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2020 in American television
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In American television in 2020, 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
Main article: 2020 notable events in American television
Awards
More information Category/Organization, 78th Golden Globe Awards February 28, 2021 ...
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Television shows
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Shows debuting in 2020
Further information: List of 2020 American television debuts
Shows changing networks
More information Show, Moved from ...
| Show | Moved from | Moved to | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dirty John | Bravo | USA Network | [1] |
| Vice | HBO | Showtime | [2] |
| Vice News Tonight | Vice on TV | [3] | |
| NAACP Image Awards | TV One | BET | [4] |
| The Family Business | BET | BET+ | [5] |
| Cobra Kai | YouTube Premium | Netflix | [6] |
| One Day at a Time | Netflix | Pop and TV Land (premieres)/CBS (repeats) | [7][8] |
| The Rich Eisen Show | Audience | NBCSN | [9] |
| Doom Patrol | DC Universe | DC Universe/HBO Max | [10] |
| Sesame Street | HBO | HBO Max | [11] |
| Esme & Roy | |||
| Search Party | TBS | [12] | |
| Summer Camp Island | Cartoon Network | [13] | |
| Infinity Train | [14][15] | ||
| Where's Waldo? | Universal Kids | Peacock | [16] |
| A.P. Bio | NBC | [17] | |
| Curious George | PBS Kids | [18] | |
| Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs | Qubo | ||
| The Dan Patrick Show | Audience/AT&T SportsNet | [19] | |
| Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings | Freeform | Disney+ | [20] |
| Manhunt | Discovery Channel | Spectrum Originals | [21] |
| Bellator MMA | Paramount Network | CBS Sports Network | [22] |
| WWE Tribute to the Troops | NBC | Fox | [23] |
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Milestone episodes and anniversaries
More information Show, Network ...
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Shows returning in 2020
The following shows returned with new episodes after being canceled or previously ending their run:
More information Show, Last aired ...
| Show | Last aired | Type of return | Previous channel | New/returning/same channel | Return date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supernanny | 2011 | Revival | ABC | Lifetime | January 1 | [61][62] |
| Steve (as Steve on Watch) |
2019 | First-run syndication | Facebook Watch | January 6 | [63] | |
| Party of Five | 2000 | Reboot | Fox | Freeform | January 8 | [64] |
| The Biggest Loser | 2016 | NBC | USA Network | January 28 | [65] | |
| Manhunt | 2017 | Revival | Discovery Channel | Spectrum Originals | February 3 | [66] |
| XFL | 2001 | Reboot | NBC/TNN/UPN | ESPN/ABC/Fox/FS1 | February 8 | [67] |
| The Soup | 2015 | Revival | E! | same | February 12 | [68][69] |
| Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings | 2018 | New season | Freeform | Disney+ | February 14 | [20][70] |
| Extreme Makeover: Home Edition | 2012 | Revival | ABC | HGTV | February 16 | [71] |
| Star Wars: The Clone Wars | 2014 | New season | Netflix | Disney+ | February 21 | [72][73] |
| Forensic Files (as Forensic Files II) |
2011 | Revival | Court TV/TruTV | HLN | February 23 | [74] |
| Bride & Prejudice (as Bride & Prejudice: Forbidden Love) |
2016 | FYI | Lifetime | February 26 | [75] | |
| Opry | 2009 | New season | GAC | Circle | [76] | |
| Vice News Tonight | 2019 | Revival | HBO | Vice on TV | March 4 | [3] |
| Amazing Stories | 1987 | Reboot | NBC | Apple TV+ | March 6 | [77] |
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (as Cosmos: Possible Worlds) |
2014 | New season | Fox/National Geographic | same | March 9 | [78] |
| The Wall | 2018 | NBC | March 15 | [79] | ||
| One Day at a Time | 2019 | Netflix | Pop/TV Land/CBS | March 24 | [7][80][81] | |
| Vice | 2018 | HBO | Showtime | March 29 | [2][82] | |
| 12 oz. Mouse | Adult Swim | same | April 1[a] | [83][84][85] | ||
| Singled Out | 2019 | Reboot | MTV/YouTube | Quibi | April 6 | [86][87] |
| Punk'd | 2015 | BET | ||||
| Celebrity Ghost Stories | 2014 | Revival | LMN | A&E | April 8 | [88][89] |
| Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | 2019 | New season | First-run syndication | ABC | [90] | |
| Club MTV | 1992 | Special | MTV | same | April 25 | [91] |
| Parks and Recreation | 2015 | NBC | April 30 | [92] | ||
| CBS Sunday Movie (as CBS Sunday Night Movies) |
2006 | Revival | CBS | May 3 | [93] | |
| Reno 911! | 2009 | Comedy Central | Quibi | May 4 | [94][95][96] | |
| Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | 2019 | Special | Netflix | same | May 12 | [97][98] |
| Sell This House | 2011 | Revival | A&E | FYI | May 18 | [99] |
| True Life (as True Life Presents: First-Time First Responders) |
2017 | Special | MTV | same | June 9 | [100] |
| Search Party | New season | TBS | HBO Max | June 25 | [12][101] | |
| Adventure Time (as Adventure Time: Distant Lands) |
2018 | Specials | Cartoon Network | [102][101] | ||
| Nick News | 2015 | Revival | Nickelodeon | same | June 29 | [103] |
| Unsolved Mysteries | 2010 | Spike | Netflix | July 1 | [104] | |
| The Baby-Sitters Club | 1990 | Reboot | HBO | July 3 | [105] | |
| 30 Rock | 2013 | Special | NBC | same | July 16 | [106][107] |
| Happy Endings (as Happy Endings Special Charity Event) |
ABC | Sony Pictures Television YouTube channel | July 20 | [108] | ||
| The Fugitive | 2001 | Reboot | CBS | Quibi | August 3 | [109] |
| Eco-Challenge (as World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji) |
2002 | Revival | USA Network | Amazon Prime Video | August 14 | [110][111] |
| Tyler Perry's House of Payne | 2012 | TBS | BET | September 2 | [112][113] | |
| A.P. Bio | 2019 | New season | NBC | Peacock | September 3 | [17][114] |
| Becoming | 2016 | Revival | Disney XD | Disney+ | September 18 | [115] |
| Way Too Early (as Way Too Early with Kasie Hunt) |
MSNBC | same | September 21 | [116] | ||
| Dr. 90210 | 2008 | E! | September 28 | [117][118] | ||
| Weakest Link | 2003 | First-run syndication | NBC | September 29 | [119][120] | |
| 16 and Pregnant | 2014 | MTV | same | October 6 | [121] | |
| The West Wing | 2006 | Special | NBC | HBO Max | October 15 | [122] |
| Supermarket Sweep | 2003 | Revival | PAX | ABC | October 18 | [123][124][125] |
| MDA Telethon (as The MDA Kevin Hart Kids Telethon) |
2014 | ABC | YouTube Live | October 24 | [126] | |
| Mickey Mouse (as The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse) |
2019 | Disney Channel | Disney+ | November 18 | [127] | |
| Animaniacs | 1998 | Revival | Kids' WB | Hulu | November 20 | [128][129] |
| I Love New York | 2008 | Special | VH1 | same | November 23 | [130] |
| Hollywood Exes (as Hollywood Exes: Reunited) |
2014 | November 24 | ||||
| Saved by the Bell | 1993 | Revival | NBC | Peacock | November 25 | [131][132] |
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Shows ending in 2020
More information End date, Show ...
| End date | Show | Channel | First aired | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Messiah | Netflix | 2020 | Canceled | [133] |
| Spinning Out | [134] | ||||
| January 10 | AJ and the Queen | [135] | |||
| Harvey Girls Forever! | 2018 | Ended | [136] | ||
| Forky Asks a Question | Disney+ | 2019 | [137] | ||
| January 19 | Ray Donovan | Showtime | 2013 | Canceled | [138] |
| January 23 | Perfect Harmony | NBC | 2019 | [139] | |
| October Faction | Netflix | 2020 | [140] | ||
| January 24 | The Ranch | 2016 | Ended | [141] | |
| January 25 | Flirty Dancing | Fox | 2019 | Canceled | [142] |
| January 26 | Star Wars Resistance | Disney Channel/Disney XD | 2018 | Ended | [143][144] |
| January 28 | Arrow | The CW | 2012 | [145] | |
| Emergence | ABC | 2019 | Canceled | [146] | |
| January 29 | Next In Fashion | Netflix | 2020 | [147] | |
| Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery | 2011 | Ended | [148][149] | |
| January 30 | The Good Place | NBC | 2016 | [150][151] | |
| New Looney Tunes | Boomerang | 2015 | [152] | ||
| January 31 | BoJack Horseman | Netflix | 2014 | [153] | |
| February 6 | Tell Me a Story | CBS All Access | 2018 | Canceled | [154] |
| Interrogation | 2020 | [155] | |||
| February 9 | Power | Starz | 2014 | Ended | [156][157] |
| February 14 | High Fidelity | Hulu | 2020 | Canceled | [158] |
| February 16 | Mike Tyson Mysteries | Adult Swim | 2014 | [159] | |
| February 19 | Criminal Minds (returned in 2022 as Criminal Minds: Evolution) | CBS | 2005 | Ended | [160][161] |
| February 21 | Fresh Off the Boat | ABC | 2015 | [162] | |
| February 22 | Almost Family | Fox | 2019 | Canceled | [163] |
| February 26 | I Am Not Okay with This | Netflix | 2020 | [164] | |
| February 27 | Altered Carbon | 2018 | [165] | ||
| March 1 | Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure | Disney Channel | 2017 | Ended | [166][167] |
| March 2 | Hardball with Chris Matthews | MSNBC | 1997 | [168] | |
| March 4 | Party of Five | Freeform | 2020 | Canceled | [169] |
| March 8 | Kidding | Showtime | 2018 | [170] | |
| Dare Me | USA Network | 2019 | [171] | ||
| March 12 | Lights Out with David Spade | Comedy Central | [172] | ||
| Carol's Second Act | CBS | [173] | |||
| In the Room | E! | 2019 | [174] | ||
| Pop of the Morning | 2020 | ||||
| March 13 | Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector | NBC | [139] | ||
| March 14 | Trish Regan Primetime | Fox Business | 2015 | [175] | |
| March 18 | 68 Whiskey | Paramount Network | 2020 | [176] | |
| March 19 | Very Cavallari | E! | 2018 | Ended | [177] |
| March 21 | Henry Danger | Nickelodeon | 2014 | [178][179] | |
| March 24 | Project Blue Book | History | 2019 | Canceled | [180] |
| March 25 | Stumptown | ABC | [181] | ||
| March 26 | Deputy | Fox | 2020 | [182] | |
| Outmatched | [183] | ||||
| March 27 | High Noon | ESPN | 2018 | [184] | |
| April 1 | The Magicians | Syfy | 2015 | Ended | [185] |
| April 3 | Future Man | Hulu | 2017 | [186][187] | |
| Hawaii Five-0 | CBS | 2010 | [188] | ||
| High Maintenance | HBO | 2016 | Canceled | [189] | |
| April 5 | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (returned in 2025 on ABC) | HGTV | 2003 | [190] | |
| April 7 | Schitt's Creek | Pop | 2015 | Ended | [191] |
| April 8 | Modern Family | ABC | 2009 | [192][193] | |
| April 12 | Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures | Netflix | 2018 | [194] | |
| April 13 | Briarpatch | USA Network | 2020 | Canceled | [195] |
| April 16 | Wife Swap | Paramount Network | 2004 | [196] | |
| Indebted | NBC | 2020 | [197] | ||
| April 17 | blackAF | Netflix | [198] | ||
| Strike Back | Cinemax | 2011 | Ended | [199][200] | |
| April 18 | Doc McStuffins | Disney Jr. | 2012 | [201] | |
| April 20 | The Midnight Gospel | Netflix | 2020 | Canceled | [202][203] |
| April 21 | Empire | Fox | 2015 | Ended | [34][204] |
| April 23 | Will & Grace | NBC | 1998 | [205][206] | |
| April 24 | Sister Circle | TV One/Tegna O&Os | 2017 | Canceled | [207] |
| April 26 | God Friended Me | CBS | 2018 | [208] | |
| Homeland | Showtime | 2011 | Ended | [209][210] | |
| April 29 | Boomerang | BET | 2019 | Canceled | [211] |
| May 4 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Disney+ | 2008 | Ended | [212] |
| May 5 | Bless This Mess | ABC | 2019 | Canceled | [146] |
| May 6 | Brockmire | IFC | 2017 | Ended | [213][214] |
| May 7 | Tommy | CBS | 2020 | Canceled | [173][215] |
| May 8 | The Hollow | Netflix | 2018 | [216][217] | |
| May 11 | Cops (returned in 2021) | Paramount Network | 1989 | [218] | |
| May 13 | Single Parents | ABC | 2018 | [146] | |
| Schooled | 2019 | ||||
| May 14 | Katy Keene | The CW | 2020 | [219] | |
| How to Get Away with Murder | ABC | 2014 | Ended | [220][221] | |
| May 15 | She-Ra and the Princesses of Power | Netflix | 2018 | [222] | |
| May 23 | Live PD | A&E | 2016 | Canceled | [223] |
| May 24 | Run | HBO | 2020 | [224] | |
| May 28 | Siren | Freeform | 2018 | [225] | |
| May 31 | Vida | Starz | Ended | [226] | |
| June 1 | The Baker and the Beauty | ABC | 2020 | Canceled | [227] |
| June 2 | Fuller House | Netflix | 2016 | Ended | [228] |
| June 4 | Vagrant Queen | Syfy | 2020 | Canceled | [229] |
| June 5 | 13 Reasons Why | Netflix | 2017 | Ended | [230][231] |
| June 7 | Transformers: Cyberverse | Cartoon Network | 2018 | [232] | |
| June 11 | Man with a Plan | CBS | 2016 | Canceled | [173][233] |
| June 13 | Alexa & Katie | Netflix | 2018 | Ended | [234] |
| June 16 | If Loving You Is Wrong | Oprah Winfrey Network | 2014 | [235][236] | |
| One Day at a Time | Pop | 2017 | Canceled | [237] | |
| WWE Backstage | Fox Sports 1 | 2019 | [238] | ||
| June 18 | The Order | Netflix | [239] | ||
| June 19 | Live PD: Police Patrol | First-run syndication | 2017 | [240] | |
| June 25 | The Twilight Zone | CBS All Access | 2019 | [241] | |
| Broke | CBS | 2020 | [173][242] | ||
| June 26 | The Will Cain Show | ESPNews | 2018 | Ended | [243] |
| June 28 | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | Netflix | Canceled | [244] | |
| Penny Dreadful: City of Angels | Showtime | 2020 | [245] | ||
| July 2 | Council of Dads | NBC | [246] | ||
| July 3 | DC Daily | DC Universe | 2018 | [247] | |
| July 15 | Brave New World | Peacock | 2020 | [248] | |
| July 16 | Labor of Love | Fox | [249] | ||
| July 17 | Cursed | Netflix | [250] | ||
| July 23 | Blindspot | NBC | 2015 | Ended | [251][252] |
| July 25 | The Rocketeer | Disney Jr. | 2019 | Canceled | [253] |
| July 28 | Last Chance U | Netflix | 2016 | Ended | [254] |
| July 29 | At Home with Amy Sedaris | TruTV | 2017 | Canceled | [255] |
| July 31 | 12 oz. Mouse | Adult Swim | 2005 | [256] | |
| August 7 | Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Nicktoons | 2018 | [257] | |
| August 11 | Greenleaf | Oprah Winfrey Network | 2016 | Ended | [258][259] |
| August 12 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | ABC | 2013 | [260][261][262] | |
| World of Dance | NBC | 2017 | Canceled | [263] | |
| August 13 | Don't | ABC | 2020 | [264] | |
| August 14 | Teenage Bounty Hunters | Netflix | [265] | ||
| August 17 | Glitch Techs | Ended | |||
| August 21 | Hoops | Canceled | [266] | ||
| Little Voice | Apple TV+ | [267] | |||
| August 23 | Elena of Avalor | Disney Jr. | 2016 | Ended | [268] |
| NOS4A2 | AMC | 2019 | Canceled | [269] | |
| August 25 | Trinkets | Netflix | Ended | [270][271] | |
| August 26 | Corporate | Comedy Central | 2018 | [272][273] | |
| United We Fall | ABC | 2020 | Canceled | [274] | |
| August 27 | Unikitty! | Cartoon Network | 2017 | Ended | [citation needed] |
| September 4 | Spirit Riding Free | Netflix | [275] | ||
| Away | 2020 | Canceled | [276] | ||
| September 9 | L.A.'s Finest | Spectrum Originals | 2019 | [277] | |
| September 10 | Julie and the Phantoms | Netflix | 2020 | [278] | |
| September 11 | The Duchess | [279] | |||
| Coop & Cami Ask the World | Disney Channel | 2018 | |||
| September 13 | Kasie DC | MSNBC | 2017 | [116] | |
| September 18 | Ratched | Netflix | 2020 | [280] | |
| September 25 | Utopia | Amazon Prime Video | [281] | ||
| September 29 | Returning the Favor | Facebook Watch | 2017 | [282] | |
| September 30 | The 100 | The CW | 2014 | Ended | [283][284] |
| October 9 | Room 104 | HBO | 2017 | [285][286] | |
| The Haunting | Netflix | 2018 | [287] | ||
| October 12 | Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts | 2020 | [288] | ||
| October 16 | Grand Army | Canceled | [289] | ||
| Helstrom | Hulu | [290] | |||
| October 18 | Lovecraft Country | HBO | [291] | ||
| The Soup | E! | 2004 | [292] | ||
| October 29 | Politicking with Larry King | Ora TV/Hulu/RT America | 2013 | Ended | [293] |
| October 31 | Group Chat | Nickelodeon | 2020 | ||
| November 5 | Powerbirds | Universal Kids | |||
| November 10 | Dash & Lily | Netflix | Canceled | [294] | |
| November 16 | Connecting | NBC.com/Peacock | [295][296] | ||
| November 17 | The Boss Baby: Back in Business | Netflix | 2018 | Ended | [297] |
| November 19 | Supernatural | The CW | 2005 | [298][145][299] | |
| November 20 | The Pack | Amazon Prime Video | 2020 | Canceled | [300] |
| The Right Stuff | Disney+ | [301] | |||
| November 24 | Tosh.0 | Comedy Central | 2009 | [302] | |
| November 30 | Filthy Rich | Fox | 2020 | [303][304] | |
| December 4 | Disney Fam Jam | Disney Channel | Ended | [305] | |
| December 5 | ThunderCats Roar | Cartoon Network | Canceled | [306] | |
| December 8 | Mr. Iglesias | Netflix | 2019 | [307] | |
| December 9 | The Big Show Show | 2020 | [308][309] | ||
| The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia | |||||
| December 13 | Pandora | The CW | 2019 | [310] | |
| December 17 | All That | Nickelodeon | 1994 | Ended | [311] |
| December 22 | Next | Fox | 2020 | Canceled | [303][312] |
| December 29 | Don't Be Tardy | Bravo | 2012 | [citation needed] | |
| December 30 | Vikings | Amazon Prime Video | 2013 | Ended | [313][314] |
| December 31 | Chilling Adventures of Sabrina | Netflix | 2018 | Canceled | [315][316] |
| NBC's New Year's Eve | NBC | 2004 | Ended | [317] |
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Entering syndication in 2020
A list of programs (current or canceled) that have accumulated enough episodes (between 65 and 100) or seasons (three or more) to be eligible for off-network syndication and/or basic cable runs.
More information Show, Seasons ...
| Show | Seasons | In Production | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schitt's Creek | 6 | No | [318] |
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Networks and services
Launches
More information Network, Type ...
| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circle | Over-the-air multicast/ OTT streaming |
January 1 | Circle, which focuses on country music and its related lifestyle, is a Nashville-based venture between Gray Television and the Opry Entertainment division of Ryman Hospitality Properties. It's Gray's first owned entry into the multicast arena, while it brings Ryman (formerly Gaylord Entertainment) back to TV network ownership after it sold cable's The Nashville Network and Country Music Television to CBS in 1997. Gray and CBS-owned stations form the major launch groups for Circle, whose schedule includes the return of the weekly Grand Ole Opry broadcast to television. The network has a limited group of affiliates which exclusively carry the Opry on their main channel as a tape-delayed offering on late Saturday nights, due to lack of room for the full subchannel. | [319][320] [321][322] |
| Yahoo! Finance | Cable (via Verizon FiOS)/ OTT streaming |
January 27 | Verizon Media extends its Yahoo Finance business and financial news website into a 24-hour linear news channel initially available on Verizon FiOS channel 604, serving as a competitor to CNBC, Fox Business and Cheddar; Yahoo Finance's bell-to-bell stock market programming is also streamed live from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ET on the site's webpage. | [323] |
| Black News Channel | Cable and digital | February 10 | Founded by former Oklahoma U.S. Representative J. C. Watts, the network devotes itself to covering the African American community in news, sports and entertainment. | [324] |
| Marquee Sports Network | Cable and digital | February 22 (on-air launch); July 24 (full launch) |
A regional sports network venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, Marquee takes over as the team's exclusive primary broadcaster from NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-TV and WLS-TV, along with surrounding team programming and other sports content. The launch was tied to the start of the team's spring training, but full operations did not start until the coronavirus-delayed Cubs season started on July 24; that day also saw a situation averted where the Chicago market's major cable provider, Xfinity (which is owned by Comcast, the owners of NBC Sports Chicago), agreed to terms to carry the network. | [325][326] |
| Quibi | OTT streaming | April 6 | [327] | |
| Peacock | April 15 (Xfinity subscribers); July 15 (full launch) |
Peacock is an ad-supported companion service to NBC with exclusive and original content. The service has three tiers; a free tier, a premium tier which is available to both paid subscribers or those who subscribe to an offered cable service such as Xfinity, and a near-fully ad-free option for extra cost. The company concurrently retains its 30% stake in Hulu. | [328][329] | |
| LX | Over-the-air multicast/ OTT streaming |
May 19 | Announced by NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations on September 23, 2019, LX (an abbreviation for Local X, and adapted from the name of its sister lifestyle production subsidiary LXTV) is a digital news service—building on experimental news offerings and research by NBCUniversal-owned stations— available through a streaming service and over-the-air multicast network, providing original local news content aimed at young adults 18–45 who traditionally do not watch news on conventional television. (LX originally began providing news content via a dedicated website and on various social media networks such as YouTube on the date of the launch announcement.) While the broadcast version— based out of the Dallas–Fort Worth duopoly of NBC O&O KXAS-TV and Telemundo O&O KXTX-TV, which produces three-hour daily morning and prime time newscasts for LX— ad-supported, commercial breaks on LX are fewer and of shorter length than other conventional television platforms. | [330][331] |
| HBO Max | OTT streaming | May 27 | HBO Max is a paid subscription streaming service that features original content as well as content from Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, CNN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Crunchyroll and other WarnerMedia brands and programs being transferred from HBO (consisting of children's programs from the Sesame Workshop library) and the sunsetted Audience, along with former original programming from the DC Universe service, which is being converted to a comic book archive-centric service. Due to compensation disputes, the service was unavailable on Amazon Fire TV and Roku digital media players and televisions until November 17 and December 17, respectively. HBO Max replaced HBO Go (TV Everywhere) and HBO Now (direct-to-consumer OTT), two standalone streaming services that exclusively featured HBO content (including current and library original programming, and films broadcast on HBO's linear primary and multiplex channels during their contractual durations). | [332][333] [334] |
| Fave TV | Over-the-air multicast | December 15 | Launched by CBS Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS. The network's programming is mostly taken from the program archives of ViacomCBS's non-children's networks, along with carrying repeat syndicated sitcoms also carried by networks such as MTV2, BET and Logo TV. |
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Conversions and rebrandings
More information Old network name, New network name ...
| Old network name |
New network name |
Type | Conversion date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JUCE TV | Positiv | Over-the-air multicast/ Cable and satellite |
January 26 | On January 26, the Trinity Broadcasting Network relaunched its youth-oriented multicast service JUCE TV—which had been moved to a 24-hour DT5 feed on TBN's owned-and-operated stations on January 13, after being placed in a time-share with sister children's network Smile concurrent with the June 2015 launch of TBN Salsa on that feed—as Positiv. The relaunched network—which, unusual for a service whose over-the-air broadcasts are transmitted exclusively over non-commercial stations, is partially advertiser-supported—features family and faith-based films (including many in TBN's existing library that aired on the network under its JCTV/JUCE TV format). TBN relegated the "JUCE" brand to a dedicated YouTube channel offering original short-form content aimed at Christian youth, which the ministry launched on October 23, 2019. | [335] |
| Live Well Network | Localish | Over-the-air multicast | February 17 | On January 21, ABC Owned Television Stations announced that Live Well Network—which has been carried exclusively on ABC's eight O&O stations since it retracted from national distribution in 2014—rebranded on February 17, as a television extension of the Localish digital lifestyle brand launched by ABC in September 2018. The relaunched network features long-form variants of several programs already featured on the Localish website, which focuses on short-form series focusing on local storytelling, food, leisure and health. It also serves as a de facto overflow feed for ABC's network programming on its O&Os during sports and breaking news coverage. | [336][337] |
| Showtime Beyond | SHO×BET | Premium cable and satellite | July 15 | On February 20, ViacomCBS announced that Showtime's third multiplex channel, the former channel space for Showcase—which, since its July 2001 rebranding, has focused on theatrical and first-run feature films from parent network Showtime's various film distributors as well as Showtime's library of original made-for-cable films, documentaries and comedy specials–would be relaunched as SHO×BET, an African American-oriented service co-branded with sister basic cable network BET. Upon the July 15 relaunch, however, SHO×BET replaced sister multiplex channel Showtime Beyond—which had focused mainly around paranormal and science fiction films since its September 1999 launch—instead, while Showcase remained a standalone channel. (Both networks swapped channel placements on select systems.) SHO×BET—the second premium cable co-branding effort to have involved BET, former co-owner of Starz multiplex channel BET Movies: Starz! (now Starz In Black) from its 1997 launch until Viacom opted BET Networks out of the venture in 2001—offers movies and series (including original scripted content from Showtime and BET's respective libraries) aimed at Black audiences. | [338][339] [340] |
| Justice Network | True Crime Network | Over-the-air multicast | July 27 | Announced on July 13, the Tegna-owned multicast network rebranded as True Crime Network on July 27, in preparation for the launch of a free companion OTT streaming service offering true crime series from the network's programming library and true crime podcasts distributed by co-owned subsidiary Vault Studios to launch later in the summer. Along with its existing archive programming, True Crime Network also offers original programming based on true crime and investigative content from the libraries of Tegna's television stations as well as the safety PSAs from the "BeSafe" campaign (hosted by Atlanta Police Sergeant and former actor Ralph Woolfolk) that have aired since the network first launched. | [341][342] |
| Spectrum News Austin | Spectrum News 1 (Texas) | Regional cable | October 16 | On October 6, Charter Communications announced the relaunch of regional cable news channel Spectrum News Austin—which launched in September 1999, and added a subfeed for the San Antonio market in June 2014—as Spectrum News 1, a quasi-statewide network serving all eight of the provider's systems throughout Texas, on October 16. In addition to its existing staff in Austin and San Antonio, Spectrum News 1 employs around 20 additional reporters assigned to file reports in each of the six new markets: Dallas–Fort Worth, Wichita Falls, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Waco and Harlingen–McAllen–Brownsville. | [343][344] |
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Closures
More information Network, Type ...
| Network | Type | End date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPN Goal Line & Bases Loaded | Cable and satellite | January 13 (de facto) June 30 (contractual sunsetting) |
On March 13, one day after the NCAA cancelled its Division I baseball tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN sent notice to cable & satellite providers that Goal Line & Bases Loaded would be formally discontinued on June 30, the contractual end of its latest agreement. The NFL RedZone-style channel carried live highlight coverage of college football across ESPN's networks, along with similar coverage of the NCAA softball and baseball tourneys (and until 2017, Wednesday night college basketball coverage under the "Buzzer Beater" branding). ESPN's building emphasis on its ESPN+ streaming service, along with continuous staffing reductions at ESPN and overall issues with a lack of compelling coverage on the channel, are likely to blame for the network's demise. The channel's final program was a "datacast" of the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship (as part of ESPN's Megacast coverage of the game); from March 13 until its closure, the channel space carried a looping video of the ESPN logo. | [345] |
| MHz WorldView | Over-the-air multicast | March 1 | MHz Networks announced on January 8, 2020, that MHz Worldview would cease operations as they prepare to transition to two digital streaming services, MHz Choice (paid subscription) and MHz Now (free & ad-supported). After its closure, many stations that carried MHz Worldview switched to other networks including First Nations Experience, World Channel, Deutsche Welle, and NHK World. | [346] |
| Audience | Cable/satellite (DirecTV/U-verse/AT&T TV-exclusive) | May 23 | AT&T announced on January 8 that Audience, a network exclusive to AT&T platforms, would be discontinued, eventually transitioning to a barker channel that advertises and previews programming found on HBO Max. The prime daily programs for Audience, simulcasts of sports radio programs hosted by Dan Patrick and Rich Eisen, departed the network on February 28. | [347][348] [349] |
| HBO Go | TV Everywhere video on demand streaming service | July 31 | On June 12, 2020, WarnerMedia announced that the HBO Go platform would be decommissioned on July 31, 2020. Providers that have not yet made an HBO Max deal continued to allow customer access to HBO Go (mainly Altice USA's brands, Mediacom and smaller cable providers yet to come to terms with WarnerMedia on HBO Max carriage, and closed-circuit university television systems which had not had personnel available during the COVID-19 pandemic to negotiate a new contract for HBO Max), though only through the HBO Go desktop website. | [350][351] |
| Quibi | OTT streaming | December 1 | Only having launched in April, it was reported on October 21, 2020, that Quibi would be shutting down. This was after the short-form streamer made numerous accessibility concessions having launched with a mobile only focus. Its library would be acquired by The Roku Channel in January 2021. | [352][353] |
| HBO Now | December 17 | On December 16, WarnerMedia reached an agreement with Roku to offer HBO Max beginning the following day on digital media players and TV sets supporting Roku's operating systems, effectively decommissioning HBO Now (which, like the sunsetted HBO Go and in contrast to the more expansive HBO Max, narrowly focused on content from the linear HBO television service). The shutdown of HBO Now (which was renamed “HBO” on August 1) completed WarnerMedia's phase-out of HBO Now and HBO Go, which began with the replacement of apps for both legacy services with those of HBO Max on iOS and Android platforms upon the latter's May 27 launch. | [354] | |
| El Rey Network | Cable and digital | December 31 | Hobbled by loss of carriage on AT&T's platforms and Spectrum systems, as well as Univision Communications's withdrawal as a minority partner as part of their own corporate upheaval, the English-language Latino-oriented channel announced on December 8 that it would shutter as a linear cable/satellite channel. However, the network relaunched as a streaming service in August 2021. | [355][356] |
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Television stations
Subchannel launches
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2020) |
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Stations changing network affiliation
Major affiliation changes
- This section outlines affiliation changes involving English and Spanish language networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, The CW, Univision, etc.), and format conversions involving independent stations. Digital subchannels will only be mentioned if the prior or new affiliation involves a major English and Spanish broadcast network or a locally programmed independent entertainment format.
More information Date, Market ...
| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Prior affiliation | New affiliation | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | WORA | 5.1 | Telemundo | ABC | On June 27, 2019, WORA-TV announced that it would end an affiliation agreement with WKAQ-TV by December 31, leaving Telemundo without a western affiliate after more than four years. Later, Hemisphere Media Group, the owners of WAPA-TV, announced that Telemundo would air on a subchannel of WNJX-TV by January 1, 2020. On December 18, WORA-TV announced that it would move ABC programming to channel 5.1 on January 1, with the Televisión Española news channel 24H airing on 5.2 from that date on. | [387] |
| January 28 | Harlingen/McAllen/ Brownsville, Texas |
KGBT-TV | 4.1 | CBS | Temporarily silent | With Nexstar Media Group acquiring the non-license assets of KGBT from Sinclair Broadcast Group through the settlement of Tribune Media's 2018 lawsuit against Sinclair, Nexstar—which assumed the rights to KGBT's programming and news operation—decides to move KGBT's CBS schedule to a subchannel on the KVEO spectrum; the move results in KGBT ending its affiliation with CBS after 66 years and its main channel going temporarily silent until replacement programming is added. KVEO's former subchannel affiliations with Estrella TV, Court TV Mystery and Grit also move to the KGBT spectrum (on three new subchannels) to accommodate additional bandwidth needed for KVEO to transmit the former KGBT CBS programming feed on its DT2 subchannel. | [388][389] |
| 4.4 | New subchannel | Estrella TV | |||||
| 4.5 | New subchannel | Grit | |||||
| 4.6 | New subchannel | Court TV Mystery | |||||
| KVEO-TV | 23.2 | Estrella TV | CBS | ||||
| July 31 | Anchorage, Alaska | KYES-TV | 5.1 | MyNetworkTV | CBS | Earlier in 2020, GCI/Denali Media Holdings, the majority cable provider for the state of Alaska, announced that it would sell its broadcast holdings to focus on other areas, in particular providing data, mobile, video, voice and managed services. On July 31, Denali announced the sale of KTVA's non-license assets, including its news operation and CBS affiliation, to Gray Television, owners of NBC affiliate KTUU-TV and what had been MyNetworkTV affiliate KYES-TV. Denali retains ownership of the KTVA license since Gray cannot legally own and/or operate the station (it already owns two full-power stations in Anchorage). The KTVA assets were transferred to KYES-TV the same day, while KTVA temporarily simulcasted KYES-TV for the benefit of viewers until it wound down its news operation on August 28, with KTUU taking some of KTVA's former staff for a combined "Alaska's News Source" operation between KTUU and KYES. KYES's former primary schedule and MyNetworkTV schedule was shifted to a newly created fourth subchannel. KTVA went dark on September 3, 2020, as GCI looks for a sale partner. | [390] |
| 5.4 | New subchannel | MyNetworkTV | |||||
| KTVA | 11.1 | CBS | Dark | ||||
| November 2 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | KDLT-TV | 46.2 | Antenna TV | Fox | Earlier in September, Independent Communications, owner of KTTW and its Huron satellite station KTTM announced it sell the non-license assets of the station along with the studio space, its translators, the Fox affiliation and the Cozi TV subchannel to Gray Television, parent of NBC affiliated station KDLT-TV and its Mitchell satellite station KDLV and ABC affiliated station KSFY-TV; ending its 33 years affiliation with the network on November 2. After the sale, a local company plans to buy the stations and they carry This TV on the second subchannel for the interim while the main channel went temporary dark (Later on February 11, 2021, Radiant Life Ministries, parent company of the Christian broadcaster TCT Network brought the stations for $1 million, pending FCC sale). To accompany the Fox and Cozi TV programming, KDLT had moved the Antenna TV subchannel to 46.3 and KDLV meanwhile moves the KSFY signal to 5.3, displacing The CW Plus and MeTV affiliations. | [391] |
| 46.3 | New subchannel | Antenna TV | |||||
| 46.4 | New subchannel | Cozi TV | |||||
| KTTW | 7.1 | Fox | Dark | ||||
| 7.2 | Cozi TV | This TV (moved from 7.3) | |||||
| Mitchell, South Dakota | KDLV (satellite of KDLT-TV) | 5.2 | The CW Plus | Fox | |||
| 5.3 | MeTV | ABC (simulcast of KSFY-TV) | |||||
| Huron, South Dakota | KTTM (satellite of KTTW) | 12.1 | Fox | Dark | |||
| 12.2 | Cozi TV | This TV (moved from 7.3) | |||||
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Subchannel affiliation
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Station closures
More information Station, Channel ...
| Station | Channel | Affiliation | Market | Date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KYMA-DT | 11.# | NBC | Yuma, Arizona | January 13 | On January 13, 2020, the KYMA-DT program streams and intellectual unit were moved to the channel 13 facility, which changed call letters from KSWT to KYMA-DT. The former KYMA-DT's license was surrendered eight days later as a condition of the acquisition of Northwest Broadcasting by Apollo Global Management in 2019. The virtual channel numbering of the former KYMA streams remains the same. | [394][395] |
| WNYS-TV | 43.# | MyNetworkTV | Syracuse, New York | The same license surrender situation occurs in Syracuse, with WNYS's license turned in, and its intellectual unit becoming the third subchannel of sister Fox affiliate WSYT. It also retains its existing virtual channels. | ||
| WLFM-LP | 6 (audio on 87.7 FM) | radio programming | Cleveland | June 30 | One of the remaining analog channel 6 television stations used to broadcast FM audio at 87.7 FM (so-called "Franken FM" stations) in existence, owner Murray Hill Broadcasting announced that it is ending their LMA with TSJ Media, which moves the station's Spanish CHR audio format to a digital-only presence; the station ended its analog operations and presence on FM radio at the same time. WLFM moved to digital channel 20 in the UHF band in the ongoing TV repack and flash-cut to digital; under the new call sign WLFM-LD, the license is broadcasting Jewelry Television on virtual channel 6.1. The remaining analog channel 6 stations meet the same fate over the course of the year. | [396] |
| W47CK | 47 | MyNetworkTV | Wilmington, North Carolina | December 11 | The station's license was canceled on this date. |
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Deaths
Main article: 2020 deaths in American television
Notes
References
External links
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