1990s in television
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television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
. It lists some important events in the
history of television The concept of television was the work of many individuals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first practical transmissions of moving images over a radio system used mechanical rotating perforated disks to scan a scene into a time-var ...
, as well as the first broadcasts of many
television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
s, and the launches of some
television channels A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...
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 ...
.


1870s

* 1876:
Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and T ...
invents the telephone. * 1877:
Bell Telephone Company The Bell Telephone Company, a common law joint stock company, was organized in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 9, 1877, by Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who also helped organize a sister company – the New Engl ...
is founded.


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 in ...
' 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, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
station NOF in
Anacostia Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. It is located east of the Anacostia River, after which the neighborhood is nam ...
by telephone wire, and then wirelessly back to Washington. :*
Philo Farnsworth Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor and television pioneer. He made many crucial contributions to the early development of all-electronic television. He is best known for his 1927 invention of t ...
first describes an image dissector tube, which uses cesium to produce images electronically, but will not produce a working model until 1927. *
1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
: 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; or with the patronymic as ''Kosmich''; or russian: Кузьмич, translit=Kuz'mich, label=none. Zworykin anglicized his name to ''Vladimir Kosma Zworykin'', replacing the patronymic with the name ''Kosma'' as a middle ...
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 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– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...
:
John Logie Baird John Logie Baird FRSE (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first live working television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first publicly dem ...
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 194 ...
, a television picture receiver tube.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
is formed. *
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. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...
:
John Logie Baird John Logie Baird FRSE (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first live working television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first publicly dem ...
performs the first public demonstration of his "televisor" at the
Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridg ...
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appe ...
on London's
Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
. :*
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 in ...
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 silhou ...
(shadowgraphs) and sound, using 48 lines, and a mechanical system. :*
Vladimir Zworykin Vladimir Kosma Zworykin; or with the patronymic as ''Kosmich''; or russian: Кузьмич, translit=Kuz'mich, label=none. Zworykin anglicized his name to ''Vladimir Kosma Zworykin'', replacing the patronymic with the name ''Kosma'' as a middle ...
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
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
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 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...
:
John Logie Baird John Logie Baird FRSE (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first live working television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first publicly dem ...
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 British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...
: The BBC 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, b ...
. *
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...
: 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 ...
:
John Logie Baird John Logie Baird FRSE (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first live working television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first publicly dem ...
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 b ...
: Baird installs a television at
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along w ...
,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, 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. As moder ...
's residence. On July 14, Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
and his family use it to watch the first-ever 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 perfects long-lasting reliable cathode-ray tubes later used for television reception. TV reaches the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. *
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...
: The BBC starts a regular public television broadcasting service in the UK. *
1933 Events January * January 11 – 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 independence, against the wis ...
: The first television revue, ''
Looking In ''Looking In'' is the sixth album by the British blues band Savoy Brown. The album featured "Lonesome" Dave Peverett on vocals after Chris Youlden left the band the previous spring. Leader/guitarist Kim Simmonds would be the only band member to ...
'', is broadcast on the BBC. 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 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
: ''
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. Six Stooges appeared ...
'',
Philo Farnsworth Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor and television pioneer. He made many crucial contributions to the early development of all-electronic television. He is best known for his 1927 invention of t ...
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 Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a So ...
. *
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 is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
by the TV Station Paul Nipkow. The final transmissions of
John Logie Baird John Logie Baird FRSE (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first live working television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first publicly dem ...
's 30-line television system are broadcast by the BBC. First TV broadcasts in France on February 13 on
Paris PTT Vision Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
. *
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
: The
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-s ...
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 ...
: The
BBC Television Service BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
broadcasts the world's first televised
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 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 nation ...
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's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...
'', and the first
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
match,
Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (i ...
vs. Arsenal reserves. *
1938 Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ...
:
DuMont Laboratories Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, Inc. (printed on products as Allen B. Du Mont Laboratories, Inc., commonly referred to as DuMont Laboratories, shortened to DuMont Labs; referred to on company documents as DuMont) was an American television equipmen ...
manufactures and sells the first all-electronic television sets to the public. Baird gives the first public demonstration of color projection television. The BBC broadcasts the world's first-ever television science fiction ('' R.U.R.''), and television crime series (''
Telecrime ''Telecrime'' was a British drama series that aired on the BBC Television Service from 1938 to 1939 and in 1946. One of the first multi-episode drama series ever made, it is also one of the first television dramas written especially for televisi ...
''); 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 ...
'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 cen ...
'', starring Leslie Banks,
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 in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate Logan (née C ...
, 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 the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...
. *
1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...
: The BBC suspends its television service owing to the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. The
1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purc ...
was broadcast.
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
is the first Asian country to air television.


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, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...
: The American
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
, (
FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
), holds public hearings about television *
1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...
: First
television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
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 and Philadelphia Phillies. The announcement was for Bulova watches. *
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
:
FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
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 theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
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 writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
'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. ''A Christmas ...
''. 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 U.S. Forest Service. In the Wildfire Prevention Campaign, which is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history, the Ad Council, the United St ...
*
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in ...
:
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Calif ...
, (ABC), is formed. *
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...
:
National Broadcasting Company The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ar ...
(
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
) begins the first regularly scheduled television network service in the United States. *
1946 Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. * January 10 ** The ...
:
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
demonstrates all-electronic
color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...
system; the
DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...
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 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...
'',
A Diamond is Forever De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and c ...
(De Beers) and ''
Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk shows, news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though the curr ...
''; the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
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 Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
: First broadcast of ''
The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, 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 Septembe ...
'' and ''
Texaco Star Theater ''Texaco Star Theater'' was 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
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-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 wit ...
moves from radio to television *
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 2022. * 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 ...
'', ''
Crusader Rabbit ''Crusader Rabbit'' is the first animated series produced specifically for television. Its main characters were Crusader Rabbit and his sidekick Ragland T. Tiger, or "Rags". The stories were four-minute-long satirical cliffhangers. The concept ...
'' 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 *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...
''; 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 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...
: First broadcast of ''
Come Dancing ''Come Dancing'' is a British ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off on the BBC from 1949 to 1998. Unlike its follow-up show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', contestants were not celebrities. The show was created by Eric Morley, the ...
'', ''
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 29 ...
'', ''
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, Howa ...
'' and ''
What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'';
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
is the first Caribbean country to receive TV;
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
is the first
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
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 rati ...
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 playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...
and
Burns & Allen Burns and Allen was an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen. They worked together as a successful comedy team that entertained vaudeville, film, radio, and television audiences for over forty years. The duo ...
move from radio to TV;
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...
and
Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 1970s to the ...
cartoons begin airing on television after previously only being theatrical
short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
;
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...
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 United ...
: The first broadcast of live United States transcontinental television takes place in San Francisco, California during the
Japanese Peace Treaty Conference The , also called the , re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers on behalf of the United Nations by ending the legal state of war and providing for redress for hostile actions up to and including World War II. It ...
. The first broadcast of '' I Love Lucy'', '' See It Now'', '' 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-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in ...
'', ''
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 fo ...
'', '' 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 ''Th ...
'' 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 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
: First broadcast of ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'' (NBC), ''
This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...
'', '' Adventures of Superman'', '' Omnibus'', and '' Flower Pot Men'';
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
begins receiving TV; first appearance of
Tony the Tiger Tony the Tiger is the advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (also known as Frosties) breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising. Tony has also been the mascot for related cereals such as Tony's Cinnamon Kru ...
(Kellogg's Frosted Flakes); ''
Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...
'' and ''
The Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...
'' move from radio to TV *
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...
: The first broadcast of ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined i ...
'', ''
Make Room for Daddy ''The Danny Thomas Show'' (titled ''Make Room for Daddy'' for its first three seasons) is an American sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. Starring Danny Thomas as a successful night club entertainer, the show ...
'', ''
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 ...
''; the
coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...
of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...
is the first ceremony of its kind to be broadcast on television. The
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
ceremony (the Oscars) is televised for the first time after previously being broadcast by radio, beginning in 1930.
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...
is founded. The first "TV dinner" is made by C.A. Swanson & Sons. *
1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
: First broadcast of ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'', ''
Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by ...
'',
Marlboro Man The Marlboro Man is a figure that was used in tobacco advertising campaigns for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. ...
, ''
Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, 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. Disney initially envisio ...
'', The Jolly Green Giant and ''
Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another ...
'';
NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...
video standard for
color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...
is introduced, and
National Educational Television National Educational Television (NET) was an American educational broadcast television network owned by the Ford Foundation and later co-owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It operated from May 16, 1954 to October 4, 1970, and ...
(NET) is launched. *
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
: First broadcast of ''
The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...
'', ''
The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which 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 fo ...
'', ''
The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised ...
'', ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...
'', ''
Sunday Night at the London Palladium ''Tonight at the London Palladium'' is a British television variety show that is hosted from the London Palladium theatre in the West End. Originally produced by ATV for the ITV network from 1955 to 1969, it went by its original name ''Sunday ...
'', ''
The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...
'', ''
The Sooty Show ''The Sooty Show'' is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. The show, part of the ''Sooty'' franchise, focuses on the mischievous a ...
'', ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia d ...
'', ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...
'' 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 progra ...
''; ITV launches in the UK; millions of viewers watch the grand opening of
Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, 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. Disney initially envisio ...
in California. *
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
: First broadcast of ''
The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and 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 netwo ...
'', ''
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 s ...
'', ''
The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
'', The Tipps Family (PG Tips), ''
Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of th ...
'', the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
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 series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James; the radio version also co-starr ...
'' *
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
: First broadcast of ''
Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...
'', ''
Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...
'', '' Have Gun — Will Travel'', '' Leave It to Beaver'', ''
Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bure ...
'', '' Senda prohibida'', and '' Carosello'';
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
is founded (as H-B Enterprises, Inc.) *
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 third ...
: 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 Te ...
'', ''
Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...
'', ''
The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The sho ...
'', '' Wanted Dead or Alive'', ''
Quatermass and the Pit ''Quatermass and the Pit'' is a British television science-fiction serial transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's ''Quatermass'' serials, although the chief character, Prof ...
'', ''
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 pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary ...
'', ''
77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama 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 episode was o ...
'', '' 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 September ...
''; the
quiz show scandals The 1950s quiz show scandals were a series of scandals involving the producers and contestants of several popular American television quiz shows. These shows' producers secretly gave assistance to certain contestants in order to prearrange the s ...
wipe out ''
The $64,000 Question ''The $64,000 Question'' was 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''. *
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
: First broadcast of ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'', '' Dennis the Menace'', '' Telejornal'', ''
The Quick Draw McGraw Show ''The Quick Draw McGraw Show'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and their third television series overall after '' The Ruff and Reddy Show'' and '' The Huckleberry Hound Show''. Voice actor Daws B ...
'', '' Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'', Think Small (Volkswagan), ''
The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The U ...
'', '' Rawhide'', the first-ever
Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
commercial, and ''
Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...
'' (which runs for fourteen years); First appearances of the
Trix Rabbit Trix is an American brand of breakfast cereal made by General Mills in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the North American market and by Cereal Partners (using the Nestlé brand) elsewhere in the world. The cereal consists of fruit-flavored, sweetened ...
and
Snap, Crackle and Pop Snap, Crackle and Pop are the cartoon mascots of Rice Krispies, a brand of breakfast cereal marketed by Kellogg's. History The gnome characters were originally designed by illustrator Vernon Grant in the early 1930s. The names are onomatopoeia ...
(Rice Krispies); The second
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
ceremony is the first Grammy Awards to be televised and
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
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 * Ja ...
: First broadcast of ''
My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chroni ...
'', ''
The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom, situation comedy television series that 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 colo ...
'', '' Route 66'', ''
The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...
'', ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...
'' and ''
Tales of the Riverbank ''Tales of the Riverbank'', sometimes called ''Hammy Hamster'' and ''Once Upon a Hamster'' for the Canadian version, is a British children's television series developed from a Canadian pilot. The original series was later broadcast on Canadian ...
''; Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. is founded (as Videocraft International, Ltd.).
American president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
ial candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon
debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
live on television. *
1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
: First broadcast of ''
The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television 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 Prod ...
'', ''
The Yogi Bear Show ''The Yogi Bear Show'' is an American comedy animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that centers on the misadventures of forest-dwelling bear Yogi in Jellystone Park. The show debuted in syndication on January 30, 1961 ...
'', '' The Avengers'', '' The Defenders'', ''
Hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
'', ''
The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also serve as showrunners a ...
'', ''
Mister Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...
'', ''
The Alvin Show ''The Alvin Show'' is an American animated television series that aired on CBS in the early 1960s. This was the first series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks. ''The Alvin Show'' aired for one season, from October 4, 1961, ...
'', '' 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 p ...
''; First appearance of The Milky Bar Kid *
1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
: 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 f ...
,'' '' 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 ABC television network. The series was filmed in black and white and originate ...
'', ''
Steptoe and Son ''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and w ...
'', ''
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 produced ...
'', '' 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 ...
'', '' Wally Gator'', ''
Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', '' The Late Late Show'' (Ireland) and ''
Sábado Gigante Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day ...
''; first airing of "Everyone Loves a Slinky"; 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. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna com ...
relayed by Telstar. *
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 Co ...
: First broadcast of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'', ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...
'', ''
My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totalin ...
'', '' The Fugitive'', ''
Petticoat Junction ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and ...
'', ''
Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , 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 '' tankōbon'' ...
'', We Try Harder (Avis) and '' The Outer Limits''; 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 and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
addresses his famous
I Have a Dream "I Have a Dream" is a 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, King called ...
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 on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...
. *
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 Patriarc ...
: 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 depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anoth ...
'', ''
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 typ ...
'', ''
The Man from U.N.C.L.E ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...
'', ''
The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over ...
'', ''
Peter Potamus Peter Potamus is a purple animated hippopotamus that first appeared in the 1964–1966 animated television series ''The Peter Potamus Show'', produced by Hanna-Barbera and first broadcast on September 16, 1964. ''The Peter Potamus Show'' was divi ...
'', ''
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''The show (and CBS) renders the title as ''Gomer Pyle – USMC''. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spin-off of ''The Andy Griffith Sho ...
'', ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
Magilla Gorilla Magilla Gorilla is a fictional gorilla and the star of '' The Magilla Gorilla Show'' by Hanna-Barbera that aired from 1963 to 1965. Character description Magilla Gorilla (voiced by Allan Melvin) is a fun-loving yet trouble-prone anthropomorphic g ...
'', ''
Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
'', ''
Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary ...
'', ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American 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 given genera ...
'', ''
Jonny Quest ''Jonny Quest'' is a science fiction-adventure media franchise that revolves around the titular boy named Jonny Quest, who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964–1965 television serie ...
'' and the ''Up'' series; First appearance of Lucky the Leprechaun (Lucky Charms); 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 The 1964 United States presidential election was the 45th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1964. Incumbent Democratic United States President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater, the Republican nomi ...
, 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, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
appear on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, 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 Septembe ...
''. *
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime 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 sworn in for a full term ...
: First broadcast of ''
I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually mar ...
'', ''
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 streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'', ''
Atom Ant Atom Ant is a cartoon ant and superhero, created by Hanna-Barbera in 1965. Atom costarred in ''The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show'' (sharing top billing with Secret Squirrel). In syndication, Atom Ant aired alongside '' Precious Pupp'' and '' The ...
'', ''
Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the 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 Buck Henry, an ...
'', ''
The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western drama television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour ...
'', ''
The New 3 Stooges ''The New 3 Stooges'' is an American animated television series that ran during the 1965–66 television season starring the Three Stooges. The show follows the trio's antics both in live-action and animated segments. The cast consisted of Moe H ...
'', ''
Secret Squirrel ''Secret Squirrel'' is a cartoon character created by Hanna-Barbera and also the name of his segment in ''The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show'', which debuted in 1965. He was given his own show in 1966, titled ''The Secret Squirrel Show'', but was ...
'', '' Thunderbirds'', ''
The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-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 ...
'', ''
My Mother the Car ''My Mother the Car'' is an American fantasy comedy that aired for a single season on NBC between September 14, 1965 and April 5, 1966. Thirty episodes were produced by United Artists Television. The premise features a man whose deceased mothe ...
'', ''
Hogan's Heroes ''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom set in a Nazi German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the CBS network, the longest broadcast ...
'', ''
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. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...
'', ''
The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western, espionage, and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels ...
'', '' Till Death Us Do Part'', ''
Gidget Gidget () is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner (based on his teenaged daughter, Kathy) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenaged girl and her surfing fri ...
'', ''
Kimba the White Lion ''Kimba the White Lion'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese '' shōnen'' manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka which was serialized in the '' Manga Shōnen'' magazine from November 1950 to April 1954. An anime based on ...
'', ''
Roger Ramjet ''Roger Ramjet'' is a 1965–1969 American animated television series, starring Roger Ramjet and the American Eagle Squadron. The show was known for its simple animation, frenetic pace, and frequent references to pop culture which appealed to adu ...
'', ''
Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to '' Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broadc ...
'', ''
Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and inf ...
'', ''
Des chiffres et des lettres ''Des chiffres et des lettres'' (, "numbers and letters") is a French television programme. It was created by Armand Jammot and tests the numeracy skills and vocabulary of two contestants. It is one of the longest-running game shows in the worl ...
'', ''
Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...
'', ''
The Magic Roundabout ''The Magic Roundabout'' is an English-language children's television programme that ran from 1965 to 1977. It used the footage of the French stop motion animation show ''Le Manège enchanté'' but with completely different scripts and characte ...
'' 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 also within government, and was subseque ...
'';
Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the ...
cartoons begin to be aired on television after previously only being theatrical
short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
; the first appearance of the
Pillsbury Doughboy Poppin' Fresh, more widely known as the Pillsbury Doughboy, is an advertising mascot for the Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. Many commercials from 1965 until 2005 (together with some for GEICO between 2009 and 2017) en ...
. *
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 ...
: First broadcast of ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'', ''
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...
'' (the live-action TV series starring Adam West), ''
Space Ghost Space Ghost (Tad Ghostal) is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1960s for TV network CBS. He was designed by Alex Toth. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his teen sidekicks, Jan and Ja ...
'', ''
The Time Tunnel ''The Time Tunnel'' is an American color science fiction TV series written around a theme of time travel adventure starring James Darren and Robert Colbert. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science-fiction television series an ...
'', ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
'', ''
Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspo ...
'',
Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet "Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet" was an advertising campaign for Hamlet Cigars, which ran on television from 1966 until all tobacco advertising on television was banned in the UK in 1991. The campaign returned in cinemas in 1996, continuing th ...
, ''
Ultra Series ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with '' Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is o ...
'', ''
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 attemp ...
'', '' Osomatsu-kun'', ''
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...
'', ''
That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...
'', ''
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" an ...
'' and '' Mission: Impossible''; England win the World Cup Final, seen by tens of millions, NBC becomes the first network to air their entire schedule in color. *
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
: 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, Har ...
'', ''
The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...
'', ''
Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles ''Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It premiered on September 10, 1966 on CBS, and ran for two seasons on Saturday mornings. Overview The program contained two ...
'', ''
The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book '' The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere ...
'', '' News at Ten'', Ironside'', ''
F Troop ''F Troop'' is a satirical American television sitcom Western about U.S. soldiers and Native Americans in the Wild West during the 1860s that originally aired for two seasons on ABC. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965, and ...
'', ''
Captain Birdseye Captain Birdseye, also known as Captain Iglo, is the advertising mascot for the Birds Eye (known as Iglo in parts of Europe) frozen food brand founded by Clarence Birdseye. Appearing in numerous television and billboard commercials, he has been pl ...
, ''
Speed Racer ''Speed Racer'', also known as , is a Japanese media franchise about Auto racing, automobile racing. ''Mach GoGoGo'' was originally serialized in print in Shueisha's 1966 ''Shōnen Book''. It was released in tankōbon book form by Sun W ...
'', ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...
'', ''
Princess Knight ''Princess Knight'', also known as ''Ribon no Kishi'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. This manga follows the adventures of Sapphire, a girl who was born accidentally with a blue heart of a boy and a pink ...
'', ''
George of the Jungle ''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created '' The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show''. The character George was inspired by the story of Tarzan and a cartoon ch ...
'', ''Mannix'', ''The Phil Donahue Show'' and ''Ambassador Magma''; PAL and SECAM colour standards introduced in Europe, with BBC Two, BBC2 making their first colour broadcasts. * 1968 in television, 1968: First broadcast of ''60 Minutes'', ''The Mod Squad'', ''One Life to Live'', ''Dad's Army'', ''Julia (American TV series), Julia'', ''Columbo'', ''Elvis (1968 TV program), Elvis'', ''Here's Lucy'', ''Wacky Races'', ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', ''The Archie Show'', ''The Banana Splits'', ''Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), Hawaii Five-O'', ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' and ''Adam-12''; the first appearance of the Keebler Company#Keebler Elves, Keebler Elves and Milk Tray#Milk Tray Man, Cadbury's Milk Tray Man * 1969 in television, 1969: First broadcast of ''Sesame Street'', ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', ''The Pink Panther Show'', ''Love, American Style'', ''Sazae-san'', ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', ''Room 222'', ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'', ''On the Buses'', ''The Brady Bunch'', ''Marine Boy''; completion of Fernsehturm Berlin; The Apollo 11 Moon landing is broadcast live worldwide.


1970s

* 1970 in television, 1970: First broadcast of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Josie and the Pussycats (TV series), Josie and the Pussycats'', ''McCloud (TV series), McCloud'', ''Ashita no Joe'', ''The Partridge Family'', ''Night Gallery'', ''The Odd Couple (1970 TV series), The Odd Couple'', ''The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee'', ''The Adventures of Rupert Bear'' and ''All My Children''; PBS is launched. * 1971 in television, 1971: First broadcast of ''All in the Family'', ''Cannon (TV series), Cannon'', ''The Cat in the Hat (TV special)'', ''Kamen Rider'', ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'', ''The Funky Phantom'', ''Chespirito'', ''The Two Ronnies'', McDonaldland, Lupin the Third Part I, ''Lupin the Third'', ''Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), Upstairs, Downstairs'', ''Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!'', ''La Linea (TV series), La Linea'', ''The Generation Game'' and ''Parkinson (TV series), Parkinson''. DIC Enterprises is founded. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Chesapeake Television Corporation is founded. * 1972 in television, 1972: First broadcast of ''M*A*S*H (TV series), M*A*S*H'', ''Emmerdale'', ''Emergency!'', ''Mastermind (TV series), Mastermind'', ''Kamiondžije'', ''El Chavo'', ''Rainbow (TV series), Rainbow'', ''Sanford And Son'', ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'', ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'', ''El Chapulín Colorado'', ''The Bob Newhart Show'', ''Mazinger Z'', ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'', ''Great Performances'' and ''Maude (TV series), Maude''; First appearance of Little Mikey (Quaker's Life Cereal); HBO is launched. Warner Communications is founded. * 1973 in television, 1973: First broadcast of ''Hovis#Advertising, Boy on the Bike'' (Hovis), ''The Ascent of Man'', ''Moonbase 3'', ''The Wombles (1973 TV series), The Wombles'', ''Barnaby Jones'', ''The Addams Family (1973 TV series), The Addams Family'', ''Super Friends'', ''The New Perry Mason'', ''The Young and the Restless'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Super Friends'', ''An American Family'', ''Bailey's Comets'', ''Inch High, Private Eye'', ''Ein Herz und eine Seele'', ''Schoolhouse Rock!'', ''Kojak'', ''Speed Buggy'', ''The Midnight Special (TV series), The Midnight Special'', ''Star Trek: The Animated Series'', ''Seventeen Moments of Spring'', Tetley Tea Folk, ''Last of the Summer Wine'' and ''The World at War''; First appearances of Nesquik#Advertising campaigns#Nesquik Bunny (a.k.a. Quicky), Quicky the Nesquik Bunny and the Duracell Bunny. * 1974 in television, 1974: First broadcast of ''Chico and the Man'', ''Derrick (TV series), Derrick'', ''Happy Days'', ''Little House on the Prairie (TV series), Little House on the Prairie'', ''Mio Mao'', ''Kolchak: The Night Stalker'', ''Hong Kong Phooey'', ''Police Woman (TV series), Police Woman'', ''Space Battleship Yamato'', ''Heidi, Girl of the Alps'', ''Bagpuss'', ''Land of the Lost (1974 TV series), Land of the Lost'', ''Porridge (TV series), Porridge'', Smash Martians, ''Rhoda'', ''Good Times'', ''The Rockford Files'', and ''Tiswas''; First appearance of the Kool-Aid Man; 1st Daytime Emmy Awards; Richard M. Nixon announces his resignation on live television. * 1975 in television, 1975: First broadcast of ''Starsky & Hutch'', ''Baretta'', ''The Great Grape Ape Show'', ''Barney Miller'', ''Fawlty Towers'', ''Good Morning America'', ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time'', ''Paddington Bear'', ''Super Sentai'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Sneak Previews'', ''Space: 1999'', ''The Jeffersons'', ''The Naked Civil Servant (film), The Naked Civil Servant'', ''Welcome Back, Kotter'', ''Wheel of Fortune (American game show), Wheel of Fortune'' and ''Wonder Woman (TV series), Wonder Woman''; Sony introduces the Betamax home video tape recorder. * 1976 in television, 1976: First broadcast of ''The Muppet Show'', ''The Bionic Woman'', ''Jabberjaw'', ''I, Claudius (TV series), I, Claudius'', ''Grlom u jagode'', Honey Monster Puffs#Advertising, Honey Monster (Sugar Puffs), ''Vicco von Bülow, Loriot'', ''Second City Television, SCTV'', ''Austin City Limits'', ''Quincy M.E.'', ''The Young Doctors'', ''C.P.O. Sharkey'', ''Andrex, Andrex Puppy'', ''Charlie's Angels'', ''Family Feud'', ''The Gong Show'', ''Alice (American TV series), Alice'', ''Jabberjaw'', ''Laverne and Shirley'' and ''Nuts in May''; Cookie Jar Group is founded; completion of CN Tower; 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'', ''Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels'', ''Yatterman'', ''Lou Grant (TV series), Lou Grant'', ''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''; first appearance of Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel#Advertising and Cadbury's Caramel Bunny, Cadbury's Caramel Bunny. CBN Satellite Service is launched. * 1978 in television, 1978: First broadcast of ''An Ordinary Miracle (1978 film), An Ordinary Miracle'', ''Abarembo Shogun'', ''Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'', ''Dallas (1978 TV series), Dallas'', ''Diff'rent Strokes'', ''WKRP in Cincinnati'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Space Pirate Captain Harlock'', ''Once Upon a Time...'', ''The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series), The Incredible Hulk'', ''The Dating Game'', ''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'', ''Future Boy Conan'' and ''Deeply Regretted By...'' * 1979 in television, 1979: First broadcast of ''Doraemon (1979 TV series), Doraemon'', ''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'', ''Seibu Keisatsu'', ''Life on Earth (TV series), Life on Earth'', ''Anne of Green Gables (1979 TV series), Anne of Green Gables'', ''Trapper John, M.D.'', ''Antiques Roadshow'', ''Los Ricos También Lloran'', ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', ''Archie Bunker's Place'', ''Hart to Hart'', ''Real People,'' ''Worzel Gummidge (TV series), Worzel Gummidge'', ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', ''The Facts of Life (TV series), The Facts of Life'', Honey Nut Cheerios#Mascot and promotions, BuzzBee the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee, ''The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'', ''The Rose of Versailles'', ''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 ''Astro Boy (1980 TV series), Astro Boy'', ''Richie Rich (1980 TV series), Richie Rich'', ''Berlin Alexanderplatz (television), Berlin Alexanderplatz'', The Bund (TV series), ''The Bund'', ''Bosom Buddies'', ''Magnum PI'', ''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. DISH Network is founded (as EchoStar Corporation, EchoStar). News Corporation is founded (as News Corp Limited). * 1981 in television, 1981: First broadcast of ''The Smurfs (1981 TV series), The Smurfs'', ''Hill Street Blues'', ''Urusei Yatsura'', ''Dr. Slump'', ''The People's Court'', ''Gimme a Break'', ''Wetten, dass..?'', ''Dynasty (1981 TV series), Dynasty'', ''Greatest American Hero'', ''Postman Pat'', ''Danger Mouse (1981 TV series), Danger Mouse'', ''Spider-Man (1981 TV series)'', ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981 TV series), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'', ''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; First appearance of Absolut Vodka#Advertising, Absolut Bottle (Absolut Vodka) and Grey Poupon#Marketing, "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?". A writers' strike disrupts U.S. television for three months. * 1982 in television, 1982: First broadcast of ''Cheers'', ''Knight Rider (1982 TV series), Knight Rider,'' ''Silver Spoons'', ''Family Ties'', ''Countdown (game show), Countdown'', ''Remington Steele'', ''Brookside (television programme), Brookside'', ''The Mysterious Cities of Gold'', ''Chiquilladas'', ''Super Dimension Fortress Macross'', ''The Snowman (1982 film), The Snowman'', ''Boys from the Blackstuff'', ''Newhart'' and ''St. Elsewhere''; Channel 4 (UK) and The Weather Channel launched. Adobe Systems Incorporated is founded. * 1983 in television, 1983: First broadcast of ''The A-Team'', ''Mama's Family'', ''The Day After'', ''V (1983 miniseries), V'' (original miniseries), 1984 (advertisement), 1984 (Apple Computers), ''Captain Tsubasa'', ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'', ''Inspector Gadget (1983 TV series), Inspector Gadget'', ''Fraggle Rock'', ''Oshin'', ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', ''Reading Rainbow'', ''Press Your Luck'', ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983 TV series), G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', ''Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983 TV series), Alvin and the Chipmunks'', ''Kinnikuman'', ''Eddie Murphy Delirious'', ''The Joy of Painting'', ''An Englishman Abroad'', J. R. Hartley (Yellow Pages), The Legend of the Condor Heroes (1983 TV series), ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', ''Blackadder'' and ''Terrahawks''; AT&T, Southwestern Bell Corporation is founded; Disney Channel is launched. * 1984 in television, 1984: First broadcast of ''Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends'', ''Fist of the North Star'', ''Airwolf'', ''Blue Thunder (TV series), Blue Thunder'', ''Murder, She Wrote'', ''Miami Vice'', ''Charles in Charge'', ''Who's the Boss?'', ''Top lista nadrealista'', ''The Cosby Show'', ''The Transformers (TV series), The Transformers'', ''Voltron (1984 TV series), Voltron'', ''Night Court'', ''Tales from the Darkside'', Where's the beef? (Wendy's), ''Muppet Babies (1984 TV series), Muppet Babies'', ''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''; A&E (TV channel), A&E and Canal+ launched. * 1985 in television, 1985: First broadcast of ''MacGyver (1985 TV series), MacGyver'', ''Growing Pains'', ''ThunderCats (1985 TV series), ThunderCats'', ''Neighbours'', ''Mr. Belvedere'', ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'', ''227'', ''Larry King Live'', ''Edge of Darkness'', ''The Max Headroom Show'', ''EastEnders'', ''Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears'' and ''The Golden Girls''; the Discovery Channel is established; the first WrestleMania event is broadcast; millions watch the Live Aid concert from Wembley Stadium. * 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 (TV series), Matlock'', ''Head of the Class'', ''Designing Women'', Chester Cheetah (Cheetos), ''ALF (TV series), ALF'', ''Malgudi Days (TV series), Malgudi Days'', ''Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin'', ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'', ''Saint Seiya#Anime, Saint Seiya'', ''Scottish Widows#Advertising, The Scottish Widow'' (Scottish Widows), ''London's Burning (TV series), London's Burning'', ''Takeshi's Castle'', ''List of Dragon Ball anime, Dragon Ball'', The Noid (Domino's Pizza), ''Mormarevi Brothers, Vasko de Gama from Rupcha Village'', ''Alternatywy 4'', first My Pet Monster commercial, ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'', The California Raisins, ''The Singing Detective'' and ''Pingu''; the Fox Broadcasting Company is launched; television is introduced in Mayotte and Niue. * 1987 in television, 1987: First broadcast of ''Full House'', ''Married... with Children'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', ''DuckTales'', ''Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater'', ''Headbangers Ball'', ''Square One TV'', ''Thirtysomething (TV series), Thirtysomething'', ''ChuckleVision'', ''Kimagure Orange Road'', ''City Hunter'', ''Degrassi Junior High'', ''Ramayan (1987 TV series), Ramayan'', ''Fireman Sam'', ''Inspector Morse (TV series), Inspector Morse'', ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' and ''21 Jump Street (TV series), 21 Jump Street'' (TV series); First airing of ''This is Your Brain on Drugs''; The Travel Channel is launched. * 1988 in television, 1988: First broadcast of ''Roseanne (TV series), Roseanne'', ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'', ''Red Dwarf'', ''In the Heat of the Night (TV series), In the Heat of the Night'', Just Do It (Nike), ''Murphy Brown'', ''Yo! MTV Raps'', ''Count Duckula'', ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', ''Garfield and Friends'', ''Legend of the Galactic Heroes'', ''Anpanman'', ''Oishinbo'', ''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. * 1989 in television, 1989: First broadcast of ''The Simpsons'', ''Seinfeld'', ''Family Matters'', ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'', ''The Legend of Zelda (TV series), The Legend of Zelda'', ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Baywatch'', ''Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (TV series), Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'', ''Saved By The Bell'', ''Degrassi High'', ''American Gladiators (1989 TV series), American Gladiators'', ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Hey Dude'', ''British Airways face advertisement, Face'' (British Airways), ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', ''Quantum Leap'', ''Cops (TV series), COPS'', ''The Laughing Salesman'', ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', ''Shining Time Station'', ''Coach (TV series), Coach'' and ''Inside Edition''; CNBC and Eurosport launched. ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' is cancelled after running for 26 years.


1990s

* 1990 in television, 1990: First broadcast of ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'', ''Mr. Bean'', ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', ''MasterChef'' (original UK version), ''Twin Peaks'', ''Law & Order'', ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'', ''Ching Roi Ching Lan'', ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', ''Wings (1990 TV series), Wings'', ''In Living Color'', ''Chibi Maruko-chan'', ''Kyatto Ninden Teyandee'', ''Bobby's World'', ''Mr. Shalash's Family'', ''Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water'', ''Art Attack'', ''TaleSpin'', and ''Northern Exposure''. First appearance of the "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!" advertisement for Life Alert Emergency Response, Life Alert. Fox Kids is launched. * 1991 in television, 1991: First broadcast of ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'', ''Dinosaurs (TV series), Dinosaurs'', ''Darkwing Duck'', ''Step By Step (TV series), Step By Step'', ''Nummer 28'', Papa and Nicole (Renault), ''The Julekalender'', ''Æon Flux'', the first three Nicktoons (''Doug (TV series), Doug'', ''Rugrats'', and ''The Ren & Stimpy Show''), ''Super Mario World (TV series), Super Mario World'', ''Magical Princess Minky Momo'', ''The Jerry Springer Show'', and ''A Bunch of Munsch''. * 1992 in television, 1992: First broadcast of ''The Larry Sanders Show'', ''Mad About You'', ''Batman: The Animated Series'', Goof Troop, ''Barney & Friends'', ''Martin (TV series), Martin'', ''Nickelodeon Guts'', ''The Real World (TV series), The Real World'', ''Cha Cha Cha (TV series), Cha Cha Cha'', ''Crayon Shin-chan'', ''YuYu Hakusho'', ''Bananas in Pyjamas'', ''The Golden Palace'', ''Melrose Place'', ''X-Men (1992 TV series), X-Men'', ''The Animals of Farthing Wood (TV series), The Animals of Farthing Wood'', ''Absolutely Fabulous'', ''Dateline NBC'', ''Sailor Moon (TV series), Sailor Moon''; Cartoon Network is launched, with Boomerang (TV network), Boomerang as one of its programming blocks. The Faith and Values Channel is launched. * 1993 in television, 1993: First broadcast of ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Animaniacs'', ''Rocko's Modern Life'', ''Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series), Sonic the Hedgehog (a.k.a. "Sonic SatAM")'', ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'', ''The X-Files'', ''Beavis and Butt-Head'', ''The Pink Panther (TV series)'', ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', Got Milk?, ''WWE Raw, WWF Monday Night Raw'', ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', ''Slam Dunk (manga), Slam Dunk'', ''Boy Meets World'', ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'', ''SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron'', ''Bill Nye the Science Guy'', ''Cracker (British TV series), Cracker'', ''seaQuest DSV'', ''The Nanny'', ''Ricki Lake (talk show), Ricki Lake'', ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', and ''Frasier''. Mnet (TV channel), Mnet is launched. * 1994 in television, 1994: First broadcast of ''Friends'', ''Party of Five'', ''The Kingdom (TV miniseries), The Kingdom'', ''Chicago Hope'', ''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''; Funimation, FUNimation Productions is founded; Turner Classic Movies is launched; Investigation Discovery, Discovery Civilization Network: The World History and Geography Channel is launched. 1994 United States broadcast TV realignment, Several TV stations in the US switch their affiliates until 1996. TMN Moviepix and Starz are launched. Destination America is launched (as Discovery Travel & Living Network). HGTV, Home & Garden Television (HGTV) is launched. DirecTV is founded. Adobe Flash is released (as FutureWave). * 1995 in television, 1995: First broadcast of ''Star Trek: Voyager'', ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', ''Father Ted'', ''NileCity 105,6'', ''The Wayans Bros.'', ''Little Bear (TV series), Little Bear'', Pinky and the Brain, ''Xena: Warrior Princess'', ''The Late Late Show (American talk show), The Late Late Show'', ''WCW Monday Nitro'', ''Road Rules'', ''The Drew Carey Show'', ''Budweiser Frogs'', ''Mad TV'', ''JAG (TV series), JAG'', ''El y Ella'', ''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, Kids' WB and Tooniverse are launched; The communications satellite EchoStar I is (literally) launched; first appearance of the M&M's M&M's#M&M's characters, Spokescandies and the Coca-Cola#Holiday campaigns, "Holidays are Coming" Coca-Cola ad campaign; The O. J. Simpson murder case, O. J. Simpson murder trial is televised. * 1996 in television, 1996: First broadcast of ''The Crocodile Hunter'', ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', ''Waynehead'', ''C Bear and Jamal'', ''7th Heaven (TV series), 7th Heaven'', ''Blue's Clues'', ''Hey Arnold!'', ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series), Sabrina the Teenage Witch'', ''Spin City'', ''Kenan and Kel'', ''The Daily Show'', ''E! True Hollywood Story'', ''Judge Judy'', Churchill Insurance#Advertising, Churchill Nodding Dog, ''Arthur (TV series), Arthur'', ''Our Friends in the North'', ''The Sculptress'', ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''Superman: The Animated Series'', ''Beast Wars: Transformers'', ''Detective Conan'', and ''Dexter's Laboratory''; Fox News is launched; the first high-definition television broadcasts; the first DVDs and DVD players go on sale. Animal Planet is launched. Discovery Kids Channel is launched. * 1997 in television, 1997: First broadcast of ''South Park'', ''Pokémon (TV series), Pokémon'', ''Berserk (1997 TV series), Berserk'', ''King of the Hill'', ''Cow and Chicken'', ''Teletubbies'', ''Franklin (TV series), Franklin'', ''Caillou'', ''Bear in the Big Blue House'', ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Men in Black: The Series'', ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', This is Your Brain on Drugs#1997 version, Rachel Leigh Cook's Brain on Drugs, ''Todd MacFarlane's Spawn'', ''Recess (TV series), Recess'', ''Alles Kan Beter'', ''Sasuke (TV series), Sasuke'', ''Daria'', and ''I'm Alan Partridge''; first appearance of the Taco Bell Chihuahua and Mastercard#Advertising, Priceless (Mastercard); The TV Parental Guidelines television content rating system is introduced; Playhouse Disney is launched; Cartoon Network introduces Toonami; Netflix is founded; 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 Spencer, Princess Diana. * 1998 in television, 1998: First broadcast of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (British game show), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', ''The Wiggles'', ''Oggy and the Cockroaches'', ''Dawson's Creek'', ''Will & Grace'', ''Charmed'', ''Cowboy Bebop'', ''That '70s Show'', ''Bob the Builder'', ''CatDog'', ''Sex and the City'', ''The Powerpuff Girls'', ''Godzilla: The Series'', ''Elmo's World'', ''Rolie Polie Olie'', ''PB&J Otter'', ''Out of the Box (TV series), Out of the Box'', ''Gap Inc., Khakis Swing'' (''GAP Inc.''), ''WCW Thunder'', ''The Royle Family'', and ''The King of Queens''; Kingston Communications launches the first major video-on-demand service. ''VeggieTales'' airs on television for the first time with the special ''VeggieTales Christmas Spectacular!'' on ION TV. * 1999 in television, 1999: First broadcast of ''Family Guy'', ''The Sopranos'', ''Crashbox'', ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''Station Zero'', ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'', ''Futurama'', ''Batman Beyond'', ''Sonic Underground'', ''Digimon Adventure, Digimon: Digital Monsters'', ''One Piece (TV series), One Piece'', ''The West Wing'', ''Whassup?'' (Budweiser), ''Spider-Man Unlimited'', ''Downtown (1999 TV series), Downtown'', ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'', ''Little Bill'', ''WWE SmackDown, WWF Smackdown'', ''The Amanda Show'', ''Happy Tree Friends'', ''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'', ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel'', ''Zoboomafoo'' and Dragon Tales; first appearance of the GEICO advertising campaigns#The GEICO Gecko, GEICO Gecko; DIY Network is launched; the first digital video recorders (DVRs) go on sale, one of them being TiVo. OCN (TV channel), OCN is launched.


2000s

* 2000 in television, 2000: First broadcast of ''Malcolm in the Middle'', ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''MTV Cribs'', ''Survivor (American TV series), Survivor'', ''Jackass (TV series), Jackass'', ''John West Foods#Bear fight commercial, Bear Fight'' (John West Foods), ''Da Ali G Show'', HBOS Marketing Campaign, Halifax Singing Staff, ''106 & Park'', ''Just for Laughs: Gags'', ''Dora the Explorer'', ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'', ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'', ''Static Shock'', ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2000 TV series), Transformers: Robots in Disguise'', ''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'', ''Homestar Runner'', and ''Gilmore Girls''. Nickelodeon on CBS is launched. Boomerang (TV network), Boomerang is launched as its own channel, separate from Cartoon Network. Billy Mays shoots an infomercial for OxiClean. The Foundation for a Better Life is founded. * 2001 in television, 2001: First broadcast of ''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'', ''The Secret Life of Us'', ''Fear Factor'', ''Angelina Ballerina (TV series), Angelina Ballerina'', ''Invader Zim'', ''Oswald (TV series), Oswald'', ''The Book of Pooh'', ''Stanley (2001 TV series), Stanley'', ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'', ''Samurai Jack'', ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh!'', ''Lizzie McGuire'', ''How It's Made'', ''Smallville'', ''Six Feet Under (TV series), Six Feet Under'', ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy'' and ''Totally Spies!''; The Walt Disney Company buys Fox Family Worldwide; Adult Swim, a nighttime programming block on Cartoon Network, is launched; The Faith and Values Channel relaunches as the Hallmark Channel; The world witnesses the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., Washington. Regular programming is suspended in order to bring up-to-date coverage of events relating to the attacks. * 2002 in television, 2002: First broadcast of ''Naruto'', ''American Idol'', ''The Shield (TV series), The Shield'', ''City of Men'', ''Kim Possible'', ''Extreme Makeover'', ''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'', ''8 Simple Rules'', ''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'', ''Madventures (Finnish TV program), Madventures'', ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly'', ''Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'', ''100 Greatest Britons'', ''Winter Sonata'', ''Max and Ruby'', ''Teamo Supremo'', ''Mr. Bean: The Animated Series'', ''Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'', ''Icons (TV series), Icons'', ''Clone High'', ''Spider-Man: The New Animated Series'', ''George Lopez (TV series), George Lopez'', ''Codename: Kids Next Door'', ''Liberty's Kids'', ''Endurance (TV series), Endurance'', ''The Wire'', ''Transformers: Armada'', What's New, Scooby-Doo? and Cyberchase. Discovery HD Theater, the first 24/7 high definition basic cable network, is launched. Nicktoons (American TV channel), Nicktoons (the TV channel) is launched. * 2003 in television, 2003: First broadcast of ''Two and a Half Men'', ''One Tree Hill (TV series), One Tree Hill'', ''Fullmetal Alchemist (TV series), Fullmetal Alchemist'', ''Teen Titans (TV series), Teen Titans'', ''The O.C.'', ''That's So Raven'', Cog (advertisement), Cog (Honda), ''Chappelle's Show'', ''Reno 911!'', ''MythBusters'', ''Dirty Jobs'', Peugeot 206, Peugeot 206 Sculptor, ''Jojo's Circus'', ''Rubbadubbers'', ''Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks'', ''Red vs. Blue'', ''NCIS (TV series), NCIS'', ''Jimmy Kimmel Live'', ''My Life as a Teenage Robot'', ''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'', ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', ''The Venture Bros.'', ''Transformers: Energon'', and ''Making Fiends (web series), Making Fiends'' (the web series); first appearance of iPod advertising#Silhouette style, Silhouette Style (iPod); Rooster Teeth Productions is founded. * 2004 in television, 2004: First broadcast of ''Bleach (TV series), Bleach'', ''Peppa Pig'', ''Drake & Josh'', ''LazyTown'', ''Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends'', ''The Backyardigans'', ''Toddworld'', ''Winx Club'', ''Maya & Miguel'', ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'', ''Phil of the Future'', ''House (TV series), House'', ''Lost (TV series), Lost'', ''Desperate Housewives'', ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'', ''Ghost Hunters (TV series), Ghost Hunters'', ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'', ''The Angry Video Game Nerd'', ''Hassan and Habibah'', ''Samurai Champloo'', ''Sgt. Frog'', ''Monster (manga), Monster'', Citroën C4, Citroën C4 Dancing Robot, ''Super Girl (TV series), Super Girl'', ''Veronica Mars'', ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'', Joey (TV series), Joey, ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor'', ''Hell's Kitchen (British TV series), Hell's Kitchen (UK)'', ''The Apprentice (British TV series), The Apprentice'', ''Danny Phantom'', ''Overhaulin''', ''The Biggest Loser (American TV series), The Biggest Loser'', ''Higglytown Heroes'', ''Atomic Betty'' and ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends''; first appearance of the GEICO Cavemen; Allstate begins its "Are you in good hands?" advertising campaign; Dove (toiletries), Dove launches the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty; Jetix is launched; ''Euro1080'' launches the first high-definition television broadcast. * 2005 in television, 2005: First broadcast of ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''Sonic X'', ''Time Warp Trio'', ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''Spiral (TV series), Spiral'', ''Noghtechin'', ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''My Name is Earl'', ''The Closer'', ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'', ''Krypto the Superdog'', ''Johnny Test'', ''My Gym Partner's a Monkey'', ''Camp Lazlo'', ''noitulovE'' (Guinness), ''Survivorman'', ''So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series), So You Think You Can Dance'', ''Catscratch'', ''Bones (TV series), Bones'', ''Hell's Kitchen (American TV series), Hell's Kitchen (US)'', ''MasterChef'' (independent international versions), ''The Colbert Report'', ''How It Should Have Ended'', ''Moral Orel'', ''The Boondocks (TV series), The Boondocks'', ''Robot Chicken'', ''American Dad!'', ''Squidbillies'', Erin Esurance, ''Everybody Hates Chris'', ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' (U.S.), ''How I Met Your Mother'', ''Criminal Minds'', ''Zoey 101'', ''Deal or No Deal (American game show), Deal or No Deal'', ''Go, Diego, Go!'', ''Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island'', ''Little Einsteins'', Pocoyo, ''Pinky Dinky Doo'', Carlton Draught: Big Ad, ''Supernatural (American TV series), Supernatural'', ''Prison Break'', ''Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf'', ''My Lovely Sam Soon'', ''Sto Para Pente'', ''Ben 10 (2005 TV series), Ben 10'' and ''Puppy Bowl''; PBS Kids Sprout is launched. The Doctor Who (series 1), ''Doctor Who'' revival series begins, 16 years after the original show's cancellation in 1989. Toon Boom Animation, Toon Boom Harmony is released. * 2006 in television, 2006: First broadcast of ''Death Note'', ''High School Musical'', ''Türkisch für Anfänger'', ''Planet Earth (2006 TV series), Planet Earth'', ''Man vs. Wild'', ''Jumong (TV series), Jumong'', ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', ''Psych'', ''Dancing on Ice'', ''Dexter (TV series), Dexter'', ''Torchwood'', ''Friday Night Lights (TV series), Friday Night Lights'', ''Ugly Betty'', ''Hannah Montana'', ''The Upside Down Show'', ''El Hormiguero'', ''Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!'', ''Curious George (TV series), Curious George'', ''Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman'', ''WordGirl'', ''It's a Big Big World'', ''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'', ''Handy Manny'', ''Squirrel Boy'', ''Class of 3000'', ''Kappa Mikey'', ''Wonder Pets'', ''Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes'', ''Top Chef'', ''The IT Crowd'', ''Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe'', ''Code Geass'' and ''30 Rock''; the Netherlands is the first country to move to digital television; France 24 launched; HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc launched; First appearance of The Most Interesting Man in the World (Dos Equis). The WB and UPN shut down and merge to become The CW. BabyFirst is launched. Discovery Times is relaunched as Investigation Discovery (ID). AT&T U-verse is launched. ''Cocomelon'' is launched (as ''ThatsMEonTV''). Crunchyroll is Launched. tvN (South Korean TV channel), tvN is 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 ''Bakugan Battle Brawlers'', ''The Big Bang Theory'', ''Britain's Got Talent'', ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', ''Total Drama'', ''My Friends Tigger & Pooh'', ''Gossip Girl'', ''iCarly'', ''Captain Disillusion'', ''Nostalgia Critic'', ''Zero Punctuation'', ''Heartland (Canadian TV series), Heartland'', ''Shaun the Sheep'', ''The Naked Brothers Band (TV series), The Naked Brothers Band'', the John Lewis Christmas advert, ''Burn Notice'', ''The Golden Path (TV series), The Golden Path'', ''Pushing Daisies'', Monkey (character), Monkey and Al (PG Tips), ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', ''Super Why!'', ''Wordworld'', ''Phineas and Ferb'', ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'', ''Chowder (TV series), Chowder'', ''Transformers: Animated'', ''Back at the Barnyard'', ''Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?'', ''Golden Bride'', ''The Killing (Danish TV series), The Killing'', ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'', ''Mad Men'', ''Damages (TV series), Damages'', and ''Storm Chasers (TV series), Storm Chasers''; first appearance of ''Gorilla (advertisement), Gorilla'' (Cadbury's Dairy Milk); a 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, writers' strike shuts down U.S. scripted programming in November. Hulu is launched. 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'', ''The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series), The Spectacular Spider-Man'', ''The Secret Saturdays'', ''Speed Racer: The Next Generation'', ''Iron Man: Armored Adventures'', ''The Penguins of Madagascar'', ''The Garfield Show'', ''Making Fiends (TV series), Making Fiends'' (the TV series), ''The Suite Life on Deck'', ''Imagination Movers (TV series), Imagination Movers'', ''Wipeout (2008 U.S. game show), Wipeout'', ''Martha Speaks (TV series), Martha Speaks'', ''Ni Hao, Kai-Lan'', ''Sid the Science Kid'', ''True Blood'', ''Simon's Cat'', ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'', ''Dogs 101'', ''Time Warp (TV series), Time Warp'', ''Underbelly (TV series), Underbelly'', ''The Inbetweeners'', ''Radio Arvyla'', ''19 Kids and Counting'', ''The Yogscast'', ''Extra Credits'', ''The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack'', and ''Ben 10: Alien Force'', and Hole in the Wall (American game show), ''Hole in the Wall''; First appearance of the Progressive Insurance mascot Flo (Progressive), Flo; the launch of Discovery Channel's ''I Love the World'' ad campaign; the first 3D TV broadcasts; the historical miniseries ''John Adams (miniseries), John Adams'' premieres on HBO and wins a record-breaking thirteen Emmys. DIC Entertainment folds into Cookie Jar Group. Amazon Unbox is renamed to Amazon Instant Video, Amazon Instant Video on Demand. * 2009 in television, 2009: First broadcast of ''Modern Family'', ''Special Agent Oso'', ''Jungle Junction'', ''Zeke and Luther'', ''Big Time Rush'', ''The Fresh Beat Band'', ''Aaron Stone'', ''The Troop'', ''The Super Hero Squad Show'', ''Pawn Stars'', ''American Ninja Warrior'', ''Cake Boss'', ''Tosh.0'', ''Jersey Shore (TV series), Jersey Shore'', ''Castle (TV series), Castle'', ''Horrible Histories (2009 TV series), Horrible Histories'', ''Dinosaur Train'', ''Cats 101'', Compare the Meerkat, ''The Vampire Diaries'', ''The Good Wife'', ''Cougar Town'', ''Archer (2009 TV series), Archer'', ''Toddlers and Tiaras'', ''16 and Pregnant'', ''Late Night With Jimmy Fallon'', ''The Middle (TV series), The Middle'', ''Glee (TV series), Glee'', ''Parks and Recreation'', ''Community (TV series), Community'', ''Misfits (TV series), Misfits'', ''Ancient Aliens'', ''Monsters Inside Me'', ''River Monsters'', ''Annoying Orange'', ''Fanboy and Chum Chum'', and ''Equals Three''; Discovery Kids Channel is re-launched as Discovery Family, The Hub through a joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery, Inc.; Toon Disney is rebranded as Disney XD; Nick Jr. and TeenNick are launched; Cartoon Network introduces "CN Real", a block of live-action reality shows including ''Destroy Build Destroy''.


2010s

* 2010 in television, 2010: First broadcast of ''Adventure Time'', ''Regular Show'', ''Fish Hooks'', ''Team Umizoomi'', ''Victorious'', ''Sym-Bionic Titan'', ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated'', ''Mad (TV series), Mad'', ''Downton Abbey'', ''Glass Home'', ''Borgen (TV series), Borgen'', ''The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!'', ''Sherlock (TV series), Sherlock'', ''Solsidan (TV series), Solsidan'', ''Pretty Little Liars'', ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', ''Boardwalk Empire'', ''Parenthood (2010 TV series), Parenthood'', ''Louie (American TV series), Louie'', ''Conan (talk show), Conan'', ''The Great British Bake Off'', ''Octonauts'', ''Mike & Molly'', ''Treme (TV series), Treme'', ''Mysteries at the Museum'', ''My Strange Addiction'', ''Luther (TV series), Luther'', ''Zevo-3'', ''Storage Wars'', ''Through the Wormhole'', ''How the Universe Works'', ''The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'', ''Young Justice (TV series), Young Justice'', ''Transformers: Prime'', ''Good Luck Charlie'', ''Pair of Kings'', ''Kick Buttowski'', ''The Jungle Book (2010 TV series), The Jungle Book'', ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'', ''Sidekick (TV series), Sidekick'', ''Ben 10: Ultimate Alien'' and ''The Voice of Holland, The Voice'' (Holland); first airing of "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" (Old Spice); 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'', ''Bob's Burgers'', ''The Looney Tunes Show'', ''Leyla ile Mecnun,'' ''Once Upon a Time (TV series), Once Upon a Time'', ''American Horror Story'', ''The Killing (American TV series), The Killing'', ''The Voice (American TV series), The Voice USA'', ''Austin & Ally'', ''Suits (American TV series), Suits'', ''Teen Wolf (2011 TV series), Teen Wolf'', ''Wild Kratts'' ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates'', ''Justin Time (TV series), Justin Time'', ''My Babysitter's a Vampire (TV series), My Babysitter's a Vampire'', ''Impractical Jokers'', ''Brain Games (2011 TV series), Brain Games'', ''Tanked (TV series), Tanked'', ''Finding Bigfoot'', ''Call of the Wildman'', ''My Cat from Hell'', ''Too Cute (TV series), Too Cute'', ''The Amazing World of Gumball'', ''Episodes (TV series), Episodes'', ''Secret Mountain Fort Awesome'', ''The Problem Solverz'', ''ThunderCats (2011 TV series), ThunderCats'', ''LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu'', ''Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'', ''Last Man Standing (American TV series), Last Man Standing'', ''Shameless (American TV series), Shameless'', ''Grimm (TV series), Grimm'', ''2 Broke Girls'', ''Game Theory (series)'', ''New Girl'', ''Bubble Guppies'', ''Homeland (TV series), Homeland'', ''Almost Naked Animals'', ''A.N.T. Farm'', ''Kickin' It'', and ''Dan Vs.''; State Farm premieres its "State of..." advertising campaign, which includes the "State of Unrest" commercial (a.k.a. "Jake from State Farm"); Discovery HD Theater is re-launched as Velocity (TV network), Velocity; Disney Junior is launched; Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is launched; 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!''; The Yogscast formally incorporates as a company; Twitch (service), Twitch is launched; Barack Obama, President Obama announces the death of Osama bin Laden on live television. * 2012 in television, 2012: First broadcast of ''Gravity Falls'', ''Ultimate Spider-Man (TV series), Ultimate Spider-Man'', ''Lab Rats (American TV series), Lab Rats'', ''Dog with a Blog'', ''Doc McStuffins'', ''Marvin Marvin'', ''Ben 10: Omniverse'', ''The Legend of Korra'', ''The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange'', ''Game Grumps'', ''Did You Know Gaming?'', ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (TV series), JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', ''Sword Art Online (2012 TV series), Sword Art Online'', ''Duck Dynasty'', ''Outrageous Acts of Science'', ''Satyamev Jayate (TV series), Satyamev Jayate'', ''Girls (TV series), Girls'', ''Scandal (TV series), Scandal'', ''Nashville (2012 TV series), Nashville'', ''Državni posao'', ''Motu Patlu'', ''Call the Midwife'', ''Mystery Diners'', ''Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States'', ''House of Lies'', ''Veep'', the Arrowverse#Television series, Arrowverse, ''Catfish: The TV Show'', ''Screen Junkies#Honest Trailers, Honest Trailers'', ''The Mindy Project'', ''Omar (TV series), Omar'', ''Key & Peele'', ''Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'', ''Kitchen (TV series), Kitchen'', ''Hotel Impossible'', ''Here Comes Honey Boo Boo'', and ''My 600-lb Life''; ''Overhaulin''' receives a revival series. First appearance of Stressmannetje (De Lijn); The Red Bull Stratos jump; The 2012 London Olympics becomes the most-watched event of the year. * 2013 in television, 2013: First broadcast of ''Attack on Titan'', ''Rick and Morty'', ''Steven Universe'', ''Wander Over Yonder'', ''Uncle Grandpa'', ''Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures'', ''Sam & Cat'', ''Incredible Crew'', ''Teen Titans Go!'', ''PAW Patrol'', ''Sofia the First'', ''Henry Hugglemonster'', ''Liv and Maddie'', ''Sanjay and Craig'', ''The Thundermans'', ''The Haunted Hathaways'', ''The Americans'', ''Peaky Blinders (TV series), Peaky Blinders'', ''Avengers Assemble (TV series), Avengers Assemble'', ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', ''The Following'', ''House of Cards (American TV series), House of Cards'', ''Bates Motel (TV series), Bates Motel'', ''Pakdam Pakdai'', ''Gogglebox'', ''Broadchurch'', ''Hannibal (TV series), Hannibal'', ''Vikings (2013 TV series), Vikings'', ''Orange is the New Black'', ''The Goldbergs (2013 TV series), The Goldbergs'' and ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine''; First appearance of ''Epic Split'' (Volvo Trucks) and ''Mercedes Benz, Chicken'' (Mercedes Benz) * 2014 in television, 2014: First broadcast of ''True Detective (TV series), True Detective'', ''Black-ish'', ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'', ''Fargo (TV series), Fargo'', ''BoJack Horseman'', ''Gotham (TV series), Gotham'', ''Scorpion (TV series), Scorpion'', ''Gomorrah (TV series), Gomorrah'', ''The 100 (TV series), The 100'', ''Outlander (TV series), Outlander'', ''Lucha Underground'', ''Transparent (TV series), Transparent'', ''Broad City'', ''Over the Garden Wall'', ''Clarence (American TV series), Clarence'', ''Sonic Boom (TV series), Sonic Boom'', ''Star Wars Rebels'', ''Blaze and the Monster Machines'', ''Breadwinners (TV series), Breadwinners'', ''Silicon Valley (TV series), Silicon Valley'', ''The Leftovers (TV series), The Leftovers'', ''Jane the Virgin'', ''Chrisley Knows Best'', ''Girl Meets World'', ''I Didn't Do It (TV series), I Didn't Do It'', and ''Henry Danger''; CBS All Access is launched; Twitch (service), Twitch is bought by Amazon (company), Amazon. * 2015 in television, 2015: First broadcast of ''Better Call Saul'', ''Star vs. the Forces of Evil'', ''Game Shakers'', ''Empire (2015 TV series), Empire'', ''Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir'', ''Narcos'', ''Daredevil (TV series), Daredevil'', ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV series), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'', Trivago#Marketing#The "Trivago girl", Trivago Girl, ''Lucifer (TV series), Lucifer'', ''Life in Pieces'', ''Fresh Off the Boat'', ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', ''Love Island (2015 TV series), Love Island'', ''Mr. Robot'', ''Film Theory (series)'', ''Local 58'', ''We Bare Bears'', ''Harvey Beaks'', ''Pig Goat Banana Cricket'', ''Supernoobs'', ''Shimmer and Shine'', ''Guardians of the Galaxy (TV series), Guardians of the Galaxy'', ''Schitt's Creek'', ''Critical Role'', ''Master of None'', ''Deutschland 83'', ''Lip Sync Battle'', ''F is for Family'', ''The Man in the High Castle (TV series), The Man in the High Castle'' and ''Superstore (TV series), Superstore''; 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; Sling TV is founded; Amazon Instant Video becomes Amazon Video; 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 ''The Haunted House (anime), The Haunted House'', ''Stranger Things'', ''My Hero Academia'', ''The Night Of'', ''The Loud House'', ''Elena of Avalor'', ''Bizaardvark'', The Lion Guard, ''Fleabag'', ''War & Peace (2016 TV series), War & Peace'', ''Roots (2016 miniseries), Roots'', ''Mann Mayal'', ''Chhoti Anandi'', ''Atlanta (TV series), Atlanta'', ''This Is Us'', ''The Good Place'', ''Full Frontal with Samantha Bee'', ''MatPat's Game Lab'', ''Escape the Night'', ''American Housewife'', ''American Crime Story'', ''Insecure (TV series), Insecure'', ''Degrassi: Next Class'', ''Westworld (TV series), Westworld'', ''Tales of Arcadia'', ''Victoria (British TV series), Victoria'', ''Ben 10 (2016 TV series), Ben 10'', ''The Crown (TV series), The Crown'', and ''Fuller House (TV series), Fuller House''; Amazon Prime Video is launched worldwide (except for Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria), expanding its reach beyond the United States; ABC Family is re-launched as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform; Beam (website), Beam is launched and is bought by Microsoft in the same year. 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'', ''American Gods (TV series), American Gods'', ''Riverdale (2017 TV series), Riverdale'', ''Big Little Lies (TV series), Big Little Lies'', ''Young Sheldon'', ''Star Trek: Discovery'', ''DuckTales (2017 TV series), DuckTales'' (2017), ''Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, Tangled: The Series'' (later known as ''Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure''), ''Spider-Man (2017 TV series), Marvel's Spider-Man'', ''Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid'', ''Hanazuki: Full of Treasures'', ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'', ''The End of the F***ing World'', ''Big Mouth (American TV series), Big Mouth'', ''Bill Nye Saves the World'', ''Mind Field'', ''The Handmaid's Tale (TV series), The Handmaid's Tale'', ''Big City Greens'', ''GLOW (TV series), GLOW'', ''Counterpart (TV series), Counterpart'', ''Legion (TV series), Legion'', ''A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV series), A Series of Unfortunate Events'', and ''Petscop''; 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; Sprout is rebranded as Universal Kids; Beam is renamed to Mixer (service), Mixer. * 2018 in television, 2018: First broadcast of ''Cobra Kai'', ''Hilda (TV series), Hilda'', ''The Circle (British TV series), The Circle'', ''Bluey (2018 TV series), Bluey'', ''Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'', ''Barry (TV series), Barry'', ''Killing Eve'', ''Bodyguard (British TV series), Bodyguard'', ''Pose (TV series), Pose'', ''Succession (TV series), Succession'', ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'', ''Total DramaRama'', ''Disenchantment (TV series), Disenchantment'', ''The Last O.G.'', ''Narcos: Mexico'', ''A.P. Bio'', ''Kidding (TV series), Kidding'', ''Lodge 49'', ''Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj'', ''Carpool Karaoke: The Series, Carpool Karaoke'', ''Cloak & Dagger (TV series), Cloak & Dagger'', ''Final Space'', ''Forever (2018 TV series), Forever'', ''Pop Team Epic'', ''Homecoming (TV series), Homecoming'', ''Manifest (TV series), Manifest'', ''Grown-ish'', ''Splitting Up Together'', and ''The Kids Are Alright (TV series), The Kids Are Alright''; Velocity is rebranded as Motor Trend (TV network), Motor Trend; 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 ''Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba'', ''Love, Death & Robots'', ''Chernobyl (miniseries), Chernobyl'', ''The Mandalorian'', ''Harley Quinn (TV series), Harley Quinn'', ''Watchmen (TV series), Watchmen'', ''His Dark Materials (TV series), His Dark Materials'', ''Hazbin Hotel'', ''The Slow Mo Guys, Planet Slow Mo'', ''The Masked Singer (American TV series), The Masked Singer'', ''The Boys (TV series), The Boys'', ''All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite'', ''Russian Doll (TV series), Russian Doll'', ''The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance'', ''Green Eggs and Ham (TV series), Green Eggs and Ham'', ''The Umbrella Academy (TV series), The Umbrella Academy'', ''Euphoria (American TV series), Euphoria'', ''Ramy (TV series), Ramy'', ''The Casagrandes'', ''What We Do in the Shadows (TV series), What We Do in the Shadows'', ''The Other Two (TV series), The Other Two'', ''Amphibia (TV series), Amphibia'', ''Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese'', ''Undone (TV series), Undone'', ''Black Monday (TV series), Black Monday'', ''Hanna (TV series), Hanna'', ''Sex Education (TV series), Sex Education'', ''When They See Us'', ''The Promised Neverland'', ''Dr. Stone'', ''Carmen Sandiego (TV series), Carmen Sandiego'', ''Good Omens (TV series), Good Omens'', ''The Morning Show (American TV series), The Morning Show'', ''Mixed-ish'' and ''Schooled (TV series), Schooled''; the Viacom (2005–2019), second incarnation of Viacom and the CBS Corporation, second incarnation of CBS Corporation 2019 merger of CBS and Viacom, merge to form ViacomCBS, ViacomCBS Inc.; The Walt Disney Company launches its streaming service, Disney+; HBO Max is launched.


2020s

* 2020 in television, 2020: First broadcast of ''Tiger King'', ''Ted Lasso'', ''Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'', ''Avenue 5'', ''I May Destroy You'', ''Stargirl (TV series), Stargirl'', ''Dispatches from Elsewhere'', ''The Owl House'', ''Side Hustle'', ''The Great (2020 TV series), The Great'', ''Dash & Lily'', ''Solar Opposites'', ''Central Park (TV series), Central Park'', ''Close Enough'' and ''Utopia Falls''; the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television, COVID-19 pandemic shuts down production on many television programs; ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy in the Philippines; Peacock (streaming service), Peacock is launched. TVING is launched. * 2021 in television, 2021: First broadcast of ''Squid Game'', ''Invincible (TV series), Invincible'', ''Girls5eva'', ''Hacks (TV series), Hacks'', ''Reservation Dogs'', ''That Girl Lay Lay'', ''Only Murders in the Building'', ''Abbott Elementary'', ''It's a Sin (TV series), It's a Sin'', ''Mandela Catalogue'', and the first of the List of Marvel Cinematic Universe television series#Marvel Studios, Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ shows; Paramount+ is launched. * 2022 in television, 2022: First broadcast of ''Severance (TV series), Severance'', ''Dancing with Myself (TV series), Dancing with Myself'', ''Chainsaw Man'', ''Hamster & Gretel'', ''Smiling Friends'', ''The Baby (TV series), The Baby'', ''Don't Hug Me I'm Scared'', ''All American: Homecoming'', and ''Becoming A Popstar''; billions watch the state funeral of Elizabeth II, speculated to be the most watched television event in history * 2023 in television, 2023: First broadcast of ''Hazbin Hotel'', ''The Last of Us (TV series), The Last of Us''.


See also

* List of years in film * List of years in animation * Table of years in radio * Timeline of the BBC * Timeline of the introduction of television in countries * List of web television series * List of years in American television * List of years in Australian television * List of years in Austrian television * List of years in Belgian television * List of years in Brazilian television * List of years in British television * List of years in Canadian television * List of years in Croatian television * List of years in Czech television * List of years in Danish television * List of years in Dutch television * List of years in Estonian television * List of years in French television * List of years in German television * List of years in Greek television * List of years in Hong Kong television * List of years in Indian television * List of years in Indonesian television * List of years in Irish television * List of years in Israeli television * List of years in Italian television * List of years in Japanese television * List of years in Mexican television * List of years in New Zealand television * List of years in Norwegian television * List of years in Pakistani television * List of years in Philippine television * List of years in Polish television * List of years in Portuguese television * List of years in Scottish television * List of years in Singapore television * List of years in South African television * List of years in South Korean television * List of years in Spanish television * List of years in Swedish television * List of years in Thai television * List of years in Turkish television


References

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