The year 1969 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1969.
Events
*January 4 –
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
expands the ''
Huntley-Brinkley Report'' to Saturdays, with
Chet Huntley
Chet is a masculine given name, often a nickname for Chester, which means ''fortress'' or ''camp''. It is an uncommon name of English origin, and originated as a surname to identify people from the city of Chester, England. Chet was ranked 1,027t ...
and
David Brinkley
David McClure Brinkley (July 10, 1920 – June 11, 2003) was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997.
From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkl ...
alternating weeks anchoring the news solo. Later, mediocre ratings prompt NBC to replace the duo with other newsmen, with the broadcast rechristened ''NBC Saturday News''.
*January 13 –
Dick York
Richard Allen York (September 4, 1928 – February 20, 1992) was an American radio, stage, film, and television actor. He was the first actor to play Darrin Stephens on the ABC fantasy sitcom ''Bewitched''. He played teacher Bertram Cates in th ...
collapses on the set of ''
Bewitched'' and is rushed to the hospital. He resigns from the show due to health reasons and is replaced by
Dick Sargent
Richard Stanford Cox (April 19, 1930 – July 8, 1994), known professionally as Dick Sargent, was an American actor, notable as the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on ABC's fantasy situation comedy ''Bewitched''. He took the name ''Dick ...
.
*February 5 – ABC runs the one and only airing of the notorious flop ''
Turn-On
''Turn-On'' is an American sketch comedy series that aired on ABC in February 1969. Only one episode was shown, leaving one episode unaired, and the show is considered one of the most infamous flops in TV history.
''Turn-Ons sole broadcast ...
''.
*February 9 – CBS presents the
Royal Shakespeare Company's version of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'', starring
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On H ...
,
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to:
Sports
* Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor
* David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier
* David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer
Oth ...
, and
Helen Mirren.
*February 19 – At exactly 4:31 p.m. at the
CBS Studio Center, with
Jim Nabors
James Thurston Nabors (June 12, 1930 – November 30, 2017) was an American actor, singer, and comedian, widely known for his signature character, Gomer Pyle.
Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith while working at a Santa Monica nightclub, an ...
saying the line "How interesting – and did she?", ''
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' shoots its final scene and completes its run.
*March 29 –
Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...
performs "
Boom Bang-a-Bang" at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1969
The Eurovision Song Contest 1969 was the 14th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Madrid, Spain, following the country's victory at the with the song "La, la, la" by Massiel. Organised by the European Broadcasting U ...
in Madrid, and ends up in a four-way tie for first place, with 18 votes.
*April 4 – CBS bans the ''
Smothers Brothers
The Smothers Brothers are Thomas ("Tom" – born February 2, 1937) and Richard ("Dick" – born November 20, 1938), American folk singers, musicians, and comedians. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on acoustic gu ...
''. Three days later,
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
opens the evening newscast by confirming that the ''Smothers Brothers'' have been replaced by ''
Hee Haw
''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 1 ...
'' – effective immediately. But because it takes two months to assemble a typical ''Hee-Haw'' segment, CBS has to fill the time period with specials until ''Hee Haw'' premieres on June 15.
*April 11 –
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, as only he could see it, is presented in ''
Fellini
Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...
, a Director's Notebook'', an NBC special.
*April 13 –
Dick Van Dyke and
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...
are reunited for a special, ''Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman'', on CBS.
*June 3 – The
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
television series ''
Star Trek'' airs its final new episode after being canceled by
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. Its subsequent sale into rerun
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
soon after leads to a rise in popularity that transforms ''Star Trek'' into one of the century's most successful entertainment franchises.
*June 21 – On the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''. It also marks the final time that the series is broadcast in black and white.
**Showing of the
''The Royal Family'', which attracts more than 30.6 million viewers, an all-time British record for a non-current event programme.
*July 3 – An elephant called Lulu runs amok on ''
''. The clip is subsequently repeated many times, becoming the archetypal British TV "
; at 10:56 p.m. EDT
'', running Monday through Saturday.
*September 8 – From now on, all daytime programs on ABC and CBS are in color.
*September 26 – ''
...