In 1989, television in the United States saw a number of significant events, including the debuts, finales, and cancellations of television shows; the launch, closure, and rebranding of channels; changes and additions to network affiliations by stations; controversies, business transactions, and carriage disputes; and the deaths of individuals who had made notable contributions to the medium.
Notable events
| Date | | Event |
|---|
| January 1 |
| The NBC affiliate in Tampa, WXFL changes its callsign back to WFLA-TV. |
| The Karen Carpenter Story, a made-for-television biographical film about singer Karen Carpenter and the brother-and-sister pop music duo of which she was a part, The Carpenters is broadcast on CBS. The movie was popular in the ratings; it was the highest-rated two-hour TV movie of the year and the third highest rated such program on any network during the 1980s. |
| January 3 |
| January 7 |
| January 8 |
| January 9 |
| January 15 |
| January 21 |
| January 22 |
| February 5 |
| The first part of the four part Western miniseries Lonesome Dove airs on CBS, drawing a huge viewing audience, earning numerous awards, and reviving both the television Western and the miniseries. |
| February 9 |
| February 18 |
| February 20 |
| Charlie O'Donnell returned to Wheel of Fortune as the announcer, following a nine-year absence. |
| February 26 |
| February 27 |
| March 2 |
| March 10 |
| March 13 |
| March 19 |
| The Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 is broadcast on ABC. The broadcast is notable because Dr. Jerry Punch, who was reporting from the pit stall of Richard Petty when a fire broke out, proceeded to treat on the spot, two injured crew members. Following the incident, in which several items of Punch's clothing were singed or melted, ESPN mandated that its pit reporters wear fire-retardant suits. Other networks have since adopted the practice. |
| March 24 |
| March 25 |
| March 29 |
| April 1 |
| April 8 |
| April 30 |
| May 7 |
| May 8 |
| May 11 |
| NBC airs a pilot for a proposed spin-off of 227 centered on Jackée Harry's character Sandra Clark. The pilot however, was not picked up for a series and Jackée subsequently left 227. She would however, later guest star in seven of the final season's episodes. |
| May 14 |
| May 14–25 |
| May 18 |
| May 20 |
| May 21 |
| June 3 |
| June 5 |
| June 8 |
| July 1 |
| July 4 |
| July 5 |
| July 7 |
| July 11 |
| July 17 |
| July 18 |
| August 14 |
| August 23 |
| August 24 |
| August 27 |
| September 1 |
| September 4 |
| September 16 |
| September 22 |
| September 24 |
| September 28 |
| September 30 |
| October 1 |
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom makes its network broadcast television debut on ABC. |
| October 6 |
| October 9 |
| October 17 |
| October 19–23 |
| October 26 |
| October 27 |
| October 28 |
| November 4 |
| November 7 |
| November 9 |
| November 16 |
| November 18 |
| December 2 |
| December 15 |
| December 17 |
| December 18 |
Programs
Debuting this year
The following is a list of shows that premiered in 1989.
| Date | Title | Network |
|---|
| January 3 | The Arsenio Hall Show | Syndication |
| January 7 | Bordertown | CBN Family Channel |
| USA Up All Night | USA Network | |
| January 9 | Inside Edition | Syndication |
| The Pat Sajak Show | CBS | |
| January 18 | A Fine Romance | ABC |
| January 20 | Father Dowling Mysteries | NBC |
| January 21 | Dolphin Cove | CBS |
| Nightingales | NBC | |
| January 23 | Couch Potatoes | Syndication |
| January 24 | Studio 5-B | ABC |
| January 28 | A Man Called Hawk | |
| Long Ago and Far Away | PBS | |
| January 29 | Shining Time Station | |
| February 3 | Unsub | NBC |
| February 28 | Coach | ABC |
| March 1 | Hard Time on Planet Earth | CBS |
| March 7 | Anything but Love | ABC |
| March 11 | COPS | Fox |
| March 20 | Heartland | CBS |
| Live-In | | |
| March 25 | Men | ABC |
| March 26 | Quantum Leap | NBC |
| March 27 | Generations | |
| April 2 | Total Panic | Nickelodeon |
| April 3 | Top Card | TNN |
| April 5 | The Robert Guillaume Show | ABC |
| April 10 | Nearly Departed | NBC |
| April 13 | Dream Street | |
| April 14 | The Jim Henson Hour | |
| April 18 | Rescue 911 | CBS |
| Have Faith | ABC | |
| April 22 | Jesse Hawkes | CBS |
| May 1 | Think Fast! | Nickelodeon |
| June 4 | McGee and Me! | Syndication |
| Shannon's Deal | NBC | |
| June 10 | Tales from the Crypt | HBO |
| July 5 | Seinfeld | NBC |
| July 10 | Knight & Daye | |
| July 14 | Hey Dude | Nickelodeon |
| August 3 | Primetime Live | ABC |
| August 12 | Comic Strip Live | Fox |
| August 17 | FM | NBC |
| August 20 | Saved by the Bell | |
| August 28 | Open House | Fox |
| September 2 | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero | Syndication |
| September 4 | Eureeka's Castle | Nick Jr. |
| The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! | Syndication | |
| September 5 | The Joan Rivers Show | |
| September 9 | American Gladiators | |
| Captain N: The Game Master | NBC | |
| The Karate Kid | | |
| Beetlejuice | ABC | |
| The Byron Allen Show | Syndication | |
| September 11 | 3rd Degree | |
| September 12 | Chicken Soup | ABC |
| Life Goes On | | |
| September 13 | Wolf | CBS |
| September 16 | The California Raisin Show | |
| Dink, the Little Dinosaur | | |
| Island Son | | |
| Rude Dog & the Dweebs | | |
| Teen Summit | BET | |
| Ring Raiders | Syndication | |
| Camp Candy | NBC | |
| September 17 | Sister Kate | |
| Major Dad | CBS | |
| September 18 | Alien Nation | Fox |
| Everyday with Joan Lunden | Syndication | |
| Hard Copy | | |
| The Famous Teddy Z | CBS | |
| The People Next Door | | |
| September 20 | Top of the Hill | |
| A Peaceable Kingdom | | |
| Doogie Howser, M.D. | ABC | |
| The Young Riders | | |
| The Nutt House | NBC | |
| September 22 | Baywatch | |
| Hardball | | |
| Family Matters | ABC | |
| Free Spirit | | |
| Snoops | CBS | |
| September 23 | Saturday Night with Connie Chung | |
| September 24 | Booker | Fox |
| Homeroom | ABC | |
| October 2 | Make the Grade | Nickelodeon |
| October 13 | Mancuso, F.B.I. | NBC |
| November 26 | America's Funniest Home Videos | ABC |
| November 30 | Ann Jillian | NBC |
| December 3 | True Blue | |
| December 17 | The Simpsons | Fox |
| December 18 | First Business | Syndication |
Resuming this year
| Title | | Last aired | | Previous network | | New title | | Returning network | | Date of return |
|---|
| The Mickey Mouse Club |
| You Can't Do That on Television |
Ending this year
| Date | | Title | | Debut |
|---|
| January 7 |
| January 13 |
| January 14 |
| January 19 |
| January 21 |
| Simon & Simon |
| February 20 |
| March 2 |
| March 9 |
| March 10 |
| March 11 |
| March 18 |
| Murphy's Law |
| March 24 |
| Super Password |
| March 25 |
| March 31 |
| April 1 |
| April 8 |
| April 14 |
| April 26 |
| May 5 |
| May 7 |
| May 11 |
| May 13 |
| May 14 |
| Moonlighting |
| May 19 |
| May 20 |
| May 21 |
| May 22 |
| June 9 |
| Couch Potatoes |
| June 16 |
| June 21 |
| June 23 |
| June 25 |
| July 14 |
| July 27 |
| July 30 |
| August 4 |
| August 22 |
| August 24 |
| September 2 |
| September 8 |
| September 9 |
| September 29 |
| October 7 |
| October 9 |
| October 16 |
| October 25 |
| October 28 |
| November 7 |
| November 15 |
| November 30 |
| Top of the Hill |
| December 1 |
| December 2 |
| December 9 |
| December 16 |
| Rude Dog & the Dweebs |
| December 17 |
Entering syndication
| Show | | Seasons | | In production | | Notes | | Sources |
|---|
| Day by Day |
| The Equalizer |
| HeartBeat |
| Highway to Heaven |
| Hollywood Squares |
| Jim Henson's Muppet Babies |
| Mr. Belvedere |
| Wipeout |
Changing networks
| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
|---|
| Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers | The Disney Channel | Syndication |
| The Mickey Mouse Club | Syndication | The Disney Channel |
| American Bandstand | USA Network | |
| The Hitchhiker | HBO | |
| Mystery Science Theater 3000 | KTMA | The Comedy Channel |
| Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears | NBC | ABC |
| Wheel of Fortune | CBS | |
| Remote Control | MTV | Syndication/MTV |
Made-for-TV movies and miniseries
| Title | Network | Date of airing |
|---|
| The Karen Carpenter Story | CBS | January 1 |
| The Brotherhood of the Rose | NBC | January 22 & 23 |
| Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All | CBS | May 21 |
Networks and services
Launches
| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
|---|
| SportsChannel Ohio | Cable television | February 9 | | |
| Midwest Sports Channel | Cable television | March 1 | | |
| SportsChannel Los Angeles | Cable television | June 30 | | |
| Prime Sports Midwest | Cable television | November | | |
| Prime Sports Network Utah | Cable television | November | | |
| The Comedy Channel | Cable television | November 15 | | |
| All News Channel | Satellite television | November 30 | | |
Conversions and rebrandings
| Old network name | New network name | Type | Conversion Date | Notes | Source |
|---|
| Home Shopping Club Overnight Service | Home Shopping SPREE | Broadcast and cable television | Unknown | | |
| SuperStation WTBS | TBS Superstation | Cable television | Unknown | | |
| Tempo Television | CNBC | Cable television | April 17 | | |
Closures
| Network | Type | Closure date | Notes | Source |
|---|
| Kraft Golden Showcase Network | Syndicated programming block | Unknown | | |
Television stations
Station launches
| Date | | Market | | Station | | Channel | | Affiliation |
|---|
| January 1 |
| January 4 |
| Detroit, Michigan |
| Hilo, Hawaii |
| Louisville, Kentucky |
| Lubbock, Texas |
| January 15 |
| January 21 |
| January 23 |
| January 26 |
| January 27 |
| January 31 |
| February 2 |
| February 6 |
| February 10 |
| February 12 |
| February 28 |
| March 7 |
| March 19 |
| March 30 |
| April 2 |
| April 3 |
| April 12 |
| April 13 |
| April 14 |
| April 15 |
| April 20 |
| April 30 |
| May 3 |
| May 8 |
| May 17 |
| May 22 |
| Waco, Texas |
| May 29 |
| Norfolk, Virginia |
| May 31 |
| Monterey, California |
| San Francisco, California |
| June 16 |
| July 9 |
| July 13 |
| July 30 |
| July 31 |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| August 7 |
| August 21 |
| Lubbock, Texas |
| August 22 |
| August 23 |
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| August 28 |
| August 31 |
| September 11 |
| September 27 |
| October 1 |
| Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Hilo, Hawaii |
| Yakima, Washington |
| October 2 |
| October 6 |
| October 26 |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Syracuse, New York |
| October 27 |
| November 1 |
| November 3 |
| November 16 |
| November 27 |
| November 30 |
| Wailuku, Hawaii |
| December 5 |
| December 8 |
| December 18 |
| December 23 |
| Unknown date |
| Hazleton, Pennsylvania |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| South Bend, Indiana |
Stations changing network affiliation
| Market | | Date | | Station | | Channel | | Prior affiliation | | New affiliation |
|---|
| Houston, Texas |
| Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| WCIX |
| WSVN |
| Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Rochester, New York |
| WHEC-TV |
| Buffalo, New York |
| WNYB |
| West Palm Beach, Florida |
| WTVX |
Station closures
| Date | | Market | | Station | | Channel | | Affiliation |
|---|
| March 31 |
| June 30 |
| August 31 |
| September 17 |
| October 17 |
| Unknown date |
| Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| WTFM-TV |
Births
| Date | | Name | | Notability |
|---|
| January 1 |
| January 3 |
| January 8 |
| January 9 |
| January 10 |
| January 13 |
| Andy Allo |
| January 16 |
| January 19 |
| January 27 |
| January 30 |
| February 1 |
| February 2 |
| February 3 |
| February 5 |
| February 11 |
| February 13 |
| February 15 |
| February 16 |
| February 17 |
| February 19 |
| February 20 |
| February 21 |
| Kristin Herrera |
| Scout Taylor-Compton |
| February 24 |
| February 25 |
| February 27 |
| March 1 |
| March 3 |
| March 5 |
| March 11 |
| March 15 |
| March 17 |
| March 18 |
| March 19 |
| March 25 |
| April 5 |
| Freddie Fox |
| April 8 |
| April 9 |
| April 11 |
| April 15 |
| April 18 |
| April 19 |
| April 20 |
| Alex Black |
| April 23 |
| April 27 |
| April 30 |
| May 5 |
| May 8 |
| Nyle DiMarco |
| May 10 |
| May 11 |
| May 14 |
| May 17 |
| May 19 |
| May 23 |
| May 24 |
| May 25 |
| May 29 |
| Riley Keough |
| May 30 |
| May 31 |
| June 3 |
| June 5 |
| June 7 |
| June 9 |
| June 13 |
| June 14 |
| June 15 |
| Bayley |
| June 18 |
| June 19 |
| Will Payne |
| June 20 |
| Christopher Mintz-Plasse |
| June 25 |
| June 27 |
| Kimiko Glenn |
| Kelley Jakle |
| July 1 |
| July 11 |
| July 12 |
| July 14 |
| July 21 |
| Rory Culkin |
| July 22 |
| July 23 |
| July 25 |
| Noel Callahan |
| July 29 |
| July 31 |
| Jessica Williams |
| Marshall Williams |
| Zelda Williams |
| Joey Richter |
| August 8 |
| August 9 |
| Paige Spara |
| August 10 |
| August 15 |
| Joe Jonas |
| Denise Oliver |
| August 18 |
| August 19 |
| August 21 |
| August 22 |
| August 23 |
| August 28 |
| September 5 |
| September 7 |
| September 14 |
| Logan Henderson |
| September 18 |
| September 19 |
| September 21 |
| September 25 |
| September 26 |
| September 27 |
| September 29 |
| October 1 |
| October 4 |
| October 10 |
| October 13 |
| October 14 |
| October 16 |
| October 24 |
| Shenae Grimes |
| October 28 |
| November 2 |
| November 6 |
| November 7 |
| November 10 |
| November 14 |
| November 16 |
| November 19 |
| November 20 |
| November 22 |
| Candice Glover |
| Jon Rudnitsky |
| November 30 |
| December 7 |
| Caleb Landry Jones |
| December 10 |
| December 13 |
| December 15 |
| December 18 |
| December 22 |
| December 28 |
| December 29 |
| December 30 |
Deaths
| Date | | Name | | Age | | class="unsortable" | Notability |
|---|
| February 5 |
| February 11 |
| April 26 |
| April 30 |
| May 1 |
| May 20 |
| June 15 |
| July 3 |
| July 4 |
| July 10 |
| July 18 |
| August 16 |
| September 17 |
| October 6 |
| November 27 |
| December 6 |
Television debuts
- Daniel Baldwin – Family Ties
- William Baldwin – The Preppie Murder
- Sandra Bullock – Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman
- Michael Chiklis – Miami Vice
- Faizon Love – L.A. Friday
- Tim Blake Nelson – The Unnaturals
- Robert Patrick – The New Lassie
- Stephen Root – Cross of Fire
- Isabella Rossellini – The Tracey Ullman Show
- Tom Sizemore – Gideon Oliver
- Lea Thompson – Nightbreaker
References
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130606153625/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-01-17/news/8701040387_1_channel-4-s-nbc-stations NBC To Buy Miami's Channel 4], ''South Florida Sun-Sentinel'', January 17, 1987.
- (August 9, 1988). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; CBS to Buy TV Station In Miami". The New York Times.
- (January 7, 1989). "TV Listings for – January 7, 1989". TV Tango.
- "Scarface{{!}} Trailers from Hell".
- (1989-01-08). "Lobotomized 'Brazil'?".
- Rossen, Jake. (February 4, 2018). "Oral History: The Strangest Super Bowl Halftime Show Ever".
- Andrews, Travis. (February 2, 2018). "From Elvis Presto to Michael Jackson: How the Super Bowl halftime show found its groove". The Washington Post.
- (February 8, 1989). "Nielsen ratings". [[USA Today]].
- (April 10, 2012). "Punch's near miss led to safety gear for ESPN's NASCAR pit reporters".
- (April 19, 1989). "Comedian Lucille Ball suffers a heart attack". [[The Spokesman-Review]].
- Flint, Peter B.. (April 27, 1989). "Lucille Ball, Spirited Doyenne of TV Comedies, Dies at 77". [[The New York Times]].
- "AB moves to USA network".
- Harmetz, Aljean. (1988-10-11). "Superheroes' Battleground: Prime Time". New York Times.
- "F.O.O.M. (Flashbacks of Ol' Marvel) #16: "I'm Free Now – The Incredible Hulk (1988-1990)"". Comic Bulletin.
- (1978). "Saturday Night Live".
- "Introduction to Game 4 of the 1989 NBA Finals".
- (June 1, 2015). "NBA Finals, Music Division: NBC is great, but CBS is better".
- [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/89-OCR/BC-1989-04-10-OCR-Page-0096.pdf "In brief."] ''Broadcasting'', April 10, 1989, pg. 96.
- . (2 May 1989). ["FOX NETWORK, CH. 29 SPLIT; CH. 49 IS THE NEW SUITOR"](https://buffalonews.com/news/fox-network-ch-29-split-ch-49-is-the-new-suitor/article_ae2bb259-61e4-543a-83d2-97679492a1b5.html).
- (November 29, 2011). "November 9, 1989: The NBA signs a lucrative 4-year television deal with NBC". Sports Media Watch.
- (9 November 1989). "NBA Flips Channel, Decides to Play Ball With NBC in 1990". Los Angeles Times.
- "NBC acquires NBA broadcast rights".
- Steinbreder, John. (November 20, 1989). "The Ball's In A New Court: NBC took the NBA away from CBS for a cool $600 million".
- "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Simpsons World.com.
- (2024-06-13). "Dustin Poirier".
- Perez, Roberth. (2024-05-05). "Bianca Belair: Age, Husband, Height & More To Know".
- (2024-01-29). "WWE Profile - Bayley".
- "Adore Delano on Apple Music".
- (2018-01-18). "The evolution of Aaron Hernandez".
- "Candice Glover on Apple Music".
- "Candice Glover {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes".