| Date |
Event |
| January 1 |
Speedvision, a cable channel devoted to motor sports, commences programming. The network would be rechristened Speed Channel in 2002, then Speed in 2005. It would be replaced by Fox Sports 1 in 2013. |
| January 20 |
Fox introduces its FoxTrax "glowing puck" during its telecast of the 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game. |
| January 28 |
Chris Isaak and Brooke Shields make guest appearances on a post-Super Bowl episode of Friends. |
| March 1 |
More than 1 billion households worldwide now own television sets. |
| March 4 |
DISH Network, a Direct Broadcast Satellite service, begins as a service of EchoStar. |
| April 29 |
TV Land, an offshoot of the series Nick at Nite devoted to round-the-clock broadcasts of classic television shows, debuts. |
| May 16 |
More than 12 million Americans watch the final episode of Murder, She Wrote on CBS, "Death By Demographics". Through its 12-year run, the series had become the longest-running American Murder Mystery Drama. |
| May 19 |
Sundance Channel debuts. |
| June 1 |
Major League Baseball broadcasts debut on Fox. |
| June 3 |
Zenith introduces the first HDTV-compatible front projection TV in the U.S. |
| June 19 |
WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC is awarded the first experimental high-definition television license in the United States. |
| June 30 |
After 33 years of public broadcasting in New York, WNYC-TV, goes off the air. |
| July 6 |
When it becomes evident that Anna Stuart will be next to die in a serial killer storyline on Another World, many fans start letter-writing campaigns to save the actress; the NBC studios in New York City also report a great number of switchboard telephone calls regarding Stuart's imminent demise. Executive producer Jill Farren Phelps decides that actress Alice Barrett will be killed off the show instead. New World Communications sells off 2 NBC affiliates; KNSD-TV (channel 39) in San Diego, California and WVTM-TV (channel 13) in Birmingham, Alabama; the latter were sold subsequently to NBC (and WVTM before being sold to Media General in 2006; Hearst Television would acquire WVTM in 2015). |
| July 15 |
Talk-oriented America's Talking ceases broadcasting and is replaced by MSNBC, an all-news joint venture between NBC (AT's owner) and Microsoft. |
| August 2 |
MTV's secondary channel, M2 (now known as MTV2), debuts. |
| August 23 |
The Price Is Right celebrates its 25th Anniversary Special on CBS. |
| September 8 |
The 48th Primetime Emmy Awards are presented on ABC. |
| Longtime ABC affiliate WBRC-TV (channel 6) in Birmingham, Alabama finally becomes a Fox owned-and-operated station, a year after Fox had acquired it (and WGHP-TV in High Point, North Carolina) from a trust that had been formed by New World Communications. As a result, the ABC affiliation settles on the trimulcast of WBMA-LP/WCFT/WJSU (channels 58, 33 and 40). Former Fox affiliate WTTO-TV (channel 21) became an independent station before affiliating with The WB the next year. Another former Fox station, WNAL in Gadsden, Alabama affiliated with CBS. |
| CBS Kidz debuts, replacing CBS Toontastic. |
| September 13 |
The dubbed version of the Japanese series Dragon Ball Z premieres in the U.S. |
| September 15 |
USA Cartoon Express airs for the last time on USA Network. |
| September 16 |
The Jackpot wedge debuts on Wheel of Fortune. |
| September 17 |
The O.J. Simpson civil trial begins. |
| October 1 |
Animal Planet and Discovery Civilization launched. |
| October 2 |
Seven newscasters were dismissed by WCBS-TV (channel 2) in New York. |
| October 4 |
Discovery Science debuts. |
| October 7 |
News Corporation gets into the cable news fray with the debut of the Fox News Channel. |
| November 1 |
ESPNNEWS, a sports news channel from ESPN, debuts. |
| November 2 |
The original cartoon series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles broadcasts its final episode, "Divide and Conquer". |
| November 11 |
Discovery Kids debuts. |
| December 1 |
The 25 Days of Christmas Special begins on The Family Channel, starting one of the longest running Christmas Specials. |
| December 12 |
Sports Illustrated and CNN debut CNN/SI, a 24-hour sporting news channel. |
| December 15 |
Five years after its series finale, a movie version of Dallas, entitled Dallas: J.R. Returns, is broadcast by CBS. |
| December 17 |
6 years after dropping the title, TBS resumes using the term Superstation. |
