This page indexes the individual year in television pages. Each year is annotated with a significant event as a reference point.
2000s
- 2003 in television -
- 2002 in television - The Osbournes reality show premieres on cable television.
- 2001 in television - The Fairly Oddparents premiere
- 2000 in television - Survivor premieres on CBS, sparking a brief interest in "reality tv".
1990s
- 1999 in television - The Sopranos premiere on cable television
- 1998 in television - Sex and the City premiere
- 1997 in television - King of the Hill premiere
- 1996 in television - Zenith introduces the first HDTV-compatible front projection TV in the U.S..
- 1995 in television - First television program broadcast via the Internet
- 1994 in television - Friends premieres on NBC.
- 1993 in television - Beavis and Butthead begins airing on MTV
- 1992 in television - After 30 years on the air, Johnny Carson announces his retirement
- 1991 in television - First television sets with bulit-in closed-caption display are introduced in the U.S
- 1990 in television - David Lynch's Twin Peaks airs.
1980s
- 1989 in television - The Simpsons and Seinfeld premiere
- 1988 in television - Roseanne premiere
- 1987 in television - Sonny and Cher reunite for a performance on Late Night with David Letterman, Married with Children and Full House premiere
- 1986 in television - The FOX Broadcasting Company becomes the United States' fourth commercial television network.
- 1985 in television - Sabado Gigante moves from Santiago, Chile to Miami, Florida
- 1984 in television - The Cosby Show debuts on NBC
- 1983 in television - Over 125 million Americans tune in to watch the final episode of M*A*S*H
- 1982 in television - Cheers and Family Ties debut on NBC
- 1981 in television - MTV debuts on Cable television, playing music videos 24 hours a day
- 1980 in television - "Who shot J.R.?" cliffhanger on Dallas
1970s
- 1979 in television - 43 million viewers watch "Elvis!" on ABC.
- 1978 in television -
- 1977 in television - South Africa has television service for the first time.
- 1976 in television - UK punk group the Sex Pistols cause controversy and outrage by swearing on national television
- 1975 in television - Saturday Night Live's first time on TV
- 1974 in television - Happy Days premieres on NBC
- 1973 in television - Large-screen projection color TVs hit the market
- 1972 in television - M*A*S*H premieres
- 1971 in television - All in the Family premieres
- 1970 in television - Soap opera All My Children premieres
1960s
- 1969 in television - A live transmission from the moon is viewed by 600 million people around the world when Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.
- 1968 in television - First live network transmission of video from inside a manned U.S. space capsule in orbit
- 1967 in television - PAL and SECAM standards introduced in Europe. In the USA, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Carol Burnett Show premiere
- 1966 in television - Canadian television stations broadcast in color for the first time.
- 1965 in television - Sony introduces the Betamax, a home video tape recorder
- 1964 in television - The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan show, breaking television ratings records
- 1963 in television - First episode of Dr Who is broadcast in the UK.
- 1962 in television - Walter Cronkite becomes the anchorman of the CBS Evening News
- 1961 in television - The Dick Van Dyke Show premieres
- 1960 in television - American Presidential Candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon debate live on television
1950s
- 1959 in television - The quiz show scandals
- 1958 in television - Ampex demonstrates their design for a color Video Tape Recorder
- 1957 in television - Jack Paar becomes the permanent host for NBC's Tonight Show
- 1956 in television Television transmission begins in Australia. - Black-and-white portable TV sets hit the market
- 1955 in television - The Honeymooners premieres
- 1954 in television - NTSC video standard introduced. The Tonight Show begins airing on the NBC network
- 1953 in television - The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is seen by approximately 20 million TV viewers in the United Kingdom. TV Guide is published for the first time
- 1952 in television - The first political advertisements appear on U.S. television
- 1951 in television - I Love Lucy debuts on CBS.
- 1950 in television Television broadcasting begins in Mexico. The FCC approves CBS's color TV system
1940s
- 1949 in television - The first Emmy Awards are presented
- 1948 in television - Ed Sullivan show premieres on CBS
- 1947 in television - Howdy Doody premieres on NBC First World Series is broadcast live on both the DuMont Television Network and NBC.
- 1946 in television - The BBC resumes television broadcasting after its suspension during the Second World War. RCA demonstrates all-electronic color television system. FCC issues first network license to DuMont.
- 1945 in television - DuMont begins first network broadcasts, August 9. Applies for first network license.
- 1944 in television -
- 1943 in television - The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is formed
- 1942 in television - FCC terminates all television broadcasting because of the war. DuMont petitions FCC to resume broadcasting and receives approval.
- 1941 in television - Commercial TV authorized by the FCC
- 1940 in television - The FCC holds public hearings on television.
1930s
- 1939 in television - The BBC suspends its television service owing to the outbreak of the Second World War. The first major league baseball game is televised. Broadcasts from 1939 New York World's Fair.
- 1938 in television - DuMont manufacturers and sells first all electronic television sets to the public. Baird gives the first public demonstration of colour projection television
- 1937 in television - RCA demonstrates projection television
- 1936 in television - The BBC starts a regular national television brodcasting service in the UK.
- 1935 in television - First TV broadcasts in Germany
- 1934 in television - Philo Farnsworth demonstrates a non mechanical television system
- 1933 in television - CBS suspends its television broadcasts
- 1932 in television - First televised United States Presidential election coverage
- 1931 in television - Allen B. DuMont perfects long-lasting reliable cathode-ray tubes for television reception. Canada's first television station, VE9EC, begins broadcasting in Montreal
- 1930 in television - Baird installs a television at 10 Downing Street, London, the British Prime Minister's residence
1920s
- 1929 in television - In September the Baird Television Development Company begins experimental broadcasting in association with the BBC.
- 1928 in television - Baird demonstrates a mechanical colour television system. On May 28, the first television station WGY begins broadcasting in Schenectady, New York.
- 1927 in television - Baird demonstrates the first ever system for recording television. His Phonovision system records pictures and sound on conventional 78rpm gramophone records.
- 1926 in television - On January 26 John Logie Baird gives the first public demonstration of mechanical television to members of the Royal Institution.
- 1925 in television - On October 2 John Logie Baird achieves transmission and remote display of the first television pictures in his laboratory.
- 1923 in television - Vladimir Zworykin patents the "Iconoscope", the first ancestor of the electric scanning television camera.
1900s
- 1908 in television - In a letter to Nature A.A. Campbell-Swinton describes the modern electronic camera and display system which others are to develop throughout the 1920s.
- 1907 in television - Boris Rosing transmits silhouette images of geometric shapes, using a Nipkow disc, mirror-drum, and a cathode-ray tube receiver.
- 1900 in television - The word television is coined by Constantin Perskyi at the International Electricity Congress in Paris.