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In American television in 1999, notable events included television series debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel initiations, closures and re-brandings, as well as information about controversies and disputes.
| Date
|
Event
|
| 4
|
On an episode of WWF Raw is War which had been taped six days earlier on December 29th, Mick Foley wrestling as Mankind defeats The Rock to win the WWF Championship. Meanwhile, on WCW Monday Nitro, Hulk Hogan defeats Kevin Nash for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in the infamous Fingerpoke of Doom. Tony Schiavone on orders from Eric Bischoff gave away the results of Foley's championship victory. As a result, 600,000 viewers switch from Nitro to Raw. These incidents would mark the beginning of WCW's downfall until its closure in 2001.
|
| 6
|
Bob Newhart receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
|
| 11
|
Jon Stewart debuts as host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, replacing Craig Kilborn, who moves to CBS to succeed Tom Snyder as host of The Late Late Show.
|
| 23
|
Gene Siskel hosts his final episode of Siskel & Ebert with Roger Ebert. On February 3, 1999, Siskel announced that he would take a leave of absence for the rest of the season but promised to be back the next fall. On February 20, 1999, Siskel died suddenly from complications from a second brain surgery. On that final episode, Siskel and Ebert reviewed At First Sight, Another Day in Paradise, The Hi-Lo Country, Playing by Heart, and The Theory of Flight
|
| Paula Zahn leaves CBS News after 10 years.
|
| 31
|
The Denver Broncos win their second consecutive Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons with a score of 34–19. The game is broadcast on Fox with the broadcast team of Pat Summerall and John Madden on the call.
|
| Family Guy premieres on Fox immediately following the Super Bowl.
|
| Date
|
Event
|
| 1
|
Immediately following the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards, Nickelodeon airs the pilot episode of its newest series SpongeBob SquarePants. Tara Lipinski, Bill Bellamy and Robert Ri'chard appeared in interstitials during the sneak peek where they mentioned the series officially premiering in July. SpongeBob would go on to become the longest running Nickelodeon series in its history.
|
| 21
|
Susan Lucci receives a Daytime Emmy Award for her role as Erica Kane on the ABC soap opera All My Children, after eighteen failed nominations during previous years. The ceremony is telecast live on CBS.
|
| 23
|
World Wrestling Federation wrestler Owen Hart is killed after falling 70 ft (21 m) from the rafters at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, during a live pay-per-view broadcast of Over the Edge.
|
| 24
|
During an in-ring promo on WCW Monday Nitro, WCW wrestler Bret Hart pays tribute to his brother Owen, who was killed in an in-ring accident the night before at Over the Edge.
|
| 25
|
The series finale of Home Improvement is broadcast on ABC. Patricia Richardson (Jill Taylor) is offered $25 million to do a ninth season; Tim Allen (Tim Taylor) is offered $50 million. The two decline the offer and the series comes to an end as a result.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Randy Taylor) does not return to the show for the series finale (as he is busy with his education and filming the movie Speedway Junky, released in 2001), only appearing in archived footage. The series finale becomes the fifth highest-rated series finale television program of the 1990s and the ninth overall series finale ever presented on a single network in television history, watched by 35.5 percent of the households sampled in America, and 21.6 percent of television viewers.
|
SeptemberEdit
| Date
|
Event
|
| 6
|
UPN replaces its UPN Kids block with a new E/I-compliant block airing weekdays and Sunday mornings named Disney's One Too, a spinoff of ABC's Disney's One Saturday Morning.
|
| In Schenectady, New York, PBS member station WMHQ is relaunched as WEWB-TV, a commercial broadcast station affiliated with The WB (the Capital District's first affiliate of that network).
|
| PBS launches a 24-hour PBS Kids television network and new branding for its children's programming.
|
| 7
|
Viacom announced that the company would acquire CBS and its company, CBS Corporation (after CBS spun off Viacom in 1971 after the FCC forbids broadcast networks to own syndication units or more TV stations) which would cause the two companies to merge into one mega media empire. Which the merger would bring CBS and Paramount close.
|
| 12
|
The 51st Primetime Emmy Awards presentation is aired on Fox.
|
| 20
|
After four years, WGN's superstation feed drops programming from The WB and Kids' WB at the request of the network. The network's programs are replaced by movie, sports from Chicago's sporting teams and other broadcasts.
|
| 24
|
The WB begins airing programming on Friday nights.
|
| 26
|
NBC airs a three-hour prime-time special in celebration of Saturday Night Live's 25th anniversary.
|
| 27
|
The Rock garners the highest cable rating in WWF history with Mankind in a segment entitled "This is your life" on Raw Is War, which draws a record 8.4 rating.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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| Date
|
Event
|
| 4
|
ABC affiliate WPTY, and sister station WLMT, both in the Memphis area, begin allowing The WB programming, most notably on WPTY for late nights, and some kids shows, like Pokémon, airing on WLMT.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
|
| 7
|
Donald Trump announces his 2000 presidential campaign on an episode of Larry King Live.
|
| 10
|
The professional wrestling pay-per-view event, Heroes of Wrestling is broadcast from the Casino Magic hotel and casino in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Although the event was heavily promoted, it was only purchased by 29,000 households. Additionally, the event itself was generally regarded to be of poor quality: Wrestling Observer rated it the worst major wrestling event of 1999,<ref name=ppvdisappoints>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> with its editor Dave Meltzer giving a rating of "absolute zero" to a tag team match featuring Luke Williams and Butch Miller facing Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik. Meltzer's colleague, Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Weekly, has repeatedly referred to this match as the worst he has ever seen and rated it "minus more stars than there are in the universe"<ref>Heroes of Wrestling: Sucked Long Before Jake Used a Snake as a PenisTemplate:Dead link</ref>
|
| 27
|
The fourth and deciding game of the World Series airs on NBC. This is to date, NBC's 39th and final World Series. The New York Yankees defeat once again the Atlanta Braves, winning their second title in a row and 25th in franchise history.
|
| Date
|
Event
|
| 1
|
Richard Pryor appears in the cold open of the ABC sitcom Norm in what would prove to be his final television appearance. He would die in 2005, 6 years later.
|
| 15
|
NASCAR strikes a deal with Fox Sports, FX, NBC, and TBS (later moved to TNT) worth $2.4 billion for a new six-year package,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}} Quote: While many fans were upset that ESPN and CBS lost the rights, insiders say that their bids were close to $100 million annually under the winning bids from Fox and NBC.</ref> covering the Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup) Series and Busch (now Xfinity) Series schedules. NASCAR wanted to capitalize on its increased popularity even more, so the organization decided that future deals would be centralized; that is, the networks would negotiate directly with NASCAR for a regular schedule of telecasts. The old deal arrangement saw each track negotiate with the networks to broadcast their races. As a result, NASCAR had races on CBS, TNN, ESPN, ABC, NBC, and TBS. However, NBC, which had just entered the sport, showed only one race in 2000. NASCAR wanted to increase the number of races by each partner, and have as many races on broadcast networks as possible, to prevent fans from missing races.
|
| 31
|
ABC participates in the global broadcast 2000 Today with ABC 2000 Today. Peter Jennings anchors ABC's broadcast of the special from New York City, joined later by Dick Clark who hosts the countdown in Times Square.
|
Ending this yearEdit
Entering syndication this yearEdit
Resuming this yearEdit
Changes of network affiliationEdit
Made-for-TV movies and miniseriesEdit
Networks and servicesEdit
Network launchesEdit
| Network
|
Type
|
Launch date
|
Notes
|
Source
|
| Noggin
|
Cable and satellite
|
February 2
|
A joint venture between Nickelodeon and the Children's Television Workshop, airing educational programming for pre-schoolers and school-aged children from both parties. Dish Network and Americast carried the network at launch.
|
|
| Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids
|
Cable and satellite
|
March 1
|
A channel broadcasting games shows and sports-related programs from Nickelodeon.
|
|
Starz Cinema
Starz Family
|
Cable and satellite
|
May 1
|
|
|
HBO Comedy
HBO Zone
|
Cable and satellite
|
May 6
|
First announced in April 1998, HBO Comedy airs comedic films plus HBO comedy series and stand-up specials, while HBO Zone airs programs aimed at young adults.
|
|
| TV Globo Internacional
|
Cable and satellite
|
August 24
|
|
|
| PBS Kids
|
Cable and satellite/over-the-air multicast
|
September 6
|
A 24-hour channel showing PBS' children's programs (notably excluding Sesame Street, whose pay TV rights were held by Noggin).
|
|
| DIY Network
|
Cable and satellite
|
September 30
|
An interactive spin-off of HGTV carrying instructional programs related to "do it yourself" activities.
|
|
| Boyz Channel
|
Cable television
|
October 31
|
A spin-off of the Fox Family Channel airing programmes aimed towards a young male audience.
|
|
| Girlz Channel
|
Cable television
|
October 31
|
A spin-off of the Fox Family Channel airing programmes aimed towards a young female audience.
|
|
Conversions and rebrandingsEdit
| Old network name
|
New network name
|
Type
|
Conversion Date
|
Notes
|
Source
|
| Starz! 2
|
Starz! Theater
|
Cable television
|
July
|
|
|
Television stationsEdit
Station launchesEdit
| Date
|
City of License/Market
|
Station
|
Channel
|
Affiliation
|
Notes/Ref.
|
| January 1
|
Seattle, Washington
|
KHCV
|
45
|
Independent
|
|
| January 5
|
Tucson, Arizona
|
KWBA
|
58
|
The WB
|
|
| January 19
|
Twin Falls, Idaho
|
K26EW
|
26
|
TBN
|
|
| February 12
|
Las Vegas, Nevada
|
KCNG-LP
|
25
|
UPN (primary)
America's Voice (secondary)
|
|
| February 15
|
Phoenix, Arizona
|
KPPX-TV
|
51
|
Pax TV
|
|
| February 19
|
San Antonio, Texas
|
KPXL-TV
|
26
|
Pax TV
|
|
| March 5
|
Santa Fe/Albuquerque, New Mexico
|
KWBQ
|
19
|
The WB
|
|
| March 12
|
New York City
|
W36AD
|
36
|
Independent
|
|
| April
|
Albuquerque, New Mexico
|
KAPX
|
41
|
Pax TV
|
|
| May 3
|
Lexington, Kentucky
|
W62CL
|
62
|
UPN
|
Originally an LPTV translator of WAOM/Morehead, Kentucky
|
| May 5
|
Worcester, Massachusetts
|
WYDN
|
48
|
Prime Time Christian Broadcasting
|
Now a Daystar affiliate licensed in Lowell, Massachusetts
|
| June 7
|
Camden/Little Rock, Arkansas
|
KKYK-TV
|
49
|
The WB
|
|
| Williamson, West Virginia
|
W45AZ
|
45
|
TBN
|
|
| June 17
|
Batavia/Buffalo, New York
|
WPXJ-TV
|
51
|
Pax TV
|
|
| June 20
|
Bemidji/Brainerd, Minnesota
|
KFTC
|
26
|
Fox
|
Satellite of WFTC/Minneapolis
|
| July 6
|
Filer/Twin Falls, Idaho
|
KBGH
|
19
|
Educational independent
|
|
| July 9
|
Honolulu, Hawaii
|
KAIE
|
38
|
Religious independent
|
|
| August
|
Lincoln, Nebraska
|
K18CD
|
18
|
Fox
|
Translator of KSNB/Superior
|
| August 1
|
Rio Grande City, Texas
Template:Small
|
KTLM
|
40
|
Telemundo
|
|
| Spokane, Washington
|
KGPX-TV
|
34
|
Pax TV
|
|
| August 4
|
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
|
W19AW
|
19
|
UPN
|
|
| August 5
|
Wichita, Kansas
|
KWCV
|
33
|
The WB
|
|
| August 8
|
Seattle, Washington
|
KBEH
|
51
|
ValueVision
|
|
| August 21
|
St. George, Utah
|
KUSG
|
12
|
CBS
|
Satellite of KUTV/Salt Lake City, Utah
|
| August 27
|
Waterville/Portland, Maine
|
WMPX-TV
|
23
|
Pax TV
|
|
| August 30
|
Iowa/Cedar Rapids, Iowa
|
KWKB
|
20
|
The WB
|
|
| September 12
|
Muskogee/Tulsa, Oklahoma
|
KWBT
|
19
|
The WB
|
|
| September 17
|
Tuskegee/Montgomery, Alabama
|
WBMM
|
22
|
Pax TV
|
|
| November 1
|
Tecate/Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Template:Small
|
KHUPN-TV
|
49
|
UPN
|
|
| November 5
|
Colorado Springs, Colorado
|
KXTU-LD
|
57
|
UPN
|
|
| November 7
|
Bismarck, North Dakota
|
KNDX
|
26
|
Fox
|
|
| November 10
|
Paducah, Kentucky
|
W52DC
|
49
|
UPN
|
|
| November 15
|
Minot, North Dakota
|
KXND
|
24
|
Fox
|
|
| December 1
|
Wausau, Wisconsin
|
WFXS-DT
|
55
|
Fox
|
|
| December 22
|
Flint, Michigan
|
WXON-LP
|
54
|
Independent
|
|
| Unknown date
|
Boca Raton, Florida
|
WPPB-TV
|
63
|
Educational independent
|
|
| Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
|
WVXF
|
17
|
Fox
|
|
| Honolulu, Hawaii
|
KWBN
|
44
|
Daystar
|
|
| Laredo, Texas
|
K55HW
|
55
|
Mas Musica
|
|
| McAllen/Brownsville, Texas
|
KZMC-LP
|
35
|
America's Store
|
Translator of KNWS-LP/Brownsville
|
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin
|
W41CV
|
41
|
WebFN
|
|
| Victoria, Texas
|
K27EG
|
27
|
NBC
|
|
Network affiliation changesEdit
Station closuresEdit
| Date |
Name |
Notability
|
| January 1
|
Diamond White
|
Actress (The Haunted Hathaways, The Lion Guard, Pinky Malinky) and singer
|
| January 4
|
Gage Munroe
|
Canadian voice actor (Stoked, PAW Patrol, Hotel Transylvania: The Series)
|
| January 18
|
Karan Brar
|
Actor (Jessie, Bunk'd)
|
| Mateus Ward
|
Actor (Lab Rats, Hostages, Murder in the First)
|
| January 22
|
Ricky Garcia
|
Actor (Best Friends Whenever)
|
| January 30
|
Mavrick Moreno
|
Actor (Every Witch Way)
|
| February 10
|
Tiffany Espensen
|
Actress (Phineas and Ferb, Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures, Kirby Buckets)
|
| March 2
|
Caleb Lee Hutchinson
|
Singer (American Idol)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| March 5
|
Madison Beer
|
American singer
|
| March 20
|
Olivia Stuck
|
Actress (Kirby Buckets)
|
| March 21
|
Lexi DiBenedetto
|
Actress (Knight Squad, The Really Loud House)
|
| March 22
|
Gavin MacIntosh
|
Actor (The Fosters)
|
| March 27
|
Natasha Calis
|
Actress
|
| April 2
|
Sophie Reynolds
|
Actress (Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything, Youth & Consequences)
|
| April 6
|
Kwesi Boakye
|
Actor (Men of a Certain Age, The Looney Tunes Show, The Amazing World of Gumball)
|
| April 7
|
Conner Rayburn
|
Actor (According to Jim)
|
| April 9
|
Isaac Hempstead-Wright
|
English actor (Game of Thrones)
|
| May 5
|
Jonny Gray
|
Canadian actor (Max & Shred)
|
| May 11
|
Madison Lintz
|
Actress (The Walking Dead, Bosch)
|
| Sabrina Carpenter
|
Actress (Sofia the First, Girl Meets World, Milo Murphy's Law) and singer
|
| May 22
|
Camren Bicondova
|
Actress (Gotham)
|
| May 25
|
Brec Bassinger
|
Actress (The Haunted Hathaways, Bella and the Bulldogs, School of Rock, All Night, The Loud House, Stargirl)
|
| May 26
|
Kerry Ingram
|
English actress (Game of Thrones)
|
| May 28
|
Cameron Boyce
|
Actor (Jessie, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything, Descendants, Descendants: Wicked World) (d. 2019)
|
| May 30
|
Sean Giambrone
|
Actor (The Goldbergs, Clarence)
|
| June 5
|
Denisea Wilson
|
Actress (Every Witch Way)
|
| June 11
|
Katelyn Nacon
|
Actress (The Walking Dead, T@gged)
|
| Saxon Sharbino
|
Actress (Touch, Love)
|
| June 18
|
Willie Spence
|
Singer (American Idol) (d. 2022)
|
| June 20
|
Kayla Maisonet
|
Actress (Dog with a Blog, The Haunted Hathaways, Stuck in the Middle, Speechless)
|
| June 21
|
Natalie Alyn Lind
|
Actress (The Goldbergs, Gotham, The Gifted)
|
| June 26
|
Harley Quinn Smith
|
Actress
|
| June 27
|
Chandler Riggs
|
Actor (The Walking Dead)
|
| July 5
|
Gus Kamp
|
Actor (Best Friends Whenever)
|
| July 9
|
Claire Corlett
|
Canadian voice actress (Sweetie Belle on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)
|
| August 4
|
Kelly Gould
|
Actress (Rita Rocks, Jessie)
|
| August 13
|
Corey Fogelmanis
|
Actor (Girl Meets World)
|
| Eli Brown
|
Actor (Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, Gossip Girl)
|
| August 14
|
Alison Thornton
|
Actress
|
| August 21
|
Maxim Knight
|
Actor (Falling Skies)
|
| August 22
|
Ricardo Hurtado
|
Actor (School of Rock)
|
| September 7
|
Michelle Creber
|
Voice actress (Martha Speaks, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)
|
| Cameron Ocasio
|
Actor (Sam & Cat)
|
| September 9
|
Ronni Hawk
|
Actress (Stuck in the Middle, On My Block)
|
| September 13
|
Zoey Burger
|
Actress (Every Witch Way)
|
| September 14
|
Emma Kenney
|
Actress (Shameless)
|
| October 2
|
Nathaniel Potvin
|
Actor (Mech-X4)
|
| October 6
|
Will Shadley
|
Voice actor (Gorgonzola on Chowder)
|
| October 13
|
Nell Tiger Free
|
English actress (Game of Thrones)
|
| October 15
|
Bailee Madison
|
Actress (Wizards of Waverly Place, Once Upon a Time, Trophy Wife, The Fosters, Good Witch, Pretty Little Liars)
|
| October 16
|
Jadiel Dowlin
|
Actor (Star Falls)
|
| Joshua Hoffman
|
Actor (Talia in the Kitchen)
|
| November 1
|
Buddy Handleson
|
Actor (Shake It Up, Wendell and Vinnie, Bella and the Bulldogs)
|
| November 5
|
Zachary S. Williams
|
Actor (I Am Frankie)
|
| November 10
|
Kiernan Shipka
|
Actress (Mad Men, The Legend of Korra, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)
|
| Michael Cimino
|
Actor (Love, Victor)
|
| November 28
|
Lee Rodriguez
|
Actress (Never Have I Ever)
|
| November 29
|
Tim Johnson Jr.
|
Actor (Saturdays)
|
ReferencesEdit
Template:Reflist
External linksEdit
Template:Years in TV by country
Template:Years in television