2020 in American television

For extended information about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the American television industry, see Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States.

In American television in 2020, notable events included television show debuts, finales, and cancellations; channel launches, closures, and re-brandings; stations changing or adding their network affiliations; and information about controversies and carriage disputes.

Notable events

Main article: 2020 notable events in American television

Awards

Category/Organization	78th Golden Globe Awards February 28, 2021	11th Critics' Choice Television Awards March 7, 2021	Producers Guild and Screen Actors Guild Awards March 24–April 4, 2021	73rd Primetime Emmy Awards September 19, 2021
Best Drama Series	The Crown
Best Comedy Series	Schitt's Creek	Ted Lasso	Schitt's Creek	Ted Lasso
Best Limited Series	The Queen's Gambit
Best Actor in a Drama Series	Josh O'Connor The Crown		Jason Bateman Ozark	Josh O'Connor The Crown
Best Actress in a Drama Series	Emma Corrin The Crown		Gillian Anderson The Crown	Olivia Colman The Crown
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	—	Michael K. Williams Lovecraft Country	—	Tobias Menzies The Crown
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Gillian Anderson The Crown		—	Gillian Anderson The Crown
Best Actor in a Comedy Series	Jason Sudeikis Ted Lasso
Best Actress in a Comedy Series	Catherine O'Hara Schitt's Creek			Jean Smart Hacks
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	—	Dan Levy Schitt's Creek	—	Brett Goldstein Ted Lasso
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	—	Hannah Waddingham Ted Lasso	—	Hannah Waddingham Ted Lasso
Best Actor in a Limited Series	Mark Ruffalo I Know This Much Is True	John Boyega Small Axe	Mark Ruffalo I Know This Much Is True	Ewan McGregor Halston
Best Actress in a Limited Series	Anya Taylor-Joy The Queen's Gambit			Kate Winslet Mare of Easttown
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series	John Boyega Small Axe	Donald Sutherland The Undoing	—	Evan Peters Mare of Easttown
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series	—	Uzo Aduba Mrs. America	—	Julianne Nicholson Mare of Easttown

Television shows

Shows debuting in 2020

Further information: List of 2020 American television debuts

Shows changing networks

Show	Moved from	Moved to	Source
Dirty John	Bravo	USA Network
Vice	HBO	Showtime
Vice News Tonight		Vice on TV
NAACP Image Awards	TV One	BET
The Family Business	BET	BET+
Cobra Kai	YouTube Premium	Netflix
One Day at a Time	Netflix	Pop and TV Land (premieres)/CBS (repeats)
The Rich Eisen Show	Audience	NBCSN
Doom Patrol	DC Universe	DC Universe/HBO Max
Sesame Street	HBO	HBO Max
Esme & Roy
Search Party	TBS
Summer Camp Island	Cartoon Network
Infinity Train
Where's Waldo?	Universal Kids	Peacock
A.P. Bio	NBC
Curious George	PBS Kids
Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs	Qubo
The Dan Patrick Show	Audience/AT&T SportsNet
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings	Freeform	Disney+
Manhunt	Discovery Channel	Spectrum Originals
Bellator MMA	Paramount Network	CBS Sports Network
WWE Tribute to the Troops	NBC	Fox

Milestone episodes and anniversaries

Show	Network	Episode #	Episode title	Episode airdate	Source
The First 48	A&E	15th Anniversary	"Chain of Death"	January 1
Survivor	CBS	20th Anniversary	"Survivor at 40: Greatest Moments and Players"	February 5
Impractical Jokers	TruTV	200th episode	"Hollywood"	February 13
The Real	First-run syndication	1,000th episode	N/A	February 17
Supergirl	The CW	100th episode	"It's a Super Life"	February 23
The Steve Wilkos Show	First-run syndication	2,000th episode	N/A	February 24
Power Rangers	Nickelodeon	900th episode	"Game On!"	March 7
Mom	CBS	150th episode	"A Judgy Face and Your Grandma's Drawers"	March 12
Chicago Med	NBC	100th episode	"The Ghosts of the Past"	March 18
Curb Your Enthusiasm	HBO		"The Spite Store"	March 22
RuPaul's Drag Race	VH1	150th episode	"Gay's Anatomy"	March 27
Empire	Fox	100th episode	"We Got Us"	April 7
Modern Family	ABC	250th episode	"Finale Part Two" (series finale)	April 8
The Blacklist	NBC	150th episode	"Brothers"	May 1
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee	TBS	150th episode	"May 6, 2020"	May 6
If Loving You Is Wrong	Oprah Winfrey Network	100th episode	"Taken"	June 2
The Loud House	Nickelodeon		"A Star is Scorned"	June 10
Late Night with Seth Meyers	NBC	1,000th episode	Guest: Regina King	June 11
All That	Nickelodeon	200th episode	"1130" (Jamie Lynn Spears and cast of Zoey 101, New Hope Club)	July 11
Blindspot	NBC	100th episode	"Iunne Ennui" (series finale)	July 23
Robot Chicken	Adult Swim	200th episode	"Endgame"	July 26
Big Brother	CBS	20th Anniversary	Big Brother 22 season premiere	August 5
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer	CNN	15th Anniversary	"August 7, 2020"	August 7
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver	HBO	200th episode	N/A	August 16
American Dad!	TBS	300th episode	"300"	September 14
Family Guy	Fox	350th episode	"Stewie's First Word"	September 27
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell	MSNBC	10th anniversary	"September 28, 2020"	September 28
The 100	The CW	100th episode	"The Last War" (series finale)	September 30
Superstore	NBC		"California: Part 2"	November 5
Bob's Burgers	Fox	200th episode	"Bob Belcher and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Kids"	November 15
Chicago P.D.	NBC	150th episode	"White Knuckle"	November 18
Snapped	Oxygen	500th episode	"Dana Flynn"	November 22
NCIS	CBS	400th episode	"Everything Starts Somewhere"	November 24
On the Case with Paula Zahn	Investigation Discovery	300th episode	"Crime and Injustice"	November 29

Shows returning in 2020

The following shows returned with new episodes after being canceled or previously ending their run:

Show	Last aired	Type of return	Previous channel	New/returning/same channel	Return date	Source
Supernanny	2011	Revival	ABC	Lifetime	January 1
Steve (as Steve on Watch)	2019		First-run syndication	Facebook Watch	January 6
Party of Five	2000	Reboot	Fox	Freeform	January 8
The Biggest Loser	2016		NBC	USA Network	January 28
Manhunt	2017	Revival	Discovery Channel	Spectrum Originals	February 3
XFL	2001	Reboot	NBC/TNN/UPN	ESPN/ABC/Fox/FS1	February 8
The Soup	2015	Revival	E!	same	February 12
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings	2018	New season	Freeform	Disney+	February 14
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition	2012	Revival	ABC	HGTV	February 16
Star Wars: The Clone Wars	2014	New season	Netflix	Disney+	February 21
Forensic Files (as Forensic Files II)	2011	Revival	Court TV/TruTV	HLN	February 23
Bride & Prejudice (as Bride & Prejudice: Forbidden Love)	2016		FYI	Lifetime	February 26
Opry	2009	New season	GAC	Circle
Vice News Tonight	2019	Revival	HBO	Vice on TV	March 4
Amazing Stories	1987	Reboot	NBC	Apple TV+	March 6
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (as Cosmos: Possible Worlds)	2014	New season	Fox/National Geographic	same	March 9
The Wall	2018		NBC		March 15
One Day at a Time	2019		Netflix	Pop/TV Land/CBS	March 24
Vice	2018		HBO	Showtime	March 29
12 oz. Mouse			Adult Swim	same	April 1
Singled Out	2019	Reboot	MTV/YouTube	Quibi	April 6
Punk'd	2015		BET
Celebrity Ghost Stories	2014	Revival	LMN	A&E	April 8
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire	2019	New season	First-run syndication	ABC
Club MTV	1992	Special	MTV	same	April 25
Parks and Recreation	2015		NBC		April 30
CBS Sunday Movie (as CBS Sunday Night Movies)	2006	Revival	CBS		May 3
Reno 911!	2009		Comedy Central	Quibi	May 4
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	2019	Special	Netflix	same	May 12
Sell This House	2011	Revival	A&E	FYI	May 18
True Life (as True Life Presents: First-Time First Responders)	2017	Special	MTV	same	June 9
Search Party		New season	TBS	HBO Max	June 25
Adventure Time (as Adventure Time: Distant Lands)	2018	Specials	Cartoon Network
Nick News	2015	Revival	Nickelodeon	same	June 29
Unsolved Mysteries	2010		Spike	Netflix	July 1
The Baby-Sitters Club	1990	Reboot	HBO		July 3
30 Rock	2013	Special	NBC	same	July 16
Happy Endings (as Happy Endings Special Charity Event)			ABC	Sony Pictures Television YouTube channel	July 20
The Fugitive	2001	Reboot	CBS	Quibi	August 3
Eco-Challenge (as World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji)	2002	Revival	USA Network	Amazon Prime Video	August 14
Tyler Perry's House of Payne	2012		TBS	BET	September 2
A.P. Bio	2019	New season	NBC	Peacock	September 3
Becoming	2016	Revival	Disney XD	Disney+	September 18
Way Too Early (as Way Too Early with Kasie Hunt)			MSNBC	same	September 21
Dr. 90210	2008		E!		September 28
Weakest Link	2003		First-run syndication	NBC	September 29
16 and Pregnant	2014		MTV	same	October 6
The West Wing	2006	Special	NBC	HBO Max	October 15
Supermarket Sweep	2003	Revival	PAX	ABC	October 18
MDA Telethon (as The MDA Kevin Hart Kids Telethon)	2014		ABC	YouTube Live	October 24
Mickey Mouse (as The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse)	2019		Disney Channel	Disney+	November 18
Animaniacs	1998	Revival	Kids' WB	Hulu	November 20
I Love New York	2008	Special	VH1	same	November 23
Hollywood Exes (as Hollywood Exes: Reunited)	2014				November 24
Saved by the Bell	1993	Revival	NBC	Peacock	November 25

Shows ending in 2020

End date	Show	Channel	First aired	Status	Source
January 1	Messiah	Netflix	2020	Canceled
	Spinning Out
January 10	AJ and the Queen
	Harvey Girls Forever!		2018	Ended
	Forky Asks a Question	Disney+	2019
January 19	Ray Donovan	Showtime	2013	Canceled
January 23	Perfect Harmony	NBC	2019
	October Faction	Netflix	2020
January 24	The Ranch		2016	Ended
January 25	Flirty Dancing	Fox	2019	Canceled
January 26	Star Wars Resistance	Disney Channel/Disney XD	2018	Ended
January 28	Arrow	The CW	2012
	Emergence	ABC	2019	Canceled
January 29	Next In Fashion	Netflix	2020
	Homicide Hunter	Investigation Discovery	2011	Ended
January 30	The Good Place	NBC	2016
	New Looney Tunes	Boomerang	2015
January 31	BoJack Horseman	Netflix	2014
February 6	Tell Me a Story	CBS All Access	2018	Canceled
	Interrogation		2020
February 9	Power	Starz	2014	Ended
February 14	High Fidelity	Hulu	2020	Canceled
February 16	Mike Tyson Mysteries	Adult Swim	2014
February 19	Criminal Minds (returned in 2022 as Criminal Minds: Evolution)	CBS	2005	Ended
February 21	Fresh Off the Boat	ABC	2015
February 22	Almost Family	Fox	2019	Canceled
February 26	I Am Not Okay with This	Netflix	2020
February 27	Altered Carbon		2018
March 1	Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure	Disney Channel	2017	Ended
March 2	Hardball with Chris Matthews	MSNBC	1997
March 4	Party of Five	Freeform	2020	Canceled
March 8	Kidding	Showtime	2018
	Dare Me	USA Network	2019
March 12	Lights Out with David Spade	Comedy Central
	Carol's Second Act	CBS
	In the Room	E!	2019
	Pop of the Morning		2020
March 13	Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector	NBC
March 14	Trish Regan Primetime	Fox Business	2015
March 18	68 Whiskey	Paramount Network	2020
March 19	Very Cavallari	E!	2018	Ended
March 21	Henry Danger	Nickelodeon	2014
March 24	Project Blue Book	History	2019	Canceled
March 25	Stumptown	ABC
March 26	Deputy	Fox	2020
	Outmatched
March 27	High Noon	ESPN	2018
April 1	The Magicians	Syfy	2015	Ended
April 3	Future Man	Hulu	2017
	Hawaii Five-0	CBS	2010
	High Maintenance	HBO	2016	Canceled
April 5	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (returning in 2024 on ABC)	HGTV	2003
April 7	Schitt's Creek	Pop	2015	Ended
April 8	Modern Family	ABC	2009
April 12	Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures	Netflix	2018
April 13	Briarpatch	USA Network	2020	Canceled
April 16	Wife Swap	Paramount Network	2004
	Indebted	NBC	2020
April 17	blackAF	Netflix
	Strike Back	Cinemax	2011	Ended
April 18	Doc McStuffins	Disney Junior	2012
April 20	The Midnight Gospel	Netflix	2020	Canceled
April 21	Empire	Fox	2015	Ended
April 23	Will & Grace	NBC	1998
April 24	Sister Circle	TV One/Tegna O&Os	2017	Canceled
April 26	God Friended Me	CBS	2018
	Homeland	Showtime	2011	Ended
April 29	Boomerang	BET	2019	Canceled
May 4	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	Disney+	2008	Ended
May 5	Bless This Mess	ABC	2019	Canceled
May 6	Brockmire	IFC	2017	Ended
May 7	Tommy	CBS	2020	Canceled
May 8	The Hollow	Netflix	2018
May 11	Cops (returned in 2021)	Paramount Network	1989
May 13	Single Parents	ABC	2018
	Schooled		2019
May 14	Katy Keene	The CW	2020
	How to Get Away with Murder	ABC	2014	Ended
May 15	She-Ra and the Princesses of Power	Netflix	2018
May 23	Live PD	A&E	2016	Canceled
May 24	Run	HBO	2020
May 28	Siren	Freeform	2018
May 31	Vida	Starz		Ended
June 1	The Baker and the Beauty	ABC	2020	Canceled
June 2	Fuller House	Netflix	2016	Ended
June 4	Vagrant Queen	Syfy	2020	Canceled
June 5	13 Reasons Why	Netflix	2017	Ended
June 7	Transformers: Cyberverse	Cartoon Network	2018
June 11	Man with a Plan	CBS	2016	Canceled
June 13	Alexa & Katie	Netflix	2018	Ended
June 16	If Loving You Is Wrong	Oprah Winfrey Network	2014
	One Day at a Time	Pop	2017	Canceled
	WWE Backstage	Fox Sports 1	2019
June 18	The Order	Netflix
June 19	Live PD: Police Patrol	First-run syndication	2017
June 25	The Twilight Zone	CBS All Access	2019
	Broke	CBS	2020
June 26	The Will Cain Show	ESPNews	2018	Ended
June 28	Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj	Netflix		Canceled
	Penny Dreadful: City of Angels	Showtime	2020
July 2	Council of Dads	NBC
July 3	DC Daily	DC Universe	2018
July 15	Brave New World	Peacock	2020
July 16	Labor of Love	Fox
July 17	Cursed	Netflix
July 23	Blindspot	NBC	2015	Ended
July 25	The Rocketeer	Disney Junior	2019	Canceled
July 28	Last Chance U	Netflix	2016	Ended
July 29	At Home with Amy Sedaris	TruTV	2017	Canceled
July 31	12 oz. Mouse	Adult Swim	2005
August 7	Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Nicktoons	2018
August 11	Greenleaf	Oprah Winfrey Network	2016	Ended
August 12	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	ABC	2013
	World of Dance	NBC	2017	Canceled
August 13	Don't	ABC	2020
August 14	Teenage Bounty Hunters	Netflix
August 17	Glitch Techs			Ended
August 21	Hoops			Canceled
	Little Voice	Apple TV+
August 23	Elena of Avalor	Disney Junior	2016	Ended
	NOS4A2	AMC	2019	Canceled
August 25	Trinkets	Netflix		Ended
August 26	Corporate	Comedy Central	2018
	United We Fall	ABC	2020	Canceled
August 27	Unikitty!	Cartoon Network	2017	Ended
September 4	Spirit Riding Free	Netflix
	Away		2020	Canceled
September 9	L.A.'s Finest	Spectrum Originals	2019
September 10	Julie and the Phantoms	Netflix	2020
September 11	The Duchess
	Coop & Cami Ask the World	Disney Channel	2018
September 13	Kasie DC	MSNBC	2017
September 18	Ratched	Netflix	2020
September 25	Utopia	Amazon Prime Video
September 29	Returning the Favor	Facebook Watch	2017
September 30	The 100	The CW	2014	Ended
October 9	Room 104	HBO	2017
	The Haunting	Netflix	2018
October 12	Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts		2020
October 16	Grand Army			Canceled
	Helstrom	Hulu
October 18	Lovecraft Country	HBO
	The Soup	E!	2004
October 29	Politicking with Larry King	Ora TV/Hulu/RT America	2013	Ended
October 31	Group Chat	Nickelodeon	2020
November 5	Powerbirds	Universal Kids
November 10	Dash & Lily	Netflix		Canceled
November 16	Connecting	NBC.com/Peacock
November 17	The Boss Baby: Back in Business	Netflix	2018	Ended
November 19	Supernatural	The CW	2005
November 20	The Pack	Amazon Prime Video	2020	Canceled
	The Right Stuff	Disney+
November 24	Tosh.0	Comedy Central	2009
November 30	Filthy Rich	Fox	2020
December 4	Disney Fam Jam	Disney Channel		Ended
December 5	ThunderCats Roar	Cartoon Network		Canceled
December 8	Mr. Iglesias	Netflix	2019
December 9	The Big Show Show		2020
	The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia
December 13	Pandora	The CW	2019
December 17	All That	Nickelodeon	1994	Ended
December 22	Next	Fox	2020	Canceled
December 29	Don't Be Tardy	Bravo	2012
December 30	Vikings	Amazon Prime Video	2013	Ended
December 31	Chilling Adventures of Sabrina	Netflix	2018	Canceled
	NBC's New Year's Eve	NBC	2004	Ended

Entering syndication in 2020

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

Show	Seasons	In Production	Notes	Source
Schitt's Creek	6	No

Networks and services

Launches

Network	Type	Launch date	Notes	Source
Circle	Over-the-air multicast/ OTT streaming	January 1	Circle, which focuses on country music and its related lifestyle, is a Nashville-based venture between Gray Television and the Opry Entertainment division of Ryman Hospitality Properties. It's Gray's first owned entry into the multicast arena, while it brings Ryman (formerly Gaylord Entertainment) back to TV network ownership after it sold cable's The Nashville Network and Country Music Television to CBS in 1997. Gray and CBS-owned stations form the major launch groups for Circle, whose schedule includes the return of the weekly Grand Ole Opry broadcast to television. The network has a limited group of affiliates which exclusively carry the Opry on their main channel as a tape-delayed offering on late Saturday nights, due to lack of room for the full subchannel.
Yahoo! Finance	Cable (via Verizon FiOS)/ OTT streaming	January 27	Verizon Media extends its Yahoo Finance business and financial news website into a 24-hour linear news channel initially available on Verizon FiOS channel 604, serving as a competitor to CNBC, Fox Business and Cheddar; Yahoo Finance's bell-to-bell stock market programming is also streamed live from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ET on the site's webpage.
Black News Channel	Cable and digital	February 10	Founded by former Oklahoma U.S. Representative J. C. Watts, the network devotes itself to covering the African American community in news, sports and entertainment.
Marquee Sports Network	Cable and digital	February 22 (on-air launch); July 24 (full launch)	A regional sports network venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, Marquee takes over as the team's exclusive primary broadcaster from NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-TV and WLS-TV, along with surrounding team programming and other sports content. The launch was tied to the start of the team's spring training, but full operations did not start until the coronavirus-delayed Cubs season started on July 24; that day also saw a situation averted where the Chicago market's major cable provider, Xfinity (which is owned by Comcast, the owners of NBC Sports Chicago), agreed to terms to carry the network.
Quibi	OTT streaming	April 6
Peacock		April 15 (Xfinity subscribers); July 15 (full launch)	Peacock is an ad-supported companion service to NBC with exclusive and original content. The service has three tiers; a free tier, a premium tier which is available to both paid subscribers or those who subscribe to an offered cable service such as Xfinity, and a near-fully ad-free option for extra cost. The company concurrently retains its 30% stake in Hulu.
LX	Over-the-air multicast/ OTT streaming	May 19	Announced by NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations on September 23, 2019, LX (an abbreviation for Local X, and adapted from the name of its sister lifestyle production subsidiary LXTV) is a digital news service—building on experimental news offerings and research by NBCUniversal-owned stations— available through a streaming service and over-the-air multicast network, providing original local news content aimed at young adults 18–45 who traditionally do not watch news on conventional television. (LX originally began providing news content via a dedicated website and on various social media networks such as YouTube on the date of the launch announcement.) While the broadcast version— based out of the Dallas–Fort Worth duopoly of NBC O&O KXAS-TV and Telemundo O&O KXTX-TV, which produces three-hour daily morning and prime time newscasts for LX— ad-supported, commercial breaks on LX are fewer and of shorter length than other conventional television platforms.
HBO Max	OTT streaming	May 27	HBO Max is a paid subscription streaming service that features original content as well as content from Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, CNN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Crunchyroll and other WarnerMedia brands and programs being transferred from HBO (consisting of children's programs from the Sesame Workshop library) and the sunsetted Audience, along with former original programming from the DC Universe service, which is being converted to a comic book archive-centric service. Due to compensation disputes, the service was unavailable on Amazon Fire TV and Roku digital media players and televisions until November 17 and December 17, respectively. HBO Max replaced HBO Go (TV Everywhere) and HBO Now (direct-to-consumer OTT), two standalone streaming services that exclusively featured HBO content (including current and library original programming, and films broadcast on HBO's linear primary and multiplex channels during their contractual durations).
Fave TV	Over-the-air multicast	December 15	Launched by CBS Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS. The network's programming is mostly taken from the program archives of ViacomCBS's non-children's networks, along with carrying repeat syndicated sitcoms also carried by networks such as MTV2, BET and Logo TV.

Conversions and rebrandings

Old network name	New network name	Type	Conversion date	Notes	Source
JUCE TV	Positiv	Over-the-air multicast/ Cable and satellite	January 26	On January 26, the Trinity Broadcasting Network relaunched its youth-oriented multicast service JUCE TV—which had been moved to a 24-hour DT5 feed on TBN's owned-and-operated stations on January 13, after being placed in a time-share with sister children's network Smile concurrent with the June 2015 launch of TBN Salsa on that feed—as Positiv. The relaunched network—which, unusual for a service whose over-the-air broadcasts are transmitted exclusively over non-commercial stations, is partially advertiser-supported—features family and faith-based films (including many in TBN's existing library that aired on the network under its JCTV/JUCE TV format). TBN relegated the "JUCE" brand to a dedicated YouTube channel offering original short-form content aimed at Christian youth, which the ministry launched on October 23, 2019.
Live Well Network	Localish	Over-the-air multicast	February 17	On January 21, ABC Owned Television Stations announced that Live Well Network—which has been carried exclusively on ABC's eight O&O stations since it retracted from national distribution in 2014—rebranded on February 17, as a television extension of the Localish digital lifestyle brand launched by ABC in September 2018. The relaunched network features long-form variants of several programs already featured on the Localish website, which focuses on short-form series focusing on local storytelling, food, leisure and health. It also serves as a de facto overflow feed for ABC's network programming on its O&Os during sports and breaking news coverage.
Showtime Beyond	SHO×BET	Premium cable and satellite	July 15	On February 20, ViacomCBS announced that Showtime's third multiplex channel, the former channel space for Showcase—which, since its July 2001 rebranding, has focused on theatrical and first-run feature films from parent network Showtime's various film distributors as well as Showtime's library of original made-for-cable films, documentaries and comedy specials–would be relaunched as SHO×BET, an African American-oriented service co-branded with sister basic cable network BET. Upon the July 15 relaunch, however, SHO×BET replaced sister multiplex channel Showtime Beyond—which had focused mainly around paranormal and science fiction films since its September 1999 launch—instead, while Showcase remained a standalone channel. (Both networks swapped channel placements on select systems.) SHO×BET—the second premium cable co-branding effort to have involved BET, former co-owner of Starz multiplex channel BET Movies: Starz! (now Starz In Black) from its 1997 launch until Viacom opted BET Networks out of the venture in 2001—offers movies and series (including original scripted content from Showtime and BET's respective libraries) aimed at Black audiences.
Justice Network	True Crime Network	Over-the-air multicast	July 27	Announced on July 13, the Tegna-owned multicast network rebranded as True Crime Network on July 27, in preparation for the launch of a free companion OTT streaming service offering true crime series from the network's programming library and true crime podcasts distributed by co-owned subsidiary Vault Studios to launch later in the summer. Along with its existing archive programming, True Crime Network also offers original programming based on true crime and investigative content from the libraries of Tegna's television stations as well as the safety PSAs from the "BeSafe" campaign (hosted by Atlanta Police Sergeant and former actor Ralph Woolfolk) that have aired since the network first launched.
Spectrum News Austin	Spectrum News 1 (Texas)	Regional cable	October 16	On October 6, Charter Communications announced the relaunch of regional cable news channel Spectrum News Austin—which launched in September 1999, and added a subfeed for the San Antonio market in June 2014—as Spectrum News 1, a quasi-statewide network serving all eight of the provider's systems throughout Texas, on October 16. In addition to its existing staff in Austin and San Antonio, Spectrum News 1 employs around 20 additional reporters assigned to file reports in each of the six new markets: Dallas–Fort Worth, Wichita Falls, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Waco and Harlingen–McAllen–Brownsville.

Closures

Network	Type	End date	Notes	Source
ESPN Goal Line & Bases Loaded	Cable and satellite	January 13 (de facto) June 30 (contractual sunsetting)	On March 13, one day after the NCAA cancelled its Division I baseball tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN sent notice to cable & satellite providers that Goal Line & Bases Loaded would be formally discontinued on June 30, the contractual end of its latest agreement. The NFL RedZone-style channel carried live highlight coverage of college football across ESPN's networks, along with similar coverage of the NCAA softball and baseball tourneys (and until 2017, Wednesday night college basketball coverage under the "Buzzer Beater" branding). ESPN's building emphasis on its ESPN+ streaming service, along with continuous staffing reductions at ESPN and overall issues with a lack of compelling coverage on the channel, are likely to blame for the network's demise. The channel's final program was a "datacast" of the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship (as part of ESPN's Megacast coverage of the game); from March 13 until its closure, the channel space carried a looping video of the ESPN logo.
MHz WorldView	Over-the-air multicast	March 1	MHz Networks announced on January 8, 2020, that MHz Worldview would cease operations as they prepare to transition to two digital streaming services, MHz Choice (paid subscription) and MHz Now (free & ad-supported). After its closure, many stations that carried MHz Worldview switched to other networks including First Nations Experience, World Channel, Deutsche Welle, and NHK World.
Audience	Cable/satellite (DirecTV/U-verse/AT&T TV-exclusive)	May 23	AT&T announced on January 8 that Audience, a network exclusive to AT&T platforms, would be discontinued, eventually transitioning to a barker channel that advertises and previews programming found on HBO Max. The prime daily programs for Audience, simulcasts of sports radio programs hosted by Dan Patrick and Rich Eisen, departed the network on February 28.
HBO Go	TV Everywhere video on demand streaming service	July 31	On June 12, 2020, WarnerMedia announced that the HBO Go platform would be decommissioned on July 31, 2020. Providers that have not yet made an HBO Max deal continued to allow customer access to HBO Go (mainly Altice USA's brands, Mediacom and smaller cable providers yet to come to terms with WarnerMedia on HBO Max carriage, and closed-circuit university television systems which had not had personnel available during the COVID-19 pandemic to negotiate a new contract for HBO Max), though only through the HBO Go desktop website.
Quibi	OTT streaming	December 1	Only having launched in April, it was reported on October 21, 2020, that Quibi would be shutting down. This was after the short-form streamer made numerous accessibility concessions having launched with a mobile only focus. Its library would be acquired by The Roku Channel in January 2021.
HBO Now		December 17	On December 16, WarnerMedia reached an agreement with Roku to offer HBO Max beginning the following day on digital media players and TV sets supporting Roku's operating systems, effectively decommissioning HBO Now (which, like the sunsetted HBO Go and in contrast to the more expansive HBO Max, narrowly focused on content from the linear HBO television service). The shutdown of HBO Now (which was renamed “HBO” on August 1) completed WarnerMedia's phase-out of HBO Now and HBO Go, which began with the replacement of apps for both legacy services with those of HBO Max on iOS and Android platforms upon the latter's May 27 launch.
El Rey Network	Cable and digital	December 31	Hobbled by loss of carriage on AT&T's platforms and Spectrum systems, as well as Univision Communications's withdrawal as a minority partner as part of their own corporate upheaval, the English-language Latino-oriented channel announced on December 8 that it would shutter as a linear cable/satellite channel. However, the network relaunched as a streaming service in August 2021.

Television stations

Subchannel launches

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation	Source
January 1	Birmingham, Alabama	WBRC	6.5	Grit (moved from 6.3)
	Huntsville, Alabama	WAFF	48.5	Grit (moved from 48.3)
	Montgomery, Alabama	WSFA	12.3	Circle
	Anchorage, Alaska	KTUU-TV	2.3
	Tucson, Arizona	KOLD-TV	13.3
	Los Angeles, California	KCAL-TV	9.3
	Sacramento, California	KMAX-TV	31.5
	San Francisco, California	KBCW	44.5
	Dover, Delaware (Salisbury, Maryland)	WMDE	36.4
	Gainesville/Ocala, Florida,	WCJB-TV	20.4
	Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida,	WBFS-TV	33.5
	Panama City, Florida,	WECP-LD	18.4	Heroes & Icons (moved from 18.3)
	Sarasota, Florida,	WWSB	40.2	Circle
	St. Petersburg/Tampa, Florida,	WTOG	44.5
	West Palm Beach, Florida,	WFLX	29.3
	Albany, Georgia,	WALB	10.5
		WGCW-LD	36.2
	Augusta, Georgia,	WRDW-TV	12.4
	Columbus, Georgia,	WTVM	9.3
	Savannah, Georgia,	WTOC-TV	11.3
	Thomasville, Georgia (Tallahassee, Florida)	WCTV	6.3
	Honolulu, Hawaii	KGMB	5.2
	Caldwell/Boise, Idaho	KNIN-TV	9.4
	Evansville, Indiana	WFIE	14.4	Grit (moved from 14.3)
	South Bend, Indiana	WNDU-TV	16.3	Circle
	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	KCRG-TV	9.6
	Ottumwa, Iowa/Kirksville, Missouri	KYOU-TV	15.5	Grit (moved from 15.3)
	Topeka, Kansas	WIBW-TV	13.3	Circle
	Hutchinson/Wichita, Kansas	KWCH-DT	12.4
	Hazard, Kentucky,	WYMT-TV	57.3
	Lexington, Kentucky,	WKYT-TV	27.3
	Louisville, Kentucky,	WAVE	3.3
	Baton Rouge, Louisiana,	WAFB	9.3
	New Orleans, Louisiana,	WVUE-DT	8.5	Grit (moved from 8.3)
	Shreveport, Louisiana,	KSLA	12.2	Grit (moved from 12.4)
	Bangor, Maine	WABI-TV	5.4	Circle
	Boston, Massachusetts	WSBK-TV	38.5
	Detroit, Michigan,	WKBD-TV	50.5
	Flint/Saginaw/ Bay City, Michigan,	WJRT-TV	12.6	WeatherNation TV (moved from 12.3)
	Onondaga/Lansing, Michigan,	WILX-TV	10.3	Circle
	Jackson, Mississippi,	WLBT	3.3
	Cape Girardeau, Missouri/ Paducah, Kentucky,	KFVS-TV	12.3
	Springfield, Missouri	KYTV	3.5
	Grand Island/Hastings, Nebraska,	KGIN	11.5
	Lincoln, Nebraska,	KOLN	10.5
	Reno, Nevada	KOLO-TV	8.4
	Secaucus, New Jersey (New York City)	WWOR-TV	48.2
	Riverhead, New York (New York City)	WLNY-TV	55.5
	Charlotte, North Carolina,	WBTV	3.3
	Greenville/New Bern/ Washington, North Carolina,	WITN-TV	7.6
	Wilmington, North Carolina,	WECT	6.3
	Bismarck, North Dakota	KFYR-TV	5.4
	Dickinson, North Dakota	KQCD-TV	7.4
	Minot, North Dakota	KMOT	10.4
	Williston, North Dakota	KUMV-TV	8.4
	Cincinnati, Ohio,	WCPO-TV	9.5	Laff
		WXIX-TV	19.5	Ion Television
	Shaker Heights/Cleveland, Ohio,	WUAB	43.2	Circle
	Toledo, Ohio,	WTVG	13.4
	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	WPSG	57.5
	Jeannette/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	WPCW	19.5
	Ponce, Puerto Rico	WTIN-TV	2.11	Telemundo
	Mayaguez, Puerto Rico	WNJX-TV	2.12
	San Juan, Puerto Rico	WAPA-TV	4.3	Local weather
Charleston, South Carolina,	WCSC-TV	5.4	Grit (moved from 5.3)
Columbia, South Carolina,	WIS	10.3	Circle
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,	WMBF-TV	32.5	Grit (moved from 32.3)
Lead, South Dakota	KHSD-TV	11.2	Circle
Rapid City, South Dakota	KOTA-TV	3.2
Knoxville, Tennessee,	WVLT-TV	8.4
Memphis, Tennessee,	WMC-TV	5.4	Grit (moved from 5.3)
Borger/Amarillo, Texas,	KEYU	31.3	Circle
Fort Worth/Dallas, Texas,	KTXA	21.4
Lubbock, Texas,	KCBD	11.2
Tyler/Longview, Texas,	KLTV	7.2
Burlington, Vermont	WCAX-TV	3.5	Ion Television (moved from 3.3)
Harrisonburg, Virginia,	WSVW-LD	30.3	Circle
Richmond, Virginia,	WWBT	12.4	Court TV Mystery (moved from 12.3)
Roanoke, Virginia,	WDBJ	7.3	Heroes & Icons (moved from 7.2)
Tacoma/Seattle, Washington	KSTW	11.5	Circle
Huntington/Charleston, West Virginia	WSAZ-TV	3.3
Weston/Clarksburg, West Virginia	WDTV	5.4
Green Bay, Wisconsin	WBAY-TV	2.6	Ion Television (moved from 2.3)
January 6	Colorado Springs, Colorado	KKTV	11.3	Circle
January 7	Fort Kent, Maine (Presque Isle)	WWPI-LD	16.1	NBC
January 13	Lake Charles, Louisiana,	KVHP	29.4	Ion Television (moved from 29.3)
	Wichita Falls, Texas/Lawton, Oklahoma	KAUZ-TV	6.3	Circle
April 1	Lafayette, Louisiana,	KLWB	50.3	Telemundo
May 1	Kennewick/Pasco/ Richland, Washington	KVEW	42.6	QVC
			42.7	HSN
	Yakima, Washington	KAPP	35.6	QVC
			35.7	HSN

Stations changing network affiliation

Major affiliation changes

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

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Prior affiliation	New affiliation	Notes	Source
January 1	Mayagüez, Puerto Rico	WORA	5.1	Telemundo	ABC	On June 27, 2019, WORA-TV announced that it would end an affiliation agreement with WKAQ-TV by December 31, leaving Telemundo without a western affiliate after more than four years. Later, Hemisphere Media Group, the owners of WAPA-TV, announced that Telemundo would air on a subchannel of WNJX-TV by January 1, 2020. On December 18, WORA-TV announced that it would move ABC programming to channel 5.1 on January 1, with the Televisión Española news channel 24H airing on 5.2 from that date on.
January 28	Harlingen/McAllen/ Brownsville, Texas	KGBT-TV	4.1	CBS	Temporarily silent	With Nexstar Media Group acquiring the non-license assets of KGBT from Sinclair Broadcast Group through the settlement of Tribune Media's 2018 lawsuit against Sinclair, Nexstar—which assumed the rights to KGBT's programming and news operation—decides to move KGBT's CBS schedule to a subchannel on the KVEO spectrum; the move results in KGBT ending its affiliation with CBS after 66 years and its main channel going temporarily silent until replacement programming is added. KVEO's former subchannel affiliations with Estrella TV, Court TV Mystery and Grit also move to the KGBT spectrum (on three new subchannels) to accommodate additional bandwidth needed for KVEO to transmit the former KGBT CBS programming feed on its DT2 subchannel.
			4.4	New subchannel	Estrella TV
			4.5	New subchannel	Grit
			4.6	New subchannel	Court TV Mystery
		KVEO-TV	23.2	Estrella TV	CBS
August 1	Anchorage, Alaska	KYES-TV	5.1	MyNetworkTV	CBS	Earlier in 2020, GCI/Denali Media Holdings, the majority cable provider for the state of Alaska, announced that it would sell its broadcast holdings to focus on other areas, in particular providing data, mobile, video, voice and managed services. On July 31, Denali announced the sale of KTVA's non-license assets, including its news operation and CBS affiliation, to Gray Television, owners of NBC affiliate KTUU-TV and what had been MyNetworkTV affiliate KYES-TV. Denali retains ownership of the KTVA license since Gray cannot legally own and/or operate the station (it already owns two full-power stations in Anchorage). The KTVA assets were transferred to KYES-TV the same day, while KTVA temporarily simulcasted KYES-TV for the benefit of viewers until it wound down its news operation on August 28, with KTUU taking some of KTVA's former staff for a combined "Alaska's News Source" operation between KTUU and KYES. KYES's former primary schedule and MyNetworkTV schedule was shifted to a newly created fourth subchannel. KTVA went dark on September 3, 2020, as GCI looks for a sale partner.
			5.4	New subchannel	MyNetworkTV
		KTVA	11.1	CBS	Dark
November 2	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	KDLT-TV	46.2	Antenna TV	Fox	Earlier in September, Independent Communications, owner of KTTW and its Huron satellite station KTTM announced it sell the non-license assets of the station along with the studio space, its translators, the Fox affiliation and the Cozi TV subchannel to Gray Television, parent of NBC affiliated station KDLT-TV and its Mitchell satellite station KDLV and ABC affiliated station KSFY-TV; ending its 33 years affiliation with the network on November 2. After the sale, a local company plans to buy the stations and they carry This TV on the second subchannel for the interim while the main channel went temporary dark (Later on February 11, 2021, Radiant Life Ministries, parent company of the Christian broadcaster TCT Network brought the stations for $1 million, pending FCC sale). To accompany the Fox and Cozi TV programming, KDLT had moved the Antenna TV subchannel to 46.3 and KDLV meanwhile moves the KSFY signal to 5.3, displacing The CW Plus and MeTV affiliations.
			46.3	New subchannel	Antenna TV
			46.4	New subchannel	Cozi TV
		KTTW	7.1	Fox	Dark
			7.2	Cozi TV	This TV (moved from 7.3)
	Mitchell, South Dakota	KDLV (satellite of KDLT-TV)	5.2	The CW Plus	Fox
			5.3	MeTV	ABC (simulcast of KSFY-TV)
	Huron, South Dakota	KTTM (satellite of KTTW)	12.1	Fox	Dark
			12.2	Cozi TV	This TV (moved from 7.3)

Subchannel affiliation

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

Station closures

Station	Channel	Affiliation	Market	Date	Notes	Source
KYMA-DT	11.#	NBC	Yuma, Arizona	January 13	On January 13, 2020, the KYMA-DT program streams and intellectual unit were moved to the channel 13 facility, which changed call letters from KSWT to KYMA-DT. The former KYMA-DT's license was surrendered eight days later as a condition of the acquisition of Northwest Broadcasting by Apollo Global Management in 2019. The virtual channel numbering of the former KYMA streams remains the same.
WNYS-TV	43.#	MyNetworkTV	Syracuse, New York		The same license surrender situation occurs in Syracuse, with WNYS's license turned in, and its intellectual unit becoming the third subchannel of sister Fox affiliate WSYT. It also retains its existing virtual channels.
WLFM-LP	6 (audio on 87.7 FM)	radio programming	Cleveland	June 30	One of the remaining analog channel 6 television stations used to broadcast FM audio at 87.7 FM (so-called "Franken FM" stations) in existence, owner Murray Hill Broadcasting announced that it is ending their LMA with TSJ Media, which moves the station's Spanish CHR audio format to a digital-only presence; the station ended its analog operations and presence on FM radio at the same time. WLFM moved to digital channel 20 in the UHF band in the ongoing TV repack and flash-cut to digital; under the new call sign WLFM-LD, the license is broadcasting Jewelry Television on virtual channel 6.1. The remaining analog channel 6 stations meet the same fate over the course of the year.
W47CK	47	MyNetworkTV	Wilmington, North Carolina	December 11	The station's license was canceled on this date.

Deaths

Main article: 2020 deaths in American television

External links

• List of 2020 American television series at IMDb