The 18th Annual CableACE Awards were held on November 16, 1996. Below are the nominees^[1] and the winners from that ceremony in the major categories.^[2][3]

Winners in bold.

• Truman (HBO)
• The Late Shift (HBO)
• Sophie and the Moonhanger (Lifetime)
• Soul of the Game (HBO)
• The Tuskegee Airmen (HBO)

• The Outer Limits (Showtime)
• Avonlea (Disney Channel)
• Strangers (HBO)

• The Larry Sanders Show (HBO)
• Exit 57 (Comedy Central)
• Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Comedy Central)

• Gary Sinise – Truman (HBO)
• Robbie Coltrane – Cracker (Episode: "Brotherly Love") (A&E)
• Laurence Fishburne – The Tuskegee Airmen (HBO)
• Carl Lumbly – Nightjohn (Disney Channel)
• Courtney B. Vance – The Affair (HBO)

• Sela Ward – Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story (Lifetime)
• Anne Bancroft – Homecoming (Showtime)
• Kerry Fox – The Affair (HBO)
• Lela Rochon – Mr. and Mrs. Loving (Showtime)
• Cicely Tyson – The Road to Galveston (USA)

• Tom Hulce – The Heidi Chronicles (TNT)
• Jason Bernard – Sophie and the Moonhanger (Lifetime)
• Dennis Boutsikaris – Chasing the Dragon (Lifetime)
• Andre Braugher – The Tuskegee Airmen (HBO)
• Stephen Root – The Road to Galveston (USA)

• Amanda Plummer – The Right to Remain Silent (Showtime)
• Christine Lahti – The Four Diamonds (Disney Channel)
• Laura San Giacomo – The Right to Remain Silent (Showtime)
• Alison Steadman – Pride and Prejudice (A&E)
• Shelley Winters – Mrs. Munck (Showtime)

• Danny Glover – America's Dream (Episode: "Long Black Song") (HBO)
• Ben Cross – Poltergeist: The Legacy (Episode: "The Substitute") (Showtime)
• Mark Harmon – Strangers (Episode: "The Visit") (HBO)
• Michael Shulman – Lifestories: Families in Crisis (Episode: "Someone Had to be Benny") (HBO)
• Wesley Snipes – America's Dream (Episode: "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black") (HBO)

• Donna Murphy – Lifestories: Families in Crisis (Episode: "Someone Had to be Benny") (HBO)
• Tina Lifford – America's Dream (Episode: "Long Black Song") (HBO)
• Cherie Lunghi – Strangers (Episode: "The One You Love") (HBO)
• Amanda Plummer – The Outer Limits (Episode: "A Stitch in Time") (Showtime)
• Maureen Stapleton – Avonlea (Episode: "What a Tangled Web We Weave") (Disney Channel)

• Garry Shandling – The Larry Sanders Show (HBO)
• Brian Benben – Dream On (HBO)
• Michael McKean – Dream On (HBO)
• Jeffrey Tambor – The Larry Sanders Show (HBO)
• Rip Torn – The Larry Sanders Show (HBO)

• Tracey Ullman – Tracey Takes On... (HBO)
• Denny Dillon – Dream On (HBO)
• Janeane Garofalo – The Larry Sanders Show (HBO)
• Penny Johnson – The Larry Sanders Show (HBO)
• Wendie Malick – Dream On (HBO)

• The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (Episode: "The Tale Of The Flopsy Bunnies & Mrs. Tittlemouse") (The Family Channel)
• A Chanukah Mitzvah (Jewish TV Network)
• Allegra's Window (Nickelodeon)
• Gullah Gullah Island (Nickelodeon)
• Little Bear (Nickelodeon)

• The Composers' Specials (HBO)
• Are You Afraid of the Dark? (Nickelodeon)
• Flash Forward (Disney Channel)
• Space Cases (Nickelodeon)
• The Secret World of Alex Mack (Nickelodeon)

• Nickelodeon Sports Theater with Shaquille O'Neal (Episode: "4 Points") (Nickelodeon)
• Family Video Diaries (Episode: "Before You Go: A Daughter's Diary") (HBO)
• Johnny & Clyde (Showtime)
• Nick News (Episode: "The Body Trap") (Nickelodeon)
• The Little Riders (Disney Channel)

• Nick News (Nickelodeon)
• Justice Factory (Court TV)
• Teen Summit (Episode: "Living on the Street . . . On the Real") (BET)
• The Big Help Stories (Nickelodeon)

• Duckman (USA)
• Courage the Cowardly Dog (Episode: "The Chicken from Outer Space") (Cartoon Network)
• Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (Comedy Central)
• Ren & Stimpy (Nickelodeon)
• Rocko's Modern Life (Nickelodeon)

• 20 Years of Comedy on HBO (HBO)
• HBO Comedy Hour (Episode: "Hazelle!") (HBO)
• Mr. Show (HBO)

• Tracey Takes On... (HBO)
• Dennis Miller Live (HBO)
• Lifetime Applauds (Episode: "The Fight Against Breast Cancer") (Lifetime)
• Midnight Mac Starring Bernie Mac (HBO)

• The South Bank Show (Episode: "Wynton Marsalis") (Bravo)
• The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (HBO)
• VH1 Duets (VH1)
• VH1 Honors (VH1)
• VH1 Storytellers (VH1)

• Survivors of the Holocaust (TBS)
• Investigative Reports (Episode: "Kamikaze") (A&E)
• Letting Go: A Hospice Journey (HBO)
• Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (HBO)
• Rain of Ruin (History)

• The Revolutionary War (TLC)
• Biography (A&E)
• Crime Science (A&E)
• Lost & Found (FX)
• Mysteries of the Bible (A&E)

• Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher (Comedy Central)
• Charles Grodin (CNBC)
• Larry King Live (CNN)
• Reflections on the Silver Screen (AMC)
• The Howard Stern Show (E!)

• Roy Firestone – Up Close Primetime (ESPN)
• Larry King – Larry King Live (CNN)
• Howard Stern – The Howard Stern Show (E!)
• Mary Tillotson – CNN and Company (CNN)

• Investigative Reports (Episode: "Seized by the Law") (A&E)
• Chernobyl: Legacy of a Meltdown (CNN)
• Investigative Reports (Episode: "Danger on the Rails") (A&E)
• Return to the Hot Zone (CNN)
• War on the Cocaine Cartel (CNN)

• Bernard Shaw and Judy Woodruff – Inside Politics (CNN)
• Joie Chen and Miles O'Brien – CNN Saturday/Sunday Morning News (CNN)
• Leon Harris and Donna Kelley – CNN Morning News (CNN)

• Sports Tonight (CNN)
• Baseball Tonight (ESPN)
• NFL Game Day (ESPN)
• NFL Prime Monday (ESPN)
• SportsCenter (ESPN)

• Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
• Outside the Lines (ESPN)
• Peak Performance (TLC)
• The Sports Reporters (ESPN)
• Up Close Primetime (ESPN)

• Chris Berman – Baseball Tonight, NFL Halftime, and SportsCenter (ESPN)
• Verne Lundquist (TBS)
• Keith Olbermann (ESPN)
• Bob Page (Madison Square Garden)
• Al Trautwig (Madison Square Garden)

• B.B. King: The Blues Summit (A&E)
• My Life With Handel (Ovation)
• The South Bank Show (Episode: "Elaine Paige") (Bravo)
• The South Bank Show (Episode: "Luciano Pavarotti") (Bravo)
• Still/Here (Ovation)