
	Son of Zorn	Fox
September 12	Harry	Syndication
	T.D. Jakes
	The Robert Irvine Show	The CW
September 14	Legends of Chamberlain Heights	Comedy Central
September 16	Fleabag	Amazon Video
	High Maintenance	HBO
September 19	The Good Place	NBC
	Kevin Can Wait	CBS
	Right Now Kapow	Disney XD
September 20	Bull	CBS
	This Is Us	NBC
September 21	Designated Survivor	ABC
	Falling Water	USA Network
	Lethal Weapon	Fox
	Speechless	ABC
September 22	Notorious
	Pitch	Fox
September 23	The Exorcist
	MacGyver	CBS
	Van Helsing	Syfy
September 27	Channel Zero
September 29	Mighty Magiswords	Cartoon Network
September 30	Crisis in Six Scenes	Amazon Video
	Luke Cage	Netflix
October 2	Westworld	HBO
October 3	Conviction	ABC
	Timeless	NBC
	Milo Murphy's Law	Disney XD
October 4	No Tomorrow	The CW
October 5	Frequency
	Total Bellas	E!
October 9	Divorce	HBO
	Insecure
October 10	Vice News Tonight
October 11	American Housewife	ABC
October 14	Goliath	Amazon Video
October 16	Berlin Station	Epix
	Eyewitness	USA Network
	Graves	Epix
October 19	Chance	Hulu
October 24	Man with a Plan	CBS
October 26	Jon Glaser Loves Gear	TruTV
October 27	The Great Indoors	CBS
	Pure Genius
October 28	Good Girls Revolt	Amazon Video
	Tracey Ullman's Show	HBO
November 4	The Crown	Netflix
November 7	Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party	VH1
November 15	Good Behavior	TNT
	Shooter	USA Network
November 18	The Grand Tour	Amazon Video
November 21	Search Party	TBS
November 23	Splash and Bubbles	PBS
November 30	Incorporated	Syfy
December 4	Mariah's World	E!
December 7	Shut Eye	Hulu
December 9	Captive	Netflix
	White Rabbit Project
December 14	Star	Fox
December 16	Justice League Action	Cartoon Network
TBA	Big Fan	ABC
	The OA	Netflix
	Welcome to the Wayne	Nickelodeon

Miniseries debuting in 2016

First aired	Title	Channel	Source
January 18	War & Peace	A&E, History, and Lifetime
January 24	The X-Files	Fox
February 3	Madoff	ABC
February 20	Serial Thriller: The Headhunter	Investigation Discovery
March 6	Race for the White House	CNN
April 19	The Night Manager	AMC
May 30	Roots	A&E, History, and Lifetime
June 11	The American West	AMC
July 10	The Night Of	HBO
September 5	Harley and the Davidsons	Discovery Channel
September 18	The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey	CBS

Television films and specials

First aired	Title	Channel	Source
January 4	The Breaks	VH1
January 9	My Sweet Audrina	Lifetime
January 23	Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart
January 30	Lila & Eve
January 31	Grease: Live	Fox
February 26	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny	Netflix
March 18	Pee-wee's Big Holiday
March 20	Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade	Fox
	The Passion
April 16	Confirmation	HBO
April 29	Special Correspondents	Netflix
May 17	Megyn Kelly Presents	Fox
May 21	All the Way	HBO
May 30	The Dresser	Starz
June 2	Quincy Jones: Burning the Light	HBO
June 24	Adventures in Babysitting	Disney Channel
	The Fundamentals of Caring	Netflix
July 31	Sharknado: The 4th Awakens	Syfy
August 5	The Little Prince	Netflix
September 1	Holy Hell	CNN
September 17	The Beatles: Eight Days a Week	Hulu
October 7	The Siege of Jadotville	Netflix
October 20	The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again	Fox
November 26	Legends of the Hidden Temple	Nickelodeon
December 2	Mr. Neighbor's House	Adult Swim
December 7	Hairspray Live!	NBC
December 9	Albert	Nickelodeon
TBA	Electronic Music Awards & Foundation Show	Fox

Programs changing networks

Show	Moved from	Moved to	Source
Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants	NBC (Miss Universe) Reelz (2015, Miss USA)	Fox
Impact Wrestling	Destination America	Pop
Sesame Street	PBS	HBO / PBS
WWE SmackDown	Syfy	USA Network
Hoarders	Lifetime	A&E
SportsNation	ESPN2	ESPN
America's Next Top Model	The CW	VH1
Motive	ABC	USA Network
Sports Jeopardy!	Crackle	Crackle / NBCSN
Supergirl	CBS	The CW
Nashville	ABC	CMT
The Last Alaskans	Animal Planet	Discovery Channel
High Maintenance	Vimeo	HBO
Primetime Justice with Ashleigh Banfield	CNN (as Legal View)	HLN (as Primetime Justice)
Pokémon	Cartoon Network	Disney XD

Programs returning in 2016

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

Show	Last aired	Previous channel	New/returning/same channel	Return date	Source
The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret	2012	IFC	same	January 7
The X-Files	2002	Fox		January 24
Disappeared	2013	Investigation Discovery		April 11
To Tell the Truth	2001	Syndication	ABC	June 14
The $100,000 Pyramid	2012	Game Show Network		June 26
Match Game	1999	Syndication
Mad TV	2009	Fox	The CW	July 26
Black Mirror	2014	Channel 4 (UK)	Netflix	October 21
Gilmore Girls	2007	The CW		November 25
Samurai Jack	2004	Cartoon Network	Adult Swim	December 2

Milestone episodes in 2016

Show	Network	Episode #	Episode title	Episode air date	Source
2 Broke Girls	CBS	100th	"And the Coming Out Party"	January 13
Last Man Standing	ABC		"The Ring"	January 29
New Girl	Fox		"Reagan"	February 9
Saturday Night Live	NBC	800th	"Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West"	February 13
The Big Bang Theory	CBS	200th	"The Celebration Experimentation"	February 25
Once Upon a Time	ABC	100th	"Souls of the Departed"	March 6
RuPaul's Drag Race	Logo		"Keeping It 100!"	March 7
Grimm	NBC		"Into the Schwarzwald"	March 11
NCIS	CBS	300th	"Scope"	March 15
American Dad!	TBS	200th	"The Two Hundred"	March 28
Bob's Burgers	Fox	100th	"Glued, Where's My Bob?"	May 22
Person of Interest	CBS		"The Day the World Went Away"	May 31
Royal Pains	USA		"Doubt of Africa"	June 8
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon	NBC	500th	"Michael Strahan/Parker Posey/Margo Price"	July 14
Rizzoli & Isles	TNT	100th	"2M7258-100"	July 25
Real Time with Bill Maher	HBO	400th	"Amy Holmes/Michael Moynihan/Salman Rushdie"	July 28
Steven Universe	Cartoon Network	100th	"Bismuth"	August 4
Pretty Little Liars	Freeform	150th	"The DArkest Knight"	August 30
The Simpsons	Fox	600th	"Treehouse of Horror XXVII"	October 16
Impractical Jokers	TruTV	125th	"Stage Fright"	October 20
Elementary	CBS	100th	"Henny Penny the Sky is Falling"	October 30
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Nickelodeon		"The Power Inside Her"	November 20
Arrow	The CW		"Invasion!"	November 30
Chicago Fire	NBC		"One Hundred"	December 6

Programs ending in 2016

End date	Show	Channel	First aired	Status	Source
January 10	Austin & Ally	Disney Channel	2011	Ended
January 22	Unforgettable	A&E		Canceled
January 29	Undateable	NBC	2014
January 31	Galavant	ABC	2015
February 3	Lab Rats	Disney XD	2012	Ended
February 7	Melissa Harris-Perry	MSNBC		Canceled
February 15	Gravity Falls	Disney XD		Ended
February 22	Telenovela	NBC	2015	Canceled
March 1	Agent Carter	ABC
	The Muppets
March 2	The Mysteries of Laura	NBC	2014
March 6	MythBusters	Discovery Channel	2003	Ended
March 13	CSI: Cyber	CBS	2015	Canceled
March 15	Of Kings and Prophets	ABC	2016
March 25	Second Chance	Fox
March 28	Recovery Road	Freeform
April 7	American Idol	Fox	2002
April 10	Togetherness	HBO	2015
April 15	Childrens Hospital	Adult Swim	2010	Ended
April 17	Vinyl	HBO	2016	Canceled
April 20	Deadbeat	Hulu	2014
April 26	Limitless	CBS	2015
April 30	Monopoly Millionaires' Club	Syndication
May 8	The Good Wife	CBS	2009	Ended
May 9	Damien	A&E	2016	Canceled
May 10	Grandfathered	Fox	2015
	The Grinder
May 15	The Family	ABC	2016
May 16	Castle		2009
	Mike & Molly	CBS	2010	Ended
May 17	Faking It	MTV	2014	Canceled
May 20	Banshee	Cinemax	2013	Ended
	The Meredith Vieira Show	Syndication	2014	Canceled
May 22	Bordertown	Fox	2016
	Crowded	NBC
May 25	Heartbeat
June 4	Littlest Pet Shop	Discovery Family	2012	Ended
June 5	Game of Silence	NBC	2016	Canceled
June 12	House of Lies	Showtime	2012	Ended
June 17	FABLife	Syndication	2015	Canceled
June 19	Penny Dreadful	Showtime	2014	Ended
June 21	Person of Interest	CBS	2011
June 22	The Soul Man	TV Land	2012
June 26	Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life	Fox	2016	Canceled
June 27	Wander Over Yonder	Disney XD	2013
July 4	Houdini & Doyle	Fox	2016
July 5	Uncle Buck	ABC
July 6	Royal Pains	USA	2009	Ended
July 11	Hunters	Syfy	2016	Canceled
July 23	Angel from Hell	CBS
	Hell on Wheels	AMC	2011	Ended
July 29	Sanjay and Craig	Nickelodeon	2013
August 2	Coupled	Fox	2016	Canceled
	Feed the Beast	AMC
August 6	Devious Maids	Lifetime	2013
August 9	Not Safe with Nikki Glaser	Comedy Central	2016
August 18	The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore		2015
August 20	Rush Hour	CBS	2016
August 21	The Jim Gaffigan Show	TV Land	2015
	The McLaughlin Group	Syndication	1982	Ended
August 22	Guilt	Freeform	2016	Canceled
August 28	Roadies	Showtime
August 30	Dead of Summer	Freeform
September 1	Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll	FX	2015
September 4	Murder in the First	TNT	2014
September 5	Rizzoli & Isles		2010	Ended
September 6	Mistresses	ABC	2013	Canceled
September 7	American Gothic	CBS	2016
	Tyrant	FX	2014
September 9	Crazy Talk	Syndication	2015
	The Bill Cunningham Show	The CW	2011	Ended
September 10	Aquarius	NBC	2015	Canceled
September 11	BrainDead	CBS	2016
September 15	Beauty & the Beast	The CW	2012	Ended
October 13	Nancy Grace	HLN	2005
November 5	The 7D	Disney XD	2014	Canceled
November 6	Mickey Mouse Clubhouse	Disney Junior	2006	Ended
November 13	Masters of Sex	Showtime	2013	Canceled
December 2	Comedy Bang! Bang!	IFC	2012	Ended

Programs entering syndication in 2016

A list of programs (current or canceled) that have accumulated enough episodes (between 65 and 100) or seasons (3 or more) to be eligible for off-network syndication and/or basic cable runs.

Show	Seasons	In Production	Source
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	3	yes
Last Man Standing	6
Major Crimes	5
Nashville	5
Pawn Stars	12

Television stations

Station launches

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation	Source
January 1	Nashville, TN	WZTV-DT3	17.3	Antenna TV
	Bowling Green, KY	W14DG-D	14.1	Laff
	Anderson, SC	WMYA-TV	40.4	Grit
January 27	Bowling Green, KY	WCZU-LD3	39.3	Bounce TV
May 5	Sidney, NE	KNEP-DT2	4.2	NBC
	Scottsbluff, NE	KSTF-DT2	10.2	NBC
June 1	Merrimack, NH/Boston	WNEU-DT3	60.3	Cozi TV
June 22	Lexington, KY	WLEX-DT3	18.3	Bounce TV
July 1	Birmingham, AL	WUOA-LD	46.1 46.2 46.3	Laff Buzzr Escape
August 1	Duluth, MN	KBJR-DT3	6.3	MyNetworkTV
	Peoria, IL	WEEK-DT2	25.2	ABC
		WEEK-DT3	25.3	The CW
September 1	Watertown, NY	WWTI-DT3	50.3	Laff
		WWTI-DT4	50.4	Escape
	Evansville, IN	WTVW-DT3	7.3	Escape
		WEHT-DT2	25.2	Laff
September 3	Utica, NY	WUTR-DT3	20.3	Grit
		WUTR-DT4	20.4	Bounce TV
		WFXV-DT2	33.2	Escape
		WFXV-DT3	33.3	Laff
September 12	Alexandria, LA	KALB-DT3	5.3	The CW
	Fargo, ND	KXJB-LD2	30.2	The CW
	Madison, WI	WMTV-DT4	15.4	WeatherNation TV
October 25	Lafayette, IN	WPBI-LD	16.1	Fox
		WPBI-LD2	16.2	NBC
November 1	St. Joseph, MO	KNPG-LD2	21.2	The CW (via The CW Plus) (moves from KBJO-LD; see below for more information)
December 1	Watertown, NY	WVNC-LD	45.1	NBC
	Santa Barbara/Santa Maria, CA	KWSM-LP	32.2	SonLife Broadcasting Network
	Springfield, MO	KRFT-LD	8.6	Estrella TV

Stations changing network affiliation

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Prior affiliation	New affiliation	Source
January 1	Christiansted, VI	WSVI	8.1	ABC	Ion
	Asheville, NC	WLOS	13.3	Grit	Antenna TV
February 1	Nashville, TN	WKRN-DT2	2.2	Weather	MeTV
	Johnson City, TN/Tri-Cities, TN/VA	WJHL-DT2	11.2	MeTV	ABC
	Kingsport, TN/Tri-Cities, TN/VA	WKPT-TV	19.1	ABC	MyNetworkTV
		WAPK-CD	36.1	MyNetworkTV	MeTV
February 29	Raleigh/Durham, NC	WRAL-TV	5.1	CBS	NBC
		WNCN	17.1	NBC	CBS
June 1	Lawrence, MA	WMFP	62.1	Cozi TV	Sonlife Broadcasting Network
July 1	Hagerstown, MD	WHAG-TV	25.1	NBC	Independent/Heroes & Icons
August 1	Peoria, IL	WHOI	19.1	ABC	Comet
	Fort Wayne, IN	WPTA-DT2	21.2	The CW	NBC
		WPTA-DT3	21.3	Weather Radar	MyNetworkTV
		WISE-TV	33.1	NBC	The CW
		WISE-DT2	33.2	MyNetworkTV	Weather Radar
	South Bend, IN	WSBT-DT2	22.2	Independent	Fox
		WSJV	28.1	Fox	Heroes & Icons
	Duluth, MN	KDLH	3.1	CBS	The CW
		KBJR-DT2	6.2	MyNetworkTV	CBS
September 1	Chicago, IL	WGN-TV	9.1	The CW	Independent
		WPWR-TV	50.1	MyNetworkTV	The CW (MyNetworkTV remains secondary)
	Watertown, NY	WNYF-CD2	28.2	CBS (simulcast of WWNY-TV)	MeTV
	Fort Worth-Dallas, TX	KFWD	52.1	MundoMax	SonLife Broadcasting Network
	Jackson, MS	WJTV-DT3	12.3	Antenna TV	Ion
September 12	Savannah, GA	WSAV-DT2	3.2	MyNetworkTV/MeTV	The CW
		WSAV-DT3	3.3	Weather	MyNetworkTV/MeTV
		WGSA	35.1	The CW	Independent
	Waterloo/Iowa City, IA	KWWL-DT2	7.2	This TV	The CW
		KWKB	20.1	The CW	This TV
	Alexandria, LA	KBCA	41.1	The CW	Heroes & Icons
	Madison/Janesville, WI	WMTV-DT2	15.2	WeatherNation TV	The CW
		WBUW	57.1	The CW	Independent
October 1	Indianapolis, IN	WRTV-DT2	6.2	HTSN (local sports/newscast replays)	Grit
November 1	St. Joseph, MO	KBJO-LD	21.1	The CW (via The CW Plus) (moved to subchannel 21.2)	NBC (as KNPG-LD)
December 1	Clovis/Fresno, CA	KGMC	43.1	MundoMax	Estrella TV
	Fort Myers/Naples, FL	WXCW-DT2/3	46.2/3
		WGPS-LP	22.1	Estrella TV	Cozi TV
	Los Angeles, CA	KWHY-TV	22.1	MundoMax	Independent
	Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL	WGEN-TV	8.1		Azteca
		WDGT-LD	24.1	Azteca	Justice Network
	Philadelphia, PA	WPSJ-CD	8.1	MundoMax	SonLife Broadcasting Network
	Phoenix/Kingman, AZ	KMOH-TV	6.1		América Tevé
	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria, CA	KSBT-LD	32.1		Independent
		KWSM-LP	32.1	SonLife Broadcasting Network	Estrella TV
	Springfield, MO	KRFT-LD	8.1	MundoMax	Retro TV

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Notability	Source
January 5	Elizabeth Swados	64	American writer and composer; guest roles on ABC soap operas (Loving, All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital), NBC soap operas (Days of Our Lives, Another World, and Santa Barbara) and CBS soap operas (The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light)
January 6	Pat Harrington, Jr.	86	American actor, best known for his role of building superintendent Dwayne Schneider in One Day at a Time, also voiced the "Inspector" in the animated series The Inspector (other roles include Make Room for Daddy, The Steve Allen Show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Love, American Style, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote and Yo Yogi!)
January 7	Richard Libertini	82	American actor (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Soap, Barney Miller, Family Man, DuckTales, The Fanelli Boys, Pacific Station, Murder, She Wrote, Jenny and Law & Order)
January 10	David Bowie	69	Ground-breaking British singer, songwriter, musician, and actor (TV credits include appearing on Soul Train, the second non-R&B artist to do so after Elton John; a voice over role in SpongeBob SquarePants and guest starring in Dream On; and promos for the "I Want My MTV" campaign)
	Michael Galeota	31	American actor, best known for his roles as Bailey Kipper in Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. and Nick Lighter in The Jersey
January 11	David Margulies	78	American actor (Kojak, Tales from the Darkside, The Equalizer, Spenser: For Hire, Northern Exposure, Touched by an Angel, Law & Order, The Sopranos)
January 13	Jim Simpson	88	Sportscaster (most notable work with NBC Sports and ESPN as well as WRC-TV/Washington, D.C. and WMAR-TV/Baltimore)
January 14	Alan Rickman	69	British actor (American TV work includes guest spots on Fallen Angels and King of the Hill)
January 15	Dan Haggerty	74	American actor, best known for his role as James Capen "Grizzly" Adams in The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams film and television series
	Noreen Corcoran	72	American actress, dancer and singer, best known for her role as Kelly Gregg in Bachelor Father
January 17	Mike Sharpe	64	Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as "Iron Mike"
January 18	Glenn Frey	67	American singer/songwriter (The Eagles) and actor (TV credits include Miami Vice and South of Sunset)
	Gary Menteer	76	American writer, director and producer (Family Matters, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Punky Brewster)
January 23	J. Stewart Bryan III	77	American media executive (Chairman of Media General)
January 24	Nick Wiltgen	39	Meteorologist with The Weather Channel's TV, radio, and digital broadcasts
	Ted Brown	36	Producer for ESPN
January 25	Mike Minor	75	Actor/singer, best known as Steve Elliot on Petticoat Junction, Brandon Kingsley on All My Children, Dr. Royal Dunning on Another World and supporting roles on The Donald O'Connor Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, CHiPs, Vega$, L.A. Law, The Edge of Night, and As the World Turns
January 26	Abe Vigoda	94	Actor, best known as Detective Phil Fish on Barney Miller and its spinoff Fish, and frequent cameos on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
February 1	William E. Mayher III	77	Chairman of the Board of Gray Television since 1993
February 2	Bob Elliott	92	Comedian (half of the Bob and Ray duo), game show host (The Name's the Same), and actor (Get a Life)
February 3	Joe Alaskey	63	American comedian, actor, voice actor, and author (notable for his role as Beano Froelich on Out of This World; the voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and numerous Warner Bros. Animation characters, including his Daytime Emmy Award for Duck Dodgers; an additional voice in Back to the Future; the voice of Grandpa Lou Pickles in both Rugrats and All Grown Up!; host of Couch Potatoes)
	Jack Eaton	86	Sportscaster/director at WMC-TV/Memphis from 1956 to 1991, the voice of University of Memphis' football and basketball broadcasts from 1959 to 1987, and wrestling announcer/host
February 4	Kristine Miller	90	American Emmy-award winning television/film actress (Stories of the Century) and television station owner (co-founder of Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz, California CBS affiliate KION-TV in 1968 and Entravision-owned Univision affiliate KSMS-TV in 1986)
	Dave Mirra	41	Champion BMX cyclist and host of MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge (2004-2005)
	Brian Knighton	44	Wrestler better known by the ring name Axl Rotten, best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling
	Jim Pederson	68	Actor, best known throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest as the fictional face and personality of Rocky Rococo Pizza in its television commercials.
February 5	Ray Colcord	66	American composer (Double Trouble, The Charmings, Trial and Error, The Facts of Life, My Two Dads, Singer & Sons, Scorch, The Torkelsons, Where I Live, Dinosaurs, Maybe This Time, Hiller and Diller, You Wish, Promised Land, Boy Meets World, Family Affair, Lost at Home and Girl Meets World)
February 6	Sam Spence	88	American composer (in-house composer for NFL Films and NFL Network telecasts, work also heard on KaBlam!, Everybody Loves Raymond and SpongeBob SquarePants)
February 7	Dave Anderson	55	Comedian and television personality at KATU-TV/Portland, Oregon
February 8	Norman Hudis	93	British writer (Green Acres, Garrison's Gorillas, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Hawaii Five-O, It Takes a Thief, Marcus Welby, M.D., Switch, Paw Paws); special guest appearance in I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, and Murder, She Wrote
February 15	Denise "Vanity" Matthews	57	Canadian-American actress/singer and evangelist (credits include Miami Vice, Friday the 13th: The Series, and Highlander: The Series)
	George Gaynes	98	Actor (several TV series, most notably Punky Brewster and Hearts Afire)
February 16	Lex McAllister	31	Reality television participant who appeared in season 14 of The Bachelor
February 18	Paul Gordon	52	American musician and composer, was a member of The B-52's; composed the music for Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers in Space, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Action Man, Transformers: Robots in Disguise and Power Rangers Wild Force
	Angela Raiola	55	American reality television personality (Mob Wives)
February 19	Charlie Tuna	71	Los Angeles-based radio personality, TV host (Cinema, Cinema, Cinema) and announcer (Time Machine, Scrabble, Scattergories, The $25,000 Pyramid, The Quiz Kids Challenge, The New Battlestars, Mike Douglas Show, and Thicke of the Night)
February 24	Fred Lozano	67	Television news anchorman, reporter, and journalist, who was a fixture on San Antonio television stations KENS and WOAI-TV from 1977 to 2012
	Eddie Einhorn	80	Founder of TVS Television Network, executive with CBS Sports, and sports promoter; credited with introducing men's college basketball on television to a nationwide audience
February 25	Sam Merrill	55	News anchor for WNEM-TV/Saginaw/Flint, MI since 1990
	Tony Burton	78	American actor (TV works included starring in Frank's Place and an appearance in Gibbsville)
February 27	Bruce Golin	58	Emmy Award winning Post-production producer (notable work includes Knight Rider, Sliders, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, The Last Man on Earth, Transparent, Hindsight, and Daredevil)
February 28	George Kennedy	91	American actor, (The Phil Silvers Show, The Asphalt Jungle, Have Gun - Will Travel, Gunsmoke, Dr. Kildare, The Virginian, Sarge, The Blue Knight, Backstairs at the White House, The Love Boat, Dallas and The Young and the Restless)
March 1	Lee Reherman	49	Actor, best known as Hawk on American Gladiators; recurring guest role on General Hospital and Guiding Light
March 3	Ralph Baruch	92	Executive with CBS and the first president & chief executive of Viacom
March 4	Bud Collins	86	Boston-based sportswriter and tennis analyst for CBS, NBC, and ESPN
	Joey Feek	40	Reality television participant who appeared in season 1 of Can You Duet
March 6	Nancy Reagan	94	Former First Lady of the United States to husband Ronald Reagan, actress, author, member of the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild, and activist against drug and substance abuse with the "Just Say No" campaign (notable work includes Diff'rent Strokes, Dynasty, Zane Grey Theatre, Wagon Train, and The Tall Man)
March 12	James Sheldon	95	Director (several series, notably Mr. Peepers, The Twilight Zone, Batman, and Sanford & Son)
March 15	Sylvia Anderson	88	British television and film producer, writer and voice actress (Thunderbirds, Space: 1999)
March 16	Frank Sinatra, Jr.	72	American singer/songwriter/composer and actor (Family Guy, The Sopranos and Son of the Beach)
March 17	Larry Drake	67	Actor, best known for winning two Emmy Awards for playing Benny Stulwicz on L.A. Law
March 18	Joe Santos	84	Actor, best known as Dennis Becker on The Rockford Files. Also roles on The Sopranos, Santa Barbara, Magnum, P.I., Hardcastle and McCormick, a.k.a. Pablo, and Me and Maxx
	John Schnabel	96	Goldminer who appeared on the reality show Gold Rush
March 21	Peter Brown	80	American actor (Maverick, Lawman, Cheyenne, Wagon Train, Laredo, The Virginian, One Life to Live, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful)
March 22	David Smyrl	80	American actor, best known as Mr. Handford (owner of Hooper's Store) on Sesame Street from 1990 to 1998, also appeared on numerous episodes of The Cosby Show
March 23	Joe Garagiola, Sr.	90	Former baseball player and announcer for the Arizona Diamondbacks and NBC Sports. Also game show host (He Said, She Said, Memory Game, Sale of the Century, To Tell the Truth, Strike It Rich), guest host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, panelist on The Today Show and Match Game, and co-host of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
	Ken Howard	71	American actor (Adam's Rib, The Manhunter, The White Shadow, It's Not Easy, Dynasty, The Colbys, Murder, She Wrote, Melrose Place, Crossing Jordan, Cane, The Young and the Restless and 30 Rock)
March 24	Earl Hamner, Jr.	92	American writer and producer, best known as the creator of The Waltons, Apple's Way and Falcon Crest (other credits include The Twilight Zone, Gentle Ben, Nanny and the Professor and Morningstar/Eveningstar)
	Garry Shandling	66	Actor and comedian best known as the star of The Larry Sanders Show and It's Garry Shandling's Show, also a regular guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
March 26	Dick Fabian	81	News anchor at WNEM-TV/Saginaw/Flint and radio DJ at WKNX
March 27	Eric Engberg	74	Reporter for WTOP-TV, Group W, and CBS News
	Mother Angelica	92	Catholic nun, founder of Eternal Word Television Network and WEWN, and host of EWTN's Mother Angelica Live
	Howard Berk	91	American novelist, producer, and television writer (Columbo, Mission: Impossible, The Rockford Files)
March 28	James Noble	94	Actor, best known for the role of Governor Eugene Gatling on Benson
March 29	Patty Duke	69	Actress best known as the star of The Patty Duke Show
April 3	Bill Henderson	90	American jazz singer and actor (The Bill Cosby Show, Harry O, Ace Crawford, Private Eye, Dreams)
April 5	Barbara Turner	79	American actress, writer and producer, mother of actress Jennifer Jason Leigh
April 7	Robert Windham	73	Professional wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer better known by the ring name Blackjack Mulligan
	Philip Scheffler	85	American producer, was the senior producing for 60 Minutes from 1980-2003.
April 8	Daisy Lewellyn	36	American style expert who appeared on the reality show Blood, Sweat and Heels. Also editor for fashion magazines Essence, InStyle, and Glamour
April 9	Arthur Anderson	93	American actor, best known for voicing Lucky the Leprechuan in Lucky Charms commercials from 1963-1992, was also the second voice of Eustace Bagge in Courage the Cowardly Dog
	Stacy Fawcett	45	Radio and television personality in the Dallas-Ft. Worth media market, notably as a food critic blogger and host of a cooking segment for WFAA-TV's newscasts.
April 11	Doug Banks	57	American radio and television personality (alumni of WLS-TV/Chicago as a contributor on the station's 190 North, fill in host on NASCAR Now, guest starred on My Wife and Kids)
April 12	Anne Jackson	90	American actress
	Jon Rechner	44	American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Balls Mahoney, most notably with Extreme Championship Wrestling
April 17	Doris Roberts	90	Actress, best known as Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, a role that won her four Emmy Awards. Also won an Emmy for playing Cora on the St. Elsewhere season 1 episode "Cora and Arnie"
April 19	Denise Stewart-Bohn	47	Radio personality (WCXT/Benton Harbor, Michigan) and television reporter (WSBT-TV/South Bend)
	Scott Nimerfro	54	American television/film screenwriter and producer (Once Upon a Time, Pushing Daisies)
April 20	Joanie Laurer	45	WWE wrestler better known as Chyna. Also appeared on 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Surreal Life, and Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
April 21	Prince	57	American musician, songwriter, producer, and actor (notable credits include Muppets Tonight, New Girl and Saturday Night Live)
April 25	Madeleine Sherwood	93	Canadian actress, singer, writer, producer, and Civil Rights activist (notable for playing Mother Superior Placidos in The Flying Nun and daytime roles in Guiding Light, One Life to Live and As the World Turns)
April 27	Philip Kives	87	Canadian businessman, founder of K-Tel and a pioneer of the Infomercial concept who coined the term "As seen on TV"
April 30	Peter Thomas	91	Voice over narrator/announcer, best known for Forensic Files, Nova and numerous commercials
May 6	Rickey E. Smith Jr.	36	American reality television participant and singer who competed in season 2 of American Idol
May 8	Mike Fleming	74	Conservative television/radio journalist and host in the Memphis media market
	William Schallert	93	American character actor, best known for playing patriarch Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show
	Reg Grundy	92	Australian television producer, creator, and syndicator, known for creating American game shows (Scrabble), adapting American programs to international viewers (Sale of the Century), and bringing Australian shows to the United States via his syndication company (Prisoner:Cell Block H and Neighbours)
May 12	Julius La Rosa	86	Italian-American singer, actor, and television/radio personality (notable for being a regular on Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, the host of The Julius La Rosa Show, a recurring role on Another World, and a frequent contributor to the Labor Day telethon)
May 19	Morley Safer	84	Canadian-American television and radio journalist, reporter, and author, who was a mainstay at CBS News for 61 years, including 46 as co-host of 60 Minutes
	Rosemary Gernette	81	Television personality and talk show host at WISN-TV/Milwaukee, and an alumnus of WSAU/Wausau, Wisconsin
	Alan Young	96	Actor, best known as Wilbur Post on Mister Ed and the voice of Scrooge McDuck on DuckTales
May 23	Joe Fleishaker	62	Actor best known for his work with Troma Entertainment. Also appeared in numerous skits on Late Show with David Letterman
May 24	Buck Kartalian	93	American actor (My Favorite Martian, Friends, and Curb Your Enthusiasm)
May 27	Michael Dann	94	Television executive (VP/Programming for CBS, 1963-1970)
May 31	Jan Crouch	78	Co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network and founder of Smile of a Child TV; co-host of TBN's flagship programs Praise the Lord and Behind the Scenes
June 3	Muhammad Ali	74	American boxer, Olympic Gold medalist, author, actor, sports commentator, and activist (notable credits include Freedom Road, the titular character in the 1977 NBC animated series, I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali, Diff'rent Strokes, and numerous sports programs, as well as commercial work for Coca Cola and D-Con)
June 6	Theresa Saldana	61	Actress, best known as Rachel Scali on The Commish
June 10	Christina Grimmie	22	Reality television participant who appeared in season 6 of The Voice
June 12	Janet Waldo	96	Voice actress, best known as Judy Jetson on The Jetsons
June 13	Michu Meszaros	76	Hungarian-born American circus performer, stuntman, and actor, best known for performing in costume as ALF in several first-season episodes of the TV series of the same name
June 14	Ronnie Claire Edwards	83	American film and television character actress, best known as Corabeth Walton Godsey on The Waltons
	Ann Morgan Guilbert	87	American character actress, best known as Millie Helper on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Grandma Yetta on The Nanny
June 17	Ron Lester	45	Actor, best known as Michael 'Sugar Daddy' Bernardino on Popular
	Mary Ann King	82	Television actress and educator, known to Los Angeles viewers as "Miss Mary Ann" on Romper Room during its run on KCOP-TV
June 19	Alejandro Fuentes	45	American singer who competed in La Voz... México
	Anton Yelchin	27	Russian actor (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Huff, Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
July 3	Noel Neill	95	American actress best known for her role of Lois Lane in Adventures of Superman from 1953-1958
July 6	John McMartin	86	American actor (As the World Turns, East Side/West Side, Premiere, Hawaii Five-O, Phyllis, Falcon Crest, Magnum, P.I., The Golden Girls, Lincoln, Beauty and the Beast, Murder, She Wrote, Coach, Touched by an Angel, Oz, Further Tales of the City and Law & Order)
July 19	Garry Marshall	81	American TV producer, writer and director (creator/executive producer of Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, Blansky's Beauties, Who's Watching the Kids?, Joanie Loves Chachi, Hey, Landlord, and Angie; writer on Tonight Starring Jack Paar, The Danny Thomas Show, The Joey Bishop Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Lucy Show; executive producer of The Odd Couple and The New Odd Couple).
July 26	Youree Dell Harris	53	Actress best known as "Miss Cleo", the spokeswoman for the Psychic Readers Network from 1997-2003.
July 27	Jerry Doyle	60	Actor (most notably Michael Garibaldi on Babylon 5) and radio personality
July 30	Dave Schwartz	63	On-camera meteorologist for The Weather Channel
	Gloria DeHaven	91	American film/television actress, singer, and personality (credits includes regular roles on Ryan's Hope, As the World Turns, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and Nakia; guest starring and supporting roles in Robert Montgomery Presents, Appointment with Adventure, The Guy Mitchell Show, Johnny Ringo, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, The Lloyd Bridges Show, Marcus Welby, M.D., Gunsmoke, Mannix, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart, The Love Boat, Mama's Family, Highway to Heaven, Murder, She Wrote, and Touched by an Angel; Host of Prize Movie at WABC-TV/New York City, and original co-host of WBAY-TV/Green Bay's annual United Cerebral Palsy telethon)
August 3	Blake Krikorian	48	Entrepreneur and co-founder of the Slingbox TV streaming media service
August 7	Sagan Lewis	63	Actress, best known as Dr. Jacqueline Wade on St. Elsewhere
August 9	W. Carter Merbreier	90	Children's television host of WPVI-TV's Captain Noah and His Magical Ark
	Barry Jenner	75	Actor, best known as Admiral William Ross on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and recurring roles on Dallas, Family Matters, Knots Landing, and several others
August 10	John Saunders	61	Longtime sportscaster and host for ESPN's The Sports Reporters
August 13	Kenny Baker	81	English actor, best known as the voice of R2-D2 in the Star Wars franchise. Also appeared in The Adventure Game, Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Man of the World, and Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader
August 14	Fyvush Finkel	93	Actor, best known as Douglas Wambaugh on Picket Fences (which won him an Emmy Award) and Harvey Lipschultz on Boston Public
August 16	John McLaughlin	89	Host of the long running political talk show The McLaughlin Group as well as John McLaughlin's One on One, McLaughlin, and McLaughlin Special Report
August 19	Lou Pearlman	62	American businessman, record executive, and manager (co-creator/producer of Making the Band, which launched the career of O-Town)
	Jack Riley	80	American actor and comedian, probably best known as Elliot Carlin in The Bob Newhart Show and the voice of Stu Pickles in Rugrats and its spin-off All Grown Up!. Other roles include Occasional Wife, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Hogan's Heroes, The Red Skelton Show, Romance Theatre, Diff'rent Strokes, Roxie, Night Court, Son of the Beach and the voice of Country Crock spread commercials.
August 23	Steven Hill	94	Actor, best known as District Attorney Adam Schiff on Law & Order and Dan Briggs on Mission: Impossible
August 25	Marvin Kaplan	89	American character actor and comedian, best known as the voice of Choo Choo in Top Cat and Henry Bessaymer on Alice
August 27	Joy Browne	71	Psychologist who hosted two short-lived television shows, one for syndication (1999–2000) and another for Discovery Health
August 28	Harry Fujiwara	82	Hawaiian born Japanese-American wrestler and manager, known to WWE fans as Mr. Fuji and an inductee of the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame
August 29	Gene Wilder	83	American film/television actor, singer, director, writer, author, and producer (TV credits include the lead role in Something Wilder and an Emmy Award for guest-starring in Will & Grace)
September 1	Jon Polito	65	Character and voice actor with over 200 credits in film, television (Homicide: Life on the Street, Crime Story) and video games
September 5	Hugh O'Brian	91	Film and television actor. Starred in the 1955–61 western series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and the 1972–73 action series Search.
September 8	Brenda Knox	59	Transgendered entertainer and author who performed as The Lady Chablis (appeared in Bizarre Foods America and Real Housewives of Atlanta), guest starring on All My Children, One Life to Live, and Santa Barbara
	Eric Von Broadley	58	Television and radio journalist, personality, and publisher in the Milwaukee media market (alumnus of WISN-TV/Milwaukee)
September 10	Eddie Antar	68	Founder of the New York City-based Crazy Eddie electronics chain (famous for the commercial catchphrase "Crazy Eddie's Prices Are So Low They're Insane!")
September 11	Alexis Arquette	47	American transgender entertainer, LGBT activist, and reality television personality (The Surreal Life)
September 18	C. Martin Croker	54	American animator and voice actor (roles including Zorak and Moltar on Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Dr. Weird on Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
September 21	Richard D. Trentlage	87	Advertising composer who wrote several commercial jingles, most notably "The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song".
September 24	Bill Nunn	63	Actor (TV roles include Cash Clay on Sirens and Terrance Phillips on The Job)
September 25	Arnold Palmer	87	Professional golfer and co-founder of Golf Channel
September 28	Gary Glasberg	50	Producer/writer (several shows, most notably NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans)
	Agnes Nixon	93	Writer and producer (head writer of Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Search for Tomorrow; creator of ABC dramas Loving/The City, All My Children and One Life to Live)
October 1	Ed Hinshaw	76	Anchorman, reporter, commentator, and news director at WTMJ-TV Milwaukee, and later named VP/Human Resources for parent company Journal Communications; alumnus of WRC-TV/Washington, D.C., KSTP-TV/Minneapolis-St. Paul, and KCJB/Minot, North Dakota
October 11	Patricia Barry	93	Actress (most notably on the soap operas Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light and All My Children; guest starring on Another World, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns, and General Hospital)
October 12	Thomas Mikal Ford	52	Actor, best known as Tommy Strawn on Martin
October 18	Anthony Addabbo	56	Actor and model, best known as Jim Lemay on Guiding Light
October 21	Jean Gagné	69	Professional wrestler and manager, best known as Frenchy Martin in the World Wrestling Federation
	Kevin Meaney	60	Comedian (appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show and Late Show) and actor (the 1990 version of Uncle Buck)
October 25	Kevin Curran	59	Writer/producer (most noted for work on The Simpsons, Late Night with David Letterman, and Married... with Children)
October 27	John Zacherle	98	TV host and voice actor, best known for Shock Theater on WCAU from 1957–58 and Zacherley at Large on WABC-TV from 1959–60
October 28	Ron Grant	72	Composer (Knots Landing and Tiny Toon Adventures)
October 29	Norman Brokaw	89	Talent agent, and later chairman, president and CEO of the William Morris Agency who helped create the series My Little Margie, The Public Defender, Racket Squad and Mr. and Mrs. North, and represented the producers of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Andy Griffith Show, as well as numerous actors including Marilyn Monroe, Bill Cosby, Elvis Presley, Warren Beatty, and Clint Eastwood.
October 30	Tammy Grimes	82	Actress and singer (star of The Tammy Grimes Show, guest spot on The Play of the Week episode Archy and Mehitabel)
	Don Marshall	80	American actor, director, producer and screenwriter, notable for playing Dan Erickson on Land of The Giants
November 2	Max Alexander	63	American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. (Full House, Out of This World, Matlock, Doogie Howser, M.D., Pearl, The Practice, Hang Time, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, My Wife and Kids and Paul Cruz: Latin Actor (A Mockuseries)
November 7	Janet Reno	78	Lawyer who served as the first female U.S. Attorney General (TV work includes cameos on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons and a Super Bowl XLI commercial)
November 11	Robert Vaughn	83	American actor, best known for playing Napoleon Solo on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
	Claire Labine	82	American writer and producer, co-created Ryan's Hope, served as script writer and later co-head writer for Where the Heart Is and co-writer for Love of Life; Also served as head writer for General Hospital (1993-1996), One Life to Live (1996-1998) and Guiding Light (2000-2001)
November 14	Gwen Ifill	61	Journalist and anchor of PBS' NewsHour and Washington Week
November 24	Florence Henderson	82	American television/film/stage actress/singer, voice actress, talk show host, pitch woman, cook, reality television participant, and author, best known for her iconic role as Carol Brady on The Brady Bunch and its related franchise spin-offs; also an alumnus of Today as both a "Today Girl" and co-host (including Later Today), commercial work for Wesson Oil, part of The Surreal Life, competed on season 11 of Dancing with the Stars, and hosted programs on TNN and Retirement Living TV.
November 25	Ron Glass	71	American television, film, and voice actor, best known for playing Detective Harris on Barney Miller, Felix Unger in The New Odd Couple, and Derrial Book in Firefly
November 28	Grant Tinker	90	Television producer and executive (co-founder, with former wife Mary Tyler Moore, of MTM Enterprises; Chairman/CEO of NBC from 1981 to 1986)
November 29	Robert Bennett	89	Television executive (founding GM of WCVB-TV/Boston; president of Metromedia)
	Keo Woolford	49	American actor, producer and screenwriter (portrayed Det. James Chang on Hawaii Five-0)