1972 in American television

This is a list of American television-related events in 1972.

List of years in American television:
1971–72 United States network television schedule
1972–73 United States network television schedule
List of American television programs currently in production

Events
Date Event Ref.
January 21 The first convention of Star Trek fans is held at the Statler-Hilton Hotel in New York City. [1]
March 18 After losing a 15-year court battle over the legality of its business relationship with The Herald-Traveler, CBS' Boston, Massachusetts affiliate WHDH-TV Channel 5 signs off the air after the movie Fixed Bayonets! finished at 1 am. At 3 a.m. on March 19, WCVB takes over the Channel 5 frequency, simultaneously switching affiliations to the ABC network following CBS' loss of interest in the channel during the long legal wrangle. The CBS affiliation returned to WNAC-TV until its 1982 shutdown.
May The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson relocates from New York City to the NBC Studios in Burbank, California. It would return to New York in 2014 when The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is launched.
August 26 Effective with this issue, TV Guide discontinues the practice of using a "C" to indicate color programs, and instead starts using a "BW" for monochrome, saving a lot of printer's ink in the process. At the time about half of the TV households in the U.S. had color sets.
September 4 The Price Is Right premieres on CBS. As of 2021, it is the longest-running game show on American television.
October 1 The famous Move Closer to Your World theme made its debut on WPVI-TV in Philadelphia. [2]
December 31 The first installment of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve airs on NBC, beginning a yearly tradition of Dick Clark-hosted New Year's specials. [3]

Programs

Debuts
Date Debut Network
January 13 Me and the Chimp CBS
January 14 Sanford and Son NBC
January 15 Emergency!
June 21 The Super ABC
September 4 Gambit CBS
The Joker's Wild
The New Price is Right
September 9 Runaround NBC
The New Scooby-Doo Movies CBS
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
September 11 The Rookies ABC
September 12 Maude CBS
Temperatures Rising ABC
September 13 The Julie Andrews Hour
September 14 The Waltons CBS
September 15 Ghost Story NBC
September 16 Bridget Loves Bernie CBS
The Bob Newhart Show
The Streets of San Francisco ABC
September 17 M*A*S*H CBS
October 3 4 Country Reporter KDFW
October 14 Kung Fu ABC
November 4 Great Performances PBS

Ending this year
DateShowDebut
March 1 The Courtship of Eddie's Father (US) 1969
March 10 O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (US) 1971
March 12 The Jimmy Stewart Show (US)
March 25 Bewitched (US) 1964
March 31 Bright Promise (US) 1969
April 27 Me and the Chimp (US) 1972
August 23 The Super (US) 1972
August 24 My Three Sons (US) 1960
September 2 The Road Runner Show 1966

TV movies and miniseries

Births
Main article: 1972 in television § Births

Deaths
Main article: 1972 in television § Deaths

Networks and services

Network launches
Network Type Launch date Notes Source
Home Box Office Cable November 8 First ever premium movie channel created by Time Life; oldest pay television service in the United States

Television stations

Sign-ons
Date City of License/Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/Ref.
January 1 Aberdeen, South Dakota KDSD-TV 16 PBS via SDPB
January 4 Chattanooga, Tennessee WRIP-TV 61 Independent
January 14 Bude, Mississippi WMAU-TV 17 PBS Part of Mississippi ETV
Meridian, Mississippi WMAW-TV 14
February 14 Fort Lauderdale-Miami, Florida WSCV 51 Independent Previously on-air as WSMS-TV (1969-1970)
March 8 Dayton, Ohio WPTD 16 PBS
March 19 Boston, Massachusetts WCVB-TV 5 ABC
May 7 Greenville/Washington, North Carolina WUNK-TV 25 PBS via UNC-TV
May 19 Oxford, Mississippi
(Memphis, Tennessee)		 WMAV-TV 18 NET Part of Mississippi ETV
August 16 Los Angeles, California KBSA 46 Independent
August 29 Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands WTJX-TV 12 PBS
September 12 Green Bay, Wisconsin WPNE-TV 38 PBS Part of Wisconsin Public Television
September 14 Bethel, Alaska KYUK-TV PBS Part of AlaskaOne
September 15 Greenwood, Mississippi WMAO-TV 23 PBS Part of Mississippi ETV
October 16 Corpus Christi, Texas KEDT 16 PBS
October 20 Farmington, New Mexico KOBF 12 NBC Satellite of KOB-TV/Albuquerque, New Mexico
October 23 Camden, New Jersey
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)		 WNJS 23 PBS Part of the New Jersey Network
October 29 Greenville, South Carolina WGGS 16 Religious independent
November 20 Huntington Beach, California/Los Angeles, California KOCE-TV 50 PBS
December 17 Grand Rapids, Michigan WGVC 11 PBS
December 28 Marquette, Michigan WNMU-TV PBS
Unknown date Bethel, Alaska KYUK-TV 4 PBS Eventual AlaskaOne station
Hanford/Fresno, California KFTV 21 SIN

Network affiliation changes
Date City of license/Market Station Channel Old affiliation New affiliation Notes/Ref.
March 19 Boston, Massachusetts WNAC-TV 7 ABC CBS Now defunct
March 23 Meridian, Mississippi WHTV 24 Silent NBC Became a satellite of WTVA/Tupelo, Mississippi until becoming a CBS affiliate in 1980.
WTOK-TV 11 CBS (primary)
NBC (secondary)		 CBS (exclusive) Now an ABC affiliate

Station closures
Date City of license/Market Station Channel Affiliation Sign-on date Notes
March 18 Boston, Massachusetts WHDH-TV 5 CBS November 26, 1957
December 31 Lubbock, Texas KMXN-TV 34 Spanish independent October 24, 1967
Unknown date Baltimore, Maryland WMET-TV 24 Independent March 1, 1967

See also

References
  1. "The First Star Trek Convention, or How I Got my Geek Cred" Wired. January 3, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  2. "Philadelphia". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1972-08-30.
  3. Today in TV History: The Very First ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’. Decider. December 31, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
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