1996 in American television

In American television in 1996, notable events included television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel initiations, closures and rebrandings, as well as information about controversies and disputes.

Notable events

January

Date	Event
20	Fox introduces its FoxTrax "glowing puck" during its telecast of the 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game.
28	Chris Isaak and Brooke Shields make guest appearances on a post-Super Bowl episode of Friends on NBC.

February

Date	Event
8–9	Peter Argyropolous and Deborah Cohen win a combined total of $146,529 cash prizes from two episodes (including the $10,000 wedge played with the Double Play token and two Ford Mustangs), making the couple the biggest winner in the history of Wheel of Fortune; They remain the biggest winners for a team, and will hold the record until Michelle Lowenstein wins $1,026,080 on October 14, 2008.
17	Fred Rogers makes a guest appearance on the CBS Western drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. This is notably, the only time that Rogers portrayed a fictional character on television.
28	Paxson Communications completes their $40 million purchase of ABC affiliate WAKC-TV in Akron, Ohio, from ValueVision.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hours after the sale closed, Paxon president Dean Goodman arrives at WAKC-TV's studios and tells the staff, "news ceases at this moment", firing the entire news department and all station management.<ref name="WAKC News Ceases">Template:Cite news</ref> This makes Akron (a part of the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton television market) the largest city in the United States without a commercial television newscast.<ref name="ABJ TV News Editorial">Template:Cite news</ref>
29	ABC affiliate KBAK-TV and CBS affiliate KERO-TV swap affiliations in Bakersfield.

March

Date	Event
1	More than 1 billion households worldwide now own television sets.
4	DISH Network, a Direct Broadcast Satellite service, begins as a service of EchoStar.
8	The Joy of Painting host Bob Ross makes his final television appearance as a guest in the pilot episode of the children's series The Adventures of Elmer & Friends. Premiering over a year after his death, the episode includes a final message of thanks from Ross to his fans and viewers and a musical tribute.<ref>The Adventures of Elmer & Friends, Episode 1, with Bob Ross: A Magical Musical</ref>
31	WrestleMania XII from the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California is broadcast on pay-per-view. In the main event, Shawn Michaels defeats Bret Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man match to win the WWF Championship for the first time.

April

Date	Event
6	The first ever Major League Soccer game is broadcast live on ESPN. The San Jose Clash hosted D.C. United at Spartan Stadium with San Jose winning on a goal by Eric Wynalda.

May

Date	Event
11	The 1996 Kids' Choice Awards air on Nickelodeon, hosted by Whitney Houston and Rosie O'Donnell. Television winners included Home Improvement (for "Favorite TV Show"), Tim Allen (of Home Improvement for "Favorite TV Actor"), Tia and Tamera Mowry (of Sister, Sister for "Favorite TV Actress") and Rugrats (for "Favorite Cartoon").
14	Fox airs a television film that serves as the first attempt to revive Doctor Who following its suspension in 1989. It was intended as a backdoor pilot for a new American-produced Doctor Who TV series. It introduced Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in his only televised appearance as the character until "The Night of the Doctor" in 2013. Although a ratings success in the United Kingdom, the film did not fare well on American television and no series was commissioned. The series was later relaunched on the BBC in 2005.
16	More than 12 million Americans watch the final episode of Murder, She Wrote on CBS, "Death By Demographics". Through its 12-year run, the series had become the longest-running American murder mystery drama.
18	Mystery Science Theater 3000 airs its final episode on Comedy Central. The final film to be featured is 1978's Laserblast. The series will eventually move to The Sci-Fi Channel, where it would run for three more seasons.

June

Date	Event
1	Major League Baseball broadcasts debut on Fox.
3	Zenith introduces the first HDTV-compatible front projection TV in the U.S.
	CBS affiliate WCPO-TV and ABC affiliate WKRC-TV, both in Cincinnati, Ohio, switch network affiliations.
19	CBS affiliate WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina is awarded the first experimental high-definition television license in the United States.
23	At the World Wrestling Federation's pay-per-view event King of the Ring, wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin wins the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Jake Roberts. After the match, Austin makes a certain victory speech in what would famously become as the "Austin 3:16" catchphrase.
30	New York PBS member station WNYC-TV, owned by the city of New York, signs off for the final time; sold to a joint venture between Dow Jones & Co. and ITT Corp., it relaunches as commercial sports-oriented independent station WBIS-TV (while operating as a non-commercial educational station, WNYC-TV had been licensed with a commercial classification).

July

Date	Event
6	When it becomes evident that Anna Stuart will be next to die in a serial killer storyline on the NBC soap opera Another World, many fans start letter-writing campaigns to save the actress; the NBC studios in New York City also report a great number of switchboard telephone calls regarding Stuart's imminent demise. Executive producer Jill Farren Phelps decides that actress Alice Barrett will be killed off the show instead.
	New World Communications sells NBC affiliates KNSD-TV in San Diego, California, and WVTM-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, their lone remaining stations that didn't switch to Fox, to NBC's owned-and-operated division.
7	At the WCW produced pay-per-view event Bash at the Beach, Hulk Hogan turns heel for the first time in 15 years and announces the formation of the New World Order with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.
17	News Corporation (the owners of 20th Century Fox and the FOX Television Network) announced that it would acquire New World in an all-stock transaction worth $2.48 billion. The purchase by News Corporation was finalized in early 1997, folding New World's ten Fox affiliates into the former's Fox Television Stations subsidiary and making all twelve stations affected by the 1994 agreement owned-and-operated stations of the network.

August

Date	Event
19	NBC affiliate in Charleston, WCIV, and ABC affiliate WCBD-TV swap network affiliations.

September

Date	Event
7	Paula Zahn is named a Saturday anchor of CBS Evening News.
	Fox Kids airs for the final time on St. Louis affiliate KNLC, which is dropped due to KNLC owner Larry Rice's decision on putting ministry messages instead of ads. KTVI picks up the program block the following Monday.
8	The 48th Primetime Emmy Awards are presented on ABC.
	WBRC-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, becomes a Fox-owned station, a year after Fox had acquired it and WGHP-TV in High Point, North Carolina. This ended WBRC-TV's 47 year affiliation with ABC; in turn, ABC links up with low-power station WBMA-LP (supplemented with two full-power satellites, WCFT-TV in Tuscaloosa and WJSU-TV in Anniston). Former Fox affiliate WTTO-TV becomes an independent before affiliating with The WB the next year, while former WTTO-TV satellite WNAL in Gadsden switches to CBS.
13	The pilot episode for Everybody Loves Raymond is broadcast on CBS.
15	USA Network ends its USA Cartoon Express block, expanding its newer USA Action Extreme Team block to weekdays.
16	Wheel of Fortune introduced a gameplay round called Jackpot which contestants can win an accumulated pot based on the value spun throughout the round. The round would remain intact until 2013.
17	The O. J. Simpson civil trial begins.
30	A revival of the game show Shop 'til You Drop premieres on the Family Channel along with a new game show called Shopping Spree. Both shows would last on the channel until August 14th 1998, the final day of the Family Channel branding. Shop would get revived in 2000 on PAX.

October

Date	Event
2	Seven newscasters were dismissed by WCBS-TV (channel 2) in New York.
6	President Bill Clinton and Senator Bob Dole participate in the first 1996 presidential debate with Jim Lehrer of PBS moderating.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
7	Nickelodeon adds an extra half-hour of programming, branded as "More Nickelodeon", on weekdays at 8:00pm Eastern/7:00pm Central. The "More Nickelodeon" block included new episodes of The Secret World of Alex Mack plus new series Hey Arnold!, KaBlam!, and The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. For the next two weeks, viewers were encouraged to "Spot the Dot" using game pieces found at Blockbuster Video stores and in Nintendo Power magazine for a chance to win a Nintendo 64.
9	Vice President Al Gore and former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp participate in the 1996 vice presidential debate at Mahaffey Theater.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
10	Turner Broadcasting System merged into Time Warner.
	Greg Kinnear hosts his final episode of NBC's Later. The show would then revolve a set of rotating guest hosts for the next three years.
16	Clinton and Dole participate in the final presidential debate at the University of San Diego.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
20–26	Fox broadcasts its first ever World Series. The New York Yankees won their 23rd title (and first since 1978) against the Atlanta Braves in only six games.
30	WBKP in Calumet, Michigan signs on the air, giving the Upper Peninsula both its first full-time ABC affiliate (WLUC-TV had dropped its primary ABC affiliation the previous year in favor of its secondary NBC affiliation) and full-time affiliates of the "Big Three" networks.

November

Date	Event
4	In tribute to the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series, an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine features Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew travel back in time to prevent the assassination of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise by a Klingon using a booby-trapped tribble. Its sister series Voyager produced a similar episode, "Flashback".
	The infamous "Pillman's got a gun" angle with Brian Pillman and his former tag-team partner Stone Cold Steve Austin airs on USA Network's Monday Night RAW.
23	Bob Hope's final television special, Bob Hope... Laughing with the Presidents, airs on NBC.

December

Date	Event
1	The long-running 25 Days of Christmas event begins on The Family Channel.
8	Paramount Television and Viacom purchased a 50% stake in UPN from Chris-Craft and United Television for approximately $160 million. It made UPN a joint partnership between Chris-Craft and Viacom (and later a Viacom property as a whole) at this point.
17	6 years after dropping the title, TBS resumes using the term Superstation.
31	ABC affiliate WAKC-TV in Akron, Ohio, disaffiliates from the network after 53 years and drops all remaining entertainment programming to carry Paxson Communications' inTV infomercial network. The station's studios had previously relocated from Akron to the Cleveland suburb of Warrensville Heights.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Akr19961114pD4">Template:Cite news</ref>

Television programs

Debuts

Date	Show	Network
January 3	Matt Waters	CBS
January 6	Campus Cops	USA Network
January 9	3rd Rock from the Sun	NBC
	Champs	ABC
January 20	The Lazarus Man	TNT
January 21	Savannah	The WB
January 22	Bzzz!	Syndication
January 23	Moesha	UPN
January 24	Tracey Takes On...	HBO
January 31	The Louie Show	CBS
	Remember WENN	AMC
February 1	World's Funniest Videos	ABC
February 3	C Bear and Jamal	Fox Kids
February 5	Second Noah	ABC
February 6	Street Signs	CNBC
February 20	VH1 Storytellers	VH1
February 24	The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper	Fox Kids
March 1	Gold Fever	Outdoor Channel
March 2	Pacific Blue	USA Network
	Space Cases	Nickelodeon
March 4	Power Lunch	CNBC
	Good Company	CBS
	High Incident	ABC
March 5	Buddies
March 8	Muppets Tonight
March 9	Malibu Shores	NBC
March 12	The Paranormal Borderline	UPN
March 13	The Faculty	ABC
	Swift Justice	UPN
March 15	Aliens in the Family	ABC
March 16	The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo	Nickelodeon
March 17	Local Heroes	Fox
	The Show
March 20	The Sentinel	UPN
March 21	Boston Common	NBC
March 29	E! True Hollywood Story	E!
	Nash Bridges	CBS
April 1	Home and Family	The Family Channel
April 3	My Guys	CBS
April 8	Profit	Fox
April 20	Power Rangers Zeo	Fox Kids
April 21	Poltergeist: The Legacy	Showtime
April 23	Forensic Files	TLC
April 27	Dexter's Laboratory	TNT
April 28	Fox News Sunday	Fox
May 13	Buzzkill	MTV
June 1	The American Athlete	ABC
June 2	Big Bag	Cartoon Network
June 3	Debt	Lifetime
	Kratts' Creatures	PBS
	The Last Frontier	Fox
	L.A. Firefighters
June 10	Caryl & Marilyn: Real Friends	ABC
	The Rosie O'Donnell Show	Syndication
	A Wedding Story	TLC
July 15	The News with Brian Williams	MSNBC
	The Site
	Time and Again
July 22	The Daily Show	Comedy Central
August 10	Arliss	HBO
August 11	The Big Easy	USA Network
August 12	Fox After Breakfast	Fox
August 17	Kenan & Kel	Nickelodeon
August 25	The Steve Harvey Show	The WB
August 26	7th Heaven
	The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest	Cartoon Network
	Goode Behavior	UPN
	Malcolm & Eddie
	Sparks
August 27	Homeboys in Outer Space
August 28	The Jamie Foxx Show	The WB
	Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher
August 31	Women: Stories of Passion	Showtime
September 1	Big Deal	Fox
September 2	Adventures from the Book of Virtues	PBS
September 3	The Burning Zone	UPN
	Quack Pack	Syndication
	Imus in the Morning	MSNBC
September 6	Dragon Flyz	Syndication
	Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series	The Disney Channel and ABC
	Superman: The Animated Series	Kids' WB
September 7	Road Rovers
	Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys	Syndication
	Big Bad Beetleborgs	Fox Kids
September 8	Blue's Clues	Nickelodeon
	Bureau of Alien Detectors	UPN Kids
	The Incredible Hulk
	Jumanji
	Life with Roger	The WB
September 9	Lush Life	Fox
	Party Girl
	Grill Me	USA Network
	Access Hollywood	Syndication
	The Cape
	Samurai Pizza Cats
	F/X: The Series
	Eagle Riders
	In Person with Maureen O'Boyle
	Real TV
	Scoop with Sam & Dorothy
September 13	Everybody Loves Raymond	CBS
September 14	Bailey Kipper's P.O.V.
	Project G.e.e.K.e.R.
	Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House
September 16	Beast Wars: Transformers	UPN Kids
	Judge Judy	Syndication
	The Pat Bullard Show
	Cosby	CBS
	Pearl
September 17	Promised Land
	Something So Right	NBC
	Spin City	ABC
September 18	Townies
	Men Behaving Badly	NBC
September 19	The Pretender
	Suddenly Susan
	Moloney	CBS
September 20	Mr. & Mrs. Smith
	Clueless	ABC
September 21	All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series	Syndication
	Dark Skies	NBC
	WWF LiveWire	USA Network
	The Mouse and the Monster	UPN Kids
September 24	Relativity	ABC
September 25	Pulp Comics	Comedy Central
September 27	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	ABC
September 28	Early Edition	CBS
	Common Law	ABC
	Love and Marriage	Fox
	The Adventures of Sinbad	Syndication
	Psi Factor
	Mr. Rhodes	NBC
September 29	Profiler
September 30	Pappyland	TLC
	Shopping Spree	The Family Channel
	Small Talk
	Wait 'til You Have Kids
	Dangerous Minds	ABC
October 5	Jungle Cubs	ABC
October 7	Fox News Now	Fox News Channel
	Hannity & Colmes
	The O'Reilly Factor
	Your World with Neil Cavuto
	Arthur	PBS
	Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?
	Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales
	Hey Arnold!	Nickelodeon
October 11	KaBlam!
October 12	The RuPaul Show	VH1
October 13	The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss	Nickelodeon
October 19	Waynehead	Kids' WB
October 21	Ink	CBS
October 25	The Crocodile Hunter	Discovery Channel
	Millennium	Fox
	Remember This?	MSNBC
October 27	Pop-Up Video	VH1
	EZ Streets	CBS
October 30	Public Morals
October 31	The New Detectives	Discovery Channel
November 3	Inspector Gadget's Field Trip	The History Channel
November 9	The High Life	HBO
December 9	Idiot Savants	MTV
December 24	Edgewise	MSNBC
December 28	For Your Home	PBS
	Gardening by the Yard	HGTV
	Naughty Amateur Home Videos	Playboy TV

Returning this year

Show	Last aired	Previous network	New title	New network	Returned
Doug	1994	Nickelodeon	Disney's Brand Spanking New! Doug	ABC	September 7
Gargoyles	1996	Syndication	Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles
The Dating Game	1989		Same	Same	September 9
The Newlywed Game
Shop 'til You Drop	1994	Lifetime	The New Shop 'til You Drop	The Family Channel	September 30
What A Cartoon! (World Premiere Toons)	1996	TBS/Cartoon Network	The What A Cartoon! Show	Cartoon Network	October 9

Ending this year

Date	Show	Debut
January 9	Live Shot	1995
January 11	The Commish	1991
January 14	Nickelodeon Guts	1992
February 3	Are You Afraid of the Dark? (returned in 1999)
	Dumb and Dumber	1995
February 7	Matt Waters	1996
February 17	Maybe This Time	1995
February 21	VR Troopers	1994
February 23	Carnie!	1995
	Strange Luck
February 24	Iron Man	1994
February 26	High Society	1995
March 1	The Head	1994
March 7	The Mickey Mouse Club	1955
March 27	Dream On	1990
March 29	The Pink Panther	1993
	George & Alana	1995
March 30	Campus Cops	1996
April 1	Partners	1995
May 4	Sisters	1991
May 11	Captain Planet and the Planeteers	1990
May 19	Murder, She Wrote	1984
May 20	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	1990
	Nowhere Man	1995
June 2	Space: Above and Beyond
June 4	Minor Adjustments
June 9	seaQuest DSV	1993
June 17	Buzzkill	1996
June 19	Hudson Street	1995
June 26	Picket Fences	1992
June 28	Central Park West	1995
July 11	American Gothic
July 14	Muppets Tonight	1996
July 19	Tales from the Crypt	1989
August 8	Kratts' Creatures	1996
August 16	The Client	1995
August 17	Santo Bugito
August 27	Rescue 911	1989
August 30	A Current Affair (returned in 2005)	1986
September 13	The Phil Donahue Show	1967
September 14	WWF Mania	1993
September 15	USA Cartoon Express	1982
September 30	Lush Life	1996
	Party Girl
October 6	Big Deal
October 10	Later with Greg Kinnear	1994
October 20	The Ren & Stimpy Show	1991
October 30	Public Morals	1996
	The John Larroquette Show	1993
November 2	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	1987
November 9	The Lazarus Man	1996
November 10	Kirk	1995
November 11	Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales	1996
November 20	Masked Rider	1995
November 24	Rocko's Modern Life	1993
	The Tick	1994
November 25	Timon & Pumbaa (returned in 1999)	1995
November 27	Power Rangers Zeo	1996
November 28	Quack Pack
December 4	Townies
December 6	Mr. & Mrs. Smith
December 7	Project G.e.e.K.e.R.
December 8	Allegra's Window	1994
December 13	Earthworm Jim	1995
December 14	Bailey Kipper's P.O.V.	1996
	California Dreams	1992
December 18	The High Life	1996
December 24	Roundhouse	1992
December 28	The Adventures of Pete & Pete	1993
Unknown	Top Rank Boxing (returned in 2017)	1980

Made for TV movies

Premiere date	Title	Channel
February 11	Night of the Twisters	The Family Channel
April 9	Face of Evil	CBS
May 14	Doctor Who	Fox
June 9	Lily Dale	Showtime<ref>Watson, Charles S. (2003). Horton Foote: A Literary Biography. Austin, TX: The University of Texas Press. p. 170. Template:ISBN. "Lily Dale is one of the Cycle plays that has been filmed. It appeared on Showtime on June 9, 1996, sponsored by Hallmark Entertainment. "</ref>
September 24	After Jimmy	CBS
November 15	Dallas: J.R. Returns
December 15	The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue	The Family Channel
December 17	Unlikely Angel	CBS

Miniseries

Premiere date	Title	Channel
February 4	Gulliver's Travels	NBC
February 24	The Late Shift	HBO
April 28-29	The Beast	NBC
November 17	Titanic	CBS

Entering syndication this year

Show	Seasons	In production	Source
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	4	Yes	<ref>[1] from Broadcasting & Cable</ref>
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	4	Yes	<ref>[2] from Broadcasting & Cable</ref>
Mad About You	4	Yes	<ref>[3] from Broadcasting & Cable</ref>
Martin	4	Yes	<ref>[4] from Broadcasting & Cable</ref>

Changes of network affiliation

Show	Moved from	Moved to
Brotherly Love	NBC	The WB
In the House		UPN
Minor Adjustments
Candid Camera	Syndication	CBS
Gargoyles		ABC
Doug	Nickelodeon
TekWar	USA Network	Sci-Fi Channel
Major League Baseball Game of the Week	CBS	Fox
The Mask		CBS/Syndication
Shop 'til You Drop	Lifetime	The Family Channel

Networks and services

Launches

Network	Type	Launch date	Notes	Source
BET on Jazz	Cable television	January 15
Sundance Channel	Cable and satellite	February 1
America's Health Network	Cable and satellite	March
Starz! 2	Cable and satellite	March
Ovation	Cable television	April 21
Nick at Nite's TV Land	Cable and satellite	April 29
Animal Planet	Cable and satellite	June 1
M2	Cable and satellite	August 1
Fox Sports Arizona	Cable and satellite	September 7
Fox News Channel	Cable and satellite	October 7
Discovery Civilization Network Discovery Travel & Living Network Discovery Kids Channel Discovery Science Network	Digital cable	October 7
Research Channel	Cable television	November
ESPNews	Cable and satellite	November 1
HBO Family	Cable and satellite	December 1
CN8, The Comcast Network	Cable television	December 1
CNN/SI	Cable and satellite	December 12

Conversions and rebrandings

Old network name	New network name	Type	Conversion Date	Notes	Source
America's Talking	MSNBC	Cable and satellite	July 15
Prime Deportiva Prime Sports Intermountain West Prime Sports KBL Prime Sports Midwest Prime Sports Northwest Prime Sports Rocky Mountain Prime Sports Southwest Prime Sports West	Fox Sports Américas Fox Sports Utah Fox Sports Pittsburgh Fox Sports Midwest Fox Sports Northwest Fox Sports Rocky Mountain Fox Sports Southwest Fox Sports West	Cable and satellite	November 1	Seven regional sports networks and a companion Spanish-language network operated by Prime Network relaunched as Fox Sports Net.

Closures

Network	Type	End date	Notes	Sources
WWOR EMI Service	Cable television	December 31	Advance Entertainment Corporation, which had acquired WWOR EMI Service in mid-1996, discontinued the channel on December 31. WWOR's satellite transponder slot was given to Discovery Communications' Animal Planet channel.
Intro Television	Cable television	December 31	Intro Television, which showed sample programs from cable networks such as Cartoon Network, Sci-Fi Channel, The History Channel, and The Box, was replaced by Plex: Encore 1 on January 1.

Television stations

Station launches

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation
January	Las Vegas, NV	KZIR	15	Univision
January 1	Reno, NV	KRXI-TV	11	Fox
February 22	Denver, CO	KTVJ	14	Independent
March 1	Louisville, KY	W62BM	62	Independent
	West Milford, NJ	WFME-TV	66	Independent
	Ogden, UT	K21ET	21	Univision
March 16	Oklahoma City, OK	KOPX-TV	62	inTV
March 22	Merced–Fresno, CA	KNSO	51	Religious independent
March 30	Albion, NE	KLKE	24	ABC (satellite of KLKN)
April 14	Ceres–Sacramento, CA	KBSV-TV	23	Independent
April 25	Binghamton, NY	W08DL	8	Independent
May 5	Grand Junction, CO	KKCO	11	NBC
May 26	Key West, FL	WWFD	8	Multicultural independent
May 28	Lima, OH	W18BP	18	Fox (via WOHL-LP)
May 31	Killeen–Waco, TX	KAKW	62	UPN/The WB
June	El Centro, CA–Yuma, AZ	KVYE	7	Univision
June 23	Fayetteville, NC	WUNU	31	PBS (UNC-TV)
July 2	Fairbanks, AK	K22EY	22	Wireless cable
August 7	Fairbanks, AK	K13XD	13	CBS
August 28	Ellensburg, WA	K25FP	25	3ABN
September 1	Hagerstown, MD	WSHE-TV	60	inTV
September 14	Kansas City, MO	KCWB	29	The WB
September 27	Butte, MT	KWYB	18	ABC
October 7	Flint, MI	W61DB	61	Independent
	Kalamazoo, MI	WUHO-LP	38	Independent
October 11	Grand Rapids, MI	WJUE	43	inTV
October 30	Marquette, MI	WBKP	5	ABC
October 31	Bozeman, MT	KCTZ	7	Fox
November 7	Nashville, TN	W59AW	59	America One
December 3	Oklahoma City, OK	News Now 53	53 Template:Small	Independent (24/7 news)
December 12	Traverse City, MI	W51CS	51	America One
December 21	Arlington–Dallas–Fort Worth, TX	KPXD-TV	68	InTV
December 24	Bluefield, West Virginia	WVSX	59	Fox
Unknown date	Missoula, Montana	KUFM-TV	11	PBS (Montana PBS)

Stations changing network affiliation

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Prior affiliation	New affiliation
January 1	Honolulu, HI	KHON-TV	2	NBC	Fox
		KHNL	13	Fox	NBC
	Idaho Falls–Pocatello, ID	KPVI	6	ABC	NBC
		KIFI-TV	8	NBC	ABC
	Macon, GA	WGXA	24	ABC	Fox
		WPGA-TV	58	Fox	ABC
	Mobile, AL–Pensacola, FL	WALA-TV	10	NBC	Fox
		WPMI	15	Fox	NBC
	New Orleans, LA	WVUE-TV	8	ABC	Fox
		WGNO	26	The WB	ABC
		WNOL-TV	38	Fox	The WB
	Twin Falls, ID	KKVI	35	ABC	Fox
	Reno, NV	KAME-TV	21	Fox	UPN
March 1	Bakersfield, CA	KERO-TV	23	CBS	ABC
		KBAK-TV	29	ABC	CBS
March 14	Greensboro, NC	WBFX	20	CTN	The WB
April 1	Fairbanks, AK	KTVF	11	CBS	NBC
April 4	Binghamton, NY	WICZ-TV	40	NBC	Fox
May 26	South Bend, IN	W12BK	12	Independent	ABC
June 3	Cincinnati, OH	WCPO-TV	9	CBS	ABC
		WKRC-TV	12	ABC	CBS
June 19	Greensboro, NC	WGGT-TV	48	ABC	UPN
July 1	New York, NY	WNYC-TV/WBIS	31	PBS	Independent
August 19	Charleston, SC	WCBD-TV	2	ABC	NBC
		WCIV	4	NBC	ABC
September 1	Birmingham–Tuscaloosa, AL	WBRC	6	ABC	Fox
		WDBB/WTTO	17/21	Fox	Independent
		WCFT-TV	33	CBS	ABC
		WJSU-TV	40	CBS	ABC
		WNAL-TV	44	Fox	CBS
		W58CK	58	Independent	ABC
	Lincoln, NE	KSNB-TV	4	ABC	Fox
September 29	Mobile, AL–Pensacola, FL	WFGX	35	Independent	The WB
December 31	Akron–Cleveland, OH	WAKC-TV	23	ABC	inTV

Station closures

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation
May 5	Bluefield, WV	WVGV-TV	59	The WB

Births

Date	Name	Notability
January 3	Florence Pugh	Actress
January 9	Oana Gregory	Actress (Crash and Bernstein)
January 15	Dove Cameron	Actress (Liv and Maddie, Descendants, Descendants: Wicked World, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and singer
January 17	Caitlin Sanchez	Voice actress (Dora on Dora the Explorer (2008–11))
January 18	Sarah Gilman	Actress (I Didn't Do It)
January 22	Sami Gayle	Actress (Blue Bloods, Milo Murphy's Law)
January 27	Braeden Lemasters	Actor (Men of a Certain Age, Betrayal)
February 1	Rahart Adams	Actor (Every Witch Way)
February 6	Dalton Rapattoni	Singer (American Idol)
February 7	David Castro	Actor (Shadowhunters)
	Jake Goldberg	Voice actor (Pablo on The Backyardigans (2006–10))
February 9	Jimmy Bennett	Actor (No Ordinary Family)
	Kelli Berglund	Actress (Lab Rats, Lab Rats: Elite Force)
February 17	Sasha Pieterse	Actress (Pretty Little Liars) and singer
February 19	Allen Alvarado	Actor (Flight 29 Down)
February 21	Sophie Turner	English actress (Game of Thrones)
February 28	Bobb'e J. Thompson	Actor (That's So Raven, Tyler Perry's House of Payne)
March 15	Maxwell Jacob Friedman	Pro wrestler<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
March 22	Gig Morton	Canadian actor (Mr. Young)
March 30	Madeleine Peters	Canadian voice actress (Martha Speaks, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)
March 31	Liza Koshy	Actress
April 3	Sarah Jeffery	Canadian actress (Descendants: Wicked World)
April 4	Austin Mahone	American singer
April 6	Miranda May	Actress (Bunk'd)
April 10	Audrey Whitby	Actress (The Thundermans)
April 14	Abigail Breslin	Actress (Scream Queens)
April 17	Dee Dee Davis	Actress (The Bernie Mac Show)
April 18	Roy Woods	Singer
April 25	Allisyn Ashley Arm	Actress (Sonny with a Chance, So Random!)
May 3	Noah Munck	Actor (iCarly, The Goldbergs)
May 8	Noah Centineo	Actor (The Fosters)
May 9	Mary Mouser	Actress (Body of Proof, Scandal, Cobra Kai)
May 14	McKaley Miller	Actress
May 17	Ryan Ochoa	Actor (iCarly, Pair of Kings)
May 18	Violett Beane	Actress
May 24	Frank Dolce	Actor (Sons of Tucson)
June 2	Jacy Jayne	Pro wrestler<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
June 16	Cody Lohan	Actor (Living Lohan)
June 20	Claudia Lee	Actress
June 25	Lele Pons	Actress and youtuber<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
July 16	Nicky Jones	Voice actor (Chowder)
July 13	Jena Irene	Singer (American Idol)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
July 16	Chayce Beckham	Singer (American Idol)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
July 17	Jermaine Harris	Actor (Saturdays)
July 21	Joey Bragg	Actor (Liv and Maddie)
July 22	Skyler Gisondo	Actor
July 23	Rachel G. Fox	Actress
July 24	Herizen F. Guardiola	Actress
July 30	Austin North	Actor (I Didn't Do It)
July 31	Blake Michael	Actor (Dog With a Blog)
August 1	Cymphonique Miller	Actress (How to Rock) and singer
August 7	Liam James	Actor
August 12	Torri Webster	Canadian actress (Life with Boys)
August 13	Tessa Albertson	Actress
August 21	Jamia Simone Nash	Actress (The Backyardigans, The Young and the Restless)
August 22	Mickey Graue	Actor (Lost)
August 25	Naelee Rae	Actress (The Backyardigans, The Guiding Light)
September 1	Zendaya	Actress (Shake It Up, K.C. Undercover, Euphoria) and singer
September 2	Austin Abrams	Actor (Dash & Lily, Euphoria)
September 4	Victoria Moroles	Actress (Liv and Maddie, Teen Wolf)
September 6	Alex Christian Jones	Actor (Kickin' It)
September 10	Kamil McFadden	Actor (K.C. Undercover)
September 12	Colin Ford	Actor (Under the Dome, Jake on Jake and the Never Land Pirates)
September 13	Lili Reinhart	Actress (Riverdale)
September 15	Jake Cherry	Actor
September 18	Kurt Doss	Actor (Ruby & the Rockits)
October 9	Bella Hadid	American model and sister of Gigi Hadid
October 10	Sarah Carpenter	Actress (Girl Meets World)
October 16	Tyler Perez	Actor (WITS Academy)
October 28	Sarah Carpenter	Actress (Girl Meets World)
November 2	Liam Obergfoll	Actress (Talia in the Kitchen)
November 6	Chelsea Zhang	Actress (Titans, Daybreak, Andi Mack)
November 14	Mason Gooding	Actor (Love, Victor)
November 18	Noah Ringer	Actor
November 19	Gabrielle Elyse	Actress (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, The Thundermans)
November 21	Grace Van Patten	Actress
November 22	Hailey Baldwin	American fashion model and daughter of Stephen Baldwin
	Mackenzie Lintz	Actress (Under the Dome)
	Madison Davenport	Actress (Shameless, From Dusk till Dawn: The Series) and singer
December 6	Stefanie Scott	Actress (A.N.T. Farm)
December 8	Teala Dunn	Actress (Wonder Pets, The Naked Brothers Band, Are We There Yet?, The Thundermans)
December 11	Hailee Steinfeld	Actress and singer
	Jack Griffo	Actor (The Thundermans) and singer
December 20	Timothy McCartney	Actor
December 21	Kaitlyn Dever	Actress (Justified, Last Man Standing)
December 29	Dylan Minnette	Actor (Lost, Awake, 13 Reasons Why)
December 30	Raymond Cham	Actor (Mech-X4)

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Notability
February 3	Audrey Meadows	73	Actress (Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners)
February 13	Martin Balsam	76	Actor (Murray on Archie Bunker's Place)
February 15	McLean Stevenson	68	Actor (Lt. Col. Henry Blake on M*A*S*H)
	Tommy Rettig	54	Child actor (Jeff on Lassie)
March 4	Minnie Pearl	83	Comedian
March 5	Whit Bissell	86	Character actor
March 9	George Burns	100	Comedian (The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show)
March 11	Vince Edwards	67	Actor (Ben Casey)
April 21	Jimmy Snyder	77	Sports commentator (The NFL Today)
May 20	Jon Pertwee	76	Actor (Third Doctor on Doctor Who)
June 2	Ray Combs	40	Host of Family Feud
June 5	Vito Scotti	78	Character actor, Gilligan's Island
June 16	Mel Allen	83	Sports commentator
July 21	Herb Edelman	62	Actor (Stanley Zbornak on The Golden Girls)
August 27	Greg Morris	62	Actor (Mission: Impossible)
September 13	Tupac Shakur	25	Actor and songwriter
October 6	Ted Bessell	61	Actor and director (Donald on That Girl)
October 28	Morey Amsterdam	87	Actor and comedian (Buddy on The Dick Van Dyke Show)
October 31	Arthur Peterson Jr.	83	Actor (Soap)
November 13	Alma Kitchell	103	Hostess (In the Kelvinator Kitchen)
December 8	Howard Rollins	46	Actor (Tibbs on In the Heat of the Night)
December 12	Larry Gates	81	Soap opera actor (Guiding Light)
December 14	Edward K. Milkis	65	Producer

See also

• 1996 in the United States
• List of American films of 1996

External links

• List of 1996 American television series at IMDb