1978 in American television

This is a list of American television-related events in 1978.

Events

Date	Event
January 15	Super Bowl XII airs on CBS, the first time the NFL's championship event is played and telecast at night.
January 23	Roots One Year Later, a special examining the impact and influence of the miniseries, airs on ABC.
January 28	The Doobie Brothers make a guest appearance on ABC's What's Happening!!
February 5	ABC celebrates its silver anniversary with a retrospective special.
March 7	Showtime goes nationwide on the air.
March 22	The Beatles spoof The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash airs on NBC.
March 26 – April 1	CBS commemorates its golden anniversary in radio and TV broadcasting with CBS: On the Air, a 9½-hour retrospective special airing over 7 nights.
April 16–19	Holocaust, starring James Woods and Meryl Streep first airs on NBC.
April 22	The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live; the duo of Jake & Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) are introduced in a skit by Paul Shaffer (as Don Kirshner) and performs "Hey Bartender".
April 26	Ringo Starr's, Ringo, a musical version of The Prince and the Pauper, airs on NBC, with Starr's fellow former Beatle, George Harrison, providing the narration.
July 1	In Charlotte, North Carolina, NBC affiliate WSOC-TV leaves the network and joins ABC, citing a stronger affiliation (at the time, NBC is in last place among the three major networks, while ABC is in first place). NBC eventually aligns with Ted Turner-owned independent station WRET-TV (now WCNC-TV), tempted by promises Turner made to NBC to make $2.5 million worth of upgrades, including a stronger transmitter and the launch of a news department; former ABC affiliate WCCB becomes an independent station, and eventually a charter affiliate of Fox in 1986.[1]
July 10	On ABC, the ABC Evening News get a revamp and become ABC World News Tonight, employing a unique three-anchor setup (Frank Reynolds serving as lead anchor from Washington, Max Robinson presenting national news from Chicago, and Peter Jennings with international news from London).
August 1	Taking advantage of an oral escape-clause in his contract with ABC, Harry Reasoner returns to CBS, eventually rejoining 60 Minutes, the program he anchored with Mike Wallace from its 1968 premiere until he joined ABC News in 1970.
September 17	The ceremony formalizing the success of the peace talks between Israel's Menachem Begin and Egypt's Anwar Sadat—the Camp David accords—is televised live from the White House East Room.
September 19	The chairs on which Archie and Edith Bunker sat through 8 seasons of the CBS comedy All in the Family are presented to the Smithsonian Institution.
September 27	Replacing Zara Cully and Damon Evans, Jay Hammer joins the cast of the CBS comedy The Jeffersons, for a short period of time.
October 31	On NBC, Norma Brown wins $28,800 playing the Money Cards on Card Sharks, the first and only time a contestant has won the maximum amount.
November 12	In Fort Smith, Arkansas, KLMN-TV (now Fox affiliate KFTA-TV) signs-on the air and takes CBS programming from KFPW-TV/KTVP. Both KFPW-TV and KTVP subsequently become full-time ABC affiliates, giving Fort Smith in-market affiliates of all three major networks.
November 17	The Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS. The special gives fans their first glimpse of Boba Fett, a character from the upcoming Star Wars sequel.

Programs

ABC

American Bandstand (1952–1989)
The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
General Hospital (1963–present)
One Life to Live (1968–2012)
All My Children (1970–2011)
Monday Night Football (1970–present)
Schoolhouse Rock! (1973–1996)
The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978)
Happy Days (1974–1984)
Baretta (1975–1978)
Barney Miller (1975–1982)
Good Morning America (1975–present)
Ryan's Hope (1975–1989)
Tom and Jerry (1965–1972, 1975–1977, 1980–1982)
Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979)
Charlie's Angels (1976–1981)
Family Feud (1976–1985, 1988–1995, 1999–present)
Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983)
What's Happening!! (1976–1979)
Eight Is Enough (1977–1981)
Fantasy Island (1977–1984)
The Love Boat (1977–1986)
Soap (1977–1981)
Three's Company (1977–1984)

CBS

Love of Life (1951–1980)
Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
Face the Nation (1954–present)
Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
As the World Turns (1956–2010)
The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1978)
60 Minutes (1968–present)
Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980)
All in the Family (1971–1979)
The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978)
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1984)
M*A*S*H (1972–1983)
Maude (1972–1978)
The Price Is Right (1972–present)
The Waltons (1972–1981)
Barnaby Jones (1973–1980)
Kojak (1973–1978, 2005)
Match Game '78 (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999)
The Young and the Restless (1973–present)
Good Times (1974–1979)
Rhoda (1974–1978)
Tattletales (1974–1978, 1982–1984)
The Jeffersons (1975–1985)
One Day at a Time (1975–1984)
Alice (1976–1985)
Wonder Woman (1976–1979)
The Amazing Spider-Man (1977–1979)
Lou Grant (1977–1982)

NBC

Meet the Press (1947–present)
The Today Show (1952–present)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992)
The Doctors (1963–1982)
Another World (1964–1999)
Days of Our Lives (1965–present)
The Wonderful World of Disney (1969–1979)
The Tomorrow Show (1973–1982)
Chico and the Man (1974–1978)
Columbo (1971–1978)
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (1974–1984)
Land of the Lost (1974–1976)
Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983)
Police Woman (1974–1978)
The Rockford Files (1974–1980)
Saturday Night Live (1975–present)^[e]
Wheel of Fortune (1975–present)
The Gong Show (1976–1980)
Quincy, M.E. (1976–1983)
The Bionic Woman (1976–1978)
CHiPs (1977–1983)

PBS

Sesame Street (1969–present)
Masterpiece Theatre (1971–present)
Nova (1974–present)

In syndication

Candid Camera (1948–present)
Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981)
Hee Haw (1969–1992)
Soul Train (1971–2006)
Dinah! (1974–1980)
Match Game PM (1975–1981)
In Search of... (1976–1982)
The P.T.L. Club (1976–1987)
The Muppet Show (1976–1981)
This Week in Baseball (1977–1998, 2000–present)

HBO

Inside the NFL (1977–present)

Nickelodeon

Pinwheel (1977–1991)

Shows that took place

Best Friends Whenever (2015) They time traveled to 1978.

Debuting this year

Date	Show	Network
January 14	Fantasy Island	ABC
February 12	How the West Was Won	CBS
February 19	Project U.F.O.	NBC
March 10	The Incredible Hulk	CBS
April 2	Dallas	CBS
April 3	Pass the Buck	NBC
April 3	Ever Increasing Faith	Syndication
April 8	The Ted Knight Show	CBS
April 8	Another Day	CBS
April 24	Card Sharks	NBC
April 25	Vega$	ABC
June 6	20/20	ABC
July 3	Tic Tac Dough	CBS
July 10	World News Tonight	ABC
September 7	Grandpa Goes to Washington	NBC
September 8	The Eddie Capra Mysteries
September 9	Fabulous Funnies
	Fantastic Four
	Godzilla
	Yogi's Space Race
	Fangface	ABC
	The All New Popeye Hour	CBS
	The Paper Chase
	Tarzan and the Super 7
September 10	Kaz
September 10	Sword of Justice	NBC
September 12	Taxi	ABC
September 12	Battle of the Planets	Syndication
September 13	W.E.B.	NBC
September 14	Mork & Mindy	ABC
September 17	Battlestar Galactica	ABC
September 17	Lifeline	NBC
September 18	WKRP in Cincinnati	CBS
September 22	The Waverly Wonders	NBC
September 22	Who's Watching the Kids	NBC
September 23	Apple Pie	ABC
September 23	The American Girls	CBS
September 24	Mary	CBS
October 1	Centennial	NBC
October 30	A.M. Weather	PBS
November 2	David Cassidy: Man Undercover	NBC
November 3	Diff'rent Strokes	NBC
November 27	The White Shadow	CBS

Resuming this year

Show	Last aired	Previous network	Retitled as/Same	Returning
High Rollers	1976	NBC	Same	April 24
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!	1970	CBS	Same	September 9
Jeopardy!	1975	NBC	The All-New Jeopardy!	October 2

Ending this year

Date	Show	Debut
March 6	The Six Million Dollar Man	1973
March 29	The Carol Burnett Show	1967
March 30	Police Woman	1974
March 31	Tattletales	1974
April 1	The Bob Newhart Show	1972
April 7	Quark	1977
April 28	C.P.O. Sharkey	1976
April 29	Maude	1972
April 29	Another Day	1978
May 13	The Ted Knight Show	1978
	The Bionic Woman	1976
	Columbo	1971
May 18	Baretta	1975
July 21	Chico and the Man	1974
September 1	Fred Flintstone and Friends	1977
October 28	Laff-A-Lympics
October 28	Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics
November 10	The American Girls	1978
December 2	Yogi's Space Race	1978
December 4	Lucan	1977
December 9	Rhoda	1974
December 16	The New Fantastic Four	1978
December 23	The Scooby-Doo Show	1976
December 23	Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!	1969

Made-for-TV movies and miniseries

Title	Network	Date of airing
King	NBC	February 12–14
Holocaust		April 16–19
Centennial		October 1 – February 4
Someone's Watching Me!		November 29

Television stations

Station launches

Date	City of License/Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation	Notes/Ref.
January 3	Rock Hill, South Carolina (Charlotte, North Carolina)	WNSC-TV	30	PBS	Part of South Carolina ETV
February 9	Martin, South Dakota	KZSD-TV	8	PBS	Part of South Dakota Public Broadcasting
March 23	Washington, D.C.	WPXW-TV	66	Religious independent
March 26	Manassas, Virginia/Washington, D.C.	WTKK	66	Religious independent
May 1	Mason City, Iowa	KYIN	24	PBS	Part of Iowa Public Television
August 6	Cheyenne, Oklahoma	KWET	12		Part of the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority
August 9	Shreveport, Louisiana	KLTS-TV	24		Part of Louisiana Public Broadcasting
August 18	El Paso, Texas	KCOS	13
August 21	Cookeville, Tennessee	WCTE	22
September 2	Phoenix, Arizona	KTVW	23	Spanish International Network	Now a Univision affiliate
September 9	Phoenix, Arizona	KNXV-TV	15	Independent
September 26	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	WPTT-TV	22	Independent
September 27	Montpelier, Vermont	WNNE	31	NBC	Signed on as a satellite of WPTZ-TV/Plattsburgh, New York
October 1	Juneau, Alaska	KTOO-TV	3	PBS	Satellite of KAKM/Anchorage
October 24	Salt Lake City, Utah	KSTU	20 (now 13)	Independent
November 12	Fort Smith, Arkansas	KLMN-TV	24	CBS
November 27	Rockford, Illinois	WQRF-TV	39	Independent
December 17	Kansas City, Missouri	KYFC	50	Independent	Was previously on air as KCIT-TV from 1969 to 1971.

Network affiliation changes

Date	City of license/Market	Station	Channel	Old affiliation	New affiliation
July 1	Charlotte, North Carolina	WCCB	18	ABC	Independent
		WRET-TV	36	Independent	NBC
		WSOC-TV	9	NBC	ABC

Station closures

Date	City of license/Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation	Sign-on date	Notes/Ref.
April 9	Greenfield, Massachusetts	WRLP	32	NBC	June 29, 1957
August 15	Warrensburg/Sedalia, Missouri (Columbia/Jefferson City)	KMOS-TV	6	CBS	July 8, 1954 (as an independent station)	Returned to the air December 22, 1979 as a PBS member station

Births

Date	Name	Notability
January 5	January Jones	Actress (Mad Men, The Last Man on Earth)
January 8	Ron Pederson	Canadian actor (Mad TV)
January 9	AJ McLean	Actor and singer (Backstreet Boys)
January 15	Jamie Clayton	Actress (Sense8)
January 15	Eddie Cahill	Actor (CSI: NY)
January 24	Kristen Schaal	Actress (Bob's Burgers, The Last Man on Earth, Gravity Falls)
January 26	Kelly Stables	Actress (W.I.T.C.H., Two and a Half Men, The Exes)
February 3	Kelly Sullivan	Actress (Henry Danger, The Adventures of Kid Danger)
February 3	Eliza Schneider	Actress (Beakman's World, South Park, Squirrel Boy)
February 7	Ashton Kutcher	Actor (That '70s Show, Two and a Half Men)
February 9	A. J. Buckley	Irish-born Canadian actor (CSI: NY)
February 14	Joanna Canton	Actress
February 14	Danai Gurira	Actor (The Walking Dead)
February 20	Lauren Ambrose	Actress (Six Feet Under)
February 20	Chelsea Peretti	Actress (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
February 21	Kumail Nanjiani	American-Pakistani actor (Silicon Valley)
February 21	Nicole Parker	Comedian, actress and singer (Mad TV)
March 1	Donovan Patton	Actor (Blue's Clues, Blue's Room, Team Umizoomi, Clarence)
March 1	Jensen Ackles	Actor (Days of Our Lives, Dark Angel, Smallville, Supernatural)
March 5	Kimberly McCullough	Actress (Once and Again, General Hospital)
March 8	Nick Zano	Actor (What I Like About You)
March 17	Patrick Seitz	Actor
March 19	Virginia Williams	Actress (One Life to Live, Monarch Cove, Fairly Legal)
March 23	Joanna Page	Welsh actress (Gavin & Stacey, Poppy Cat, Q Pootle 5)
	Anastasia Griffith	Actress (Damages, Trauma, Copper)
	Nicholle Tom	Actress (The Nanny)
March 25	Maribeth Monroe	Actress and comedian (Workaholics, The Brink)
April 2	Jaime Ray Newman	Actress (General Hospital, Eastwick)
April 2	Deon Richmond	Actor (The Cosby Show, Sister, Sister)
April 13	Kyle Howard	Actor (My Boys)
April 17	Lindsay Hartley	Actress and singer (Days of Our Lives, All My Children, Passions)
April 19	James Franco	Actor (Freaks and Geeks)
April 20	Clayne Crawford	Actor (Lethal Weapon)
April 22	Manu Intiraymi	Actor (Star Trek: Voyager)
April 26	Stana Katic	Actress (Castle)
April 26	Pablo Schreiber	Canadian-American actor (The Wire, Orange Is the New Black)
April 28	Nate Richert	Actor (Sabrina the Teenage Witch)
May 1	James Badge Dale	Actor (24, The Pacific, Rubicon)
May 5	Santiago Cabrera	Venezuelean-born Chilean-British actor (Heroes)
May 8	Matthew Davis	Actor (The Vampire Diaries)
May 10	Corri English	Actress
May 10	Kenan Thompson	Actor (All That, Kenan & Kel, Saturday Night Live)
May 12	Jason Biggs	Actor (Orange Is the New Black, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
May 12	Malin Akerman	Actress (Childrens Hospital, Trophy Wife, Billions)
May 15	David Krumholtz	Actor (Numb3rs)
May 15	Caroline Dhavernas	Actress (Off the Map, Hannibal)
May 17	Kat Foster	Actress ('Til Death)
May 22	Ginnifer Goodwin	Actress (Ed, Big Love, Once Upon a Time)
May 26	Benji Gregory	Actor (ALF)
May 27	Cindy Sampson	Canadian actress (Supernatural)
May 28	Jake Johnson	Actor (New Girl)
June 2	Justin Long	Actor (Ed)
June 2	Nikki Cox	Actress (Unhappily Ever After, Las Vegas)
June 4	Robin Taylor	Actor (Gotham)
June 5	Nick Kroll	Actor, comedian and writer (The League, Kroll Show)
June 6	Judith Barsi	Actress (d. 1988)
June 7	Bill Hader	Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live, South Park, Documentary Now!)
June 9	Michaela Conlin	Actress (Bones)
June 10	Shane West	Actor (Once and Again, ER, Nikita)
June 11	Joshua Jackson	Canadian actor (Dawson's Creek, Fringe)
June 12	Jeremy Rowley	Actor (iCarly, Bunsen Is a Beast)
June 13	Ethan Embry	Actor (Brotherhood)
June 18	Tara Platt	Voice actress (Legion of Super Heroes)
June 19	Zoe Saldana	Actress and singer
June 21	Erica Durance	Canadian actress (Smallville, Saving Hope)
July 1	Hillary Tuck	Actress (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show)
July 4	Becki Newton	Actress (Ugly Betty, The Goodwin Games)
July 4	Andrea Gabriel	Actress (Lost)
July 6	Adam Busch	Actor (The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Men at Work)
	Tamera Mowry	Actress (Sister, Sister, Strong Medicine, Tia & Tamera)
	Tia Mowry	Actress (Sister, Sister, Bratz, The Game, Tia & Tamera, Instant Mom)
July 9	Linda Park	Korean actress (Star Trek: Enterprise)
July 12	Michelle Rodriguez	Actress (Lost)
July 12	Topher Grace	Actor (That '70s Show)
July 18	Eddie Matos	Actor (Port Charles)
July 19	Ginifer King	Actress (The Haunted Hathaways)
July 22	A. J. Cook	Actress (Higher Ground, Criminal Minds)
August 2	Natashia Williams	Actress (Romeo!)
August 8	Countess Vaughn	Actress and singer (Moesha, The Parkers)
August 18	Andy Samberg	Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live, Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
August 20	Noah Bean	Actor (Damages, Nikita)
August 22	James Corden	English comedian and host (The Late Late Show)
August 24	Beth Riesgraf	Actress (Leverage, Caper)
August 25	Kel Mitchell	Actor (All That, Kenan & Kel, Clifford the Big Red Dog, One on One, Pink Panther and Pals, Wild Grinders, Game Shakers)
August 26	Amanda Schull	Actress (Pretty Little Liars, Suits, 12 Monkeys)
August 28	Kelly Overton	Actress (All My Children, True Blood, Legends)
August 28	Rachel Kimsey	Actress (The Young and the Restless, Justice League Action)
September 4	Wes Bentley	Actor (American Horror Story)
September 12	Ben McKenzie	Actor (The O.C., Southland, Gotham)
September 13	Megan Henning	Actress (7th Heaven)
September 16	Michael Mosley	Actor (Scrubs, Pan Am, Sirens)
September 20	Charlie Weber	Actor (How to Get Away with Murder)
September 22	Daniella Alonso	Actress (Revolution, The Night Shift)
September 23	Keri Lynn Pratt	Actress (Jack & Bobby)
September 28	Peter Cambor	Actor (NCIS: Los Angeles)
October 4	Dana Davis	Actress (Heroes, 10 Things I Hate About You, Franklin & Bash)
October 7	Omar Benson Miller	Actor (CSI: Miami, Ballers, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
October 10	Jodi Lyn O'Keefe	Actress (Nash Bridges, Prison Break)
October 15	Devon Gummersall	Actor (My So-Called Life)
October 16	Kala Savage	Actress
October 17	Erin Karpluk	Canadian actress (Being Erica)
October 18	Wesley Jonathan	Actor (City Guys, What I Like About You, The Soul Man)
October 20	Dionne Quan	Voice actress (Rugrats, The Fairly OddParents, All Grown Up!, Bratz)
October 21	Will Estes	Actor (American Dreams, Blue Bloods)
October 21	Michael McMillian	Actor (What I Like About You, True Blood, Hot in Cleveland)
October 22	Zuzanna Szadkowski	Polish-American actress (Gossip Girl)
October 27	David Walton	Actor (New Girl, About a Boy)
October 28	Gwendoline Christie	English actress (Wizards vs. Aliens, Game of Thrones) and singer
October 30	Matthew Morrison	Actor (Glee)
October 31	Brian Hallisay	Actor (Privileged, The Client List, Revenge)
November 6	Nicole Dubuc	Actress (Major Dad)
November 10	Eve	Rapper and actress (Eve)
November 10	David Paetkau	Canadian actor (Flashpoint)
November 12	Ashley Williams	Actress (As the World Turns, Good Morning, Miami, The Jim Gaffigan Show)
November 15	Samantha Shelton	Actress (Monarch Cove)
November 17	Zoë Bell	New Zealand actress
November 17	Rachel McAdams	Actress (True Detective)
November 19	Eric Nenninger	Actor (Malcolm in the Middle)
November 19	Chad Doreck	Voice actor (Brad Carbunkle on My Life as a Teenage Robot)
November 20	Nadine Velazquez	Actress (My Name is Earl, The League, Major Crimes) and model
November 24	Katherine Heigl	Actress (Roswell, Grey's Anatomy, State of Affairs)
November 28	Aimee Garcia	Actress (Greetings from Tucson, All About the Andersons, George Lopez, Dexter)
November 29	Lauren German	Actress (Chicago Fire)
December 7	Shiri Appleby	Actress (Roswell, Life UneXpected, UnREAL)
December 8	Ian Somerhalder	Actor (Smallville, Lost, The Vampire Diaries)
December 9	Jesse Metcalfe	Actor (Passions, Desperate Housewives)
December 10	Summer Phoenix	Actress
December 11	Minty Lewis	Voice actress (Eileen on Regular Show)
December 12	Gbenga Akinnagbe	Actor (The Wire)
December 18	Josh Dallas	Actor (Once Upon a Time)
December 18	Katie Holmes	Actress (Dawson's Creek, The Kennedys)
December 20	Amanda Swisten	Actress
December 23	Estella Warren	Canadian actress

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Notability
February 28	Zara Cully	86	Actress (Mother Olivia Jefferson on The Jeffersons)
March 18	Peggy Wood	86	Actress (One Life to Live)
April 22	Will Geer	76	Actor (Grandpa Walton on The Waltons)
May 21	Bruce Geller	47	Screenwriter, producer (Mannix)
June 29	Bob Crane	49	Actor (Col. Hogan on Hogan's Heroes)
July 3	James Daly	59	Actor (Dr. Paul Lochner on Medical Center)
September 7	Keith Moon	32	English drummer (The Who)

References

The Charlotte Observer, Apr. 25 and 29, 1978.

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[1] The Charlotte Observer, Apr. 25 and 29, 1978.

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