In American television in 2016, notable events included television show debuts, finales, and cancellations; channel launches, closures, and rebrandings; stations changing or adding their network affiliations; and information about controversies and carriage disputes.
Notable events
January Date Event Source1Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards co-host the local telecast of the Rose Parade on CW affiliate KTLA/Los Angeles for the final time. The duo announced in September 2015 that they were relinquishing their hosting duties for the annual event, an assignment that dated back to 1982.Full episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson return to American television, airing nightly on Antenna TV, the result of an agreement between the Tribune Broadcasting-owned multicast network and Carson Productions. The airings, billed simply as Johnny Carson (as NBC has ownership of The Tonight Show brand) consist of episodes taped in Burbank between 1972 and 1992 (90-minute episodes made from 1980 and earlier air on weekends, while 60-minute broadcasts made from 1980 onward air weeknights). This date's re-airing of the January 1, 1982, episode, which featured Eddie Murphy and McLean Stevenson as guests, marks the first time the Carson-era Tonight Show has aired on television (outside of a compiled clip series) since Carson's retirement in May 1992.WSVI, the ABC affiliate serving the United States Virgin Islands, ends its affiliation with the network due to technical issues and joins Ion Television. Lilly Broadcasting, owners of WSEE-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania, which already serves as the default CBS affiliate in the Virgin Islands, is commissioned to provide a replacement ABC affiliate for cable viewers, and promptly imports WENY-TV in Elmira, New York.7NBCUniversal formally launches Seeso, a subscription-based, over-the-top streaming service featuring new and classic comedy programming including stand-up comedy specials, and episodes of series such as Saturday Night Live and Monty Python's Flying Circus as well as original series, was initially available for $3.99 per month. The site soft-launched on December 3, 2015, with a one-month, web-only beta trial offered to prospective subscribers More than a dozen television stations owned by Cordillera Communications in the Western and Southern United States are removed from Dish Network in a retransmission dispute. The stations are restored on January 10 after the two sides reach an agreement."Dish, Cordillera Strike Retrans Deal" NextTV, 1/10/20169The Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Houston Texans in an AFC Wild Card playoff game. ESPN's coverage of the game is simulcast on sister broadcast network ABC, making it the first National Football League game to air on the latter network since Super Bowl XL in 2006. ABC previously held the rights to Monday Night Football from 1970 until it shifted over to ESPN at the start of the 2006 season. ABC is still required to air the games in both teams' primary market.12ABC Family rebrands as Freeform. The rebranding, the result of audience tests that revealed infrequent viewers perceived the channel as strictly family-oriented, firms the network's programming focus towards teenagers and young adults ages 14–34 (or "becomers", as the network terms them). It also, according to network president Tom Ascheim, refutes claims that founding owner Christian Broadcasting Network has required "Family" to permanently remain in the channel's name since its 1990 sale to International Family Entertainment. Freeform will maintain much of the former ABC Family's existing programming including feature films, series (including Shadowhunters, which premieres on this date), seasonal programming blocks, and religious programs (most notably weekday airings of The 700 Club, which CBN does require the channel to air.14TouchVision discontinues operations. Based at Weigel Broadcasting's Chicago headquarters, the service provided newsreel-style news coverage tailored to a younger demographic, offering content to mobile and tablet platforms as well as select television stations.17Master of None and Mr. Robot are among the notable TV winners at the 21st Critics' Choice Awards, an event simulcast live on A&E, Lifetime and LMN. For the first time, the event combines categories comprising its previously separate television and film ceremonies into a single three-hour telecast, the result of a September 2015 decision reached by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association and the Broadcast Film Critics Association."Critics Choice Awards winners' list from Variety, 1/17/201618In a series of tweets she stated that while she had "only ever liked boys" in the past and that she was "open to liking any gender," Girl Meets World star Rowan Blanchard, 14 at the time, confirms that she is queer, marking the first time a teenage entertainer from a current Disney Channel television series to come out and reveal their sexual preference.Almost a month after the controversy (in which he mistakenly announced Ariadna Gutiérrez of Colombia as the winner of Miss Universe 2015 and Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines as the first runner-up), comedian and host Steve Harvey breaks his silence and addresses his stint as the pageant's host in a two-part special episode of his eponymous talk show. The episodes, titled "Miss Universe: The Truth", also features exclusive interviews with Wurtzbach alongside Miss USA 2015 winner and second runner-up Olivia Jordan in part one, and Gutiérrez in part two.I19Major League Baseball reaches an agreement to expand its offerings of online game broadcasts, including team-specific packages. The agreement comes on the day a trial against MLB, Comcast, and DirecTV was to have begun. The class action lawsuit, filed by a group of fans, sought to overturn MLB's placement of territorial restrictions for "out of market" broadcasts and blackouts of "in market" games."Baseball Fans Reach Settlement Over MLB Telecasts on Verge of Antitrust Trial," from The Hollywood Reporter, 1/19/201623ABC begins airing a package of eight selected NBA games on Saturday evenings under the NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC banner. The move will also see the network airing only six single Sunday afternoon games, ending the doubleheaders that resulted in the adjustments to the scheduling of NBA broadcasts. Sister cable channel ESPN will continue to air NBA telecasts on Wednesday and Friday evenings.27Nexstar Broadcasting Group agrees to acquire Media General in a $4.6 billion deal. Should regulatory approval be obtained, the combined company, to be known as Nexstar Media Group, will become the largest broadcaster in terms of audience reach, owning or operating 171 full-power stations in 100 markets. The deal comes after Meredith Corporation backs out of its deal to acquire Media General. That deal, announced in September 2015, came before Nexstar announced its own larger, unsolicited bid for Media General."Nexstar Agrees to Buy Media General for $4.6B," NextTV, 1/27/2016Sinclair Broadcast Group announces it will acquire Tennis Channel in a $350 million deal."Sinclair Agrees to Buy Tennis Channel for $350M," from Broadcasting & Cable, 1/27/201629Nexstar Broadcasting Group stations in nine markets are removed from Cox Communications' cable systems at midnight due to a retransmission dispute. The stations return to Cox Cable after the two sides reach an agreement on February 4."Nexstar Stations Go Dark To Cox Customers," NextTV, 1/30/2016"Nexstar And Cox Resolve Dispute With New Deal, End Blackout," from Deadline, 2/4/2016
February