| Date | Event |
| January 1 |
ABC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri, owned by the University of Missouri, swaps affiliations with NBC affiliate KCBJ-TV, reversing a swap that took place in 1982. KCBJ-TV subsequently changes its call letters to KMIZ to reflect the change. |
| January 6 |
A Vicks Formula 44 cough medicine advertisement premieres, featuring Peter Bergman from All My Children, in which he told the viewing audience "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV". This phrase, first used during the early 1970s by actor Robert Young of the series Marcus Welby, M.D. fame, was subsequently parodied by many popular culture references. |
| A revival of Card Sharks premieres on CBS. In order to make room for the show (which aired at 10:30 AM), CBS moves Press Your Luck to the 4:00 PM timeslot. |
| January 25 |
HBO begins scrambling its signal. |
| January 28 |
NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger spacecraft disintegrates. CNN is the only news service to broadcast the disaster nationally. |
| February 9 |
Helen Martin joins the cast of the NBC comedy 227, after appearing on every episode in the 1985–86 season. Martin replaces Kia Goodwin (who was dismissed from the cast after the first season), who portrayed Rose's (Alaina Reed) daughter, Tiffany, before written off the show initially during 1988. |
| February 11 |
Culture Club's main singer Boy George appears on an episode of the NBC drama The A-Team. |
| February 14 |
Frank Zappa appears on an episode of the popular NBC drama Miami Vice. Zappa plays a crime boss named "Mr. Frankie" in the episode "Florence Italy". |
| February 22 |
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the first episode of the television series The Monkees, MTV broadcasts "Pleasant Valley Sunday", a 22-hour marathon of Monkees episodes. |
| March 9 |
On the NBC soap opera Search for Tomorrow, the entire town of Henderson is washed away in a flood. Main character Joanne Tourneur's motel is the only structure in town left standing. |
| March 20 |
After four seasons, NBC cancels Remington Steele. This announcement results in Pierce Brosnan being named the newest portrayer of James Bond. As a result of the media frenzy concerning Brosnan's appointment, as well as the corresponding increase of Steele's ratings, NBC reverses its decision and announces Steele will return midway through the 1986–87 season. This results in Bond movie producers withdrawing their offer to Brosnan, though he would take on the role of Bond in 1995. |
| April 3 |
Merv Griffin sells his company, Merv Griffin Enterprises, to The Coca-Cola Company for $250,000,000. |
| ABC affiliate KDEB-TV in Springfield, Missouri disaffiliates from the network and becomes an independent station as a result of an agreement between ABC and Telepictures, owners of independent station KSPR. KDEB-TV will eventually become a charter affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company a few months later. |
| April 21 |
Geraldo Rivera hosts a live two-hour syndicated special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault, famously coming up empty-handed. |
| April 27 |
A man calling himself Captain Midnight jams HBO's signal to protest its monthly fee of $12.95. |
| May 10 |
Tommy Lee of rock group Mötley Crüe marries actress Heather Locklear. |
| May 12 |
NBC unveils its new Peacock logo during its 60th anniversary special. |
| May 16 |
Bobby Ewing is revealed to be alive and showering in his ex-wife Pam's bathroom in the season finale of the CBS drama Dallas; in the September 26 season premiere, it was shown that the entire 1985–86 season was a dream of hers the night after they agreed to remarry. |
| May 22 |
Cher calls David Letterman an "asshole" during a taping of NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. |
| June 1 |
CBS affiliate WCHS-TV in Charleston, West Virginia swaps affiliations with ABC affiliate WOWK-TV, reversing a swap that took place in 1962. |
| June 29 |
CBS affiliate WOWT and NBC affiliate KMTV-TV, both in Omaha, Nebraska, agree to swap affiliations, thus reversing a swap that took place in 1956. |
| July 18 |
A tornado is broadcast live by NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis when the station's helicopter pilot makes a chance encounter. |
| August 15 |
Rod Roddy becomes the permanent announcer of the long-running CBS daytime game series The Price Is Right, replacing the deceased Johnny Olsen. |
| September 1 |
For one week, CBS Evening News anchorman Dan Rather attempts to initiate the use of the word "Courage" as a slogan. The attempt is a failure, and is noticed by other members of the press. |
| Disney Channel, at the time a premium cable network, begins broadcasting a 24-hour-a-day schedule. |
| September 8 |
Oprah Winfrey's Chicago-based talk show goes national. |
| September 17 |
ABC becomes the second American network to discontinue use of chime intonations at the beginning of telecasts, switching to satellite feed activation. |
| September 27 |
On the NBC comedy The Facts of Life, Charlotte Rae quits the role of Mrs. Garrett (who marries her old friend Bruce Gaines, played by Robert Mandan), and is replaced by Cloris Leachman, who played Beverly Ann Stickle, Mrs. Garrett's sister. |
| September 28 |
CBS returns the 4:00 PM timeslot to its affiliates following the cancellation of Press Your Luck a month earlier. |
| October 9 |
The Fox Broadcasting Company (then abbreviated as FBC; now Fox) launches as the United States' fourth commercial broadcast television network, the first such attempt since 1967. |
| October 12 |
Fox signs its first affiliate outside of its charter group, when WTUV in Utica, New York signs-on. |
| November 8 |
Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman and Kevin Nealon join NBC's Saturday Night Live. |
| November 30 |
The Disney Channel signs off for the last time. From 7 a.m. on December 1, 1986, the channel broadcasts 24 hours a day. |