This is a list of years in

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. It lists important events in the

history of television The concept of television is the work of many individuals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Constantin Perskyi had coined the word ''television'' in a paper read to the International Electricity Congress at the Exposition Universelle ...

, as well as the first broadcasts of many

television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

s, and launches of some television channels and

networks Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

1920s

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

Charles Francis Jenkins Charles Francis Jenkins (August 22, 1867 – June 6, 1934) was an American engineer who was a pioneer of early cinema and one of the inventors of television, though he used mechanical rather than electronic technologies. His businesses inc ...

' first public demonstration of television principles. A set of static photographic pictures is transmitted from Washington, D.C. to the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

station NOF in

Anacostia Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Southeast (Washington, D.C.), Southeast Washington, D.C. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Marion Barry Avenue (formerly Good Hope Road) SE and the neighborhood contains commercial and gover ...

by telephone wire, and then wirelessly back to Washington;

Philo Farnsworth Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971), "The father of television", was the American inventor and pioneer who was granted the first patent for the television by the United States Government. Burns, R. W. (1998), ''Televisi ...

first describes an

image dissector An image dissector, also called a dissector tube, is a video camera tube in which photocathode emissions create an "electron image" which is then swept up, down and across an anode to produce an electrical signal representing the visual image. I ...

tube, which uses

cesium Caesium (IUPAC spelling; also spelled cesium in American English) is a chemical element; it has symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-golden alkali metal with a melting point of , which makes it one of only five elemental metals ...

to produce images electronically. Farnsworth will not produce a working model until 1927. *

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

: Charles Jenkins first demonstrates "true" television with moving images. This time 48-line moving silhouette images are transmitted at 16 frames per second from Washington to Anacostia Navy station;

Vladimir Zworykin Vladimir Kosma Zworykin (1888/1889July 29, 1982) was a Russian-American inventor, engineer, and pioneer of television technology. Zworykin invented a television transmitting and receiving system employing cathode-ray tubes. He played a role in t ...

applies for a patent for an all-electronic television system, the first ancestor of the electric scanning television camera. The patent is not granted until 1938 after significant revisions and

patent interference In United States patent law, an interference proceeding, also known as a priority contest, is an '' inter partes'' proceeding to determine the priority issues of multiple patent applications. Unlike in most other countries, which have long had a ...

actions. *

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

John Logie Baird John Logie Baird (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first mechanical Mechanical television, television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the fi ...

demonstrates a semi-mechanical television system with the transmission of moving silhouette images in England; Vladimir Zworykin files a patent application for the

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

, a television picture receiver tube. *

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

performs the first public demonstration of his "televisor" at the

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upmarket department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed Self ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

on London's

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...

;

achieves the first synchronized transmission of a moving

silhouette A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouett ...

(shadowgraphs) and sound, using 48 lines, and a mechanical system;

applies for a patent for color television; Zworykin first demonstrates his electric camera tube and receiver for Westinghouse corporation executives, transmitting the still image of an "X"; John Baird achieves the first live

image with tone graduations (not silhouette or duotone images) in his laboratory. Baird brings office boy William Taynton in front of the camera to become the first face televised. *

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

demonstrates the world's first television system to transmit live moving images with tone graduations, to 40 members of the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

. *

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

: The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

begins broadcasting as the British Broadcasting Corporation under the

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

. *

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

: John Logie Baird's Television Development Company demonstrates their model A, B, and C 'televisors' to the general public. *

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

begins broadcasting 30-minute-long programmes for his mechanically scanned televisions.

1930s

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

: Baird installs a television at

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

's residence. On July 14, Prime Minister

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

and his family use it to watch the first-ever British television drama, '' The Man with the Flower in His Mouth''. *

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

Allen B. DuMont Allen Balcom DuMont, also spelled Du Mont, (January 29, 1901 – November 14, 1965) was an American electronics engineer, scientist and inventor who improved the cathode-ray tube in 1931 for use in television receivers. Seven years later he manu ...

perfects long-lasting reliable cathode-ray tubes later used for television reception. TV reaches the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. *

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

: The

starts a regular public television broadcasting service in the UK. *

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

: The first television revue, '' Looking In'', is broadcast on the

. The musical revue featured the Paramount Astoria dancing girls. Broadcast live by the BBC using John Logie Baird's 30-line mechanical television system, part of this performance was recorded onto a 7" aluminum disc using a primitive home recording process called Silvatone. This footage, which runs to just under four minutes, is the oldest surviving recording of broadcast television. *

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

'';

demonstrates a non-mechanical television system. The agreement for joint experimental transmissions by the BBC and John Logie Baird's company comes to an end. First 30 Line Mechanical Television Test Transmissions commence in April in Brisbane Australia conducted by Thomas Elliott and Dr. Val McDowall. *

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

: First regular scheduled TV broadcasts in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

by the TV Station Paul Nipkow. The final transmissions of

's 30-line television system are broadcast by the BBC. First TV broadcasts in France on February 13 on Paris PTT Vision. *

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

: The

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

becomes the first Olympic Games to be broadcast on television. *

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

: The

BBC Television Service BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

broadcasts the world's first televised

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

play, a thirty-minute version of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'', and the first

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

match,

Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

vs. Arsenal reserves. *

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

DuMont Laboratories Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, Inc. (printed on products as Allen B. Du Mont Laboratories, Inc., referred to as DuMont Laboratories or DuMont Labs, and DuMont on company documents) was an American television equipment manufacturer and broadcasting ...

manufactures and sells the first all-electronic television sets to the public. Baird gives the first public demonstration of color projection television. The

broadcasts the world's first-ever

television science fiction Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

('' R.U.R.''), and television crime series ('' Telecrime''); in one of the lengthiest experimental television broadcasts, the BBC broadcasts a 90-minute version of

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with th ...

's ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

'', starring

Leslie Banks Leslie James Banks Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (9 June 1890 – 21 April 1952) was an English stage and screen actor, director and producer, now best remembered for playing gruff, menacing characters in black-and-white fi ...

Constance Cummings Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Cummings was born on 15 May 1910 in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate ...

, and

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

. *

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

: The BBC suspends its television service owing to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

was broadcast.

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

is the first Asian country to air television. An early televised broadcast of the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

is experimented

1940s

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

: The American

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

, (

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

), holds public hearings about television *

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

: First

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

s aired. The first official, paid television advertisement was broadcast in the United States on July 1, 1941, over New York station WNBT (now WNBC) before a baseball game between the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. The announcement was for

Bulova Bulova is an American luxury timepiece manufacturing company that was founded in 1875 in New York City. Formally the Bulova Watch Company, it makes watches, clocks and accessories. History Founding Bulova was founded and incorporated as the J ...

watches. *

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

terminates all American television broadcasting because of the war; DuMont petitions FCC to resume broadcasting and receives approval. *

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

: '' Hänsel und Gretel'' is the first complete

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

to be broadcast on television, but only in New York; first (experimental) telecast of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

's ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

''. Many more telecasts of the story will follow in later years, but until film begins to be used on television, no two of the television versions of the story will have the same casts. An advertisement campaign about forest fires introduces

Smokey Bear Smokey Bear is an American campaign and advertising icon of the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service in the Wildfire Prevention Campaign, which is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history to ...

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

, (ABC), is formed. *

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

National Broadcasting Company The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

(

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

) begins the first regularly scheduled television network service in the United States. *

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

demonstrates all-electronic

color television Color television (American English) or colour television (British English) is a television transmission technology that also includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improv ...

system,

resumed broadcasting through free-to-air

; the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

begins broadcasting. *

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

: First broadcast of ''

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell

'', ''

Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...

'' and ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk show broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though its format has changed since th ...

''; the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

is broadcast live for the first time; the 1947 ''

Tournament of Roses Parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

'' becomes the first televised parade. *

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' and ''

Texaco Star Theater ''Texaco Star Theater'' is an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave M ...

''; the

moves from radio to television on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. *

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'' and ''

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Maternal uncle, in some parts of South Asia Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement in the Mam ...

''; 1st Emmy Awards

1950s

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

: First broadcast of ''

Come Dancing ''Come Dancing'' is a British ballroom dancing competition show made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which aired on BBC One at various intervals from 1950 to 1998. Unlike its subsequent follow-up show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', ...

'', ''

Broadway Open House ''Broadway Open House'' is network television's first late-night comedy-variety series.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 138. It was telecast live on NBC from May ...

'', ''

Your Show of Shows ''Your Show of Shows'' is a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC from February 25, 1950, through June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Ho ...

'' and ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...

'';

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

is the first Caribbean country to receive TV;

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

is the first

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n country to receive TV;

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

begins to provide television ratings data;

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

and Burns & Allen move from radio to TV;

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

and

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

cartoons begin airing on television after previously only being theatrical

short films A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

;

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

appears in his first TV special. *

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

: The first broadcast of live United States transcontinental television takes place in San Francisco, California during the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference. The first broadcast of ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'', ''

See It Now ''See It Now'' is an American newsmagazine and documentary series broadcast by CBS from 1951 to 1958. It was created by Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly, with Murrow as the host of the show. From 1952 to 1957, ''See It Now'' won four Em ...

'', '' Dragnet'', the ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

'', ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show f ...

'', '' Sua vida me pertence'', ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation '' Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ...

'' and '' The Roy Rogers Show''; the

Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters The Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters, also known as the Television Code, was a set of ethical standards adopted by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) of the United States for television programming from 1952 to 1983. Th ...

is first issued. *

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

: First broadcast of ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' (NBC), '' I've Got a Secret'', '' This Is Your Life'', '' Omnibus'', and '' Flower Pot Men'';

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

begins its television broadcasts; ''

Hockey Night in Canada ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...

'' and ''

The Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' move from radio to TV. *

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

: The first broadcast of ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'', '' Make Room for Daddy'', ''

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

'';

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

launches in the Philippines; the

coronation of Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

is the first ceremony of its kind to be broadcast on television. The

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

ceremony (the Oscars) is televised for the first time after previously being broadcast by radio, beginning in 1930.

begins broadcasting the

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

is founded. The first "TV dinner" is made by C.A. Swanson & Sons. The first color television introduced in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. The first television introduced in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. *

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'', ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young (actor), Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray (actor), Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six ...

'', ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

'' and '' Lassie'';

NTSC NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...

video standard for

is introduced, and

National Educational Television National Educational Television (NET) was an American non-commercial educational, educational terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Ford Foundation and later co-owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It op ...

(NET) is launched. * 1955: First broadcast of ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on the CBS Television Network from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes wer ...

'', ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It f ...

'', ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and briefly returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first te ...

'', ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'', '' Sunday Night at the London Palladium'', ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...

'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' and ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...

''; ITV launches in the UK; millions of viewers watch the grand opening of

in California. The first television introduced in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. *

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American mystery crime drama soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network for most of its ...

'', ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'', ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...

'', ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...

'', the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

and ''

Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The radio series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James, Bill Kerr and,at various ...

''. The first television introduced in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. *

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

: First broadcast of '' Perry Mason'', '' Have Gun — Will Travel'', ''

Leave It to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...

'', '' Maverick'', ''

Front Page Challenge ''Front Page Challenge'' was a Canadian panel game about current events and history. Created by comedy writer/performer John Aylesworth (of the comedy team of Frank Peppiatt and John Aylesworth) and produced and aired by CBC Television, the s ...

'', ''

Senda prohibida ''Senda Prohibida'' (English title: ''Forbidden Path'') is the first telenovela produced in Mexico. It was produced by Telesistema Mexicano and was broadcast June 12, 1958, from Monday to Friday. It stars Silvia Derbez as the protagonist / antag ...

'', and '' Carosello'';

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

steps down as the host of ''

'' and ''

'' goes off the air. *

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

: First broadcast of ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

'', ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...

'', ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'', '' Moonlight Mask'', '' Naked City'' and ''

The Huckleberry Hound Show ''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and the second series produced by the studio following '' The Ruff and Reddy Show''. The show first aired in syndication on Septembe ...

''; Canada completes its transcontinental television network; the quiz show scandals wipe out ''

The $64,000 Question ''The $64,000 Question'' is an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the ...

'' and '' Twenty-One''. The first color television introduced in

. *

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'', '' Telejornal'', '' Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'', '' The Untouchables'', ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'' and ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

''; The second

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

ceremony is the first Grammy Awards to be televised and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

is the first African country to receive TV.

1960s

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series ...

'', ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', and ''

The Bugs Bunny Show ''The Bugs Bunny Show'' is a long-running American animated anthology television series hosted by Bugs Bunny that is mainly composed of theatrical ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons released by Warner Bros. between 1948 and 196 ...

''; American presidential candidates

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and Richard M. Nixon

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

live on television. *

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961, to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Productions"Calv ...

'', '' The Avengers'', '' The Defenders'', '' The Morecambe and Wise Show'' and ''

Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City Po ...

''; CTV network launches in Canada. *

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...

'', '' The Virginian'', ''

McHale's Navy ''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. The series was filmed i ...

'', '' Steptoe and Son'', ''

The Jetsons ''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produc ...

'', '' The Saint'', ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

'', ''

That Was The Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

'', ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...

'', '' The Late Late Show'' (Ireland) and ''

Sábado Gigante In a vast number of languages, the names given to the seven days of the week are derived from the names of the classical planets in Hellenistic astronomy, which were in turn named after contemporary deities, a system introduced by the Sumer ...

'';

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

succeeds

Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, writer, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine's ob ...

as host of ''

''; first

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...

relayed by

Telstar Telstar refers to a series of communications satellites. The first two, Telstar 1 and Telstar 2, were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched atop of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962, successfully relayed the first televisi ...

. *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

: First broadcast of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'', '' The Fugitive'', ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 volumes by Akita Shoten. Da ...

'' and '' The Outer Limits'', '' Hiwaga sa Bahay na Bato''; American Cable Systems is founded;

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

addresses his famous

I Have a Dream "I Have a Dream" is a Public speaking, public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, Kin ...

speech to the world; the world watches in horror over the

Assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

. The first color television introduced in

. *

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

: First broadcast of ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

'', ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...

'', ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

'', '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E'', ''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

'', ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'', ''

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on C ...

'', ''

Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a Association football, football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights during the Premier League season. ''Match of the Day'' is one of the BBC's longest-runn ...

'', ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

'', '' Jonny Quest'' and the ''Up'' series; the controversial political advertisement "Daisy" airs only once, but is later considered to be an important factor in Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory over Barry Goldwater in the

1964 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1964, less than a year following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, who won the previous presidential election. The Democratic Party (U ...

, and an important turning point in political and advertising history; Broadcast of U.S. president Lyndon Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act Of 1964;

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

appear on ''

''. *

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

: First broadcast of ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...

'', ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'', ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...

'', '' Thunderbirds'', ''

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'' is a TV Variety show, variety-Television comedy, comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the series was his 1964 hit "Everybody Loves ...

'', ''

Hogan's Heroes ''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom created by Bernard Fein and Albert S. Ruddy which is set in a Prisoner-of-war camp, prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Nazi Germany during World War II, and centers around a group of Allied prisoner ...

'', ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. Lightly dramatic, sometimes comedic in tone, the series was inspired by the 1812 J ...

'', '' Till Death Us Do Part'', ''

The Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it ...

'', ''Peanuts'' animated specials, ''

Des chiffres et des lettres ''Des chiffres et des lettres'' (; ) is a French Television show, television programme which originally aired from 1965 to 2024. It was created by Armand Jammot and tests the numeracy skills and vocabulary of two contestants. It was one of the l ...

'', ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First broadcast on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorrow's World' ...

'', ''

The Magic Roundabout ''The Magic Roundabout'' is an English-language children's programme that ran on BBC Television from 1965 to 1977. It used the footage of the French stop motion animation show '' Le Manège enchanté'' but with completely different scripts a ...

'' and ''

The War Game ''The War Game'' is a 1966 British pseudo-documentary film that depicts a nuclear war and its aftermath. Written, directed and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC, it caused dismay within the BBC and within government, and was withdrawn bef ...

''; ABC, CBS, and NBC all transition their prime-time programs to color. *

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

: First broadcast of ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' (original series), ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (the live-action TV series), ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

'', ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American Gothic fiction, Gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulatio ...

'', ''

Ultra Series The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series ''Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fil ...

'', ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempt ...

'', ''

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a children's Christmas book by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a green cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the pu ...

'', '' That Girl'', ''

Cathy Come Home "Cathy Come Home" is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a 200 ...

'', ''

The Newlywed Game ''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show. Newly married couples compete against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally created ...

'', '' Mission: Impossible'' and '' W5''; England wins the World Cup Final, seen by tens of millions; NBC becomes the first network to air their entire schedule in color. The first color television broadcasts introduced in Canada and the

. *

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Harv ...

'', ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'', ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

'', '' News at Ten'' and ''

The Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'' is an American talk show that was hosted by Phil Donahue. The show ran for twenty-nine seasons from November 6, 1967, to September 13, 1996, in which it broadcast 6,715 episodes. Before it was placed in syndication ...

''; first

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

is broadcast by both CBS and NBC;

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

and

SECAM SECAM, also written SÉCAM (, ''Séquentiel de couleur à mémoire'', French for ''sequential colour memory''), is an analog color television system that was used in France, Russia and some other countries or territories of Europe and Africa. ...

colour standards introduced in Europe, with

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

making their first colour broadcasts. The first colour television introduced in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. *

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

: First broadcast of ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'', ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'', ''The'' ''Banana'' ''Splits'', ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'', '' Julia'', ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'', ''

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...

'', ''

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001. It was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. Its original incarnation, the se ...

'', '' Hawaii Five-O'', ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comed ...

'' and ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb and produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pe ...

''. The first color television introduced in

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and

. *

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

: First broadcast of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'', ''

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. The series premiered as part of the network's Saturday morning cartoon schedule on Septem ...

'', ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal humour, surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, w ...

, H.R. Pufnstuf'' and ''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three gir ...

''; completion of

Fernsehturm Berlin The Fernsehturm (; ) in central Berlin was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the government of the German Democratic Republic as both a functional broadcasting facility and a symbol of Communist power. It remains a landmark today from its p ...

; the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

Moon landing is broadcast live worldwide. The first colour television introduced in

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

1970s

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

: First broadcast of ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 ...

'', ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...

'', ''The Odd Couple (1970 TV series), The Odd Couple, The Bugaloos'', ''All My Children'' and ''Monday Night Football''; PBS is launched. The first color television introduced in

, Guatemala and

. * 1971 in television, 1971: First broadcast of ''All in the Family'', ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'', ''The Electric Company'', ''Lidsville'', ''The Two Ronnies'', McDonaldland, ''Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), Upstairs, Downstairs'', ''La Linea (TV series), La Linea'', "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)#TV commercial, Hilltop (I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke)" (Coca-Cola), ''The Generation Game'' and ''Parkinson (TV series), Parkinson'' First

night game televised by NBC. The first colour television introduced in

and Poland. * 1972 in television, 1972: First broadcast of ''M*A*S*H (TV series), M*A*S*H'', ''Emmerdale'', ''Mastermind (TV series), Mastermind'', ''Kamiondžije'', ''El Chavo'', ''El Chapulín Colorado'', ''The Bob Newhart Show'', ''The Price Is Right'', ''Sanford & Son'', ''Great Performances'' and ''Maude (TV series), Maude''; the Asama-Sansō incident is the first marathon live television broadcast in Japan; Canada starts domestic satellite broadcasts; HBO is launched; the first colour television introduced in Bosnia and Herzegovina,

, Estonia, Guadeloupe, Norway, Panama, Réunion,

and Venezuela * 1973 in television, 1973: First broadcast of ''Hovis#Advertising, Boy on the Bike'' (Hovis), ''The Ascent of Man'', ''Moonbase 3'', ''The Young and the Restless'', ''An American Family'', ''Sigmund and the Sea Monsters'', ''The Six Million Dollar Man'', ''Ein Herz und eine Seele'', ''Schoolhouse Rock!'', ''Kojak'', ''Seventeen Moments of Spring'', Tetley Tea Folk, ''Last of the Summer Wine'' and ''The World at War''. The first color television introduced in China, Egypt,

, Gabon, Honduras, Monaco, New Zealand, Qatar and Saudi Arabia * 1974 in television, 1974: First broadcast of ''Happy Days'', ''Little House on the Prairie (TV series), Little House on the Prairie'', ''Chico and the Man'', ''Derrick (TV series), Derrick'', ''Land of the Lost (1974 TV series), Land of the Lost'', ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'', ''Rhoda'', ''Good Times'', ''The Rockford Files'', and ''Tiswas''; 1st Daytime Emmy Awards; Richard M. Nixon announces his resignation on live television; Global Television Network launches in Canada * 1975 in television, 1975: First broadcast of ''Starsky & Hutch'', ''Barney Miller'', ''Fawlty Towers'', ''Good Morning America'', ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time'', ''Saturday Night Live'', Far Out Space Nuts, ''Far Out Space Nuts'', ''Sneak Previews'', ''Space: 1999'', ''The Jeffersons'', ''The Naked Civil Servant (film), The Naked Civil Servant'', ''Welcome Back Kotter'', The Lost Saucer, ''The Lost Saucer'', ''Wonder Woman (TV series), Wonder Woman'' and ''Wheel of Fortune (American game show), Wheel of Fortune''; Sony introduces the Betamax home video tape recorder. * 1976 in television, 1976: First broadcast of ''The Muppet Show'', ''Alice (American TV series), Alice'', ''The Bionic Woman'', ''I, Claudius (TV series), I, Claudius'', ''Grlom u jagode'', The Krofft Supershow, ''The Krofft Supershow'', ''Laverne & Shirley'', ''Second City Television, SCTV'', ''Austin City Limits'', ''Charlie's Angels'', ''What's Happening!!'', ''Family Feud'', ''The Gong Show'' and ''Nuts in May (Play for Today), Nuts in May''; the first VHSs and videocassette recorders (VCRs) go on sale. * 1977 in television, 1977: First broadcast of ''Abigail's Party'', ''CHiPs'', ''Eight Is Enough'', ''The Love Boat'', ''¿Qué Pasa, USA?'', ''Roots (1977 miniseries), Roots'', ''Soap (TV series), Soap'', ''It'll Be Alright on the Night'', ''The Return of the Spirit (miniseries), The Return of the Spirit'', ''Hungarian Folktales (TV series), Hungarian Folktales'', ''Three's Company'', ''Top Gear (1977 TV series), Top Gear'' and ''Live from the Met''; Launch of Freeform (TV channel), Freeform and USA Network. * 1978 in television, 1978: First broadcast of ''20/20 (American TV program), 20/20'', ''An Ordinary Miracle (1978 film), An Ordinary Miracle'', ''Abarembo Shogun'', ''Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'', ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', ''Diff'rent Strokes'', ''The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series), The Incredible Hulk'', ''Ski Sunday'', ''Fantasy Island'', ''Grange Hill'', ''Matador (Danish TV series), Matador'', ''Mork & Mindy'', ''Pennies from Heaven (TV series), Pennies from Heaven'', ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'', ''Deeply Regretted By...'' and ''Card Sharks. Tic-Tac-Dough'' returns on CBS, then moves to Broadcast syndication, syndication. * 1979 in television, 1979: First broadcast of ''Archie Bunker's Place'', ''Benson (TV series), Benson'', ''Blue Remembered Hills'', ''Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV series), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', ''Hart to Hart'', ''Knots Landing'', ''Life on Earth (TV series), Life on Earth'', ''Antiques Roadshow'', ''Eat Bulaga!'', ''Real People (TV program), Real People'', ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', ''The Facts of Life (TV series), The Facts of Life'', ''You Can't Do That on Television'', ''The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed'', ''The Very Same Munchhausen'' and ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy#Television, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy''; ESPN and Nickelodeon are launched.

1980s

* 1980 in television, 1980: First broadcast of ''Berlin Alexanderplatz (television), Berlin Alexanderplatz'', ''Bosom Buddies'', ''Magnum PI'', ''Too Close For Comfort'', ''It's a Living'', ''Nightline'', ''BBC Children in Need'', ''Vruć vetar'', ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'', ''Strumpet City (TV miniseries), Strumpet City'' and ''Yes Minister''; CNN, Cable News Network (CNN) and TLC (TV network), The Learning Channel (TLC) are launched. The first color television introduced in Bangladesh, Burma, Gibraltar and

. The television are launched in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. * 1981 in television, 1981: First broadcast of ''The Smurfs (1981 TV series), The Smurfs'', ''Hill Street Blues'', ''The People's Court'', ''Dynasty (1981 TV series), Dynasty'', ''Gimme a Break'', ''Postman Pat'', ''Danger Mouse (1981 TV series), Danger Mouse'', ''Elvira's Movie Macabre'', ''Falcon Crest'', ''Only Fools and Horses'' and ''Brideshead Revisited (TV serial), Brideshead Revisited''; MTV launched; hundreds of millions watch the Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer; a writers' strike disrupts U.S. television for three months. * 1982 in television, 1982: First broadcast of ''Cheers'', ''Family Ties'', ''Brookside (television programme), Brookside'', Remington Steele, ''Remington Steele'', ''The Snowman (1982 film), The Snowman'', ''Boys from the Blackstuff'', ''Newhart'' ''Silver Spoons'', and ''St. Elsewhere''; Channel 4 (UK) and The Weather Channel are launched. The first color television introduced in Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan. The television are launched in Greenland, Macau and Mauritania. * 1983 in television, 1983: First broadcast of ''The A-Team'', ''The Day After'', ''V (1983 miniseries), V'' (original miniseries), 1984 (advertisement), 1984 (Apple Computers), ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'', ''Fraggle Rock'', ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', ''Reading Rainbow'', ''Press Your Luck'', ''Eddie Murphy Delirious'', ''Inspector Gadget (1983 TV series), Inspector Gadget'', ''The Joy of Painting'', ''An Englishman Abroad'', J. R. Hartley (Yellow Pages), ''Blackadder'' and ''Terrahawks''; first broadcast of ''Wheel of Fortune (American game show), Wheel of Fortune'' in Broadcast syndication, syndication; Disney Channel is launched. The first color television introduced in Angola, Bahamas, Burundi, Grenada and

. The television are launched in Antigua and Barbuda, Cambodia, Laos, Mali, Somalia, Seychelles, Tonga and Vatican City. * 1984 in television, 1984: First broadcast of ''Airwolf'', ''Blue Thunder (TV series), Blue Thunder'', ''Charles in Charge'', ''Murder, She Wrote'', ''Miami Vice'', ''Punky Brewster'', ''Who's the Boss?'', ''The Cosby Show'', ''The Transformers (TV series), The Transformers'', ''Voltron (1984 TV series), Voltron'', ''Night Court'', ''Tales from the Darkside'', ''Thomas & Friends'', ''La piovra'', ''Santa Barbara (TV series), Santa Barbara'', ''Spitting Image'', ''Heimat (1984 film), Heimat'' and ''The Jewel in the Crown (TV series), The Jewel in the Crown''; first broadcast of ''

'' in syndication; A&E (TV channel), A&E and Canal+ (French TV channel), Canal+ launched. The first color television introduced in Belize, Greenland, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia,

, and Zimbabwe. The television are launched in Nepal, Cabo Verde and Åland. * 1985 in television, 1985: First broadcast of ''MacGyver (1985 TV series), MacGyver'', ''227 (TV series), 227'', ''Growing Pains'', ''ThunderCats (1985 TV series), ThunderCats'', ''Neighbours'', ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'', ''Larry King Live'', ''The Raccoons'', ''Edge of Darkness'', ''Little Muppet Monsters'', ''The Max Headroom Show'', ''EastEnders'' and ''The Golden Girls''; the Discovery Channel is established; the first WrestleMania event is broadcast; millions watch the Live Aid concert from Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium. The first color television introduced in Ghana and Seychelles. * 1986 in television, 1986: First broadcast of ''L.A. Law'', ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', ''Perfect Strangers (TV series), Perfect Strangers'', ''Double Dare (1986 game show), Double Dare'', ''Matlock (1986 TV series), Matlock'', ''ALF (TV series), ALF'', ''The Real Ghostbusters'', ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'', ''London's Burning (TV series), London's Burning'', ''Dragon Ball (TV series), Dragon Ball'', ''Alternatywy 4'', ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' and ''The Singing Detective''; the Fox Broadcasting Company is launched; television is introduced in Mayotte and Niue. The first color television is introduced in Cambodia. * 1987 in television, 1987: First broadcast of ''Full House'', ''Married... with Children'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', ''Thirtysomething (TV series), Thirtysomething'', ''Ramayan (1987 TV series), Ramayan'', ''Fireman Sam'', ''DuckTales (1987 TV series), DuckTales'', ''Inspector Morse (TV series), Inspector Morse'', ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''Square One Television, Square One TV'', ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' and ''21 Jump Street (TV series), 21 Jump Street''; The first Survivor Series, WWF Survivor Series PPV is held. * 1988 in television, 1988: First broadcast of ''Roseanne (TV series), Roseanne'', ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'', ''Red Dwarf'', ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', ''In the Heat of the Night (TV series), In the Heat of the Night'', Just Do It (Nike), ''Murphy Brown'', ''Yo! MTV Raps'', ''Garfield and Friends'', ''Unsolved Mysteries'', ''America's Most Wanted'', ''The Wonder Years'' and ''Mahabharat (1988 TV series), Mahabharat''; TNT (American TV network), TNT (Turner Network Television) is launched; the first LCD televisions go on sale; a 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, writers' strike disrupts U.S. television for five months; television in introduced in Lesotho. The first color television in Lesotho and Papua New Guinea. * 1989 in television, 1989: First broadcast of ''The Simpsons'', ''Seinfeld'', ''Baywatch'', ''Saved by the Bell'', ''Family Matters'', ''American Gladiators (1989 TV series), American Gladiators'', ''Wallace & Gromit'', ''Hey Dude'', ''British Airways face advertisement, Face'' (British Airways), ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', ''Dragon Ball Z'', ''Quantum Leap (1989 TV series), Quantum Leap'', ''Cops (TV series), COPS'', ''Rap City'', ''Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (TV series), Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'', ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', ''Shining Time Station'', ''Coach (TV series), Coach'' and ''Inside Edition''; the trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu is televised.

1990s

* 1990 in television, 1990: First broadcast of ''Law & Order'', ''Twin Peaks'', ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', ''Captain Planet and the Planeteers'', ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', ''Mr. Bean'', ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'', ''In Living Color'', ''Northern Exposure'', and ''Pingu''; The Gulf War and 1990 FIFA World Cup are among the year's most televised events. * 1991 in television, 1991: First broadcast of ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'', ''Step by Step (TV series), Step by Step'', ''Nummer 28'', ''Darkwing Duck'', ''Rupert (TV series), Rupert'', ''Where's Wally? (TV series), Where's Wally?'', ''The Julekalender'', ''Æon Flux'', the first three Nicktoons (''Doug (TV series), Doug'', ''Rugrats'', and ''The Ren & Stimpy Show''), ''The Jenny Jones Show'', ''Maury (talk show), Maury'', and ''The Jerry Springer Show''; Launch of Court TV and Comedy Central. * 1992 in television, 1992: First broadcast of ''The Larry Sanders Show'', ''Mad About You'', ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'', ''Batman: The Animated Series'' (first series in the DC Animated Universe), ''Barney & Friends'', ''Martin (TV series), Martin'', ''The Real World (TV series), The Real World'', ''Sailor Moon (TV series), Sailor Moon'', ''Cha Cha Cha (TV series), Cha Cha Cha'', ''Crayon Shin-chan'', ''YuYu Hakusho'', ''Melrose Place'', ''X-Men: The Animated Series'' and ''Absolutely Fabulous'', ''Mara Clara''; Cartoon Network is launched. The first color television introduced in Fiji, Nauru and Tuvalu. The television are launched in Solomon Islands, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Ossetia and Transnistria. * 1993 in television, 1993: First broadcast of ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Animaniacs'', ''The X-Files'', ''NYPD Blue'', ''Beavis and Butt-Head'', ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', "Aaron Burr (advertisement), Aaron Burr" (first Got Milk? commercial), ''WWE Raw, WWF Monday Night Raw'', ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', ''Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''Boy Meets World'', ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'', ''Bill Nye the Science Guy'', ''seaQuest DSV'', ''The Nanny'', ''Ricki Lake (talk show), Ricki Lake'', ''Frasier'', and ''Rocko's Modern Life''; Major League Soccer, Major League Soccer (MLS) and Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) are founded; the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show becomes one of the most-watched performances in American television history. * 1994 in television, 1994: First broadcast of ''Friends'', ''Party of Five'', ''Ellen (TV series), Ellen'', ''The Kingdom (TV miniseries), The Kingdom'', ''Babylon 5'', ''The National Lottery Draws'', ''Inside the Actors Studio'', ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'', ''Spider-Man (1994 TV series), Spider-Man'', ''The Tick (1994 TV series), The Tick'', ''ER (TV series), ER'', ''Gargoyles (TV series), Gargoyles'', ''All That'', ''Allegra's Window'', and ''Gullah Gullah Island''; Turner Classic Movies is launched; 1994 United States broadcast TV realignment, Several TV stations in the US switch their affiliates until 1996; Irish dance company ''Riverdance'' is introduced to the world for the first time at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest to a thunderous ovation. * 1995 in television, 1995: First broadcast of ''Father Ted'', ''NileCity 105,6'', ''The Wayans Bros.'', ''Pinky and the Brain'', ''Freakazoid!'', ''Xena: Warrior Princess'', ''The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries'', ''The Late Late Show (American talk show), The Late Late Show'', ''WCW Monday Nitro'', ''Road Rules'', ''The Drew Carey Show'', ''Budweiser Frogs'', ''NewsRadio'', ''Saksi'', ''Caroline in the City'', ''JAG (TV series), JAG'', ''Él y ella'' and ''Sevcec''; The programme ''Rox (American TV series), Rox'' makes a move to the Internet, becoming the first-ever web television, web series; History (American TV channel), The History Channel is launched; The communications satellite EchoStar I is (literally) launched; ad campaign; The O. J. Simpson murder case, O. J. Simpson murder trial is televised. * 1996 in television, 1996: First broadcast of ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', ''7th Heaven (TV series), 7th Heaven'', ''Spin City'', ''The Crocodile Hunter'', ''Hey Arnold!'', ''Blue's Clues'', ''The Daily Show'', ''E! True Hollywood Story'', ''Judge Judy'', ''Arthur (TV series), Arthur'', ''Muppets Tonight'', ''Dexter's Laboratory'', ''Superman: The Animated Series'', ''Our Friends in the North'', ''Jumanji (TV series), Jumanji'', ''The Steve Harvey Show'' and ''Everybody Loves Raymond''; Fox News is launched; the first high-definition television broadcasts; the first DVDs and DVD players go on sale; Animal Planet is launched * 1997 in television, 1997: First broadcast of ''South Park'', ''Pokémon (TV series), Pokémon'', ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Recess (TV series), Recess'', ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Teletubbies'', ''Alles Kan Beter'', ''Extreme Ghostbusters'', ''Bear in the Big Blue House'', ''King of the Hill'', ''Johnny Bravo'', ''The Angry Beavers'', ''Daria'', and ''I'm Alan Partridge''; the TV Parental Guidelines television content rating system is introduced; Netflix Inc., Netflix is founded, starting life as a mail-based rental service; the first plasma televisions go on sale; 685 children across Japan are taken to hospitals from seizures Dennō Senshi Porygon, caused by a ''Pokémon'' episode; millions watch the Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, funeral of Princess Diana. * 1998 in television, 1998: First broadcast of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (British game show), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', ''Dawson's Creek'', ''Will & Grace'', ''Charmed'', ''Godzilla: The Series'', ''The Powerpuff Girls'', ''Cowboy Bebop'', ''That '70s Show'', ''Sex and the City'', ''WCW Thunder'', ''The Royle Family'', ''The King of Queens'', and ''CatDog''; Kingston Communications launches the first major video-on-demand service. * 1999 in television, 1999: First broadcast of ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''The Sopranos'', ''Family Guy'', ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''Futurama'', ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'', ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'', ''Dragon Tales'', ''Rocket Power'', ''The West Wing'', ''Whassup?'' (Budweiser), ''WWE SmackDown, WWF Smackdown'', ''One Piece (1999 TV series), One Piece'', Ford Global Anthem, Global Anthem (Ford), ''Bob the Builder'', ''The Amanda Show'', ''Big Brother (Netherlands), Big Brother'' (Netherlands), ''Walking with..., Walking with Prehistoric Life'', ''Yo soy Betty, la fea'', ''Surfer (advertisement), Surfer'' (Guinness), ''Freaks and Geeks'', ''Trick (TV series), Trick'' and ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel''; the first digital video recorders (DVRs) go on sale, one of them being TiVo; Bhutan becomes the last country to introduce television by the celebration of the fourth king's Silver Jubilee after years of self-imposed prohibition of media technology.

2000s

* 2000 in television, 2000: First broadcast of ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''Big Brother (American TV series), Big Brother'' (U.S.), ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'', ''MTV Cribs'', ''Survivor (American TV series), Survivor'', ''Jackass (TV series), Jackass'', ''106 & Park'', ''Weakest Link'', ''Just for Laughs: Gags'', ''Dora the Explorer (TV series), Dora the Explorer'', ''Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000 TV series), Clifford the Big Red Dog'', ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'' and ''Gilmore Girls''; Billy Mays shoots an infomercial for OxiClean * 2001 in television, 2001: First broadcast of ''The Bernie Mac Show'', ''24 (TV series), 24'', ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'', ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (UK), ''Band of Brothers (TV miniseries), Band of Brothers'', ''Sangdo, Merchants of Joseon'', ''My Wife and Kids'', '' Alias (TV series), Alias'', ''The Amazing Race'', ''The Secret Life of Us'', ''Fear Factor'', ''Trailer Park Boys'', ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''Invader Zim'', ''The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy'', ''Samurai Jack'', ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh!'', ''Lizzie McGuire'', ''Totally Spies!'', ''How It's Made'', ''Smallville'', and ''Six Feet Under (TV series), Six Feet Under'', and ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''. The world witnesses the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., Washington which sees regular programming suspended to bring up-to-date coverage of events relating to the attacks. * 2002 in television, 2002: First broadcast of ''American Idol'', ''The Bachelor (American TV series), The Bachelor'', ''The Shield (TV series), The Shield'', ''City of Men'', ''Kim Possible'', ''Extreme Makeover'', ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', ''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'', ''Baby Looney Tunes'', ''8 Simple Rules'', Monk (TV series), ''Monk'', ''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'', ''Codename: Kids Next Door'', ''Madventures (Finnish TV program), Madventures'', ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly'', ''100 Greatest Britons'', ''The Most Extreme'', ''Winter Sonata'', ''Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'', ''Clone High'', ''George Lopez (TV series), George Lopez'', ''The Wire'', ''Naruto (TV series), Naruto'', ''Wish Ko Lang!'', and ''Without a Trace'', ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear''; The WWE, WWF ends its "Attitude Era" and is forced to change its name to WWE due to a dispute with the World Wide Fund for Nature; Millions watch the 2002 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and the 2002 FIFA World Cup hosted by Japan and South Korea. * 2003 in television, 2003: First broadcast of ''Two and a Half Men'', ''The Simple Life'', ''Chappelle's Show'', ''One Tree Hill (TV series), One Tree Hill'', ''Punk'd'', ''Teen Titans (TV series), Teen Titans'', ''The O.C.'', ''Sonic X'', ''My Life as a Teenage Robot'', ''That's So Raven'', Cog (advertisement), Cog (Honda), ''Reno 911!'', ''The Bachelorette (American TV series), The Bachelorette'', ''MythBusters'', ''NCIS (TV series), NCIS'', ''Jimmy Kimmel Live'', ''All In (TV series), All In'', ''Little Britain (sketch show), Little Britain'', ''Peep Show (British TV series), Peep Show'', ''Arrested Development (TV series), Arrested Development'', ''Los Serrano'', ''Martin Mystery'', ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' and ''The Venture Bros.''; The controversial Iraq War becomes the year's Media coverage of the Iraq War, most covered story on news channels around the world. * 2004 in television, 2004: First broadcast of ''Bleach (TV series), Bleach'', ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'', ''Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County'', ''House (TV series), House'', ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', ''Desperate Housewives'', ''Veronica Mars'', ''Danny Phantom'', ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), ''Ghost Hunters (TV series), Ghost Hunters'', ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'', ''Hassan and Habibah'', ''Peppa Pig'', ''Drake & Josh'', ''LazyTown'', the GEICO Cavemen, ''Drawn Together'', ''Super Girl (TV series), Super Girl'', ''Maya & Miguel'', ''Winx Club'', ''Hell's Kitchen (British TV series), Hell's Kitchen'' (UK), ''The Apprentice (American TV series), The Apprentice'' (U.S.), ''The Biggest Loser (American TV series), The Biggest Loser'', and ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor''; ''Euro1080'' launches the first high-definition television broadcast. * 2005 in television, 2005: First broadcast of ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''Spiral (TV series), Spiral'', ''Noghtechin'', ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''The Closer'', ''Rome (TV Series), Rome'', ''Zoey 101'', ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'', ''Ben 10 (2005 TV series), Ben 10'', ''So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series), So You Think You Can Dance'', ''Bones (TV series), Bones'', ''The Colbert Report'', ''American Dad!'', ''Everybody Hates Chris'', ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' (U.S.), ''How I Met Your Mother'', ''The Girls Next Door'', ''Criminal Minds'', ''Deal or No Deal (American game show), Deal or No Deal'', ''Carlton Draught: Big Ad'', ''Balitanghali'', ''Supernatural (American TV series), Supernatural'' and ''Prison Break''; The Trials of Trial of Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson and Trial of Saddam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, the Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, Funeral of Pope John Paul II, and the Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla each get significant news coverage. * 2006 in television, 2006: First broadcast of ''High School Musical'', ''The Hills (TV series), The Hills'', ''Türkisch für Anfänger'', ''Planet Earth (2006 TV series), Planet Earth'', ''Jumong (TV series), Jumong'', ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', ''Dexter (TV series), Dexter'', ''Psych'', ''Tom and Jerry Tales'', ''Friday Night Lights (TV series), Friday Night Lights'', ''Ugly Betty'', ''Hannah Montana'', ''Death Note'', ''Top Chef'', ''The Real Housewives of Orange County'', ''Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe'', ''Code Geass'', ''Curious George (TV series), Curious George'', and ''30 Rock''; the Netherlands is the first country to move to digital television; HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc launched; Luxembourg becomes the first country to complete a Digital television transition, wholesale switch from analog television to digital over-the-air (terrestrial television) broadcasting. * 2007 in television, 2007: First broadcast of ''The Big Bang Theory'', ''Kitchen Nightmares'', ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'', ''Britain's Got Talent'', ''Gorilla (advertisement), Gorilla'' (Cadbury's Dairy Milk), ''Burn Notice'', ''iCarly'', ''The Golden Path (TV series), The Golden Path'', ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'', ''Pushing Daisies'', the John Lewis Christmas advert, ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', ''Phineas and Ferb'', ''Total Drama'', ''Xavier: Renegade Angel'', ''Gossip Girl'', ''Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? (American game show), Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?'', ''Golden Bride'', ''The Killing (Danish TV series), The Killing'', ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'', ''Mad Men'' and ''Damages (TV series), Damages''; 2007 Venezuelan RCTV protests in Venezuela; a 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, writers' strike shuts down U.S. scripted programming in November; CNN/YouTube presidential debates, CNN and YouTube sponsor U.S. presidential debates. * 2008 in television, 2008: First broadcast of ''Breaking Bad'', ''The Mentalist'', ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series), Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', ''Paris Hilton's My New BFF'', ''Wipeout (2008 U.S. game show), Wipeout'', ''True Blood'', ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'', ''Underbelly (TV series), Underbelly'', ''The Inbetweeners'', ''Radio Arvyla'', ''19 Kids and Counting''; the launch of Discovery Channel's ad campaign; the first 3D TV broadcasts; Thai PBS are launched; the historical miniseries ''John Adams (miniseries), John Adams'' premieres on HBO and wins a record-breaking thirteen Emmys. * 2009 in television, 2009: First broadcast of ''Pointless'', ''Modern Family'', ''Pawn Stars'', ''Cake Boss'', ''Tosh.0'', ''Jersey Shore (TV series), Jersey Shore'', ''Castle (TV series), Castle'', ''Horrible Histories (2009 TV series), Horrible Histories'', ''White Collar (TV series), White Collar'', ''The Vampire Diaries'', ''The Good Wife'', ''The Cleveland Show'', ''Cougar Town'', ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', ''Archer (2009 TV series), Archer'', ''16 and Pregnant'', ''Late Night With Jimmy Fallon'', ''The Middle (TV series), The Middle'', ''Glee (TV series), Glee'', ''Teen Mom'', ''Parks and Recreation'', ''Community (TV series), Community'' and ''Misfits (TV series), Misfits''; millions watch the First inauguration of Barack Obama, inauguration of Barack Obama as well as coverage of the Death of Michael Jackson, death and Michael Jackson memorial service, funeral of Michael Jackson.

2010s

* 2010 in television, 2010: First broadcast of ''Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), Hawaii Five-0'', ''Blue Bloods (TV series), Blue Bloods'', ''Adventure Time'', ''Regular Show'', ''Downton Abbey'', ''Good Luck Charlie'', ''Glass Home'', ''Borgen (TV series), Borgen'', ''Sherlock (TV series), Sherlock'', ''Solsidan (TV series), Solsidan'', "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" (Old Spice), ''Pretty Little Liars'', ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', ''Boardwalk Empire'', ''Justified (TV series), Justified'', ''The Great British Bake Off'', ''Treme (TV series), Treme'', ''Young Justice (TV series), Young Justice'', ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'' and ''The Voice of Holland, The Voice'' (Holland); 2010 Tonight Show conflict, ''Tonight Show'' conflict between Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. * 2011 in television, 2011: First broadcast of ''Game of Thrones'', ''Black Mirror'', ''Top Boy'', ''Person of Interest (TV series), Person of Interest'', ''Bob's Burgers'', ''Leyla ile Mecnun'', ''American Horror Story'', ''Suits (American TV series), Suits'', ''Shameless (American TV series), Shameless'', ''Austin & Ally'', ''The Amazing World of Gumball'', ''New Girl'', ''Jessie (2011 TV series), ''Jessie'''', and ''Homeland (TV series), Homeland''; State Farm premieres its "State of..." advertising campaign, which includes the "State of Unrest" commercial (a.k.a. "Jake from State Farm"); millions watch Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, Prince William marry Kate Middleton; IBM's Watson (computer), Watson competes against former champions Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings on ''Jeopardy!''; Barack Obama, President Obama announces the death of Osama bin Laden on live television. * 2012 in television, 2012: First broadcast of ''Duck Dynasty'', ''Satyamev Jayate (TV series), Satyamev Jayate'', ''Gravity Falls'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV Series)'', ''Girls (TV series), Girls'', ''Key & Peele'', ''Scandal (American TV series), Scandal'', ''Nashville (2012 TV series), Nashville'', ''Državni posao'', ''Call the Midwife'', ''Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States'', ''House of Lies'', ''Veep'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''Omar (TV series), Omar'', ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (TV series), JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', ''Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'', and ''Kitchen (TV series), Kitchen''; the 2012 London Olympics becomes the most-watched event of the year. * 2013 in television, 2013: First broadcast of ''Rick and Morty'', ''Peaky Blinders (TV series), Peaky Blinders'', ''The Following'', Epic Split (Volvo Trucks), ''House of Cards (American TV series), House of Cards'', ''The Americans'', ''Bates Motel (TV series), Bates Motel'', ''Steven Universe'', ''Broadchurch'', ''Hannibal (TV series), Hannibal'', ''Attack on Titan'', ''PAW Patrol'', ''Vikings (2013 TV series), Vikings'', ''Orange is the New Black'' and ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine''; Television stations cover the Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the 2013 papal conclave, election of his successor while in the United States, American singer Miley Cyrus creates controversy during a performance at 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, that year's VMAs. * 2014 in television, 2014: First broadcast of ''True Detective'', ''How to Get Away with Murder'', ''Black-ish'', ''Gotham (TV series), Gotham'', ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'', ''Fargo (TV series), Fargo'', ''BoJack Horseman'', ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'', ''Gomorrah (TV series), Gomorrah'', ''Outlander (TV series), Outlander'', ''Lucha Underground'', ''Blaze and the Monster Machines'', ''Broad City'', ''Over the Garden Wall'', ''The Leftovers (TV series), The Leftovers'', ''Jane the Virgin'', ''Chrisley Knows Best'' and ''Girl Meets World''; Billions of people watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup. * 2015 in television, 2015: First broadcast of ''Better Call Saul'', ''Empire (2015 TV series), Empire'', ''Narcos'', ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV series), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'', ''Life in Pieces'', ''Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir'', ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'', ''Love Island (2015 TV series), Love Island'', ''Harvey Beaks'', ''Mr. Robot'', ''Schitt's Creek'', ''Deutschland 83'', ''Lip Sync Battle'', ''Superstore (TV series), Superstore'' and ''We Bare Bears''; Super Bowl XLIX breaks the record for most-watched program in the history of American television; Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather–Pacquiao boxing match is history's biggest pay-per-view fight; Steve Harvey hosts the Miss Universe 2015 pageant in Las Vegas and mistakenly names the first runner-up, Miss Colombia (Ariadna Gutiérrez) as the winner, announcing shortly after that he had read the results incorrectly and that Miss Philippines (Pia Wurtzbach) was the new Miss Universe; ten are killed during Villa Castelli helicopter collision, a helicopter crash during filming of reality series ''Dropped (French TV series), Dropped''. * 2016 in television, 2016: First broadcast of ''Stranger Things'', ''The Night Of'', ''Lucifer (TV series), Lucifer'', ''Fleabag'', ''War & Peace (2016 TV series), War & Peace'', ''Roots (2016 miniseries), Roots'', ''Mann Mayal'', ''Atlanta (TV series), Atlanta'', ''This Is Us'', ''The Good Place'', ''My Hero Academia'', ''Full Frontal with Samantha Bee'', ''Insecure (TV series), Insecure'', ''Westworld (TV series), Westworld'', ''The Loud House'', ''Tales of Arcadia'' and ''The Crown (TV series), The Crown''; the last known company in the world to manufacture VHS equipment (VCR/DVD combos), Funai of Japan, ceases production, citing shrinking demand and difficulties procuring parts. * 2017 in television, 2017: First broadcast of ''Money Heist'', ''Riverdale (2017 TV series), Riverdale'', ''Young Sheldon'', ''Big Little Lies (TV series), Big Little Lies'', ''DuckTales (2017 TV series), DuckTales'' (2017), ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'', ''Big Mouth (American TV series), Big Mouth'', ''Carpool Karaoke: The Series, Carpool Karaoke'', ''The Handmaid's Tale (TV series), The Handmaid's Tale'', ''The Repair Shop'', ''GLOW (TV series), GLOW'', ''S.W.A.T. (2017 TV series), S.W.A.T.'', and ''A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV series), A Series of Unfortunate Events''; At the 89th Academy Awards, the film ''Moonlight (2016 film), Moonlight'' is announced the correct winner for Best Picture, after actors Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announce ''La La Land (film), La La Land'', another acclaimed film, the winner by mistake on national television. * 2018 in television, 2018: First broadcast of ''Bluey (TV series), Bluey'', ''Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'', ''Hilda (TV series), Hilda'', ''Barry (TV series), Barry'', ''Cobra Kai'', ''Killing Eve'', ''Bodyguard (British TV series), Bodyguard'', ''Big City Greens'', ''Pose (TV series), Pose'', ''Succession (TV series), Succession'', ''The Neighborhood (TV series), The Neighborhood'', ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'', and ''Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj''; millions watch Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, marry Meghan Markle. * 2019 in television, 2019: First broadcast of ''Chernobyl (miniseries), Chernobyl'', ''The Mandalorian'', ''The Boys (TV series), The Boys'', ''Harley Quinn (TV series), Harley Quinn'', ''Watchmen (TV series), Watchmen'', ''The Masked Singer (American TV series), The Masked Singer'', ''All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite'', ''Russian Doll (TV series), Russian Doll'', ''Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba'', ''His Dark Materials (TV series), His Dark Materials'', ''Amphibia (TV series), Amphibia'', ''The Umbrella Academy (TV series), The Umbrella Academy'', ''The Other Two (TV series), The Other Two'', ''Hanna (TV series), Hanna'', ''Euphoria (American TV series), Euphoria'', ''Ramy (TV series), Ramy'', ''What We Do in the Shadows (TV series), What We Do in the Shadows'', ''Sex Education (TV series), Sex Education'', ''When They See Us'', ''Good Omens (TV series), Good Omens'' and ''The Morning Show (American TV series), The Morning Show''; The Walt Disney Company launches its streaming service, Disney+

2020s

* 2020 in television, 2020: First broadcast of ''Ted Lasso'', ''Little Fires Everywhere (miniseries), Little Fires Everywhere'', ''Tiger King'', ''Bridgerton'', ''I May Destroy You'', ''A Teacher (miniseries), A Teacher'', ''Stargirl (TV series), Stargirl'', ''Mrs. America (miniseries), Mrs. America'', ''Outer Banks (TV series), Outer Banks'', ''Dispatches from Elsewhere'', ''Tyler Perry's Young Dylan'', ''The Owl House'', ''The Great (2020 TV series), The Great'', ''Solar Opposites'', ''Dave (TV series), Dave'', ''Dash & Lily'', and ''Love, Victor''; the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television, COVID-19 pandemic shuts down production on many television programs; ABS-CBN shutdown in the Philippines. * 2021 in television, 2021: First broadcast of ''Squid Game'', ''Invincible (TV series), Invincible'', ''The Great North'', ''Yellowjackets (TV series), Yellowjackets'', ''Girls5eva'', ''Hacks (TV series), Hacks'', ''Reservation Dogs'', ''Ginny & Georgia'', ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'', ''Only Murders in the Building'', ''Schmigadoon!'', ''Gabby's Dollhouse'', ''The White Lotus'', ''Abbott Elementary'', ''Arcane (TV series), Arcane'', the List of Marvel Cinematic Universe television series#Marvel Studios series, Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ shows and specials, ''It's a Sin (TV series), It's a Sin'' and ''De Verraders, The Traitors'' (Dutch); Nickelodeon's ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' debuts spin-offs: ''The Patrick Star Show'', and ''Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years'', The globally watched 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo Summer Olympics are held a year later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. * 2022 in television, 2022: First broadcast of ''Severance (TV series), Severance'', ''Tulsa King'', ''Peacemaker (TV series), Peacemaker'', ''Wednesday (TV series), Wednesday'', ''Smiling Friends'', ''Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (TV series), Don't Hug Me I'm Scared'', ''Batwheels'', ''The Bear (TV series), The Bear'', ''The Summer I Turned Pretty (TV series), The Summer I Turned Pretty'', ''Tokyo Vice (TV series), Tokyo Vice'' and ''Becoming A Popstar''; millions watch in shock as actor Will Smith Chris Rock–Will Smith slapping incident, slaps comedian Chris Rock live during the 94th Academy Awards; billions watch the Russian invasion of Ukraine, speculated to be the most watched television war in history and state funeral of Elizabeth II, speculated to be the most watched television event in history. * 2023 in television, 2023: First broadcast of ''The Last of Us (TV series), The Last of Us'', ''Beef (TV series), Beef'', ''Poker Face (TV series), Poker Face'', ''XO, Kitty'', '' Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'', ''School Spirits (2023 TV series), School Spirits'', ''Kiff (TV series), Kiff'', ''Based on a True Story (TV series), Based on a True Story'', ''Mrs. Davis'', ''Krapopolis'' and ''Percy Jackson and the Olympians (TV series), Percy Jackson and the Olympians''; in Hollywood, the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, Writers Guild of America and 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, SAG-AFTRA begin a series of ongoing 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, strikes of actors and writers for six months separately, affecting the film and television industries; billions watch the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla and Gaza war. * 2024 in television, 2024: First broadcast of ''Shōgun (2024 TV series), Shōgun'', ''Hazbin Hotel'', ''Mr Bates vs The Post Office'', ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024 TV series), Mr. & Mrs. Smith'', ''Grimsburg'', ''Nobody Wants This'', ''Baby Reindeer'', ''The Penguin (TV series), The Penguin'', ''Doctor Odyssey'' and ''Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV''; Several national elections are held around the world including some of the world's most populated countries along with television coverage. * 2025 in television, 2025: First broadcast of ''StuGo'', ''Shifting Gears (TV series), Shifting Gears'', ''Étoile (TV series), Étoile'', ''Sherlock & Daughter'', ''Dexter: Resurrection'', ''Eyes of Wakanda'', ''Too Much (TV series), Too Much'', ''We Were Liars (TV series), We Were Liars'', ''Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', ''Pulse (2025 TV series), Pulse'' and ''Alien: Earth'' * 2026 in television, 2026: First broadcast of ''Elle (TV series), Elle'', ''It – Welcome to Derry'', ''Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (TV series), Star Trek'', ''The Boroughs'', ''Vision Quest (miniseries), Vision Quest'' and ''Half Man (TV series), Half Man''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Television by year Television timelines, Television lists, Years Timelines by year Lists of years by topic

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2020s

See also

References