# 2010 in American television

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
American television in 2010 was a year marked by the usual debuts, cancellations, and continuations of shows; the launches, closures, or rebrandings of channels; but also significant cable/satellite carriage disputes.

## Events
### January

| Date | Event |
| 1 | WPGA-TV/Macon, Georgia, drops its ABC affiliation to become independent. WGXA, the Fox affiliate in Macon, adds ABC to its digital subchannel, reuniting the station with the network it was previously affiliated with. |
| 1 | Unable to reach a deal with Scripps Networks Interactive concerning retransmission fees, Cablevision temporarily drops Scripps-owned HGTV and the Food Network from its lineup. The dispute is resolved on January 21. |
| 2 | Time Warner Cable and News Corporation sign a new retransmission deal, thus averting what would have been a blackout of the Fox broadcast network and several cable networks on Time Warner Cable systems. |
| 4 | Bret Hart makes an appearance on WWE Raw, marking the first time that Hart appeared live on WWE television programming since the Survivor Series and the controversial "Montreal Screwjob" on November 9th, 1997. |
| 5 | The ABC soap All My Children celebrates 40 years on the air. Additionally, the program will convert to high definition as it moves production from New York to Los Angeles (the first episodes in the format air in February). |
| 6 | David Hasselhoff announces that he will not return as a judge for America's Got Talent due to pursuing other projects. |
| 7 | Sinclair Broadcast Group reaches a one-year retransmission agreement with Mediacom. |
| 7 | Reports surface that NBC may move Jay Leno back into the 11:35 p.m. ET/PT slot and move Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show back to 12:05 am (ET/PT); an NBC representative later confirms that Leno's primetime show will end in February. NBC's plan displeases O'Brien, who in a January 12th "People of Earth" statement states his refusal to do The Tonight Show at any other time slot other than its traditional 11:35PM time. Thus begins a bitter divorce between O'Brien and NBC that would result in a $45 million exit deal from NBC for O'Brien—but not before the controversy becomes a media cause célèbre, with O'Brien gaining sympathy from fellow talk hosts and the general public and NBC receiving a public relations black eye. |
| 7 | Top-ranked Alabama defeats second-ranked Texas, 37–21, in college football's 2010 BCS National Championship Game. It is the last BCS game to air on broadcast television (on ABC), with cable network ESPN taking over coverage of the entire BCS the following season. (Fox's relationship with the BCS ended on January 5th with its broadcast of the Orange Bowl.) |
| 10 | Fox's animated sitcom The Simpsons celebrates 20 years on the air as a weekly television series with the episode "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" (Anne Hathaway, Jackie Mason and Eartha Kitt are guest voices). A one-hour 20th anniversary special, hosted by Morgan Spurlock, follows the episode. |
| 10 | Howie Mandel is announced as the new judge for America's Got Talent. |
| 11 | Fox announces that Simon Cowell will depart from American Idol in May in order to launch an American version of The X Factor in Fall 2011. |
| 18 | The iCarly special, "iSaved Your Life", premieres on Nickelodeon. This special broke the record as the highest-rated premiere in Nickelodeon history, surpassing the series premiere of All Grown Up! from 2003. |
| 20 | The FCC votes to close the terrestrial loophole that keeps fiber delivered regional sports networks such as Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, 4SD, Cox Sports Television, Time Warner Cable SportsNet, and Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast off of satellite systems. Comcast files an appeal the next day. |
| 21 | Steve Harvey is announced as the sixth host of Family Feud, replacing John O'Hurley, a role that he holds to this day, and would result in a significant ratings boost. |
| 22 | Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, an international telethon to provide relief for survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, airs live on all major United States broadcast networks, many cable channels, and many other television channels across the world. |
| 22 | Conan O'Brien's 71⁄2-month, 146-episode run as host of The Tonight Show comes to an end (and with it his 20+ year relationship with NBC). Tom Hanks and Neil Young are his final guests; Steve Carell makes a surprise appearance, conducting an "exit interview" with O'Brien; and Beck, Ben Harper, Billy Gibbons, and Will Ferrell perform "Free Bird" with O'Brien and The Tonight Show Band in the closing segment. |
| 25 | Team Umizoomi premieres on Nickelodeon. |
| 26 | Competitors DirecTV and Dish Network team up to file a lawsuit in Massachusetts alleging discrimination in reaction to the state's new 5% satellite TV tax. |
| 28 | Samantha Harris announces that she will not return as the co-host of Dancing with the Stars in order to focus on other projects like her correspondent duties at The Insider and Entertainment Tonight. |
| 31 | In what can be described as rarity for having a person who works for one network appearing on a competitor, Fox News Channel president Roger Ailes is among the guest panelists on ABC's This Week; in a roundtable discussion, Ailes defends his network's reputation from the other panelists. |

### February

| Date | Event |
| 3 | LeSEA announces the sale of KWHD/Denver to Liberman Broadcasting; the station will switch to Liberman's Estrella TV network after the sale is completed. |
| 4 | Comcast rebrands their large-market triple play offerings under the Xfinity name. |
| 7 | 106.5 million people watch the New Orleans Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts, 31–17, to win Super Bowl XLIV. Nielsen Media Research calls CBS's broadcast of the game the most watched telecast in history, beating 1983's M*A*S*H series finale (which also aired on CBS). |
| 8 | After 281⁄2 years and a shift from music to reality programming, MTV drops the "Music Television" moniker from its logo. |
| 9 | DirecTV drops the Sirius XM Radio music channels and replaces them with DMX's Sonic Tap channels. |
| 9 | After 51⁄2 months in primetime, The Jay Leno Show has its finale on NBC, with guests Ashton Kutcher, Gabourey Sidibe and Bob Costas, plus appearances by Kurt Warner and Donald Trump. |
| 12 | The 2010 Winter Olympics begin airing from Vancouver, British Columbia on NBC and its family of networks. The remake of the 1985 song "We Are the World" for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake debuts as part of NBC's ceremonies broadcast the games are marred by tragedy when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili is killed in a training run on the night of the opening ceremonies. |
| 12 | DirecTV sues competitor Dish Network for false advertising over TV ads which claim Dish Network has the same channels but for a much lower price. Dish Network denies all claims and counter-sues on February 16. DirecTV drops its lawsuit on April 14. |
| 23 | WWE replaces its show ECW with NXT on Syfy. |
| 28 | The closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics are held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Earlier in the day, Canada's 3–2 overtime win against the United States for the gold medal in men's hockey is seen by over 27 million viewers stateside, the best ratings for a hockey game since the 1980 Winter Olympics. Sidney Crosby who won the Stanley Cup in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins scores the medal winning goal. |

### March

| Date | Event |
| 1 | After securing rights formerly held by Setanta Sports USA, Fox Soccer Channel launches premium companion channel Fox Soccer Plus. As a result, Setanta Sports USA is shuttered. |
| 1 | Nine months after ceding his host chair to Conan O'Brien and heading to prime-time, Jay Leno returns as host of The Tonight Show. Leno's first guests back are Jamie Foxx, Lindsey Vonn, and musical guest Brad Paisley. Betty White also makes a cameo appearance. |
| 2 | Roger Ebert is interviewed on The Oprah Winfrey Show, his first televised appearance since losing his ability to speak due to complications from a 2006 surgery for thyroid cancer. |
| 8 | ABC announces that Brooke Burke will be the new co-host of Dancing with the Stars beginning in the Spring 2010 season. |
| 15 | After 61⁄2 months of negotiations and attacks, Versus and DirecTV resolve their carriage dispute and the channel is returned to the satellite provider's service—on the same package it was before the dispute began. |
| 22 | Monty Hall, the original and most well-known host of Let's Make a Deal, returns to the CBS game show for a full week. |
| 22 | Dish Network sues DirecTV for false advertising for a series of ads themed around the classic game show To Tell the Truth comparing Dish Network and the cable television industry as 'impostors'. |
| 24 | Cablevision partners with former sister network MSG Network to create "MSG 3D," the first dedicated 3D television network, airing a hockey game between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. Cablevision continues to operate the channel as a special event channel, airing portions of the 2010 Masters Tournament under the name "iO TV 1300" and a New York Yankees game in conjunction with rival YES Network. |
| 29 | Fox Reality Channel ceases to exist and is converted into Nat Geo Wild. Some providers such as DirecTV and Mediacom, who failed to reach a carriage deal for Nat Geo Wild, continue to broadcast Fox Reality until Fox shutters the channel completely on June 30. |

### April

| Date | Event |
| 4 | ESPN360, an ESPN Internet site that streams live sporting events, is rebranded as ESPN3. |
| 5 | Galaxy 15, a TV communications satellite operated by Intelsat, is reportedly drifting out of control thousands of miles above the Earth. The satellite, which transmits programming feeds from MTV Networks, Lifetime Entertainment Services, Univision, Hallmark, Showtime, C-SPAN and A&E, threatens to wander into another satellite's orbit and interfere with cable programming across the United States. |
| 5 | Adventure Time premieres on Cartoon Network. |
| 8 | ESPN's first round coverage of the 2010 Masters Tournament becomes the most-watched golf telecast in cable history, as 4.9 million people tune in to see Tiger Woods' first golf outing since his highly publicized scandal. |
| 12 | After months of speculation about Conan O'Brien's future in television following his controversial exit from NBC, TBS announces that O'Brien will host a new show to air Monday-thru-Thursdays at 11 pm ET beginning in November. Lopez Tonight, which had been airing in that time slot, will move to midnight. |
| 12 | Kevin Eubanks, bandleader for Jay Leno's Tonight Show and prime-time series, announces his departure after 18 years with Leno. |
| 13 | LIN TV Corporation re-brands itself LIN Media in an effort to emphasize its internet and mobile interests (although the corporate name remains LIN TV Corporation). |
| 14 | Comedy Central airs the 200th episode of South Park, with many of the celebrities the series has previously mocked banding together to sue the town. After the broadcast, Islamic website Revolution Muslim posts a warning to co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, stating they could face serious repercussions for their depictions of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. The follow-up to the episode, "201", is heavily censored and airs only once, with the network disallowing streaming of the original, unedited version on the Internet. Authorities later investigate whether there is a connection between South Park and the Times Square car bomb attempt, which was discovered near Comedy Central parent Viacom's headquarters at One Astor Plaza in New York City on May 1. |
| 15 | Executives at Fox News Channel cancel a taped broadcast of Hannity from Cincinnati, Ohio after it was discovered that the event's organizers, the Cincinnati Tea Party, were billing host Sean Hannity as a centerpiece of the event and charging admission to the taping. |
| 17 | Matt Smith's U.S. debut as the Eleventh Doctor on the long-running British series Doctor Who pulls in the highest ratings in BBC America's history (with 1.2 million viewers). |
| 22 | Entering into a joint bid with Turner Sports, CBS is granted the rights to continue broadcasting the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, which it has done since 1982. From 2011 to 2015, CBS and Turner will split coverage of early rounds through the Sweet Sixteen, with CBS carrying the regional finals, Final Four and national championship. Turner will then pick up the later rounds on an alternating basis beginning in 2016. Turner's coverage will air on TBS, TNT, and truTV. |
| 22 | The NFL draft, starting in prime time for the first time ever, sets a record for number of viewers (8.3 million total between NFL Network and ESPN, 7.29 million on the latter network alone). |
| 30 | PBS Kids stops broadcasting It's a Big Big World. |

### May

| Date | Event |
| 2 | Conan O'Brien makes his first TV appearance since his Tonight Show finale, sitting down with Steve Kroft for an interview on CBS's 60 Minutes to discuss the Tonight Show controversy and its aftermath. |
| 4 | London Broadcasting Company announces a deal to acquire KIII/Corpus Christi from McKinnon Broadcasting Company for $10 million. |
| 8 | Thanks to a successful campaign by her fans on Facebook, Betty White hosts Saturday Night Live on NBC, a show that features a Mother's Day weekend appearance by former SNL cast members Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch. White's performance gains critical acclaim, and she earns an Emmy Award in August for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, the 7th Emmy of her career. |
| 9 | NBC affiliate KTEN in Ada, Oklahoma, switches its DT3 subchannel from local weather radar to ABC, giving the Sherman-Ada market its first full-time ABC affiliate. This in turn gives the area in-market affiliates of all four major commercial networks, as rival KXII is affiliated with CBS and Fox. |
| 10 | Barbara Walters announces on The View that she will take a leave of absence from the ABC show to undergo surgery to repair a faulty heart valve. |
| 12 | Haim Saban's Saban Brands purchases the Power Rangers franchise back from Disney; the company plans to air a new 19th season of Power Rangers on Nickelodeon in Spring 2011, with the previous 700 episodes also being rerun on that network. |
| 13 | Former Food Network celebrity Juan-Carlos Cruz is arrested in Santa Monica, California, for attempting to recruit homeless people to perform a murder-for-hire plot. Cruz pleads "no contest" in November to a charge of soliciting murder, and is sentenced to a 9-year prison term the following month. |
| 14 | NBC confirms it has canceled Law & Order. Series executive producer Dick Wolf reportedly considers moving the police-and-legal drama to TNT, where it has aired in reruns for several years. (AMC considers making an offer as well). No network offers a move, however, and the series leaves the air on May 24 tied with Gunsmoke as the longest-running (20 seasons) prime time drama on American television. |
| 14 | After a single season, Fox cancels The Wanda Sykes Show, its most recent attempt at original late-night programming on Saturdays (a time slot that previously aired MADtv and Talkshow with Spike Feresten). Since November 2010, reruns of current and older Fox shows (e.g. Terra Nova, New Girl) have occupied the time slot, though Fox later makes plans to launch new animated programming in the slot in 2013. |
| 15 | ABC affiliate KTVO in Kirksville, Missouri, launches a DT2 subchannel affiliated with CBS, giving the Kirksville-Ottumwa market its first full-time CBS affiliate. |
| 16 | In CBS, law firm and winner of the seventh season of Survivor Sandra Diaz-Twine, who later proclaimed her as "Queen of Survivor", became the first two-time sole survivor after the conclusion of the recent season of Survivor; former winner from the sixteenth season Parvati Shallow finished as runner-up, marking the first time in the show's history former winners finished in the top two of the final three. |
| 18 | CNN prime time host Campbell Brown announces she is leaving the channel, citing difficulty in competing with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann as her main reason as well as a desire to spend more time with her family. |
| 20 | The Parents Television Council announces that it plans to target CBS and its affiliates after the network's addition of the sitcom $#*! My Dad Says to its 2010–2011 fall TV lineup, with the PTC citing both the show's vulgar title and its Thursday night 8:30PM timeslot as reasons. The show is cancelled after one season. |
| 21 | In a dispute over carriage fees and allegations of the network's gravitation from information to entertainment-based programming, Dish Network drops The Weather Channel and replaces it with its own channel, "The Weather Cast." The dispute is resolved 3 days later as Dish restores The Weather Channel and shutters The Weather Cast, making it the shortest-lived cable/satellite channel in history. |
| 22 | Fuse TV airs Gulf Aid: Concert For The Coast a benefit concert in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. |
| 23 | Daystar launches the digital signals of the remaining stations it purchased from Equity Media Holdings, which had been caught in limbo due to Equity's bankruptcy and the digital transition. The sign-ons come just three weeks before the stations' licenses would have automatically been forfeited back to the FCC. |
| 26 | Disney/ABC announces plans to shut down SoapNet in 2012 and replace it with a channel aimed at pre-schoolers named Disney Junior. |
| 29 | Cartoon Network rebrands with a new logo and look also holding a new slogan CHECK it. |
| 31 | Fine Living Network is shut down, relaunched and rebranded as Cooking Channel, an instructional counterpart to Food Network. |

### June

| Date | Event |
| 2 | The New York Post reports that General Electric has finalized an exit deal for Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBCUniversal, worth between $30 million and $40 million. The exit would take place shortly after Comcast takes over as the new owner of the company. |
| 4 | WLGA/Columbus, GA ceases operations as an Independent station. The station will return to the air in the summer of 2012. |
| 11 | ESPN launches ESPN 3D, the country's first nationwide 3DTV channel, to coincide with the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. |
| 14 | Cablevision buys out Bresnan Communications for $1.365 billion. |
| 15 | Local TV buys Portsmouth, Virginia, station WGNT from CBS Corporation for $16.5 million, pending FCC approval. Until the sale closes, Local TV will operate WGNT through a local marketing agreement before they move the studios to Local's CBS affiliate in the Hampton Roads market, WTKR. |
| 16 | The premiere of the TV Land series Hot in Cleveland draws 4.75 million viewers, making it the most watched program in the network's 14-year history. |
| 17 | 28.2 million people watch the seventh and deciding game of the 2010 NBA Finals on ABC, in which the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Boston Celtics to win the NBA Championship; it is the most watched NBA telecast since 1998. |
| 22 | Dish Network removes the HD feeds of Disney Channel, Disney XD, ABC Family, and ESPNews due to a carriage dispute that continues to this day. |
| 22 | CNN announces the 8 pm ET time slot Campbell Brown is vacating will be filled by a talk show hosted by Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker. |
| 24 | Happening Now co-anchor Jane Skinner leaves Fox News Channel to spend more time with her family. |
| 28 | Steve Carell confirms he will leave The Office, where he portrays Michael Scott, at the end of the 2010–11 season. |
| 28 | Disney Channel's late night block of Disney animation is discontinued. |
| 29 | Larry King announces he will end his long-running CNN program Larry King Live in the fall. |

### July

| Date | Event |
| 1 | DirecTV and Panasonic launch n3D, the world's first 24-hour 3DTV channel. |
| 7 | Due to poor sales and possibly a decline in ratings and interest in American Idol's 9th season, the accompanying "American Idols LIVE! Tour 2010" cancels eight of its 38 shows. |
| 7 | Jenna Lee from Fox Business Network is named as the new co-anchor of Happening Now, beginning July 12. |
| 8 | NBA player LeBron James buys an hour of airtime on ESPN to announce he will sign with the Miami Heat via free agency instead of staying with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The advertising proceeds from the special, titled The Decision, go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. |
| 9 | A profanity-laced video parody involving the news department at NBC affiliate KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas, that later surfaces on YouTube leads to station management dismissing four employees involved in the stunt. |
| 10 | Dish Network/EchoStar launches its newest satellite, EchoStar XV. |
| 11 | The final match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in which Spain defeats the Netherlands, becomes the most watched soccer match in American television history, with 24.3 million people tuning into ABC and Univision to watch the final. |
| 12 | MTV Tr3́s drops the "MTV" from its name and simply becomes Tr3́s, with a new slogan "MTV: Musica y Mas" (Spanish for MTV: Music and More). |
| 12 | With over 7.5 million viewers, the premiere of the TNT drama Rizzoli & Isles sets a record as the highest-rated debut for a commercial-supported cable series; it is also the second-highest debut ever for a basic cable TV series. |
| 13 | ABC affiliate WABG-TV in Greenwood, Mississippi, announces plans to sign-on the Greenville-Greenwood market's first locally based NBC affiliate on WNBD-LD, thus giving the area in-market affiliates of all four major commercial networks. The new station will sign-on exactly five months later, on December 13. |
| 15 | AT&T Uverse and Rainbow Media reach a new carriage deal, resolving a dispute that would have kept WE tv, AMC, Sundance Channel and IFC from being on the IPTV provider. |
| 16 | Rich Fields announced on his website that he had been let go as announcer of The Price Is Right, as producers look to change certain aspects of the game show, including adding performances by live bands and putting a comedian at the podium Fields occupied for six years. Fields is the only announcer in the history of the long running CBS game show to leave without dying. Fields however, would be one of the group of guest announcers on Wheel of Fortune in November following the death of longtime wheel announcer Charlie O'Donnell. |
| 27 | Residents in the state of Hawaii lose cable, television, telephone and Internet service from Oceanic Time Warner Cable for nearly two hours after its fiber optic cable system, located 3,000 feet deep in the Molokai Channel, is severely damaged. The hardest hit areas are the island counties of Maui and Hawaii (The Big Island). A new fiber optic cable system is expected to be in place within three to five weeks. |
| 29 | American President Barack Obama pays a visit to The View, making him the first sitting president to appear on a daytime talk show. |
| 30 | PBS Kids stops broadcasting the Emmy Award Winning cartoon Cyberchase due to a hiatus that is until 2013 though it still airs on most PBS stations like KLCS in Los Angeles and WNET in New York City. |
| 30 | Ellen DeGeneres announces that she will leave as American Idol judge after one season, saying in a statement that the series "didn't feel like the right fit for me". This is followed by the announcement that Kara DioGuardi had been fired from her role as a judge after two seasons on the show. |
| 31 | Baylor University-owned PBS outlet KWBU-TV/Waco, Texas, signs off the air after 21 years due to the university's budgetary concerns. |

### August

| Date | Event |
| 1 | HSN launches a companion channel, HSN2. |
| 1 | Producers of ABC's Detroit 1-8-7 announce a change to the format from mockumentary to crime drama, in response to an incident in May in which a 7-year-old Detroit girl was accidentally killed by police during the taping of an episode of A&E's The First 48. |
| 3 | Comcast announces the formation of its newest regional sports network, Comcast SportsNet Houston, which will become the exclusive home of the NBA's Houston Rockets starting in the 2012–13 NBA season and the MLB's Houston Astros starting in the 2013 MLB season. |
| 5 | After 30 years as co-host, Mary Hart announces her exit from Entertainment Tonight, effective in 2011. |
| 7 | The CW4Kids ends on The CW. The following week, the block is replaced with Toonzai. |
| 10 | Just two weeks after it was reported that she would be joining American Idol, Jennifer Lopez turns down the offer amid reports that she and Idol producers could not come to terms that Lopez wanted to add to her contract. |
| 11 | After 63 years as a reporter and anchorman at KTLA/Los Angeles (ever since its sign-on in 1947), Stan Chambers officially announces his retirement. |
| 16 | HBO reverses a plan to cancel The Life & Times of Tim, which they announced 2 months earlier. |
| 29 | At the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, Mad Men wins Outstanding Drama Series, Temple Grandin nabs the Outstanding Television Movie category and Modern Family is awarded Outstanding Comedy Series. The seventh season of Top Chef won the Outstanding Reality-Competition Series with The Amazing Race losing the award for the first time since the category was introduced in 2003. Jimmy Fallon hosts the event on NBC, which broadcasts the event live to all time zones for the first time ever. |
| 30 | An affiliation switch takes place in San Antonio, with KMYS joining The CW and KCWX taking My Network TV. |

### September

| Date | Event |
| 1 | AT&T Uverse drops Crown Media Holdings-owned channels Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel due to a carriage dispute. |
| 1 | James Lee, a gunman and armed bomber, takes the Discovery Communications Building in Silver Spring, Maryland, hostage for several hours. Lee is subsequently confirmed dead by a shot to the head and the hostages are released unharmed. |
| 2 | A deal is reached between Time Warner Cable and The Walt Disney Company that prevents Disney networks such as ESPN, Disney Channel, ABC Family, and ABC owned-and-operated stations from being taken off TWC's lineup. The agreement also adds ESPN's 3D channel and Internet streaming of live sporting events. |
| 3 | Kara DioGuardi confirms she will not return as American Idol judge. |
| 6 | Regular Show and Mad premiere on Cartoon Network. That same day, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! premieres on PBS Kids. |
| 14 | Roger Craig sets a one-day record on Jeopardy! with $77,000. The record was since surpassed by James Holzhauer on April 9 and 17, 2019 with $110,914 and $131,127, respectively. |
| 17 | After 54 years on CBS television, As the World Turns, the last of the Procter and Gamble Productions soap operas, airs its final episode. |
| 22 | The producers of PBS's Sesame Street pull a taped segment featuring singer Katy Perry performing a modified "kid friendly" version of her song "Hot n Cold" with Elmo after a preview on YouTube draws complaints from parents for Perry's wearing a costume with too much cleavage showing. Later that week, Perry alludes to the incident on Saturday Night Live by wearing a low-cut Elmo T-shirt in a skit. |
| 22 | American Idol confirms plans for its 10th season in 2011, including the return of Nigel Lythgoe as executive producer and a 3-judge panel of Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler. |
| 23 | NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Zucker announces he will depart the company once its purchase by Comcast is completed. He has since been replaced by Comcast COO Stephen Burke. |
| 24 | CNN President Jonathan Klein resigns and is replaced by Ken Jautz. |
| 24 | The pilot episode of Blue Bloods airs on CBS. |
| 27 | Qubo Channel launches a late night programming block named Qubo Night Owl with the debuts of the following Filmation series: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Filmation's Ghostbusters, and BraveStarr. |
| 28 | An episode of MTV's Teen Mom, shows participant Amber Portwood repeatedly assaulting her partner Gary Shirley in front of their young child, kicking and punching him and leaving him injured. MTV neither attempted to stop her assaults, nor did they report the crimes to the police. Portwood was later convicted of felony domestic violence charges after viewers reported her assaults to police some weeks later upon the broadcast of the material on television. |

### October

| Date | Event |
| 1 | Sony launches a new movie channel called Sony Movie Channel, its first wholly owned American channel. |
| 1 | Fox Sports en Español changes its name to Fox Deportes. |
| 1 | Dish Network drops Fox-owned channels FX, National Geographic Channel, and 19 FSN affiliates due to a carriage dispute. Fox Cable Networks also informs Dish Network customers that the contracts for owned and operated Fox and MyNetworkTV broadcast stations, along with Fox affiliates formerly owned by the network and since sold to Local TV LLC expire on November 1. |
| 1 | Dish Network drops MSG Media-owned channels MSG Network and MSG Plus due to a carriage dispute that continues to this day. |
| 1 | CNN announces it has terminated Rick Sanchez, one day after the anchor made comments on a radio show that referred to Jon Stewart as a "bigot" and suggested that CNN is run by Jewish people. |
| 6 | BET's 106 & Park celebrates its 10th anniversary. |
| 8 | For the first time in its 46 years, PBS affiliate KCET/Los Angeles announces that it will become an independent educational station and drop PBS on December 31, 2010. |
| 10 | After 14 years, Discovery Kids rebranded as the Hub Network, a kids and family channel jointly operated by Discovery Communications and Hasbro. |
| 11-15 | Wheel of Fortune had a week with the first instance of having a car (Mercedes-Benz C300) played as a prize on all five bonus rounds that week, the first time since the introduction of the Bonus Wheel in 2001. |
| 11 | Caitlin Sanchez, the voice of Dora the Explorer, sues Nickelodeon for $7 million in back pay stemming from a contract dispute. |
| 14 | A debate about the Ground Zero mosque controversy with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly results in Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar storming off the set of The View. |
| 16 | Cablevision pulls Fox-owned channels WNYW, WWOR-TV, WTXF-TV, National Geographic Wild, Fox Business Network, and Fox Deportes due to a carriage dispute. |
| 21 | NPR fires commentator Juan Williams for saying he gets worried and nervous when he sees people wearing Muslim attire on planes during a segment on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor the previous day. Williams would later accept a lucrative contract (worth $2 million) to join Fox news full-time. |
| 29 | Dish Network and Fox come to terms on a renewal of their carriage agreement for their broadcast stations and cable networks two days before Fox's broadcast stations, along with the formerly Fox-owned affiliates now owned by Local TV LLC were to be removed. |
| 30 | Cablevision and Fox come to terms on a new carriage agreement, restoring Fox's networks and cable channels to their systems in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, although Cablevision calls the cost for the channels "unfair" in their release detailing the new deal under undisclosed terms. |
| 31 | Video on Demand service Fearnet launches a linear high definition channel. Currently, no carriage deals have been reached for the channel. |

### November

| Date | Event |
| 1 | After a 21-year run on Univision, Cristina Saralegui's self-titled talk show, El Show de Cristina airs its final episode; though Saralegui was against Univison's cancellation, she continues to work with the network on a number of projects and specials. |
| 1 | DirecTV removes G4 due to a carriage dispute. This marks the beginning of a slow decline, which led to G4 discontinuing all operations more than four years later. |
| 1 | Dish Network and Belo Corporation come to terms on a new carriage agreement minutes before the Belo-owned stations were to be pulled in a separate carriage dispute. |
| 1 | Fox broadcasts Game 5 of the World Series. The San Francisco Giants defeat the Texas Rangers. It was the team's first title since 1954 and first since moving to San Francisco. This marked the end of the Curse of Coogan's Bluff. |
| 4 | ABC announces it will sell WTVG/Toledo and WJRT-TV/Flint back to former owner SJL Broadcasting, pending FCC approval. |
| 5 | MSNBC suspends Keith Olbermann for donating to three Democratic congressional candidates in the last weeks before the November general election against NBC News policies. Initially an indefinite suspension, MSNBC reinstates Olbermann on November 9, when the host thanks his supporters and viewers but slams MSNBC, claiming that he did not know about their policy against donating money to political candidates or parties. |
| 5 | AT&T Uverse removes the suite of Scripps Networks channels, (excluding Travel Channel, which remains under a previous carriage agreement under former owner Discovery Networks) in a carriage dispute. They are restored on November 7, 2010. |
| 5 | Caitlin Burke, a woman on Wheel of Fortune, solved the puzzle ("I've Got a Good Feeling About This!") with only the N showing. In the same episode hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White pay tribute to their announcer Charlie O'Donnell who died earlier in the week on November 1. |
| 7 | Jo Frost announces that she is leaving Supernanny to start a family of her own, thus ending the series' run after seven seasons. |
| 8 | Conan debuts on TBS, 91⁄2 months after host Conan O'Brien's departure from The Tonight Show. The premiere, which attracts 4.2 million viewers, features guest appearances by Arlene Wagner, Seth Rogen, and Lea Michele; a musical performance from Jack White; pre-taped warm wishes from Ricky Gervais; and a filmed cold-open sketch that features Larry King and Jon Hamm (as his Mad Men character Don Draper). |
| 8 | ESPN announces the breakup of its longtime ESPN Sunday Night Baseball announcing team of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, as Morgan's contract is not renewed and Miller is asked to move to radio broadcasts (Miller declines the move and leaves ESPN entirely). |
| 8 | ION Media Networks announces it is acquiring ShopNBC affiliate WQEX/Pittsburgh from WQED Multimedia for $3 million. If the FCC approves, the move will give Pittsburgh its first Ion affiliate (under the new call sign WINP). |
| 10 | Oprah Winfrey invites former talk show hosts Phil Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo Rivera, Ricki Lake and Montel Williams as guests on her show, the first time Winfrey had fellow talk hosts appear together since their programs left the air. |
| 10 | Fox Business Network announces ex-CNN anchor Lou Dobbs will join the channel in 2011. |
| 11 | After more than 40 years, Gene Shalit leaves NBC's The Today Show. |
| 13 | In the wake of Demi Lovato's decision to enter a treatment facility to deal with "emotional and physical issues," The Disney Channel announces that her sitcom Sonny With a Chance will be temporarily revamped, focusing on sketches from the show-within-a-show "So Random," until she returns for the show's third season in January 2011. |
| 15 | St. Louis television stations KSDK (NBC affiliate owned by Gannett Company) and KDNL-TV (ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group) announce that they will start joint-venturing on daily 5 pm and 10 pm newscasts for KDNL beginning January 3, 2011. The move will create the first local newscasts on KDNL since it dropped its own low-rated news in 2001. |
| 16 | Former reality TV producer Bruce Beresford-Redman is arrested for the murder of his wife. |
| 17 | Freedom Communications puts all of its 10 television stations on the selling block for $500 million. |
| 19 | Two weeks after Keith Olbermann's suspension for political donations, MSNBC suspends Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough for making contributions to Florida Republican candidates. |
| 24 | Dish Network drops Comcast SportsNet California after losing in FCC arbitration. |
| 30 | Susan Boyle abruptly stops her live performance of "O Holy Night" on The View after starting to cough. The singer asks to start over, but the segment ends instead with thanks from hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd and Boyle stating that she had a "frog in (her) throat." The performance is rerecorded for the West Coast airing, but the live version makes its rounds through YouTube. |
| 30 | The 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is broadcast on CBS. 10.4 million people tune in. |

### December

| Date | Event |
| 2 | Over 7 million people tune into TNT to watch the Miami Heat defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in LeBron James' first appearance in Cleveland since controversially leaving the team 5 months earlier; it is the third most-watched NBA regular season telecast on cable since 1996. |
| 9 | Idaho Falls-Pocatello, Idaho, outlets KIDK (a CBS affiliate owned by Fisher Communications) and KIFI (an ABC affiliate owned by News-Press & Gazette Company) announced a shared-services agreement, which will result in the termination of 27 employees. |
| 15 | Weigel Broadcasting's MeTV, which originates from WWME-CD in Chicago, launches nationally to become a full-fledged digital subchannel network with a standardized schedule. |
| 16 | CNN's Larry King Live airs its last original episode, with President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, and news anchors Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric and Brian Williams among those appearing to wish host Larry King well on his retirement. |
| 17 | WSB-TV/Atlanta anchor/reporter John Pruitt anchors the 6 pm newscast for the last time, ending a 46-year run at the station. |
| 20 | Salinas/Monterey, California NBC affiliate KSBW announces it will add ABC to KSBW-DT2 in Spring 2011, returning ABC to the market for the first time since San Jose's KNTV became a Bay Area-centric NBC affiliate (now O&O) in 2002, and at last giving Monterey-Salinas in-market affiliates of all four major commercial networks. The deal is officially announced on February 11, 2011, and takes effect on April 18. At that time, KSBW-DT2 rebrands itself as "Central Coast ABC". |
| 20 | The premiere of Million Dollar Money Drop, based on the British game show The Million Pound Drop (now called The £100K Drop) which also premiered earlier on May the same year, faced backlash by viewers on an inconsistency on one of the questions ("Which of these was sold in stores first?") and the three possible answers include Macintosh computer, Sony Walkman, and Post-it Notes. Contestants Gabe Okoye and Brittany Mayti wagered and dropped $800,000 on Post-it Notes but the correct answer was revealed as Walkman. News article Gawker posted the controversial moment the day after broadcast leading FOX and the host, Kevin Pollak, to allow the couple to play the game with the question thrown out. The controversy might have also led to the eventual cancellation on May the following year. |
| 21 | The studios of ABC affiliate WSOC-TV/Charlotte are shut down for an hour and its 5PM newscast ends early after a woman enters the lobby with a gun and apparently intending to commit suicide. The woman is later apprehended and her gun is discovered to be unloaded. |
| 26 | A blizzard in the Philadelphia area postpones an NBC Sunday Night Football game between the Eagles and Minnesota Vikings to Tuesday the 28th, the 2nd postponement of an NFL game this month. (A December 12 Vikings home game with the New York Giants is moved to December 13 and played in Detroit due to damage to the Vikings' home stadium, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. That game's broadcast was limited to Fox stations in the New York, the Twin Cities, Albany, Mankato, and Rochester markets.) |
| 27 | After 2 years, Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block changes its operating hours from 10:00 pm – 6:00 am to 9:00 pm – 6:00 am. |
| 30 | Hearst Television reaches a carriage fee agreement with DirecTV, keeping Hearst-owned stations on the satellite provider after December 31. |
| 31 | Time Warner Cable and Sinclair Broadcast Group announce a temporary agreement (through January 14, 2011) to keep Sinclair-owned-or-operated stations on Time Warner and Bright House Networks cable systems. The announcement comes during heated negotiations over carriage fees, during which Sinclair threatened to pull its signals on December 31 and Time Warner announced intentions to continue affected network programming through other means if that happened. |
| 31 | Dish Network's current deal for E! and Style Network runs out, but a temporary agreement allows the channel to remain on while negotiations continue. |
| 31 | On CBS, Harry Smith co-hosted its final episode of The Early Show, after 8 years. |

## Television programs
### Debuts

| Date | Show | Network |
| January 1 | Curb Appeal | HGTV |
| January 1 | The Outdoor Room | HGTV |
| January 1 | The Antonio Treatment | HGTV |
| January 3 | Frank the Entertainer in a Basement Affair | VH1 |
| January 3 | Secrets of Aspen | VH1 |
| January 3 | Worst Cooks in America | Food Network |
| January 4 | Blood, Sweat and Takeaways | Planet Green |
| January 5 | Wild Recon | Animal Planet |
| January 8 | Operation Wild | Planet Green |
| January 11 | Border Wars | Nat Geo |
| January 11 | Fantasia for Real | VH1 |
| January 11 | Let's Talk About Pep | VH1 |
| January 12 | Blue Mountain State | Spike |
| January 13 | Solving History with Olly Steeds | Discovery Channel |
| January 14 | Carnie Wilson: Unstapled | GSN |
| January 16 | Pit Boss | Animal Planet |
| January 17 | Human Target | Fox |
| January 18 | American Pickers | The History Channel |
| January 18 | The Buried Life | MTV |
| January 18 | My Life as Liz | MTV |
| January 18 | Life Unexpected | The CW |
| January 18 | Rick's List | CNN |
| January 19 | Paranormal Cops | A&E |
| January 21 | The Deep End | ABC |
| January 22 | Caprica | Syfy |
| January 22 | Spartacus | Starz |
| January 25 | Team Umizoomi | Nickelodeon |
| February 1 | America Live with Megyn Kelly | Fox News Channel |
| February 1 | Kell on Earth | Bravo |
| February 1 | Tinga Tinga Tales | Playhouse Disney |
| February 2 | The Michael Vick Project | BET |
| February 7 | Undercover Boss | CBS |
| February 8 | NFL Full Contact | TruTV |
| February 10 | Inside NASCAR | Showtime |
| February 11 | Past Life | Fox |
| February 11 | SciGirls | PBS Kids Go! |
| February 13 | Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil | Disney XD |
| February 14 | How to Make It in America | HBO |
| February 19 | The Ricky Gervais Show | HBO |
| February 20 | The Robert Verdi Show | Logo |
| February 23 | WWE NXT | Syfy |
| March 1 | Hero: 108 | Cartoon Network |
| March 2 | Players | Spike |
| March 2 | Parenthood | NBC |
| March 4 | The Marriage Ref | NBC |
| March 5 | Who Do You Think You Are? | NBC |
| March 7 | Pink Panther and Pals | Cartoon Network |
| March 10 | High Society | The CW |
| March 14 | Minute to Win It | NBC |
| March 14 | The Pacific | HBO |
| March 14 | Sons of Tucson | Fox |
| March 15 | The Price of Beauty | |
| March 15 | TRANSform Me | |
| March 16 | Justified | FX |
| March 17 | Addicted | TLC |
| March 17 | Unique Autosports: Miami | Spike TV |
| March 17 | Ugly Americans | Comedy Central |
| March 22 | John King, USA | CNN |
| March 24 | Fly Girls | The CW |
| March 27 | Victorious | Nickelodeon |
| April 2 | Miami Medical | CBS |
| April 3 | Doodlebops Rockin' Road Show | Cookie Jar TV |
| April 3 | ESPN Sports Saturday | ABC |
| April 3 | Winners Bracket | ABC |
| April 4 | Good Luck Charlie | Disney Channel |
| April 5 | Adventure Time | Cartoon Network |
| April 5 | Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated | Cartoon Network |
| April 6 | Paris Hilton's British Best Friend | TVGN |
| April 11 | Treme | HBO |
| April 11 | Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business | VH1 |
| April 11 | Basketball Wives | VH1 |
| April 18 | The Emeril Lagasse Show | Ion Television |
| April 19 | Romantically Challenged | ABC |
| April 23 | Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | Cartoon Network |
| April 23 | Generator Rex | Cartoon Network |
| April 28 | Happy Town | ABC |
| May 19 | The Good Guys | Fox |
| May 27 | 100 Questions | NBC |
| May 29 | Mall Cops: Mall of America | TLC |
| June 1 | Losing It With Jillian | NBC |
| June 2 | Are We There Yet? | TBS |
| June 6 | Top Shot | History Channel |
| June 7 | Neighbors from Hell | TBS |
| June 7 | Persons Unknown | NBC |
| June 8 | Pretty Little Liars | ABC Family |
| June 10 | The Green Room with Paul Provenza | Showtime |
| June 10 | Late Night Liars | GSN |
| June 11 | Dual Survival | Discovery Channel |
| June 13 | Holly's World | E! |
| June 13 | Rubicon | AMC |
| June 13 | Unnatural History | Cartoon Network |
| June 16 | Bert the Conqueror | Travel Channel |
| June 16 | Hot in Cleveland | TV Land |
| June 20 | The Real L Word | Showtime |
| June 20 | The Gates | ABC |
| June 20 | Scoundrels | ABC |
| June 22 | Memphis Beat | TNT |
| June 24 | Rookie Blue | ABC |
| June 27 | Mary Shelley's Frankenhole | Adult Swim |
| June 28 | Huge | ABC Family |
| June 29 | Louie | FX |
| July 9 | Haven | Syfy |
| July 11 | The Glades | A&E |
| July 12 | Rizzoli & Isles | TNT |
| July 13 | Covert Affairs | USA Network |
| July 19 | RuPaul's Drag U | Logo |
| July 20 | If You Really Knew Me | MTV |
| July 23 | The Pillars of the Earth | Starz |
| July 26 | The Huckabee Show | Fox |
| July 27 | MasterChef | Fox |
| July 28 | Plain Jane | The CW |
| August 5 | The Real Housewives of D.C. | Bravo |
| August 9 | Bachelor Pad | ABC |
| August 16 | The Big C | Showtime |
| August 17 | Big Lake | Comedy Central |
| August 17 | Melissa & Joey | ABC Family |
| September 1 | Changing Lanes | BET |
| September 3 | Fish Hooks | Disney Channel |
| September 5 | Mel B: It's a Scary World | Style |
| September 6 | MAD | Cartoon Network |
| September 6 | Regular Show | Cartoon Network |
| September 6 | The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! | PBS Kids |
| September 6 | NFL Rush Zone | Nicktoons |
| September 8 | Terriers | FX |
| September 8 | Hellcats | The CW |
| September 9 | Nikita | The CW |
| September 10 | Pair of Kings | Disney Channel |
| September 10 | Fashion Police | E! |
| September 13 | The Nate Berkus Show | Syndication |
| September 13 | World of Jenks | MTV |
| September 13 | Swift Justice with Nancy Grace | Syndication |
| September 14 | Sextuplets Take New York | TLC |
| September 15 | Outlaw | NBC |
| September 17 | Sym-Bionic Titan | Cartoon Network |
| September 19 | Boardwalk Empire | HBO |
| September 19 | Real and Chance: The Legend Hunters | VH1 |
| September 20 | America's Court with Judge Ross | Syndication |
| September 20 | Chase | NBC |
| September 20 | The Event | NBC |
| September 20 | Mike & Molly | CBS |
| September 20 | Hawaii Five-0 | CBS |
| September 20 | Lone Star | Fox |
| September 21 | Raising Hope | Fox |
| September 21 | Running Wilde | Fox |
| September 21 | Detroit 1-8-7 | ABC |
| September 22 | Better with You | ABC |
| September 22 | The Whole Truth | ABC |
| September 22 | The Defenders | CBS |
| September 22 | Undercovers | NBC |
| September 22 | The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes | Disney XD |
| September 23 | My Generation | ABC |
| September 23 | Outsourced | NBC |
| September 23 | $#*! My Dad Says | CBS |
| September 24 | Blue Bloods | CBS |
| September 25 | Noodle and Doodle | Sprout |
| September 26 | Sister Wives | TLC |
| September 27 | The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell | MSNBC |
| September 28 | No Ordinary Family | ABC |
| September 29 | Law & Order: LA | NBC |
| October 2 | Planet Sheen | Nickelodeon |
| October 2 | T.U.F.F. Puppy | Nickelodeon |
| October 3 | IRT Deadliest Roads | History |
| October 4 | The A-List: New York | Logo |
| October 4 | The Arrangement | Logo |
| October 4 | Parker Spitzer | CNN |
| October 4 | Chuggington | Playhouse Disney |
| October 8 | Gigantic | TeenNick |
| October 10 | Food Feuds | Food Network |
| October 10 | Cosmic Quantum Ray | The Hub |
| October 10 | Deltora Quest | The Hub |
| October 10 | Dennis the Menace and Gnasher | The Hub |
| October 10 | Family Game Night | The Hub |
| October 10 | Pound Puppies | The Hub |
| October 10 | My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic | The Hub |
| October 10 | Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures | The Hub |
| October 10 | The Twisted Whiskers Show | The Hub |
| October 11 | Animal Mechanicals | The Hub |
| October 11 | In the Night Garden... | The Hub |
| October 11 | Pictureka! | The Hub |
| October 11 | The WotWots | The Hub |
| October 11 | Zevo-3 | Nicktoons |
| October 12 | Nick Swardson's Pretend Time | Comedy Central |
| October 12 | Tower Prep | Cartoon Network |
| October 14 | The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills | Bravo |
| October 14 | The Vanilla Ice Project | DIY Network |
| October 15 | The Adventures of Chuck and Friends | The Hub |
| October 15 | School Pride | NBC |
| October 17 | Luther | BBC America |
| October 18 | The Talk | CBS |
| October 18 | Bret Michaels: Life as I Know It | VH1 |
| October 20 | That's Tough | G4 |
| October 24 | Sherlock | PBS |
| October 25 | American Restoration | History |
| October 25 | Robotomy | Cartoon Network |
| October 28 | Police Women of Dallas | TLC |
| October 29 | R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series | Hub Network |
| October 30 | America Now | Syndication |
| October 31 | The Walking Dead | AMC |
| November 5 | Hubworld | The Hub |
| November 7 | Married to Rock | E! |
| November 7 | Shake It Up | Disney Channel |
| November 8 | Conan | TBS |
| November 16 | Glory Daze | TBS |
| November 21 | Top Gear | History |
| November 22 | Skating with the Stars | ABC |
| November 22 | Babar and the Adventures of Badou | Playhouse Disney |
| November 26 | The Fran Drescher Show | Syndication |
| November 26 | Young Justice | Cartoon Network |
| November 26 | G.I. Joe: Renegades | The Hub |
| November 29 | Transformers: Prime | The Hub |
| December 1 | Storage Wars | A&E |
| December 3 | Take Two with Phineas and Ferb | Disney Channel |
| December 5 | The Hasselhoffs | A&E |
| December 6 | Next Great Baker | TLC |
| December 20 | Million Dollar Money Drop | Fox |
| December 20 | Perfect Couples | NBC |
| December 29 | My Strange Addiction | TLC |

### Entering syndication this year

| Show | Seasons | In Production |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | 7 | Yes |
| Entourage | 7 | Yes |
| American Dad! | 6 | Yes |
| How I Met Your Mother | 5 | Yes |
| The New Adventures of Old Christine | 5 | No |

### Changes of network affiliation

| Show | Moved From | Moved To |
| The Mighty B! | Nickelodeon | Nicktoons |
| American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior | TLC | Discovery Channel |
| Hole in the Wall | Fox | Cartoon Network |
| Childrens Hospital | The WB | Adult Swim |
| The Martha Stewart Show | Syndication | Hallmark Channel |
| Southland | NBC | TNT |
| Merlin | NBC | Syfy |
| He-Man and the Masters of the Universe | Syndication | Qubo Channel |
| She-Ra: Princess of Power | Syndication | Qubo Channel |
| Filmation's Ghostbusters | Syndication | Qubo Channel |
| BraveStarr | Syndication | Qubo Channel |
| WWE SmackDown | MyNetworkTV | Syfy |
| Pocoyo | PBS Kids | Nick Jr. Channel |

### Returning this year

| Show | Last Aired | Previous network | Retitled as/Same | New network | Returning |
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | 2009 | NBC | Same | Same | March 1 |
| Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! | 2008 | Kids' WB | Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated | Cartoon Network | April 5 |
| Jon & Kate Plus 8 | 2009 | TLC | Kate Plus 8 | Same | June 6 |
| Last Comic Standing | 2008 | NBC | Same | Same | June 7 |
| Futurama | 2009 | Comedy Central | Same | Same | June 24 |
| Mad TV | 2009 | Fox | MAD | Cartoon Network | September 6 |
| Judge Karen | 2009 | Syndication | Judge Karen's Court | Same | September 20 |
| Spliced | 2009 | Qubo | Same | Same | September 28 |
| Hole in the Wall | 2009 | Fox | Same | Cartoon Network | October 6 |

### Ending this year

| Date | Show | Network | Debut | Status |
| January 2 | Face the Ace | NBC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| January 8 | It's a Big Big World | PBS Kids | 2006 | Cancelled |
| January 17 | The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty | A&E | 2009 | Cancelled |
| January 22 | The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien | NBC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| January 26 | Better Off Ted | ABC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| January 29 | Dollhouse | Fox | 2009 | Cancelled |
| January 29 | The Live Desk | Fox News Channel | 2006 | Cancelled |
| January 30 | The Secret Saturdays | Cartoon Network | 2008 | Cancelled |
| February 8 | Heroes (returned in 2015) | NBC | 2006 | Cancelled |
| February 9 | The Jay Leno Show | NBC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| February 11 | 6teen | Cartoon Network | 2004 | Ended |
| February 11 | American Chopper (returned in 2018) | Discovery Channel | 2003 | Cancelled |
| February 12 | Bullrun | Cartoon Network | 2007 | Cancelled |
| February 16 | WWE ECW | Syfy | 2006 | Cancelled |
| February 21 | Secrets of Aspen | VH1 | 2010 | Cancelled |
| February 25 | The Deep End | ABC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| March 1 | Let's Talk About Pep | VH1 | 2010 | Cancelled |
| March 3 | Nip/Tuck | FX | 2003 | Ended |
| March 8 | Tracey Ullman's State of the Union | Showtime | 2008 | Cancelled |
| March 11 | Carnie Wilson: Unstapled | GSN | 2010 | Cancelled |
| March 12 | Numbers | CBS | 2005 | Cancelled |
| March 13 | Chaotic | Cartoon Network | 2006 | Cancelled |
| March 17 | Gary Unmarried | CBS | 2008 | Cancelled |
| March 17 | Scrubs | ABC | 2001 | Cancelled |
| March 20 | Seducing Cindy | Fox Reality Channel | 2010 | Cancelled |
| March 20 | Solitary | Fox Reality Channel | 2006 | Cancelled |
| March 26 | Ben 10: Alien Force | Cartoon Network | 2008 | Cancelled |
| March 27 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (returned in 2012) | The CW | 2003 | Cancelled |
| March 28 | Frank the Entertainer in a Basement Affair | VH1 | 2010 | Cancelled |
| March 29 | Kell on Earth | Bravo | 2010 | Cancelled |
| April 2 | Worldfocus | PBS | 2008 | Cancelled |
| April 13 | Melrose Place | The CW | 2009 | Cancelled |
| April 14 | Ugly Betty | ABC | 2006 | Cancelled |
| April 15 | The Sarah Silverman Program | Comedy Central | 2007 | Cancelled |
| April 15 | Important Things with Demetri Martin | Comedy Central | 2009 | Cancelled |
| April 21 | Accidentally on Purpose | CBS | 2009 | Cancelled |
| April 26 | Trauma | NBC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| April 27 | Unsolved Mysteries (returned in 2020) | Spike | 1987 | Cancelled |
| April 28 | High Society | The CW | 2010 | Cancelled |
| April 30 | Amanpour (returned in 2012) | CNN | 2009 | Cancelled |
| April 30 | NOW | PBS | 2002 | Cancelled |
| April 30 | Bill Moyers Journal | PBS | 1972 | Cancelled |
| May 2 | Cold Case | CBS | 2003 | Cancelled |
| May 3 | The Price of Beauty | VH1 | 2010 | Cancelled |
| May 3 | TRANSform Me | VH1 | 2010 | Cancelled |
| May 6 | King of the Hill (returning in 2025) | Syndication | 1997 | Cancelled |
| May 7 | Fox Business Morning | Fox News Network | 2007 | Cancelled |
| May 12 | The New Adventures of Old Christine | CBS | 2006 | Cancelled |
| May 12 | Mercy | NBC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| May 15 | The Wanda Sykes Show | Fox | 2009 | Cancelled |
| May 15 | American Idol Rewind | Syndicated | 2006 | Cancelled |
| May 16 | The Pacific | HBO | 2010 | Cancelled |
| May 17 | Romantically Challenged | ABC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| May 21 | Ghost Whisperer | CBS | 2005 | Cancelled |
| May 22 | Legend of the Seeker | Syndicated | 2008 | Cancelled |
| May 23 | Lost | ABC | 2004 | Ended |
| May 24 | 24 (returned in 2014 and 2017) | Fox | 2001 | Ended |
| May 24 | Law & Order (returned in 2022) | NBC | 1990 | Cancelled |
| May 24 | 10 Things I Hate About You | ABC Family | 2009 | Cancelled |
| May 27 | FlashForward | ABC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| May 28 | The Bonnie Hunt Show | Syndicated | 2008 | Cancelled |
| May 28 | Deal or No Deal (returned in 2018) | Syndicated | 2005 | Cancelled |
| May 28 | The Tyra Banks Show | Syndicated | 2005 | Cancelled |
| May 28 | Zane's Sex Chronicles | Cinemax | 2008 | Cancelled |
| June 11 | Past Life | Fox | 2010 | Cancelled |
| June 20 | 'Til Death | Fox | 2006 | Cancelled |
| June 20 | The Tudors | Showtime | 2007 | Ended |
| June 21 | Saving Grace | TNT | 2007 | Cancelled |
| July 1 | 100 Questions | NBC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| July 1 | Happy Town | ABC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| July 2 | Miami Medical | CBS | 2010 | Cancelled |
| July 3 | The Forgotten | ABC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| July 3 | Three Rivers | CBS | 2009 | Cancelled |
| July 7 | Dinner: Impossible (returned in 2021) | Food Network | 2007 | Cancelled |
| July 8 | Mall Cops: Mall of America | TLC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| July 12 | Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! | Nickelodeon | 2006 | Cancelled |
| July 13 | The Hills (returned in 2019) | MTV | 2006 | Ended |
| July 13 | The City | MTV | 2008 | Cancelled |
| July 15 | Most Daring | TruTV | 2006 | Cancelled |
| July 21 | Campbell Brown | CNN | 2008 | Cancelled |
| July 23 | Cyberchase (returned in 2013) | PBS Kids | 2002 | Cancelled |
| July 26 | Neighbors from Hell | TBS | 2010 | Cancelled |
| July 30 | Aaron Stone | Disney XD | 2009 | Cancelled |
| August 1 | Sons of Tucson | Fox | 2010 | Cancelled |
| August 3 | Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List | Bravo | 2005 | Cancelled |
| August 3 | One Big Happy Family | TLC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| August 7 | Chowder | Cartoon Network | 2007 | Cancelled |
| August 12 | Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | Cartoon Network | 2003 | Cancelled |
| August 13 | Wife Swap (returned in 2013) | ABC | 2004 | Cancelled |
| August 14 | At the Movies | Syndication | 1986 | Cancelled |
| August 14 | Players | Spike | 2010 | Cancelled |
| August 15 | Scoundrels | ABC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| August 17 | 18 to Life | The CW | 2010 | Cancelled |
| August 22 | Storm Stories | The Weather Channel | 2003 | Cancelled |
| August 23 | Pink Panther and Pals | Cartoon Network | 2010 | Cancelled |
| August 27 | The Pillars of the Earth | Starz | 2010 | Cancelled |
| August 30 | Huge | ABC Family | 2010 | Cancelled |
| August 30 | The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack | Cartoon Network | 2008 | Cancelled |
| August 30 | Jeffery & Cole Casserole | Logo | 2009 | Cancelled |
| August 31 | Shaq Vs. | ABC | 2009 | Cancelled |
| September 1 | Plain Jane | The CW | 2010 | Cancelled |
| September 8 | Criss Angel Mindfreak | A&E | 2005 | Cancelled |
| September 12 | My Boys | TBS | 2006 | Cancelled |
| September 14 | Big Lake | Comedy Central | 2010 | Cancelled |
| September 15 | Dark Blue | TNT | 2009 | Cancelled |
| September 17 | As the World Turns | CBS | 1956 | Cancelled |
| September 19 | The Gates | ABC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| September 21 | Unnatural History | Cartoon Network | 2010 | Cancelled |
| September 27 | Lone Star | Fox | 2010 | Cancelled |
| September 30 | My Generation | ABC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| October 1 | Rick's List | CNN | 2010 | Cancelled |
| October 1 | Daily 10 | E! | 2006 | Cancelled |
| October 3 | Caillou (returned in 2023) | PBS Kids | 1997 | Cancelled |
| October 3 | Jonas | Disney Channel | 2009 | Cancelled |
| October 7 | Mel B: It's a Scary World | Style Network | 2010 | Cancelled |
| October 9 | My Friends Tigger & Pooh | Playhouse Disney | 2007 | Cancelled |
| October 17 | Rubicon | AMC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| October 18 | Atom TV | BET | 2008 | Cancelled |
| October 20 | Changing Lanes | BET | 2010 | Cancelled |
| October 21 | The Real Housewives of D.C. | Bravo | 2010 | Cancelled |
| November 2 | Barney & Friends | PBS Kids | 1992 | Cancelled |
| November 4 | Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman | PBS Kids | 2006 | Cancelled |
| November 10 | Most Shocking | TruTV | 2006 | Cancelled |
| November 13 | Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps | PBS Kids | 2009 | Cancelled |
| November 13 | Outlaw | NBC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| November 21 | The Venture Bros. (returned in 2013) | Adult Swim | 2003 | Cancelled |
| November 22 | Between the Lions | PBS Kids | 2000 | Cancelled |
| November 26 | School Pride | NBC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| November 28 | Fantasia for Real | VH1 | 2010 | Cancelled |
| November 29 | The Buried Life | MTV | 2010 | Cancelled |
| December 1 | Terriers | FX | 2010 | Cancelled |
| December 1 | The Arrangement | Logo | 2010 | Cancelled |
| December 1 | The Twisted Whiskers Show | The Hub | 2010 | Cancelled |
| December 5 | The Hasselhoffs | A&E | 2010 | Cancelled |
| December 5 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Adult Swim | 2007 | Cancelled |
| December 7 | In Treatment (returned in 2021) | HBO | 2008 | Cancelled |
| December 10 | The Good Guys | Fox | 2010 | Cancelled |
| December 16 | Larry King Live | CNN | 1985 | Ended |
| December 17 | The Fran Drescher Show | Syndication | 2010 | Cancelled |
| December 21 | Skating with the Stars | ABC | 2010 | Cancelled |
| December 28 | Tower Prep | Cartoon Network | 2010 | Cancelled |
| December 29 | Undercovers | NBC | 2010 | Cancelled |

### Made-for-TV movies and miniseries

| Premiere date | Title | Channel |
| January 15 | Lego Atlantis: The Movie | Cartoon Network |
| February 13 | Starstruck | Disney Channel |
| April 7 | The Buddha | PBS |
| May 10 | Straight Outta L.A. | ESPN |
| May 24 | The Lazarus Effect | HBO |
| August 13 | Den Brother | Disney Channel |
| September 3 | Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam | Disney Channel |
| September 18 | Fred: The Movie | Nickelodeon |
| October 16 | Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster | Cartoon Network |
| October 23 | The Boy Who Cried Werewolf | Nickelodeon |
| November 12 | Avalon High | Disney Channel |
| November 24 | Firebreather | Cartoon Network |

## Networks and services
### Launches

| Network | Type | Launch date |
| Legacy TV | Cable television | January 11 |
| RT America | Cable television | February |
| SWRV | Cable television | February 10 |
| Inmigrante TV | Cable television | February 13 |
| Foro | Cable television | February 15 |
| Epix 2 | Cable television | May 12 |
| The Weather Cast | Cable television | May 20 |
| ESPN 3D | Cable television | June 11 |
| n3D | Cable television | July 1 |
| The 3 From Epix | Cable television | August 11 |
| Willow | Cable and satellite | August 27 |
| ESPN Goal Line & Bases Loaded | Cable television | September 4 |
| Sony Movie Channel | Cable television | October 1 |
| MeTV | Cable television | December 15 |

### Conversions and rebrandings

| Old network name | New network name | Type | Conversion Date | Notes | Source |
| Fox Sports en Espanol | Fox Deportes | Cable television | Unknown | | |
| Gospel Music Channel | GMC | Cable television | Unknown | | |

### Closures

| Network | Type | Closure date |
| Gems TV | Cable television | April 15 |
| The Weather Cast | Cable television | May 24 |
| Research Channel | Cable television | August 31 |

## Television stations
### Station launches

| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation |
| Unknown date | Mason City, Iowa/Rochester, Minnesota | KIMT-DT3 | 3.3 | Independent/Weather |
| January 1 | Macon, Georgia | WGXA-DT2 | 16.2 | ABC |
| July 21 | Canton/Waynesville, North Carolina | WUNW-TV | 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 | UNC-TV Explorer Channel PBS/UNC-TV PBS Kids (UNC-TV programmed) UNC-ED North Carolina Channel |
| May 15 | Kirksville, Missouri/Ottumwa, Iowa | KTVO-DT2 | 3.2 | CBS |
| October 6 | Tupelo, Mississippi | WEPH | 49.1 | Christian Television Network |
| December 7 | Senatobia, Mississippi/Memphis, Tennessee | WWTW | 34.1 | Independent |
| December 13 | Greenville/Greenwood, Mississippi | WNBD-LD | 33.1 | NBC |

### Station closures

| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Sign-on date | Ref. |
| July 31 | Waco, Texas | KWBU-TV | 34.1/34.2 34.3 | Create V-me (DT3) | May 22, 1989 | |

### Stations changing network affiliation

| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Prior Affiliation | New affiliation |
| January 1 | Perry/Macon, Georgia | WPGA-TV | 58.1 | ABC | Independent |
| May 9 | Ada, Oklahoma/Sherman, Texas | KTEN-DT3 | 10.3 | Weather | ABC |
| October 30 | San Antonio, Texas | KCWX | 2.1 | The CW | MyNetworkTV |
| October 30 | San Antonio, Texas | KMYS | 35.1 | MyNetworkTV | The CW |

## Deaths
### January

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| January 2 | David Gerber | 86 | TV executive (Columbia Pictures Television and MGM Television) and producer (Police Woman, Batman, Room 222, thirtysomething) |
| January 4 | Rory Markas | 54 | TV and radio sportscaster (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Milwaukee Brewers play-by-play announcer; Sports anchor/reporter at Fox Sports West/Prime Ticket and Los Angeles TV stations KCBS-TV and KTTV) |
| January 8 | Art Clokey | 88 | Animator (Creator of Gumby) |
| January 13 | Teddy Pendergrass | 59 | R&B singer (Pink Lady and Jeff, 1985 Live Aid Telecast) |
| January 19 | Jennifer Lyon | 37 | Reality television participant (Survivor: Palau) |
| January 22 | James Mitchell | 89 | Actor (All My Children, The Edge of Night, Where the Heart Is) |
| January 22 | Jean Simmons | 80 | Actress, Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries for The Thorn Birds |
| January 22 | Johnny Seven | 83 | Character actor (Ironside, Amy Prentiss) |
| January 24 | James Henry Quello | 95 | Broadcaster, politician, lawyer, consultant, and commissioner of the FCC; VP of Capital Cities Communications |
| January 24 | Pernell Roberts | 81 | Actor/singer (Bonanza, Trapper John, M.D.) |
| January 27 | Zelda Rubinstein | 76 | Actress and activist (Jennifer Slept Here, Picket Fences) |
| January 29 | Tom Brookshier | 78 | All-pro football player and NFL commentator for CBS |
| January 30 | Aaron Ruben | 95 | TV creator, screenwriter, director and producer (The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Headmaster, Sanford and Son) |

### February

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| February 1 | Justin Mentell | 27 | Actor (Boston Legal) |
| February 3 | Frances Reid | 95 | Actress (Days of Our Lives) |
| February 4 | Cecil Heftel | 85 | Politician (Hawaii's 1st congressional district), broadcaster and television/radio station group owner (Founder of Heftel Broadcasting, the first owners of KGMB/Honolulu, Hawaii) |
| February 5 | Frank Magid | 78 | Broadcasting/marketing consultant (founder of Frank N. Magid Associates) |
| February 9 | Phil Harris | 53 | Fishing boat captain and reality show participant (Deadliest Catch) |
| February 11 | Caroline McWilliams | 64 | Actress and director (Soap, Benson, Another World, Guiding Light) |
| February 14 | Andrew Koenig | 41 | Actor (Growing Pains) |
| February 16 | Bo Griffin | 51 | TV/radio personality (Good Day Live, Extra, GSN Live, and The Big Reveal on HGTV) |

### March

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| March 4 | Nan Martin | 82 | Actress (The Drew Carey Show) |
| March 10 | Corey Haim | 38 | Actor (half of the acting duo The Two Coreys, also appeared in a reality show of the same name). |
| March 11 | Merlin Olsen | 69 | Football player (Los Angeles Rams) and commentator (NBC/CBS Sports), actor (Little House on the Prairie, Father Murphy), commercial spokesman (FTD Florists) |
| March 14 | Peter Graves | 83 | Actor (Mission: Impossible, 7th Heaven), host of Biography |
| March 18 | Fess Parker | 85 | Actor (Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone) |
| March 19 | Bill McIntyre | 80 | Actor (Newhart, Dallas, Murphy Brown) |
| March 21 | Margaret Moth | 58 | New Zealand-born photojournalist for CNN |
| March 24 | Robert Culp | 79 | Actor (I Spy, The Greatest American Hero, Everybody Loves Raymond) |
| March 25 | Chet Simmons | 81 | Sports executive, first president of ESPN, later commissioner for the United States Football League |
| March 30 | David Mills | 48 | Screenwriter (NYPD Blue, The Corner, Kingpin, ER, The Wire) |

### April

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| April 1 | John Forsythe | 92 | Actor (Blake Carrington on Dynasty, voice of Charlie on Charlie's Angels, and starred in Bachelor Father) |
| April 9 | Meinhardt Raabe | 94 | Actor (Played Munchkin who declares "the witch is dead" in The Wizard of Oz) |
| April 10 | Dixie Carter | 70 | Actress (Designing Women, Diff'rent Strokes, Out of the Blue, The Edge of Night, Family Law) |
| April 12 | Peter Haskell | 75 | Actor (Bracken's World, Ryan's Hope) |
| April 15 | Benjamin Hooks | 85 | Former executive director of NAACP, first African- commissioner on the FCC |
| April 18 | Allen Swift | 86 | Voice actor (The Howdy Doody Show, Mighty Mouse, Underdog) |
| April 20 | Myles Wilder | 77 | Screenwriter (McHale's Navy, The Dukes of Hazzard) |
| April 27 | Dorothy Provine | 75 | Actress, comedian, dancer and singer (The Roaring 20s, The Alaskans, Man Without a Gun) |

### May

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| May 1 | Helen Wagner | 91 | Actress (As the World Turns) |
| May 2 | Lynn Redgrave | 67 | Actress (House Calls, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, spokesperson for Weight Watchers) |
| May 4 | Ernie Harwell | 92 | TV/radio sportscaster (voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 seasons, called the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" on TV, recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award). |
| May 9 | Lena Horne | 92 | Actress, singer and entertainer (hosted her own special in 1969 and 1973; performed on Kraft Music Hall, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Judy Garland Show, The Hollywood Palace, and The Andy Williams Show) |
| May 12 | Allan Manings | 86 | TV creator and screenwriter (McHale's Navy, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Good Times, One Day at a Time) |
| May 19 | Martin Cohan | 77 | Screenwriter and producer (Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, Who's the Boss?) |
| May 28 | Gary Coleman | 42 | Actor, politician and former child star, best known as Arnold Jackson on Diff'rent Strokes |
| May 29 | Dennis Hopper | 74 | Director and actor (Crash, spokesperson for Ameriprise Financial) |

### June

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| June 3 | Rue McClanahan | 76 | Actress, best known as Vivian Harmon on Maude, Fran Crowley on Mama's Family, and her Emmy Award-winning role as Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls |
| June 5 | Robert Wussler | 73 | Broadcasting executive (CBS, Turner Sports) |
| June 13 | Jimmy Dean | 81 | Singer, TV personality (The Jimmy Dean Show) and businessman |
| June 19 | Vince O'Brien | 91 | Character actor (Westinghouse Studio One, Dark Shadows, Ryan's Hope, Law & Order; known as the Shell Answer Man) |
| June 23 | Allyn Ferguson | 85 | Composer (Charlie's Angels and Barney Miller theme songs) |
| June 28 | Robert Byrd | 92 | Politician and musician (appeared on Hee Haw as a musical guest) |

### July

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| July 11 | Bob Sheppard | 99 | Public address announcer for the New York Yankees (1951–2007) and for the New York Giants (1956–2006). Voice can be heard in shows and films set at Yankees and Giants games (including several episodes of Seinfeld), as well as in commercials for YES Network. |
| July 13 | George Steinbrenner | 80 | Businessman, owner of the New York Yankees since 1973, founder and owner of YES Network |
| July 15 | Peter Fernandez | 83 | Voice actor (Speed Racer, Courage the Cowardly Dog) |
| July 16 | James Gammon | 70 | Actor (Nash Bridges, Bagdad Cafe) |
| July 20 | Peta Rutter | 51 | New Zealand actress (Udonna the Sorceress in Power Rangers: Mystic Force). |
| July 23 | Daniel Schorr | 93 | Radio/TV news reporter and journalist for CBS News and CNN |
| July 27 | Maury Chaykin | 61 | Actor who portrayed Nero Wolfe in the TV film The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery and the A&E 2001–02 series A Nero Wolfe Mystery. |
| July 28 | John Aylesworth | 81 | Screenwriter and producer (Co-creator of Hee Haw; writer for Your Hit Parade, The Sonny and Cher Show, The Julie Andrews Hour, Hullabaloo, and Kraft Music Hall) |
| July 29 | Bernie West | 92 | Actor, screenwriter and director (All In The Family, Maude, Three's Company, The Jeffersons) |
| July 29 | Lorene Yarnell | 66 | Actress, mime performer, dancer and television personality (Shields & Yarnell) |
| July 31 | Dan Resin | 79 | Actor (On Our Own, Edge of Night, Lovers and Friends, Captain Kangaroo, Madhouse Brigade, Remember WENN) |
| July 31 | Mitch Miller | 99 | Musician, band leader, record executive and television personality (Sing Along With Mitch) |

### August

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| August 8 | Patricia Neal | 84 | Actress (played Olivia Walton in The Homecoming: A Christmas Story and as herself in The Patricia Neal Story ) |
| August 9 | Ted Stevens | 86 | Politician (U.S. Senator from Alaska, 1968–2009); member of The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which oversees Communications in the United States, including the television industry, of which he made critical opinions and decisions about during his tenure |
| August 10 | David L. Wolper | 82 | Producer (North and South, Roots, The Thorn Birds and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles) |
| August 13 | Edwin Newman | 91 | Broadcast journalist, NBC anchor, and author (Today, Meet the Press) |
| August 14 | Gloria Winters | 78 | Actress and author (Sky King) |
| August 15 | James J. Kilpatrick | 89 | Conservative commentator, journalist, newspaper editor and television personality (60 Minutes) |
| August 21 | Harold Dow | 62 | Radio and television journalist for CBS News |

### September

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| September 2 | Morgan White | 86 | Actor and children's television host (Pogo Poge on Checkers & Pogo at KGMB-TV/Honolulu and on Hawaii Five-O) |
| September 5 | David Dortort | 93 | TV producer and screenwriter (Bonanza, The High Chaparral) |
| September 8 | John Kluge | 95 | German-born television/radio broadcaster and founder/chairman of Metromedia |
| September 11 | Harold Gould | 86 | Character actor (Rhoda, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls) |
| September 11 | Kevin McCarthy | 96 | Character actor (Flamingo Road) |
| September 17 | Marilyn Cantor Baker | 89 | Screenwriter and actress (Love, Sidney) |
| September 23 | Arthur Holch | 86 | Emmy Award-winning TV director and producer |
| September 25 | Art Gilmore | 98 | Actor and voice actor (Highway Patrol) |
| September 29 | Greg Giraldo | 44 | Stand-up comedian (Last Comic Standing, The Comedy Central Roasts) |
| September 29 | Tony Curtis | 85 | Actor (Some Like It Hot, The Defiant Ones, guest spots on several TV shows, including his only starring series, McCoy) |
| September 30 | Stephen J. Cannell | 69 | TV creator, screenwriter, director, author, and actor (The A-Team, Riptide, The Greatest American Hero, Hunter, The Rockford Files, 21 Jump Street) |

### October

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| October 16 | Barbara Billingsley | 94 | Actress (June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver, the voice of "Nanny" on Muppet Babies) |
| October 19 | Tom Bosley | 83 | Actor (Howard Cunningham on Happy Days, Sheriff Amos Tupper on Murder, She Wrote, twin brothers Frank and Blaine Dowling on Father Dowling Mysteries), and voice actor (Harry on Wait Till Your Father Gets Home and the title character on The World of David the Gnome) |
| October 27 | Denise Borino-Quinn | 46 | TV actress and lawyer (The Sopranos) |
| October 27 | James Wall | 92 | TV actor and stage manager (Mr. Baxter on Captain Kangaroo; stage manager for CBS shows including 60 Minutes and Face the Nation) |
| October 28 | James MacArthur | 72 | Actor (played Danny "Danno" Williams in the original Hawaii Five-O) |
| October 30 | Arthur Bernard Lewis | 84 | Producer (Dallas) |

### November

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| November 1 | Charlie O'Donnell | 78 | Announcer (Wheel of Fortune, American Bandstand) and news anchor (KCOP-TV) |
| November 4 | Julien Hug | 35 | Reality TV participant and restaurant owner (The Bachelorette Season 5) |
| November 4 | Sparky Anderson | 76 | Major League Baseball manager (led both the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers to World Series titles), later a baseball color commentator on TV and radio. |
| November 5 | Jill Clayburgh | 66 | Actress (Ally McBeal) |
| November 10 | Dave Niehaus | 75 | Ford C. Frick Award-winning sportscaster, voice of the Seattle Mariners since the team's inception in 1977. |
| November 28 | Leslie Nielsen | 84 | Actor and comedian (The Naked Gun, Forbidden Planet, The Poseidon Adventure, and Airplane!) |
| November 29 | Al Masini | 80 | TV producer (creator of Entertainment Tonight, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Solid Gold, and Star Search) |

### December

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| December 5 | Don Meredith | 72 | NFL player (Dallas Cowboys), later color commentator on Monday Night Football and NBC's NFL coverage |
| December 14 | Neva Patterson | 90 | Actress (The Governor and J.J., V: The Original Miniseries, V: The Final Battle) |
| December 15 | Blake Edwards | 88 | Producer, director and screenwriter (Peter Gunn) |
| December 20 | Steve Landesberg | 74 | Actor and comedian (Barney Miller) |
| December 25 | Bud Greenspan | 84 | Documentarian, screenwriter and sports reporter |
| December 26 | Teena Marie | 54 | R&B/Dance singer, songwriter and actress (The Beverly Hillbillies; her 1981 song "Square Biz" was re-worked by Marie as the theme for The Hollywood Squares) |