# 1985 in American television

The year 1985 involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events of that year.

## Events

| Date | Event |
| January 1 | VH1 begins in the United States. |
| January 4 | Sesame Street broadcasts its 2,000th episode. |
| January 7 | During an appearance on ABC's Good Morning America, actor Yul Brynner, who was suffering from terminal lung cancer, mentioned his wish to make a public service announcement to be run after his death to tell others to not smoke. |
| January 20 | For the first time ever, the Super Bowl is televised by ABC, who join the annual broadcast rotation of the game with CBS and NBC. This also marked the first time that a Super Bowl had closed captioning provided in real-time. In this game, the San Francisco 49ers would defeat the Miami Dolphins 38-16. |
| January 24 | The first part of a two part Family Ties episode airs on NBC concerning Elyse Keaton going into labor while performing on-air at her husband, Steven's TV station. |
| February 4 | NBC becomes the first commercial television network to use satellite interconnection for its stations; as a result, it is the first network to discontinue use of chime intonations at the beginning of each telecast, to signal to its affiliates to start broadcasting the network feed. |
| February 8 | CBS airs the final episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. |
| February 10 | CBS airs the first part of a two part miniseries that examines the so-called "Atlanta child murders" of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Atlanta officials criticized The Atlanta Child Murders, claiming that it distorted the facts of the case. After a series of negotiations, CBS executives agreed to insert a disclaimer alerting viewers that the film is based on fact but contains fictional elements. |
| March 2 | The NBC situation comedy Gimme a Break! broadcasts an episode live. |
| March 18 | Capital Cities Communications, a station owner group based in Albany, New York, stuns the broadcast industry by announcing that it is acquiring ABC for $3.5 billion. The move will prompt the company to sell off several of its television and radio stations to satisfy FCC ownership limits. The deal will be finalized on January 3, 1986. |
| March 20 | Norman Lear sells Tandem Productions and Embassy Television companies to The Coca-Cola Company, which also owns Columbia Pictures company, for $485 million. |
| March 22 | KXXV signs on the air in Waco as an NBC affiliate. However, the NBC affiliate didn't last long, and it moved to ABC. |
| March 31 | The World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) telecasts WrestleMania to select pay-per-view areas (and to a greater extent, closed-circuit locations across the country). The event is wildly successful (drawing over a million viewers on closed-circuit) and marks the beginning of the annual series of WrestleMania events which continue to air on pay-per-view to this day. There is, however, a near-riot in Pittsburgh when a technical glitch prematurely ends the feed at the Civic Arena, prompting the WWF to appease angry fans by showing the event in its entirely on ABC affiliate WTAE-TV two weeks later. |
| April 1 | Financial News Network stopped airing on broadcast stations, and began a 24-hour cable feed, with the introduction of Score. |
| April 6 | The first edition of World Championship Wrestling to be produced by Jim Crockett Promotions airs on TBS. |
| April 9 | The series finale of Three's a Crowd airs on ABC, ending John Ritter's run as Jack Tripper which begin with the debut of Three's Company back in 1977. |
| April 11 | KMSS commences broadcasting in Shreveport, Louisiana, making it the first station in the market to sign on the air since KTBS signed on in 1955 and the first independent station in the market. It would later become one of the few charter affiliates of Fox in Louisiana. |
| April 27 | Frank Glieber makes what turns out to be his final play-by-play assignment for CBS Sports, which is Game 1 of the NBA playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. Glieber would die of a heart attack four days later. Glieber was also scheduled to call Game 4 of the Los Angeles-Portland series alongside James Brown for CBS, but he would ultimately be replaced by Verne Lundquist. |
| April 28 | WLIG commences broadcasting. (The call letters would change to WLNY-TV on September 1, 1996). |
| April 29 | The two-night adaptation of Ken Follett's The Key to Rebecca, shown on WPIX Channel 11 in New York City, has non-pixelated toplessness from both of its female stars, Season Hubley and Lina Raymond. |
| May 4 | News Corporation and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation announces their intent on purchasing Metromedia's television stations and Metromedia Producers Corp. for $3.5 billion. This would soon lay the ground work for the Fox Broadcasting Company, which would debut in October 1986. |
| May 9 | Nicholas Colasanto makes his final appearance as Coach Ernie Pantusso on Cheers. While he technically last appeared in the cold opening of "Rescue Me", Colasanto's last filmed appearance as Coach was in the episode "Cheerio, Cheers". Following Colasanto's death, Woody Harrelson, would join the cast as his replacement, Woody Boyd beginning in the fourth season. |
| May 11 | The first episode of Saturday Night's Main Event is broadcast by NBC, the first time that professional wrestling had been broadcast by network television since the 1950s. |
| May 11 | Dolph Sweet makes his final appearance as Chief Carl Kanisky on Gimme a Break!. The Season 4 finale aired on NBC three days after his death. |
| May 12 | During halftime of the Boston Celtics–Philadelphia 76ers NBA playoff game, CBS televises the first ever NBA draft lottery. |
| May 14 | On The CBS Morning News, co–anchor Phyllis George interviews false rape accuser Cathleen Mae Webb and the man whom she had falsely accused, Gary Dotson. In an effort to get the two to make amends to each other, George makes a simple suggestion: "How about a hug?" Both Webb and Dotson graciously refuse. That infamous interview alienates audiences and is blasted by critics, helping to put an unpleasant close to George's television career at this initial mark. |
| May 15 | The season finale of Dynasty on ABC sees the entire wedding party of Amanda Carrington (Catherine Oxenberg) and Prince Michael of Moldavia (Michael Praed) shot by revolutionaries in what is known as the Moldavian Massacre. |
| May 17 | The season finale of Dallas on CBS finds character Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) on his deathbed after his crazed ex-sister-in-law Katherine Wentworth (Morgan Brittany) runs him down with her car. |
| May 19 | WOIO-TV commences broadcasting in Cleveland. Initially an independent station, it will become a charter affiliate of Fox in 1986 and switch to CBS in 1994 as a result of the 1994 United States broadcast TV realignment. |
| May 25 | CBS airs the fourth game of the Major Indoor Soccer League's championship series between the San Diego Sockers and the Baltimore Blast. This would be the final year the MISL would have games aired on network television. CBS used Gary Bender and Kyle Rote Jr. on commentary. |
| May 30 | The USA Network airs its final National Hockey League telecast, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. NHL contests wouldn't be seen in any shape or form on USA again until the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs. |
| June 14 | ABC broadcasts its 2,311th and last daytime episode of Family Feud after 9 years. Richard Dawson gives an emotional speech at the end of the broadcast. Dawson would return to the series during 1994 for one more season. Meanwhile, on CBS, Press Your Luck broadcasts the episode in which all three contestants would be invited back after a mistake on a question about the cartoon character Sylvester was corrected by Mel Blanc telephoning Peter Tomarken at the end of the show. |
| June 24 | Kathie Lee Johnson (later Gifford) officially joins Regis Philbin as his co-host on WABC's The Morning Show. Their chemistry proves to be successful as The Morning Show soon becomes number 1 in the market and goes on to debut in national syndication on September 5, 1988, when the title is changed to Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. |
| July 1 | Nick at Nite, a nighttime program service with an emphasis on classic television reruns, is launched in the United States, being broadcast on the same channel as Nickelodeon. At the same time, A&E, which previously shared Nickelodeon's channel, begins broadcasting as its own 24-hour cable channel in January of that year on a separate satellite transponder. |
| July 2 | The final episode of The Jeffersons airs on CBS. It is not without controversy though, as CBS abruptly canceled the series without allowing for a proper series finale. The cast was not informed until after the July 2, 1985, episode, "Red Robins"; actor Sherman Hemsley, who portrayed George Jefferson, said he learned that the show was canceled by reading it in the newspaper. Isabel Sanford (Louise Jefferson), who heard about the cancellation through her cousin who read it in the tabloids, publicly stated that she found the cancellation with no proper finale to be disrespectful on the network's part. Per an article in the May 8, 1985, Los Angeles Times, the series was cancelled by announcement at the CBS network "upfront" presentation the day before, nearly two months before the airing of the final episode. Actor Franklin Cover, who played Tom Willis, also heard about the cancellation while watching Entertainment Tonight. |
| July 4 | NBC's Minneapolis/St. Paul (Twin Cities) affiliate WTCN-TV changes its name to WUSA-TV to reflect its co-ownership with USA Today. This would be displaced a year after by KARE-TV. |
| July 13 | The Live Aid concerts are broadcast from London and Philadelphia. In the U.S., the concerts are broadcast by MTV and over-the-air syndication, with ABC joining in a 3-hour prime-time period. |
| July 16 | NBC's telecast of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game out of the Metrodome in Minnesota is the first program to be broadcast in stereo by a television network. |
| July 16 | Rock Hudson joined his old friend Doris Day for a Hollywood press conference announcing the launch of her new TV cable show Doris Day's Best Friends in which Hudson was videotaped visiting Day's ranch in Carmel, California, a few days earlier. He appeared gaunt and his speech was nearly incoherent; during the segment, Hudson did very little speaking, with most of it consisting of Day and Hudson walking around as Day's recording of "My Buddy" played in the background, with Hudson noting he had quickly tired out. His appearance was enough of a shock that the reunion was broadcast repeatedly over national news shows that night and for days to come. |
| July 22 | Douglas Marland starts his critically acclaimed eight-year run writing for the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. |
| August 4 | Capital Cities Communications continues its acquisition of ABC when its CBS affiliate in Durham, North Carolina, WTVD, swaps affiliations with ABC affiliate WRAL-TV in Raleigh. |
| August 19 | A taping of an outdoor interview for NBC's Today is interrupted by David Letterman, who, while taping his own Late Night, leans out of an office window and announces, "My name is Larry Grossman (then-president of NBC News) and I'm not wearing any pants!" |
| September 2 | NBC becomes the first broadcast network in the U.S. to broadcast its prime time programs with stereo sound. |
| September 5 | Showtime begins airing weekly 10 p.m. showings of 52 hours worth of "lost" episodes of The Honeymooners. |
| September 8 | Capital Cities Communications continues its acquisition of ABC when KFSN-TV, its CBS affiliate in Fresno, California, swaps affiliations with the market's existing ABC affiliate, KJEO. |
| September 9 | ABC affiliate WSAV-TV swaps affiliations with NBC affiliate WJCL, thus reversing a swap that took place in 1982. |
| September 9 | The Price Is Right returns to daily syndication after a five-year hiatus, but with Tom Kennedy hosting. After 170 episodes produced, the show went on hiatus until 1994. Besides Johnny Olson, Gene Wood and Rod Roddy shared announcing duties. |
| September 14 | In part one of a three-part season premiere of The Facts of Life on NBC, Edna's Edibles, which had been the main locale of the long-running series since 1983, is burned to the ground. Edna Garrett and the girls would rebuild and replace it with an ice cream and gift shop named Over Our Heads. |
| September 16 | After a 22-year hiatus, new episodes of The Jetsons debut. The syndicated revival would run for two seasons. |
| September 16 | Cleveland's CBS affiliate WJKW-TV changes its name back to WJW-TV. |
| September 18 | "Top Ten Things That Almost Rhyme With Peas" is the subject of the first "Top 10 List" on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. |
| September 22 | The first Farm Aid concert is telecast from Champaign, Illinois, in syndication and by TNN. |
| September 23 | Jackie Gleason and Art Carney reunite in the CBS movie Izzy and Moe. |
| September 23 | Broadcast on NBC two nights before the start of Family Ties' fourth season, the Keatons take a vacation to England in television film Family Ties Vacation. The movie was later split into four individual episodes when the series entered syndication. |
| September 27 | The pilot episode for a revival of the anthology television series, The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. This particular iteration of The Twilight Zone would run for three seasons, the first two on CBS and the final one in syndication. |
| September 28 | ABC broadcasts an episode of The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians called "The Fear", in which Batman's origin is depicted for the first time in media outside of the comic books. |
| September 28 | Three years after being canceled by ABC following its second season, the sitcom It's a Living is relaunched for the first-run syndication market. It would continue for four more seasons before its conclusion in 1989. |
| September 29 | Howard Cosell makes what turns out to be his final assignment for ABC Sports, a Major League Baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins from the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Cosell is later removed from his scheduled announcing duties for that year's World Series due to the controversy surrounding his book I Never Played the Game. Cosell is replaced on the ABC broadcasts by Tim McCarver, who would work the 1985 World Series alongside Al Michaels and Jim Palmer. |
| October 4 | The PBS program Electric Company concludes after 8 straight years in reruns. |
| October 4 | NBC officially wins the rights to broadcast the 1988 Summer Olympics from Seoul, South Korea. |
| October 6 | Jem and the Holograms debuts as one of four six-minute matinée segments on Super Sunday. [It becomes a regular half-hour program in 1986]. |
| October 6 | Spectrum is discontinued. |
| October 20 | The I Dream of Jeannie reunion movie, I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later is broadcast on NBC. It's the first of two reunion movies, as the next one, would be broadcast six years later. |
| November 5 | CBS broadcasts the made-for-television drama film Stone Pillow. It stars Lucille Ball, in an attempt to make a dramatic "breakout" from her years in comedy, as an older homeless woman with few resources and even fewer options. The film received rather mixed reviews, but was a ratings success. The telecast ranked 9th out of 68 programs airing that week, and brought in a 23.3 rating and a 33 share. The success of the film led Ball to make one last attempt to return to her comedy roots with Life with Lucy the next year. |
| November 6 | KRRT-TV goes on the air, giving the San Antonio market its first independent station. |
| November 8 | The final episode of The Price Is Right with Johnny Olson as announcer is broadcast by CBS. Olson had died on October 12; the show was broadcast as an "in memoriam" tribute to him on October 29. |
| November 9 | On NBC, Saturday Night Live begins its 11th season, with Lorne Michaels returning as executive producer and an all-new cast that includes Jon Lovitz and Dennis Miller. |
| November 17 | Kane & Abel, a miniseries based on the bestselling Jeffrey Archer novel, debuts on CBS. |
| November 18 | Elmo, a new character for Sesame Street, is introduced on PBS. In the same episode, the adult cast of Sesame Street come face-to-face with Aloysius Snuffleupagus for the first time since the character's 1971 introduction. |
| November 28 | Jim Crockett Promotions and the National Wrestling Alliance hold the third annual Starrcade event. Transmitted via closed-circuit television, this particular event took place from the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina and Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia, with the event going back and forth from both arenas. |
| December 3 | Copacabana, an original musical featuring Barry Manilow (based on his 1978 song of the same name), Annette O'Toole, and Estelle Getty, is broadcast by CBS. |
| December 3 | Courteney Cox uses the word "period" (referring to menstruation) on U.S. television for the first time, in a commercial for Tampax brand tampons. |
| December 5 | A Wheel of Fortune contestant Terry Wharton missolves a puzzle "The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat" (a quote from Jim McKay), leaving $62,400 cash unclaimed. This was to date, the largest cash unclaimed for a round in the history of the show, which, at the time, would have set then the biggest winnings record during the maingame alone. |
| December 12 | General Electric announces plans to purchase RCA, owner of NBC for $6.3 billion, and eventually wants to convert General Electric's TV station KCNC into an NBC owned and operated station. The deal would be finalized on June 9, 1986. |
| December 29 | In Waco, ABC affiliate KCEN swaps affiliations with NBC affiliate KXXV. |

## Programs
### Debuting this year

| Date | Title | Network |
| January 4 | Street Hawk | ABC |
| January 5 | Berrenger's | NBC |
| January 7 | Time Machine | NBC |
| January 20 | MacGruder and Loud | ABC |
| January 23 | Sara | NBC |
| January 23 | ThunderCats | Syndication |
| January 26 | Otherworld | CBS |
| January 27 | Code Name: Foxfire | NBC |
| March 1 | Michael Nesmith in Television Parts | NBC |
| March 3 | Moonlighting | ABC |
| March 4 | Robotech | Syndication |
| March 15 | Mr. Belvedere | ABC |
| March 15 | Off the Rack | ABC |
| March 18 | Safe at Home | WTBS |
| March 21 | Eye to Eye | ABC |
| March 21 | Wildside | ABC |
| March 24 | Half Nelson | NBC |
| March 30 | CBS Storybreak | CBS |
| April 5 | Me and Mom | ABC |
| April 7 | National Geographic Explorer | Nickelodeon |
| April 9 | Hail to the Chief | ABC |
| April 10 | Double Dare | CBS |
| April 15 | Lady Blue | ABC |
| April 19 | The Best Times | NBC |
| May 6 | Dumbo's Circus | The Disney Channel |
| May 11 | Saturday Night's Main Event | NBC |
| June 3 | Larry King Live | CNN |
| June 3 | Turkey Television | Nickelodeon |
| June 30 | Code of Vengeance | NBC |
| July 4 | The Raccoons | The Disney Channel |
| July 14 | Stingray | NBC |
| August 13 | West 57th | CBS |
| August 22 | Hometown | CBS |
| September 2 | Attitudes | Lifetime |
| September 2 | Rocky Road | WTBS |
| September 4 | Hell Town | NBC |
| September 7 | The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo | ABC |
| September 7 | Star Wars: Droids | ABC |
| September 7 | Ewoks | ABC |
| September 7 | Small Wonder | Syndication |
| September 7 | What's Happening Now!! | Syndication |
| September 14 | 227 | NBC |
| September 14 | Adventures of the Gummi Bears | NBC |
| September 14 | The Golden Girls | NBC |
| September 14 | It's Punky Brewster | NBC |
| September 14 | The Berenstain Bears | CBS |
| September 14 | Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling | CBS |
| September 14 | Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters | CBS |
| September 14 | The Wuzzles | CBS |
| September 14 | The Care Bears | Syndication |
| September 16 | America | Syndication |
| September 16 | Break the Bank | Syndication |
| September 16 | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero | Syndication |
| September 16 | Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors | Syndication |
| September 18 | Charlie & Co. | CBS |
| September 18 | The Equalizer | CBS |
| September 18 | George Burns Comedy Week | CBS |
| September 18 | Stir Crazy | CBS |
| September 20 | Spenser: For Hire | ABC |
| September 21 | Hollywood Beat | ABC |
| September 21 | Lime Street | ABC |
| September 24 | Growing Pains | ABC |
| September 25 | The Insiders | ABC |
| September 29 | MacGyver | ABC |
| September 29 | Amazing Stories | NBC |
| September 30 | M.A.S.K. | Syndication |
| October 4 | Misfits of Science | NBC |
| October 6 | Jem | Syndication |
| October 20 | Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes | MTV |
| November 20 | The Colbys | ABC |
| November 21 | Shadow Chasers | ABC |
| December 11 | Foley Square | CBS |
| December 11 | Mary | CBS |

### Resuming this year

| Title | Final aired | Previous network | New title | Returning network | Date of return |
| The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show | 1983 | CBS | Same | Same | September 14 |
| The Jetsons | 1963 | ABC | Same | WTBS | September 16 |
| The Twilight Zone | 1964 | CBS | Same | Same | September 27 |
| Making a Living | 1982 | ABC | It's a Living | Syndication | September 28 |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | 1965 | NBC | Same | Same | September 29 |

### Ending this year

| Date | Title | Debut |
| January 21 | Insight | 1960 |
| February 1 | Call to Glory | 1984 |
| February 8 | The Dukes of Hazzard | 1979 |
| February 23 | It's Your Move | 1984 |
| February 26 | Pink Panther and Sons | 1984 |
| February 27 | E/R | 1984 |
| March 19 | Alice | 1976 |
| March 22 | V | 1984 |
| April 3 | Charles in Charge (returned in 1987) | 1984 |
| April 9 | Three's a Crowd | 1984 |
| April 13 | Finder of Lost Loves | 1984 |
| April 19 | Off the Rack | 1985 |
| May 1 | Out of Control | 1984 |
| May 8 | Sara | 1985 |
| May 16 | Street Hawk | 1985 |
| May 22 | Double Dare | 1985 |
| June 14 | Family Feud (returned in 1988) | 1976 |
| June 25 | The Jeffersons | 1975 |
| June 28 | Robotech | 1985 |
| July 6 | Cover Up | 1984 |
| July 19 | Matt Houston | 1982 |
| July 20 | Hail to the Chief | 1985 |
| August 1 | Battle of the Planets | 1978 |
| August 10 | Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids | 1972 |
| September 28 | Little Muppet Monsters | 1985 |
| October 12 | The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show | 1983 |
| October 26 | Lime Street | 1985 |
| November 2 | The Littles | 1983 |
| November 9 | Super Friends | 1973 |
| November 16 | Snorks (returned in 1987) | 1984 |
| November 18 | Voltron | 1984 |
| November 21 | He-Man and the Masters of the Universe | 1983 |
| November 23 | Hollywood Beat | 1985 |
| December 7 | The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo | 1985 |
| December 7 | The Wuzzles | 1985 |
| December 7 | Dungeons & Dragons | 1983 |
| December 27 | Glitter | 1984 |

### Changing networks

| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
| Diff'rent Strokes | NBC | ABC |
| The Bugs Bunny Show | CBS | ABC |
| The Jetsons | ABC | Syndication |
| It's a Living | ABC | Syndication |
| T.J. Hooker | ABC | CBS |

### Made-for-TV movies and miniseries

| Title | Network | Date of airing |
| Poison Ivy | NBC | February 10 |
| Space | CBS | April 14–18 |
| The Midnight Hour | ABC | November 1 |
| North and South | ABC | November 3–10 |
| Alice in Wonderland | CBS | December 9–10 |

## Networks and services
### Launches

| Network | Type | Launch date |
| Tele Vida Abundante | Cable television | Unknown |
| Video Jukebox Network | Cable television | Unknown |
| VH1 | Cable television | January 1 |
| The Nostalgia Channel | Cable television | February 1 |
| The Discovery Channel | Cable television | June 17 |
| CNN International | Cable television | September 1 |
| Prime Ticket | Cable television | October 19 |
| Universal Pictures Debut Network | Cable television | Unknown |

### Conversions and rebrandings

| Old network name | New network name | Type | Conversion Date | Notes | Source |
| Home Shopping Club | Home Shopping Network | Cable television | July 1 | | |

### Closures

There are no closures for television channels in this year.

## Television stations
### Station launches

| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
| January 5 | Tucson, Arizona | KPOL | 40 | Independent | |
| January 22 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | KXRM | 21 | Independent | |
| January 28 | Twin Falls, Idaho | K27AO | 27 | ABC (as a KIVI-TV translator) | Now ABC affiliate KSAW-LD, a semi-satellite of KIVI-TV/Nampa, Idaho |
| January 29 | Columbus, Ohio | W62BE | 62 | Independent | |
| February 12 | Boston, Massachusetts | WVJV-TV | 27 | Independent | |
| March | Quincy, Illinois | WQEC | 27 | PBS | |
| March 4 | Fayetteville/Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina | WFCT | 62 | Independent | Now Court TV O&O WFPX-TV, licensed to Archer Lodge, North Carolina |
| March 22 | Waco, Texas | KXXV | 25 | NBC | |
| March 26 | Saginaw/Flint, Michigan | WAQP | 49 | TBN | |
| March 28 | Augusta, Georgia | W67BE | 67 | Independent | Now WAGT-CD channel 26 |
| March 31 | Bismarck, North Dakota | KBMY | 17 | ABC | |
| April 10 | Jackson, Tennessee | WJKT | 16 | Independent | |
| April 11 | Shreveport, Louisiana | KMSS-TV | 33 | Independent | |
| April 15 | Eugene, Oregon | K25AS | 25 | Independent | |
| April 28 | Riverhead/New York City, New York | WLIG | 55 | Independent | |
| May 14 | Wichita Falls, Texas | KJTL | 18 | Independent | |
| May 19 | Shaker Heights/Cleveland, Ohio | WOIO | 19 | Independent | |
| June | Minot, North Dakota | KMCY | 14 | ABC | |
| June 3 | Hazleton, Pennsylvania (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) | WWLF-TV | 56 | Independent | |
| June 3 | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | WOLF-TV | 38 | Independent | |
| June 3 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | KTCT | 47 | Religious independent | |
| June 25 | Seattle, Washington | KTZZ-TV | 22 | Independent | |
| July 17 | Sanger, California (Fresno/Visalia, California) | KMSG-TV | 59 | Independent | |
| July 19 | Vineyard Haven/Boston, Massachusetts | WCVX | 32 | Independent | |
| July 23 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | W26AD | 26 | World Harvest Television | |
| July 28 | Davenport, Iowa (Bettendorf, Iowa and Rock Island/Moline, Illinois) | KLJB-TV | 18 | Independent | |
| August 17 | Los Angeles, California | KTIE | 63 | Independent | |
| August 24 | Wichita, Kansas | KSAS-TV | 24 | Independent | |
| September | Thief River Falls, Minnesota (Grand Forks, North Dakota) | KBRR | 10 | Independent | Satellite of KVRR/Fargo, North Dakota |
| September 5 | Murfreesboro, Tennessee | W11BF | 11 | Independent | Audio-only simulcast of WGNS radio in Murfreesboro |
| September 7 | Charleston, South Carolina | WTAT-TV | 23 | Independent | |
| September 24 | Chico/Redding, California | KNVN | 24 | NBC | |
| October | Harrisonburg, Virginia | W10AZ | 10 | Religious independent | |
| October | Washington, D.C. | W10AZ | 10 | Religious independent | |
| October 7 | Salt Lake City, Utah | KOOG-TV | 30 | Independent | |
| October 14 | Cape Coral/Fort Myers, Florida | WFTX-TV | 36 | Independent | |
| October 27 | Caguas, Puerto Rico | WUJA | 58 | Independent | |
| October 30 | Lexington, North Carolina (Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, NC) | WEJC | 20 | Religious independent | |
| November | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | W08BY | 8 | MuchMusic USA | |
| November | Muskegon/Grand Rapids, Michigan | WTLJ | 54 | Christian independent | |
| November 2 | Altoona, Pennsylvania (Johnstown/State College, Pennsylvania) | WKBS-TV | 47 | Cornerstone Television | Satellite of WPCB-TV/Greensburg-Pittsburgh |
| November 3 | Greeneville, Tennessee Tri-Cities, Tennessee/Virginia) | WEMT | 39 | Independent | |
| November 6 | KRRT | 35 | | Independent |
| November 12 | Newark, Arkansas | KLEP | 17 | Educational independent | |
| November 16 | Natchez, Mississippi | WNTZ-TV | 33 | Independent | |
| December | Mobile, Alabama (Pensacola, Florida) | WMPV-TV | 21 | Independent | |
| December 1 | Cleveland, Ohio | WBNX-TV | 55 | Independent | |
| December 15 | Kingston, New York/Albany, New York | WTZA | 48 | Independent | Now WRNN-TV, licensed to New Rochelle, New York |
| December 23 | Phoenix, Arizona | KUTP | 45 | Independent | |
| December 24 | Baltimore, Maryland | WKJL-TV | 24 | Independent | |
| December 30 | Orlando, Florida | WAYK | 56 | Independent | |
| Unknown date | Fajardo/San Juan, Puerto Rico | WMTJ | 40 | PBS | |
| Unknown date | Huntsville, Alabama | WZDX-TV | 54 | Independent |
| Unknown date | Montgomery, Alabama | WMCF-TV | 45 | Independent | |

### Network affiliation changes

| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
| August 4 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, North Carolina | WRAL | 5 | ABC | CBS | ABC acquires Capital Cities Communications, and the purchase was finalized on January 3, 1986, making the station an ABC owned-and-operated station. |
| August 4 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, North Carolina | WTVD | 11 | CBS | ABC (O&O) | ABC acquires Capital Cities Communications, and the purchase was finalized on January 3, 1986, making the station an ABC owned-and-operated station. |
| September 9 | Fresno, California | KFSN-TV | 30 | CBS | ABC (O&O) | KFSN-TV was purchased by Capital Cities Communications, the then-parent of ABC. The purchase was finalized on January 3, 1986, making the station an ABC owned-and-operated station. |
| September 9 | Fresno, California | KGPE | 47 | ABC | CBS | KFSN-TV was purchased by Capital Cities Communications, the then-parent of ABC. The purchase was finalized on January 3, 1986, making the station an ABC owned-and-operated station. |
| September 9 | Savannah, Georgia | WSAV | 3 | ABC | NBC | The swap was given, because of WSAV's weak performance of ABC's network programming, especially Thursday nights, which had bogged down its stronger syndicated slate. |
| September 9 | Savannah, Georgia | WJCL | 22 | NBC | ABC | The swap was given, because of WSAV's weak performance of ABC's network programming, especially Thursday nights, which had bogged down its stronger syndicated slate. |
| December 29 | Waco, Texas | KCEN | 6 | ABC | NBC | |
| December 29 | Waco, Texas | KXXV | 25 | NBC | ABC | |

### Station closures

| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Sign-on date | Notes |
| January | Angola, Indiana | WBKZ | 63 | | April 22, 1983 | |

## Births

| Date | Name | Notability |
| January 3 | Jeananne Goossen | Canadian actress (The Night Shift) |
| January 3 | Nicole Beharie | Actress |
| January 3 | Leah Gibson | Actress |
| January 7 | Lauren Glazier | Canadian actress |
| January 10 | Alex Meraz | Actor |
| January 11 | Aja Naomi King | Actress (How to Get Away with Murder) |
| January 12 | Cynthia Addai-Robinson | Actress (Spartacus, Arrow) |
| January 13 | Ellen Wong | Actress |
| January 16 | Renée Felice Smith | Actress (NCIS: Los Angeles) |
| January 18 | Matt Hobby | Actor, comedian (Young Sheldon, Boardwalk Empire) |
| January 25 | Hartley Sawyer | Actor (Glory Daze) |
| January 25 | Michael Trevino | Actor (The Vampire Diaries) |
| January 26 | Edwin Hodge | Actor |
| January 29 | Isabel Lucas | Australian actress (Home and Away, Emerald City) |
| January 31 | Tyler Ritter | Actor |
| February 4 | Bug Hall | Actor |
| February 6 | Crystal Reed | Actress (Teen Wolf) |
| February 7 | Deborah Ann Woll | Actress (True Blood, Daredevil) |
| February 7 | Tina Majorino | Actress (Camp Wilder, Veronica Mars, Big Love, The Deep End, Grey's Anatomy, Legends) and singer |
| February 9 | Rachel Melvin | Actress (Days of Our Lives) |
| February 9 | David Gallagher | Actor (7th Heaven, Rocket Power) |
| February 14 | Jake Lacy | Actor (Better With You, The Office) |
| February 14 | Victoria Cartagena | Actress |
| February 15 | Natalie Morales | Actress |
| February 18 | Chelsea Hobbs | Canadian actress (Make It or Break It) |
| February 18 | Jessica Grace Smith | Actress |
| February 19 | Arielle Kebbel | Actress (Life Unexpected, 90210, Ballers) |
| February 19 | Haylie Duff | Actress (7th Heaven) and singer |
| February 22 | Zach Roerig | Actor (As the World Turns, One Life to Live, The Vampire Diaries) |
| February 27 | Heléne Yorke | Actress |
| March 2 | Robert Iler | Former actor |
| March 4 | Scott Michael Foster | Actor (Greek) |
| March 4 | Whitney Port | Actress (The Hills, The City) |
| March 7 | Guy Benson | American columnist |
| March 10 | Cooper Andrews | Actor |
| March 13 | Alfonso Dosal | Actor |
| March 15 | Eva Amurri | Actress (Undateable) and daughter of Susan Sarandon |
| March 15 | James Maclurcan | Australian actor (Power Rangers Operation Overdrive) |
| March 15 | Kellan Lutz | Actor |
| March 18 | Duane Henry | English actor (NCIS) |
| March 21 | Sonequa Martin-Green | Actress |
| March 22 | James Wolk | Actor |
| March 22 | Lizzie Brocheré | Actress |
| March 23 | Stephen A. Chang | Actor (Artificial, Victorious, NCIS: Los Angeles) |
| March 24 | Lana | Actress and wrestler |
| March 24 | Jeremy James Kissner | Actor (Flight 29 Down) |
| March 25 | Chris Redd | Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live) |
| March 26 | Jonathan Groff | Actor and singer (Glee) |
| March 26 | Keira Knightley | English actress and singer (Pirates of the Caribbean) |
| March 26 | Francesca Marie Smith | Actress (The Secret World of Alex Mack, Hey Arnold!, Recess) |
| March 27 | Blake McIver Ewing | Actor (Full House, Recess, Hey Arnold!, Lloyd in Space) |
| March 28 | Zachary Browne | Actor |
| March 31 | Jessica Szohr | Actress (Gossip Girl) |
| April 16 | Nate Diaz | Mixed martial artist |
| April 17 | Rooney Mara | Actress |
| April 17 | Luke Mitchell | Australian actor (H$_2$O: Just Add Water, Home and Away, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) |
| April 18 | Rachel Smith | Actress |
| April 18 | Jessica Lu | Actress |
| April 19 | Sabrina Jalees | Canadian comedian |
| April 21 | Rachel Lindsay | Television personality |
| April 22 | Kristin Fairlie | Canadian actress (Total Drama, Stoked, Peg + Cat) |
| April 24 | Courtnee Draper | Actress (The Jersey) |
| April 26 | Jemima Kirke | English actress (Girls) |
| April 26 | Falk Hentschel | German actor (Legends of Tomorrow) |
| April 28 | Brandon Baker | Actor (One World, Even Stevens) |
| April 29 | Punkie Johnson | Actress |
| May 2 | Lily Allen | Actress |
| May 3 | Louis Cato | Bandleader |
| May 5 | Clark Duke | Actor (Hearts Afire, Greek) |
| May 6 | KJ Smith | Actress |
| May 9 | Chris Zylka | Actor (The Secret Circle) and model |
| May 9 | Audrina Patridge | Actress (The Hills, Audrina, Dream Maker) |
| May 10 | Odette Annable | Actress (October Road, House, The Astronaut Wives Club, Supergirl) |
| May 11 | Jadyn Wong | Canadian actress (Scorpion) |
| May 13 | Iwan Rheon | Welsh actor (Game of Thrones) |
| May 14 | Sally Martin | New Zealand actress (Power Rangers Ninja Storm) |
| May 16 | Julia Voth | Canadian actress (Package Deal) |
| May 17 | Jonathan McDaniel | Actor (That's So Raven, Raven's Home) and rapper |
| May 17 | Derek Hough | Actor |
| May 24 | Kasie Hunt | American political correspondent |
| May 25 | Lauren Frost | Actress (Even Stevens) and singer |
| May 27 | Andrew Francis | Canadian voice actor (Johnny Test, Hero: 108, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic) |
| May 28 | Carey Mulligan | British actress |
| May 28 | Emily Wilson | American actress |
| May 29 | Blake Foster | Actor (Power Rangers Turbo) and martial artist |
| June 6 | Abbie Cobb | Actress (Suburgatory) |
| June 8 | Rosanna Pansino | YouTube personality (Nerdy Nummies) and actress |
| June 10 | Kristina Apgar | Actress (Privileged) |
| June 10 | Celina Jade | Chinese-American actress (Arrow) |
| June 12 | Kendra Wilkinson | Model |
| June 17 | Antoinette Picatto | Actress (Cover Me) |
| June 18 | Alex Hirsch | Voice actor (Fish Hooks, Gravity Falls) |
| June 18 | Sorel Carradine | Actress |
| June 20 | Mark Saul | Actor (All That) |
| June 21 | Kris Allen | Singer (American Idol) |
| June 21 | Michelle Wolf | Actress |
| June 22 | Douglas Smith | Actor |
| June 24 | Justin Hires | Actor |
| June 25 | Annaleigh Ashford | Actress (Masters of Sex) and singer |
| June 26 | Ana Ularu | Romanian-American actress (One Step Ahead, Emerald City) |
| June 26 | Colt Knost | Golfer |
| June 30 | Cody Rhodes | Pro wrestler (AEW, Arrow, Go-Big Show, WAGS Atlanta, WWE) |
| July 1 | Léa Seydoux | French actress |
| July 2 | Ashley Tisdale | Actress (The Amanda Show, The Hughleys, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, High School Musical, Hellcats, Young & Hungry), voice actress (Kim Possible, Phineas and Ferb, Skylanders Academy) and singer |
| July 2 | Nelson Franklin | Actor |
| July 2 | Dave McCary | Actor |
| July 5 | François Arnaud | Actor |
| July 7 | Helen Hong | Actress |
| July 11 | Robert Adamson | Actor |
| July 16 | Rosa Salazar | Actress |
| July 17 | Caitlin Van Zandt | Actress (Guiding Light, The Sopranos) |
| July 18 | Chace Crawford | Actor (Gossip Girl) |
| July 18 | James Norton | Actor |
| July 18 | Hopsin | Rapper |
| July 20 | John Francis Daley | Actor (Freaks and Geeks, Bones) |
| July 21 | Vanessa Lengies | Actress (American Dreams, Hawthorne, Second Chance) |
| July 25 | Shantel VanSanten | Actress (One Tree Hill, Gang Related, The Messengers, Shooter) |
| July 25 | James Lafferty | Actor (One Tree Hill, Crisis) |
| July 27 | Aljin Abella | Australian actor (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) |
| July 27 | Lou Taylor Pucci | Actor |
| July 28 | Dustin Milligan | Canadian actor (Runaway, 90210, Schitt's Creek, X Company, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) |
| August 2 | Britt Lower | American actress |
| August 3 | Georgina Haig | Australian actress (The Elephant Princess, Reckless, Once Upon a Time) |
| August 3 | Max Landis | American writer and filmmaker |
| August 4 | Crystal Bowersox | Singer (American Idol) |
| August 5 | David Hull | Actor |
| August 5 | Zach Appelman | Actor |
| August 7 | Nick Rutherford | Actor |
| August 9 | Anna Kendrick | Actress |
| August 10 | Jared Nathan | Child actor (ZOOM) (d. 2006) |
| August 13 | Honey Davenport | Actor |
| August 15 | Emily Kinney | Actress (The Walking Dead, Conviction) and singer |
| August 16 | Agnes Bruckner | Actress (The Bold and the Beautiful, The Returned) |
| August 16 | Arden Cho | Actress (Teen Wolf) |
| August 16 | Cristin Milioti | Actress (How I Met Your Mother) |
| August 20 | Miguel Gomez | Actor |
| August 21 | Laura Haddock | Actress (Da Vinci's Demons) |
| August 27 | Kayla Ewell | Actress (The Bold and the Beautiful, The Vampire Diaries) |
| August 29 | Jeffrey Licon | Actor (Second Noah, The Brothers García) |
| August 30 | Bert Selen | Composer |
| September 1 | Lilan Bowden | Actress (Andi Mack) |
| September 2 | Allison Miller | American actress (Kings, Terra Nova, Go On, Incorporated, 13 Reasons Why, A Million Little Things) |
| September 3 | Brian Stelter | American television anchor |
| September 6 | Lauren Lapkus | American television actress |
| September 7 | Alyssa Diaz | Actress (The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Army Wives, Ray Donovan, Zoo) |
| September 8 | Vanessa Baden | Actress (Gullah Gullah Island, Kenan & Kel) |
| September 8 | Mina Kimes | American journalist |
| September 10 | Elyse Levesque | Actress (Stargate Universe) |
| September 10 | Monica Lopera | Actress |
| September 13 | Vella Lovell | Actress |
| September 14 | Dilshad Vadsaria | Actress (Greek, Second Chance) |
| September 16 | Madeline Zima | Actress (The Nanny, Californication) |
| September 17 | Jack Fox | Actor |
| September 19 | Zoë Chao | Actress |
| September 22 | Tatiana Maslany | Canadian actress (Heartland, Orphan Black) |
| September 24 | Jessica Lucas | Canadian actress (Edgemont, Life as We Know It, Melrose Place, Cult, Gotham) and singer |
| September 26 | Talulah Riley | English actress |
| September 27 | Grace Helbig | Actress and YouTube personality |
| September 30 | Katrina Law | Actress |
| September 30 | Ben Lewis | Actor |
| October 1 | Sicily Sewell | Actress (One on One) |
| October 5 | Emily Heller | Actress |
| October 8 | Bruno Mars | Singer (Saturday Night Live) |
| October 10 | Aaron Himelstein | Actor |
| October 11 | Michelle Trachtenberg | Actress (All My Children, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Truth or Scare, Mercy, Gossip Girl) and singer |
| October 14 | Daniel Clark | Actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation) |
| October 14 | Robert Costa | Journalist |
| October 15 | Dominic Sandoval | Dancer |
| October 20 | Jennifer Freeman | Actress (My Wife and Kids) |
| October 22 | Zac Hanson | Singer (Hanson) |
| October 23 | Priscilla Faia | Canadian actress (Rookie Blue) |
| October 23 | Masiela Lusha | European-born American actress (George Lopez) |
| October 25 | Gillian Zinser | Actress (90210) |
| October 25 | Christopher Sean | Actor |
| October 28 | Troian Bellisario | Actress (Lauren, Pretty Little Liars) and daughter of Donald P. Bellisario |
| October 28 | Jack Donnelly | Actor |
| October 29 | Janet Montgomery | English actress (Human Target, Entourage, Made in Jersey, Salem) |
| October 29 | Gio Benitez | American broadcast journalist |
| October 31 | Kaitlin Ferrell | Actress |
| October 31 | Kether Donohue | Actress (Kappa Mikey, You're the Worst) |
| November 2 | Josh Grelle | Voice actor |
| November 3 | Danièle Watts | Actress |
| November 4 | Olivia Taylor Dudley | Actress (The Magicians) |
| November 5 | Elizabeth Rice | Actress (Mad Men) |
| November 5 | Annet Mahendru | Actress |
| November 7 | Lucas Neff | Actor (Raising Hope) |
| November 12 | Arianny Celeste | Model |
| November 13 | Giovonnie Samuels | Actress (All That, Fatherwood, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) |
| November 15 | Nick Fradiani | Singer (America's Got Talent, American Idol) |
| November 18 | Christian Siriano | Fashion designer |
| November 20 | Dan Byrd | Actor (Clubhouse, Aliens in America, Cougar Town) |
| November 21 | Carly Rae Jepsen | Actress |
| November 23 | Katie Crown | Canadian voice actress (Total Drama, Jimmy Two-Shoes, Stoked, Clarence) |
| November 26 | Arturo Castro | Actor |
| November 27 | Alison Pill | Actress |
| November 30 | Kaley Cuoco | Actress (8 Simple Rules, Charmed, The Big Bang Theory), voice actress (Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, Bratz, Loonatics Unleashed) |
| November 30 | Gia Crovatin | Actress (Van Helsing, Billions, Hightown) |
| December 1 | Janelle Monáe | Actress and singer |
| December 1 | Evan Susser | Writer |
| December 3 | Amanda Seyfried | Actress (As the World Turns, Big Love) and singer |
| December 5 | Frankie Muniz | Actor (Malcolm in the Middle, The Fairly OddParents, Moville Mysteries) |
| December 7 | Jon Moxley | Pro wrestler |
| December 10 | Raven-Symoné | Actress (The Cosby Show, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Kim Possible, That's So Raven, The Cheetah Girls, Raven's Home) and singer |
| December 11 | Karla Souza | Mexican-American actress (How to Get Away with Murder) |
| December 11 | Samantha Ponder | Sportscaster |
| December 16 | Amanda Setton | American actress |
| December 25 | Perdita Weeks | Welsh actress |
| December 25 | Smith Cho | Actress |
| December 26 | Beth Behrs | Actress (2 Broke Girls) |
| December 27 | Jessica Harmon | Canadian actress (The 100) |
| December 28 | Taryn Terrell | Actress and former ECW personality |
| December 28 | Dan Amboyer | Actress |
| December 30 | Anna Wood | Actress (Reckless) |
| December 31 | Erich Bergen | Actor |

## Deaths

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| February 12 | Nicholas Colasanto | 61 | Actor (Coach Ernie Pantusso on Cheers) |
| February 28 | Charita Bauer | 62 | Soap opera actress (Bert Bauer on Guiding Light) |
| May 8 | Dolph Sweet | 64 | Actor (Chief Carl Kanisky on Gimme a Break!) |
| May 13 | Selma Diamond | 64 | Actress (Selma Hacker on Night Court) |
| August 2 | Bob Holt | 56 | Voice actor (Dr. Seuss television special) |
| October 2 | Rock Hudson | 59 | Actor (Commissioner Stuart McMillan on McMillan & Wife) |
| October 15 | Ted Steele | 68 | Host (The Ted Steele Show) |
| October 12 | Johnny Olson | 75 | Game show announcer (The Price Is Right) |
| November 1 | Phil Silvers | 74 | Actor, comedian (Sgt. Bilko on You'll Never Get Rich) |
| November 29 | Bill Scott | 65 | Voice actor (Bullwinkle J. Moose) |
| December 31 | Ricky Nelson | 45 | Actor (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), musician |