# 1958 in American television

This is a list of American television-related events in 1958.

## Events

| Date | Event | Ref. |
| August 15 | Dotto, a pioneer in big-money quiz shows, becomes the first game show to be cancelled due to the probe in the quiz show scandals. This was due to a federal investigation that started with the allegation that a contestant of that program has been given answers in advance of the show's taping. Several other quiz shows were later canceled due to the investigation. | |
| October 17 | Fred Astaire makes his television starring debut in An Evening with Fred Astaire, an NBC special that later won nine Emmy Awards, and is one of the first television specials to be preserved by means of videotape. | |
| September 16 | Orson Welles's The Fountain of Youth is broadcast on NBC-TV's Colgate Theatre. Filmed in 1956 for a proposed Desilu series, the half-hour program airs only once and becomes the only unsold pilot ever to win a Peabody Award. | $^{:424–425}$$^{:307}$ |

### Other television-related events in 1958

* Ampex demonstrates their design for a color video tape recorder.

## Television programs
### Debuts

| Date | Debut | Network |
| January 4 | Sea Hunt | Broadcast syndication |
| January 7 | Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer | Broadcast syndication |
| January 12 | Shirley Temple's Storybook | NBC |
| January 18 | Young People's Concerts | CBS |
| February 10 | J. P. Patches | KIRO-TV |
| February 10 | Walt Disney Presents: Annette | ABC |
| February 15 | The Dick Clark Show | ABC |
| March | Target | Broadcast syndication |
| April 25 | Jefferson Drum | NBC |
| May 8 | Jazz Party | Dumont |
| July 3 | Buckskin | NBC |
| July 6 | Decision | NBC |
| July 7 | Frontier Justice | CBS |
| August 19 | Colgate Theatre | NBC |
| August 25 | Concentration | NBC |
| September 6 | The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole | Broadcast syndication |
| September 6 | Wanted Dead or Alive | CBS |
| September 14 | Northwest Passage | NBC |
| September 22 | Peter Gunn | NBC |
| September 23 | Bronco | ABC |
| September 23 | Rescue 8 | Broadcast syndication |
| September 24 | The Donna Reed Show | ABC |
| September 26 | Frontier Doctor | Broadcast syndication |
| September 27 | Cimarron City | NBC |
| September 29 | The Huckleberry Hound Show | Broadcast syndication |
| September 29 | The Texan | CBS |
| September 30 | Naked City | ABC |
| September 30 | The Rifleman | ABC |
| October | This Is Alice | NTA Film Network |
| October 1 | Mackenzie's Raiders | Broadcast syndication |
| October 2 | Behind Closed Doors | NBC |
| October 2 | Felix the Cat | Broadcast syndication |
| October 2 | Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks | Broadcast syndication |
| October 2 | The Rough Riders | ABC |
| October 2 | Yancy Derringer | CBS |
| October 3 | Lux Playhouse | NBC |
| October 5 | Lawman | ABC |
| October 6 | The Ann Sothern Show | CBS |
| October 6 | Cannonball | Broadcast syndication |
| October 6 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | CBS |
| October 8 | Bat Masterson | NBC |
| October 8 | Kraft Music Hall | NBC |
| October 10 | 77 Sunset Strip | ABC |
| October 10 | Man with a Camera | ABC |
| October 21 | The George Burns Show | NBC |
| October 22 | Pursuit | CBS |
| November 4 | Flight | Broadcast syndication |

### Ending this year

| Date | Show | Network | Debut | Notes |
| January 1 | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts | CBS | December 6, 1948 | |
| January 3 | Strike It Rich | CBS | May 7, 1951 | |
| January 29 | Date with the Angels | ABC | May 10, 1957 | |
| March 7 | Walt Disney Presents: Annette | CBS | February 10, 1958 | |
| March 25 | The Eve Arden Show | CBS | September 17, 1957 | |
| April 1 | Shower of Stars | CBS | September 30, 1954 | |
| April 1 | Telephone Time | ABC | April 8, 1956 | |
| April 11 | The Court of Last Resort | NBC | October 4, 1957 | |
| April 14 | Love That Jill | ABC | January 20, 1958 | |
| April 28 | Adventures of Superman | Syndication | September 19, 1952 | |
| May 5 | Casey Jones | Syndication | October 8, 1957 | |
| May 22 | Fireside Theatre | NBC | April 5, 1949 | |
| May 23 | The Life of Riley | NBC | October 4, 1949 | |
| May 29 | Boots and Saddles | Syndication | September 19, 1957 | |
| June 14 | The Elgin Hour | ABC | October 5, 1954 | |
| June 24 | Broken Arrow | CBS | September 25, 1956 | |
| June 26 | Climax! | CBS | October 7, 1954 | |
| June 27 | NBC Matinee Theater | NBC | October 31, 1955 | |
| June 27 | The Frank Sinatra Show | ABC | October 18, 1957 | |
| July 2 | Harbor Command | Syndication | October 11, 1957 | |
| July 7 | Decoy | Syndication | October 14, 1957 | |
| July 7 | See It Now | CBS | November 18, 1951 | |
| July 8 | Mr. Adams and Eve | CBS | January 4, 1957 | |
| July 9 | The Gray Ghost | Syndication | October 10, 1957 | |
| July 21 | Suspicion | NBC | September 30, 1957 | |
| August 15 | Dotto | CBS (daytime) NBC (primetime) | January 6, 1958 | These programs were among several that were implicated in the quiz show scandals. |
| August 29 | The Adventures of Jim Bowie | ABC | September 7, 1956 | These programs were among several that were implicated in the quiz show scandals. |
| September 7 | The $64,000 Challenge | CBS | April 8, 1956 | |
| September 15 | The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show | CBS | October 12, 1950 | |
| September 24 | The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok | ABC | April 15, 1951 (on Syndication) | |
| September 25 | Sergeant Preston of the Yukon | CBS | September 29, 1955 | |
| September 28 | Decision | NBC | July 6, 1958 | |
| September 29 | Studio One | CBS | November 7, 1948 | |
| October 7 | Kraft Television Theatre | NBC | May 7, 1947 | |
| October 7 | Colgate Theatre | NBC | August 19, 1958 | |
| October 16 | Twenty-One | NBC | 1956 | These programs were among several that were implicated in the quiz show scandals. |
| November 2 | The $64,000 Question | CBS | June 7, 1955 | These programs were among several that were implicated in the quiz show scandals. |
| December 11 | Jefferson Drum | NBC | April 25, 1958 | |
| December 25 | Jazz Party | WNTA-TV | May 8, 1958 | |
| Unknown date | Studio 57 | Syndication | September 21, 1954 (on DuMont) | |
| Unknown date | The Big Story | Syndication | September 16, 1949 (on NBC) | |
| Unknown date | The New Adventures of Charlie Chan | Syndication | June 1957 | |

## Networks and services
### Network launches

| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
| Badger Television Network | Over-the-air regional | January | A three-station regional television network involving three ABC affiliated stations in Wisconsin, including in Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay, with Milwaukee's WISN-TV serving as the network's flagship. | |

### Network closures

| Network | Type | End date | Notes | Source |
| Badger Television Network | Over-the-air regional | August 8 | It ceased operations due to financial issues. | |

## Television stations
### Station launches

| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/References |
| January 1 | Helena, Montana | KXLJ-TV | 12 | NBC | |
| January 1 | Peoria, Illinois | WMBD-TV | 31 | CBS | |
| January 6 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | WIPR-TV | 6 | NET | |
| January 20 | Salt Lake City, Utah | KUED | 7 | NET | |
| January 21 | Rapid City, South Dakota | KRSD-TV | 3 | NBC | |
| January 23 | Minot, North Dakota | KMOT-TV | 10 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | semi-satellite of KFYR-TV Bismarck |
| February 1 | Orlando, Florida | WLOF-TV | 9 | ABC | |
| February 2 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | WSTE-TV | 7 | Independent | |
| February 8 | Seattle, Washington | KIRO-TV | 7 | CBS | |
| February 17 | Atlanta, Georgia | WETV | 30 | NET | |
| March 3 | Oakland/San Francisco, California | KTVU | 2 | Independent | |
| March 5 | Scottsbluff, Nebraska | KDUH-TV | 4 | ABC | |
| March 15 | Billings, Montana | KGHL-TV | 8 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | |
| April 1 | Eureka, California | KVIQ-TV | 6 | NBC | |
| May 1 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | KNME-TV | 5 | NET | |
| September 2 | Salina, Kansas | KAYS-TV | 7 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) | Semi-satellite of KTVH (now KWCH-DT) in Hutchinson |
| September 5 | Louisville, Kentucky | WFPK | 15 | NET | Now KET/PBS affiliate WKPC-TV |
| September 10 | Jacksonville, Florida | WJCT | 7 | NET | |
| September 14 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | WTAE-TV | 4 | ABC | |
| September 20 | Nacogdoches, Texas | KTES | 19 | Independent | |
| October 5 | Great Falls, Montana | KRTV | 3 | NBC | |
| October 8 | Alexandria, Minnesota | KCMT | 7 | CBS | Satellite of WCCO-TV/Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| October 12 | Flint, Michigan | WJRT-TV | 12 | ABC | |
| October 17 | Tampa, Florida | WEDU | 3 | NET | |
| October 20 | Kalispell, Montana | KULR | 9 | Independent | |
| October 27 | Tampa, Florida | WEDU | 3 | NET | |
| November 5 | Garden City, Kansas | KGLD | 11 | NBC | Satellite of KCKT/Hays |
| November 9 | Nampa, Idaho (Boise, Idaho) | KCIX-TV | 6 | Independent | |
| November 10 | Gainesville, Florida | WUFT | 5 | NET | |
| November 17 | Wailuku, Hawaii | KAII-TV | 7 | NBC | Satellite of KONA-TV (now KHON-TV) in Honolulu |
| November 27 | Aberdeen, South Dakota | KXAB-TV | 9 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | |
| November 30 | Buffalo, New York | WKBW-TV | 7 | ABC | |
| December 1 | Odessa, Texas | KVKM-TV | 9 | ABC | |
| December 5 | Toledo, Ohio | WTOL | 11 | CBS (primary) NBC (secondary) | |
| December 15 | North Platte, Nebraska | KNOP-TV | 2 | NBC | |

### Network affiliation changes

| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | References |
| November 16 | Hartford, Connecticut | WTIC-TV (original) | 3 | Independent | CBS | |
| Unknown date | Lexington, Kentucky | WKXP-TV | 27 | Independent | CBS | |

### Station closures

| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | First air date | Notes/Ref. |
| April 7 | Kalispell, Montana | KGEZ-TV | 9 | Independent | July 9, 1957 | |
| May 7 | Honolulu, Hawaii | KHVH-TV | 13 | Independent | May 5, 1957 | Merged with KULA-TV (now KITV) |
| May 11 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | WITV | 17 | ABC | November 25, 1953 | |
| May 31 | York, Pennsylvania (Harrisburg/Lebanon) | WNOW-TV | 49 | NTA Film Network | November 9, 1953 | |
| June 5 | Bloomington, Illinois | WBLN | 15 | | December 1, 1953 |
| June 20 | Fayetteville/Raleigh, North Carolina | WFLB-TV | 18 | ABC (primary) CBS/NBC (secondary) | |
| June 21 | San Francisco | KSAN-TV | 32 | Independent | March 9, 1954 | |
| July 16 | Honolulu, Hawaii | KHVH-TV | 13 | Independent | May 5, 1957 | |
| September 10 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania | WILK-TV | 34 | ABC (primary) NTA Film Network (secondary) | September 7, 1953 | Merged with current ABC affiliate WNEP-TV in Scranton. |
| September 13 | Wilmington, Delaware | WVUE | 12 | Independent | March 23, 1949 | |
| September 30 | Buffalo, New York | WBUF | 17 | NBC | August 17, 1953 | Returned to the air in 1959 as NET member station WNED-TV |