2004 in American television

The following is a list of events affecting American television during 2004. Events listed include television series debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel initiations.

Events

February

Date Event
1 The Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy occurs. As a result, the Federal Communications Commission strengthened its rules concerning certain types of indecency.
9 Jetix was introduced on Toon Disney and ABC Family, making it the first trade-name to be introduced as an anime-based block.
22 Sex and the City broadcasts its final episode, "An American Girl in Paris, Part Deux."

March

Date Event
1 The Price Is Right broadcasts its 6,000th episode.
15 Game Show Network began fraying out the rebranding known as GSN.

April

Date Event
16 Rich Fields becomes the third permanent announcer on The Price Is Right.
Cartoon Network's Toonami ends its weekday run after 8 years. By the following day, it was then transferred from 5 pm Weekdays to 7 pm (prime time) Saturdays, and extended by four hours (from two to six).

May

Date Event
6 Friends ends its run of 10 years, broadcasting the final episode, The Last One. A spinoff, Joey, debuts the following season.
11 NBC Universal is founded by General Electric and Vivendi Universal.
13 Frasier broadcasts its final episode, "Goodnight Seattle".
15 Jimmy Fallon makes his last appearance as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, for its season finale.
26 Fantasia Barrino wins the third season of American Idol. Also, this was the first time when the series became a #1 hit in the television ratings of this season.
28 TechTV merges with G4 to form G4techTV, one of the most controversial mergers of television history as less than a year later, the merged network becomes G4 once again.

June

Date Event
2 Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City, Utah, begins a long run as Jeopardy! champion.
10 TBS reintroduces its Very Funny campaign, which it continues to use to this day.
14 Cartoon Network reveals its new logo.

August

Date Event
28 PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch ended.
Programming block SNICK discontinued on Nickelodeon.

September

Date Event
19 The 56th Primetime Emmy Awards are given.
21 Drew Daniel is the winner of the American version of Big Brother 5. Runner-Up Michael "Cowboy" Ellis wins $50,000.
28 Longtime veteran Marcy Walker makes her final appearance for the series All My Children after two decades of being affiliated with the program.

October

Date Event
2 Amy Poehler succeeds Jimmy Fallon as Tina Fey's co-anchor of NBC's Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update skit, making the first Weekend Update female duos.
Nickelodeon and its affiliated channels begin debuting special educational programming, Worldwide Day of Play, after the Let's Just Play campaign.
11 PBS Kids debuts a pre-teen programming block entitled, PBS Kids Go!. With new shows Maya & Miguel and a Arthur spinoff, Postcards from Buster debuts on this day with Cyberchase.

November

Date Event
1 The Young and the Restless broadcasts its 8,000th episode.
7 Dallas airs a third TV movie, Dallas Reunion: The Return to Southfork.
23 Longtime CBS News anchor and manager editor Dan Rather announces he will step down in March.
30 After seventy-four consecutive wins, Ken Jennings finally loses on Jeopardy!, to competitor Nancy Zerg. Jennings' final cash winnings total is $2,522,700 making him the richest winner of American television history.

December

Date Event
2 Tom Brokaw resigns as anchorman of NBC Nightly News and is replaced by Brian Williams.
15 CNN's financial news channel, CNNfn, is ended.
16 All My Children broadcasts its 9,000th episode.
29 Rogers Media buys remaining 20% ownership of Rogers Sportsnet from Fox.
General Electric, owner of NBC, purchases Universal Studios from Vivendi, leaving all six U.S. broadcast networks part of a company which also owns a movie studio.
For the first time in its history, Nielsen Media Research, the official American television ratings service, began counting original shows on pay Television premium channels in its prime-time ratings.[1] At the time, most of these were broadcast by competitors HBO and Showtime, but Starz has since begun producing original shows.

Programs

Debuts

The following is a list of shows that premiered in 2004.

Date Debut Network
January 7 The Apprentice NBC
January 11 Drake & Josh Nickelodeon
January 17 Astro Boy Kids' WB
January 18 The L Word Showtime
January 19 Boohbah PBS Kids
The Koala Brothers Playhouse Disney
January 23 Dave the Barbarian Disney Channel
February 9 Jetix Toon Disney
February 14 Power Rangers Dino Thunder ABC Family
February 15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ABC
March 4 Pimp My Ride MTV
March 5 The Help The WB
March 10 Game Over UPN
March 21 Deadwood HBO
April 3 Danny Phantom Nickelodeon
May 1 Megas XLR Cartoon Network
June 1 Summerland The WB
June 4 TNA iMPACT! Fox Sports Net
June 16 Quintuplets Fox
June 18 Phil of the Future Disney Channel
June 19 Winx Club Fox Box
July 16 Stargate Atlantis Syfy
July 18 Entourage HBO
July 21 Rescue Me FX Network
July 29 Blue Collar TV The WB
July 31 Justice League Unlimited Cartoon Network
August 1 Stroker and Hoop Adult Swim
August 2 Blue's Room Nick Jr.
August 13 Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Cartoon Network
August 16 LazyTown Nick Jr.
August 21 Brandy and Mr. Whiskers Disney Channel
August 31 Father of the Pride NBC
September 1 Hawaii
September 7 Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends Nick Jr.
September 9 Joey NBC
Medical Investigation
September 11 The Batman Kids' WB
Da Boom Crew
September 12 Jack & Bobby The WB
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide Nickelodeon
Unfabulous
September 13 The Benefactor ABC
Higglytown Heroes Playhouse Disney
LAX NBC
September 18 F-Zero: GP Legend Fox Box
One Piece
Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! Jetix
September 20 Listen Up! CBS
Second Time Around UPN
September 21 Rodney ABC
September 22 CSI: NY CBS
The Mountain The WB
Veronica Mars UPN
Lost ABC
September 24 Complete Savages
Dr. Vegas CBS
September 29 Kevin Hill UPN
October 2 Darcy's Wild Life Discovery Family
October 3 Boston Legal ABC
Desperate Housewives
October 5 Wanda Does It Comedy Central
October 6 Ghost Hunters Syfy
Proof Positive
October 7 Drew Carey's Green Screen Show The WB
Life As We Know It ABC
October 11 The Backyardigans Nick Jr.
Maya & Miguel PBS Kids Go!
Postcards From Buster
October 18 Battlestar Galactica Syfy
October 19 The Biggest Loser NBC
He's a Lady TBS
October 27 Center of the Universe CBS
Drawn Together Comedy Central
November 3 Nanny 911 Fox
November 5 Cartoon Alley TCM
November 6 Fullmetal Alchemist Adult Swim
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
November 7 Perfect Hair Forever
Huff Showtime
My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss Fox
November 8 ToddWorld Discovery Family
November 14 Tom Goes to the Mayor Adult Swim
November 16 House Fox
November 19 Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi Cartoon Network
December 1 Project Runway Bravo

Ending this year

Date Show Debut
January 25 10-8: Officers on Duty 2003
January 28 Becker 1998
January 29 Threat Matrix 2003
January 30 Boston Public 2000
Fillmore! 2002
The Handler 2003
February 3 Sabrina's Secret Life
February 6 Ed 2000
February 7 Scout's Safari 2002
February 12 All About the Andersons 2003
February 14 Lizzie McGuire 2001
February 16 Little Bill 1999
February 22 Sex and the City 1998
February 24 Rolie Polie Olie
February 27 Lloyd in Space 2001
February 29 The Weekenders 2000
March 7 Teamo Supremo 2002
March 13 Hack
March 23 The Jersey 1999
March 25 The Chris Isaak Show 2001
April 2 Game Over 2004
April 4 Home Movies 1999
April 6 It's All Relative 2003
April 9 Life with Bonnie 2002
April 12 Space Ghost Coast to Coast 1994
April 14 Karen Sisco 2003
April 16 The Help 2004
April 20 Happy Family 2003
Whoopi
April 22 Like Family
April 23 Married to the Kellys
April 27 I'm with Her
April 29 The Jamie Kennedy Experiment 2002
April 30 Living It Up! With Ali & Jack 2003
May 1 The District 2000
May 4 The Guardian 2001
May 6 Friends 1994
May 7 Run of the House 2003
May 10 The Parkers 1999
May 13 Frasier 1993
May 16 The Practice 1997
May 17 Mutant X 2001
May 19 Angel 1999
May 21 Ricki Lake 1993
The Wayne Brady Show 2001
May 22 Static Shock 2000
May 25 Rock Me Baby 2003
May 26 Soul Food 2000
May 28 The Sharon Osbourne Show 2003
May 29 Justice League 2001
June 4 Hollywood Squares 1998
June 8 Rugrats 1991
Hey Arnold! 1996
June 11 The Wild Thornberrys 1998
June 19 The Man Show 1999
July 5 Ozzy & Drix 2002
July 30 Rocket Power 1999
August 23 The Brothers Garcia 2000
August 27 Johnny Bravo 1997
September 8 The Drew Carey Show 1995
September 12 Oliver Beene 2003
September 25 Samurai Jack 2001
September 27 Out of the Box 1998
September 28 The Berenstain Bears 2003
October 1 Da Boom Crew 2004
October 6 Hawaii
October 11 SpongeBob SquarePants (returned in 2005) 1999
October 13 Clifford's Puppy Days 2003
October 22 Evil Con Carne
October 25 The Benefactor 2004
October 29 All About Me 2002
Dr. Vegas 2004
October 31 Dead Like Me 2003
November 11 Unscrewed with Martin Sargent
November 14 He's a Lady 2004
November 20 Power Rangers Dino Thunder
November 22 The Crocodile Hunter 1997
November 26 Stanley 2001
December 15 Wonderfalls 2004
December 28 Father of the Pride

Changes of network affiliation

Show Transferred from Transferred to
As Told by Ginger Nickelodeon Nicktoons
Fillmore! ABC Toon Disney
The Surreal Life The WB VH1
Thomas and Friends CITV PBS Kids

Births

Date Name Notability
June 8 Francesca Capaldi Actress (Dog with a Blog)

Deaths

Date Name Age Credibility
January 17 Noble Willingham 72 Actor (C.D. Parker on Walker, Texas Ranger)
January 19 Jerry Nachman 57 MSNBC editor-in-chief
January 23 Bob Keeshan 76 Children's show host (Captain Kangaroo)
January 27 Jack Paar 85 Host of The Tonight Show
January 29 Mary-Ellis Bunim 57 Producer and co-creator of (The Real World)
February 15 Jan Miner 86 Actress ("Madge the Manicurist")
February 23 Carl Anderson 58 Actor (Another World)
February 24 John Randolph 88 Actor (Grand)
March 7 Paul Winfield 64 Actor (King, 227)
March 8 Robert Pastorelli 49 Actor (Murphy Brown)
March 17 J.J. Jackson 62 MTV VJ
March 26 Jan Sterling 82 Actress
March 27 Art James 74 Game show host and announcer
April 1 Carrie Snodgress 58 Actress
May 9 Alan King 76 Comedian and actor
May 17 Tony Randall 84 Actor (Felix on The Odd Couple)
May 21 Gene Wood 78 Announcer of Family Feud and other game shows
May 22 Richard Biggs 44 Actor
June 5 Ronald Reagan 93 Actor and U.S. president; host of General Electric Theater and Death Valley Days
July 9 Isabel Sanford 86 Actress (Louise "Weezie" Mills Jefferson on The Jeffersons)
July 28 Eugene Roche 75 Actor (Soap, Webster, more)
August 13 Julia Child 91 Host of The French Chef on PBS
October 10 Christopher Reeve 52 Actor
November 7 Howard Keel 85 Actor, singer (Clayton Farlow on Dallas)
December 28 Jerry Orbach 69 Actor (Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order)

References

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