In American television in 2017, notable events included television show debuts, finales, and cancellations; channel launches, closures, and re-brandings; stations changing or adding their network affiliations; and information about controversies and carriage disputes.
Notable events January Date EventSource1Hearst Television stations in 26 markets are removed from DirecTV due to the companies failing to reach a new retransmission contract. The stations are restored on January 6 with a new retrans agreement."Hearst Stations Pulled In Dispute with DirecTV" , Broadcasting & Cable, January 1, 2017."Hearst Reaches Agreement With AT&T" , Broadcasting & Cable, January 7, 2017.WBTS-LD (a former translator of Merrimack, New Hampshire-licensed Telemundo O&O WNEU) signs on as Boston's NBC owned-and-operated station with a rebroadcast of the city's First Night New Year's Eve festivities, replacing Sunbeam Television-owned WHDH, which ended its 68-year tenure as a network affiliate. The switch comes after parent company Comcast (which acquired the station from ZGS Communications in September 2016) announced that it will launch an NBC O&O station in the Boston market after WHDH failed to renew its affiliation contract with the network.2–13Former Today anchors Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira rejoin Matt Lauer on the Today anchor desk, with Couric appearing the week of January 2 and Viera the week of January 9. The appearances are to help fete Lauer's 20th anniversary on the NBC morning news/talk show, to help fill the void left by current co-anchor Savannah Guthrie's maternity leave, and to mark Todays 65th anniversary.3NBC News announces the hiring of Megyn Kelly from Fox News, where she was host of The Kelly File (which aired its last edition on January 6). At NBC, she would host a daytime news and discussion program, which would be Megyn Kelly Today replacing the existing Today's Take format of the third hour of Today, and a Sunday newsmagazine called Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly.4The FCC approves a waiver in regulations allowing Mexican media company Televisa to increase its ownership stake in Univision Communications from 10% to 40%. This waiver of the 1934 law, which applies only to any Televisa/Univision transaction (foreign ownership in any U.S. communications company is limited to 25%), will allow Televisa to expand its long-sought control of Univision, which has sought out ways to stay financially competitive. "Univision wins FCC waiver to let its Mexican partner, Televisa, increase ownership stake" , Los Angeles Times (January 4, 2017)5As part of a new contract with ESPN, Chris Berman announced he will step down from his role as host of the network's NFL studio programming, as well as the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. The sportscaster, who has been with the network from its inception in 1979, will stay on as a commentator for Monday Night Countdown and call the MLB Division Series for ESPN Radio."Chris Berman leaving ESPN NFL studio, stays with network in new role" , ESPN.com (January 5, 2017)Former Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren is hired by rival MSNBC, where she will host For the Record with Greta, an early-evening news and analysis show based in Washington, D.C. Van Susteren's program, debuting on January 9, replaces the rebroadcast of Bloomberg Television's With All Due Respect, which ended in December 2016. The program only lasts just over six months, and Van Susteren departs MSNBC on June 29 due to the network deciding to go in a different direction."Greta Van Susteren to join MSNBC", Politico (January 5, 2017)6Hearst Television announces that it had acquired a majority stake in Charleston, South Carolina-based Litton Entertainment, which controls four of the five E/I-compliant Saturday morning blocks on the five major broadcast networks, along with being a syndicator of traditional programming, for an undisclosed amount. The deal was closed on February 1.8The motion picture La La Land (with a record seven wins, including best musical/comedy film) and TV newcomers Atlanta and The Crown (best comedy/musical and drama series, respectively) are among the notable winners at the 74th Golden Globe Awards. Jimmy Fallon emcees the ceremony on NBC."Golden Globe Awards: 'La La Land' Breaks Record in Politically Charged Show" , Variety, January 8, 201712C-SPAN's live coverage of a United States House of Representatives debate abruptly switches for 10 minutes to a live feed of RT. Although fears are suggested that the feed was hijacked by pro-Russian hackers, C-SPAN initially believes it was due to an internal routing error."C-SPAN 'investigating' why congressional livestream switched to Russia Today" , Politico, January 12, 2017Former HBO employee Jennifer Choi is sentenced to 30 months in prison after admitting to bilking nearly $1 million from the network over a six-year period (2008–2014). Choi had worked in talent relations for HBO, and pleaded guilty in January 2016 to charges of wire fraud and tax evasion. She admitted to submitting invoices and reaping money for services never rendered by a shell company she controlled, as well as charging $63,000 to HBO's account for car service bills for her family and friends. Choi also faces three years of post-jail supervised release and must also pay restitution to HBO and back taxes."Former HBO Employee Receives 30-Month Prison Sentence for $1 Million Theft" , Variety (January 12, 2017)15An audience of 48.5 million watch Fox's live broadcast of the National Football Conference divisional round game between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, one marked by Packers kicker Mason Crosby's game-ending, game-winning 51-yard field goal. The audience for the telecast is the largest ever for an NFL divisional round game, outdrawing last season's NFC Championship game (45.7 million) and falling just behind 2015's NFC title game (49.8 million)."TV Ratings: Packers-Cowboys, Steelers-Chiefs Draw Huge Audiences" , Variety (January 16, 2017)16After a 19-month hiatus, Bob Beckel returns to Fox News as co-host of The Five. Beckel, who joined FNC in 2000 as a political contributor and is one of the original co-hosts of the early-evening political opinion program since its 2011 debut, left the program in 2015 to join CNN as a commentator. Current co-host Juan Williams, who will continue to appear on The Five, will remain as Fox News contributor across all programs. Beckel departs Fox News again on May 19, this time involuntarily, for refusing to allow an African-American FNC IT employee to service his personal computer and directing racial remarks towards the man.17Almost a full year after the deal was first announced, due in part to delays in license transfer approvals caused by the agency's auction of broadcast spectrum to telecommunications providers, and six days after the FCC gives its approval, Nexstar Broadcasting Group completes its $4.6 billion acquisition of Media General. The combined company, now known as Nexstar Media Group, includes a portfolio of 171 full-power stations, covering 100 markets (including 16 of the top 50,) and nearly 39% of the U.S. Among these stations, MyNetworkTV affiliate KRON-TV/San Francisco becomes Nexstar's largest station by market size and its second to be based in a top-10 market (after WHAG-TV/Hagerstown, Maryland, which is licensed within the Washington, D.C., market)."Nexstar Closes On Media General Purchase" , TVNewsCheck, January 17, 2017On the same day Dish Network reaches a retransmission deal to avert a blackout of Gray Television's stations, the lack of a new carriage pact leads to the removal of 12 Bonten Media Group stations in eight markets from the satellite service."Dish Loses 12 Network Affiliates In Fee Fight" , TVPredictions.com, January 18, 2017Shark Tank host Kevin O'Leary announces on his Facebook page that he will return to his native Canada to run for the leadership post of that country's Conservative Party, a role equivalent to a U.S. presidential candidate. O'Leary withdrew from the race and endorsed a fellow leadership candidate on April 26."'I'm going to be his worst nightmare': 'Shark Tank' judge Kevin O'Leary is running to lead the Conservative Party in Canada" , Business Insider (January 18, 2017)"Kevin O'Leary drops out of Conservative leadership race, endorses Maxime Bernier" , CBC News, April 26, 201718Britney Spears (four awards) and Ellen DeGeneres (three awards, enough to make her the most awarded in the show's history) are among the notable winners at the 43rd People's Choice Awards. Joel McHale hosted the telecast on CBS.20Former TV personality Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States.22Several contributors to Fox News are cut from the network, including longtime contributors George Will and former Fox News Watch panelist Cal Thomas, along with Ed Rollins, former U.S. Senator Alphonse D'Amato and actress Stacey Dash, who was a regular panelist on Outnumbered and had made several controversial statements.29The Miss Universe 2016 pageant is held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines and broadcast on Fox and Azteca, with Steve Harvey as host. Iris Mittenaere of France is selected as the winner, ending a 63-year drought for the country, when Christiane Martel took the title in 1953. This marked the second time that the pageant skipped a year since the Miss Universe 2014, which was held in Miami, Florida in January 2015. NBC special correspondent Tom Brokaw celebrates his 50th anniversary at NBC News with a two-hour special episode of Dateline NBC, titled Tom Brokaw at NBC News: The First 50 Years, which featured footage from some of his most memorable interviews and highlights in his career (including his coverage of the Watergate scandal, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and several presidential campaigns), as well as in-depth conversations with guests including Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Tom Hanks, Jon Stewart, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Colin Powell and David Letterman. Brokaw joined NBC News as a West Coast correspondent and anchor of NBC O&O KNBC/Los Angeles from 1966 to 1972 before becoming a White House correspondent (1973–1976) and anchor of Today (1976–1981) and NBC Nightly News (1982–2004).31With one final ESPN assignment on this date (a Georgia/Kentucky men's basketball game), Brent Musburger ends his nearly 50-year TV sportscasting career.Brent Musburger is retiring from sportscasting at age 77 WNEM-TV, Associated Press, January 25, 2017
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