This is a list of American television-related events in 1972.
Events Date Event Ref. January 21 The first convention of Star Trek fans is held at the Statler-Hilton Hotel in New York City. "The First Star Trek Convention, or How I Got my Geek Cred" Wired. January 3, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2021. 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 2026, it is the longest-running game show on American television. October 1 The famous Move Closer to Your World theme makes its debut on WPVI-TV in Philadelphia. November 8 Home Box Office (HBO) launches at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, initially available to subscribers of Teleservice Cable (now Service Electric Cable TV and Communications) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. HBO's inaugural program and event telecast, a National Hockey League (NHL) game between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks from Madison Square Garden, is transmitted that evening over channel 21—its original assigned channel on the Teleservice system—to its initial base of 365 subscribers in Wilkes-Barre. The first movie presentation shown on the service airs immediately after the hockey game concludes: the 1971 film Sometimes a Great Notion, starring Paul Newman and Henry Fonda. 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. Today in TV History: The Very First ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’. Decider. December 31, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
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 December 10 The Moonstone
Ending this year Date Show DebutJanuary 1 The Funky Phantom1971January 8Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!1971March 1 The Courtship of Eddie's Father1969March 10 O'Hara, U.S. Treasury1971March 12The Jimmy Stewart ShowMarch 25 Bewitched1964March 31 Bright Promise1969April 13My Three Sons1960April 27 Me and the Chimp1972August 23 The Super1972September 2The Road Runner Show 1966December 23Josie and the Pussycats 1970
TV movies and miniseries September 19: The Woman Hunter (CBS)
Births
Deaths
Networks and services Network launches Network Type Launch date Notes Source Family Broadcasting Corporation Cable Unknown 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 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 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 1972 in television 1972 in film List of American films of 1972
References
External links List of 1972 American television series at IMDb