List of years in television

1920s

• 1925: No events for this year.
• 1926: John Logie Baird demonstrates the world's first television system.
• 1927: The BBC begins broadcasting as the British Broadcasting Corporation under the Royal Charter.
• 1928: John Logie Baird's Television Development Company demonstrates their model A, B, and C 'televisors' to the general public.
• 1929: John Logie Baird begins broadcasting 30-minute-long programmes for his mechanically scanned televisions.

1930s

• 1930: Baird installs a television at 10 Downing Street, London, the British Prime Minister's residence. On July 14, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and his family use it to watch the first ever television drama, The Man with the Flower in His Mouth.
• 1931: Allen B. DuMont perfects long-lasting reliable cathode ray tubes later used for television reception. TV reaches the Soviet Union and France.
• 1932: The BBC starts a regular public television broadcasting service in the UK.
• 1933: The first television revue, Looking In, 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: Philo Farnsworth demonstrates a non-mechanical television system. The agreement for joint experimental transmissions by the BBC and John Logie Baird's company comes to an end. First 30 Line Mechanical Television Test Transmissions commence in April in Brisbane Australia conducted by Thomas Elliott and Dr Val McDowall.
• 1935: First regular scheduled TV broadcasts in Germany by the TV Station Paul Nipkow. The final transmissions of John Logie Baird's 30-line television system are broadcast by the BBC. First TV broadcasts in France on February 13 on Paris PTT Vision.
• 1936: The 1936 Summer Olympics becomes the first Olympic Games to be broadcast on television.
• 1937: The BBC Television Service broadcasts the world's first televised Shakespeare play, a thirty-minute version of Twelfth Night, and the first football match, Arsenal F.C. vs. Arsenal reserves.
• 1938: DuMont Laboratories 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); in one of the lengthiest experimental television broadcasts, the BBC broadcasts a 90-minute version of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Leslie Banks, Constance Cummings, and James Mason.
• 1939: The BBC suspends its television service owing to the outbreak of the Second World War. The 1939 New York World's Fair was broadcast. Japan is the first Asian country to air television.

1940s

• 1940: The American Federal Communications Commission, (FCC), holds public hearings about television.
• 1941: First television advertisements 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: FCC terminates all American television broadcasting because of the war; DuMont petitions FCC to resume broadcasting and receives approval.
• 1943: Hänsel und Gretel is the first complete opera to be broadcast on television, but only in New York; first (experimental) telecast of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. 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
• 1944: American Broadcasting Company, (ABC), is formed.
• 1945: National Broadcasting Company (NBC) begins the first regularly scheduled television network service in the United States.
• 1946: RCA demonstrates all-electronic color television system; the DuMont Television Network begins broadcasting.
• 1947: First broadcast of Howdy Doody, Kraft Television Theatre, A Diamond is Forever (De Beers) and Meet the Press; the World Series is broadcast live for the first time; the 1947 Tournament of Roses Parade becomes the very first parade ever televised.
• 1948: First broadcast of The Ed Sullivan Show and Texaco Star Theater; the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade moves from radio to television
• 1949: First broadcast of The Lone Ranger, Crusader Rabbit and Mama; 1st Primetime Emmy Awards

1950s

• 1950: First broadcast of Come Dancing, Broadway Open House, Your Show of Shows and What's My Line?; Cuba is the first Caribbean country to receive TV; Brazil is the first South American country to receive TV; Nielsen Media Research begins to provide television ratings data; Jack Benny and Burns & Allen move from radio to TV; Bob Hope appears in his first TV special.
• 1951: The first broadcast of live United States transcontinental television takes place in San Francisco, California from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference. First broadcast of I Love Lucy, See It Now, Dragnet, the Hallmark Hall of Fame, Search for Tomorrow, Sua vida me pertence, Love of Life and The Roy Rogers Show
• 1952: First broadcast of Today (NBC), This Is Your Life, Everyone Loves a Slinky, Tony the Tiger (Kellogg's Frosted Flakes), Adventures of Superman, Omnibus, and Flower Pot Men; Hockey Night in Canada and The Guiding Light move from radio to TV.
• 1953: First broadcast of Panorama; the coronation of Elizabeth II is the first ceremony of its kind to be broadcast on television.
• 1954: First broadcast of The Tonight Show, Father Knows Best, Marlboro Man, Disneyland, The Jolly Green Giant and Lassie; NTSC video standard for color television is introduced, and National Educational Television (NET) is launched.
• 1955: First broadcast of The Honeymooners, The Mickey Mouse Club, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, The Benny Hill Show, The Sooty Show, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Gunsmoke and Captain Kangaroo; ITV launches in the UK; millions of viewers watch the grand opening of Disneyland in California.
• 1956: First broadcast of The Edge of Night, As the World Turns, The Price Is Right, The Tipps Family (PG Tips), Playhouse 90, the Eurovision Song Contest and Hancock's Half Hour
• 1957: First broadcast of Perry Mason, Have Gun — Will Travel, Leave It to Beaver, Senda prohibida, and Carosello
• 1958: First broadcast of Blue Peter, Quatermass and the Pit, The Donna Reed Show, Moonlight Mask and The Huckleberry Hound Show; the quiz show scandals wipe out The $64,000 Question and Twenty-One.
• 1959: First broadcast of The Twilight Zone, Telejornal, Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends, Think Small (Volkswagan), Trix Rabbit, Snap, Crackle and Pop (Rice Krispies), The Untouchables, Rawhide, first ever Barbie commercial and Bonanza (which runs for fourteen years)

1960s

• 1960: First broadcast of The Andy Griffith Show, The Flintstones, Coronation Street and Tales of the Riverbank; American presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon debate live on television.
• 1961: First broadcast of The Avengers, The Defenders, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Morecambe and Wise Show, The Milky Bar Kid and Car 54, Where Are You?
• 1962: First broadcast of The Beverly Hillbillies, Steptoe and Son, The Jetsons, University Challenge, Elgar, That Was The Week That Was, The Late Late Show (Ireland) and Sábado Gigante; first satellite television relayed by Telstar.
• 1963: First broadcast of Doctor Who, General Hospital, The Fugitive, Astro Boy, We Try Harder (Avis) and The Outer Limits; Martin Luther King Jr. addresses his famous I Have a Dream speech to the world; The world watches in horror over the Assassination of John F. Kennedy.
• 1964: First broadcast of Gilligan's Island, The Munsters, Bewitched, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Lucky the Leprechaun (Lucky Charms), The Addams Family, Top of the Pops, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Match of the Day, Jeopardy!, Jonny Quest and the Up series; Broadcast of U.S. president Lyndon Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act Of 1964; The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.
• 1965: First broadcast of I Dream of Jeannie, Days of Our Lives, Get Smart, Thunderbirds, The Dean Martin Show, Hogan's Heroes, Lost in Space, Till Death Us Do Part, Peanuts, Des chiffres et des lettres, Tomorrow's World, Pilsbury Doughboy, The Magic Roundabout and The War Game; Nigeria is the first African country to receive TV.
• 1966: First broadcast of Star Trek, Batman (the live-action TV series), The Monkees, Dark Shadows, Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet, Ultra Series, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, That Girl, Cathy Come Home and Mission: Impossible; England win the World Cup Final, seen by tens of millions.
• 1967: First broadcast of The Carol Burnett Show, The Prisoner, The Flying Nun, News at Ten, Captain Birdseye, Speed Racer, Spider-Man, The Phil Donahue Show and Ambassador Magma; PAL and SECAM colour standards introduced in Europe, with BBC2 making their first colour broadcasts.
• 1968: First broadcast of 60 Minutes, One Life to Live, Dad's Army, Julia, Columbo, Elvis, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the Keebler Elves, The Banana Splits, Hawaii Five-O, the Cadbury's Milk Tray Man, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and Adam-12
• 1969: First broadcast of Sesame Street, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Monty Python's Flying Circus, On the Buses, The Brady Bunch and Nu, pogodi!; Apollo 11 Moon landing broadcast live worldwide; completion of Fernsehturm Berlin.

1970s

• 1970: First broadcast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Partridge Family, The Odd Couple, McDonaldland, Monday Night Football, The Adventures of Rupert Bear and All My Children; PBS is launched.
• 1971: First broadcast of All in the Family, Kamen Rider, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Chespirito, The Two Ronnies, Upstairs, Downstairs, La Linea, The Generation Game and Parkinson
• 1972: First broadcast of M*A*S*H, Emmerdale, Mastermind, Kamiondžije, El Chavo, Rainbow, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, El Chapulín Colorado, The Bob Newhart Show, Little Mikey (Quaker's Life Cereal), Great Performances and Maude; HBO is launched.
• 1973: First broadcast of Boy on the Bike (Hovis), The Ascent of Man, Moonbase 3, The Wombles, Super Friends, The Young and the Restless, An American Family, Quicky the Nesquik Bunny, the Duracell Bunny, Ein Herz und eine Seele, Schoolhouse Rock!, Seventeen Moments of Spring, Tetley Tea Folk, Last of the Summer Wine and The World at War
• 1974: First broadcast of Chico and the Man, Derrick, Happy Days, Little House on the Prairie, Kool-Aid Man, Police Woman, Space Battleship Yamato, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Land of the Lost, Porridge, Smash Martians, Rhoda, Good Times, The Rockford Files, and Tiswas; 1st Daytime Emmy Awards; Richard M. Nixon announces his resignation on live television.
• 1975: First broadcast of Starsky & Hutch, Baretta, Barney Miller, Fawlty Towers, Good Morning America, One Day at a Time, Saturday Night Live, Space: 1999, The Jeffersons, The Naked Civil Servant, Welcome Back, Kotter, Wheel of Fortune and Wonder Woman; Sony introduces the Betamax home video tape recorder.
• 1976: First broadcast of The Muppet Show, I, Claudius, Grlom u jagode, Honey Monster (Sugar Puffs), Loriot, SCTV, Austin City Limits, Andrex Puppy, Charlie's Angels, Family Feud, The Gong Show, Laverne and Shirley and Nuts in May; videocassette recorders go on sale; completion of CN Tower.
• 1977: First broadcast of Abigail's Party, CHiPs, Eight Is Enough, ¿Qué Pasa, USA?, Roots, Soap, It'll Be Alright on the Night, Lou Grant, the Cadbury's Caramel Bunny, Hungarian Folktales, Three's Company, Top Gear and Live from the Met
• 1978: First broadcast of An Ordinary Miracle, Abarembo Shogun, Battlestar Galactica, Dallas, Diff'rent Strokes, WKRP in Cincinnati, The Incredible Hulk, The Dating Game, Ski Sunday, Fantasy Island, Grange Hill, Matador, Mork & Mindy, Pennies from Heaven, Taxi, Future Boy Conan and Deeply Regretted By...
• 1979: First broadcast of Doraemon, Benson, Blue Remembered Hills, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Hart to Hart, Knots Landing, Life on Earth, Anne of Green Gables, Antiques Roadshow, Los Ricos También Lloran, Real People, Worzel Gummidge, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Facts of Life, BuzzBee the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee, You Can't Do That on Television, The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed, The Very Same Munchhausen and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; ESPN and Nickelodeon are launched.

1980s

• 1980: First broadcast of Berlin Alexanderplatz, Magnum PI, Nightline, BBC Children in Need, Vruć vetar, Strumpet City and Yes Minister; Cable News Network (CNN) is launched.
• 1981: First broadcast of The Smurfs, Hill Street Blues, Urusei Yatsura, The People's Court, Absolut Bottle (Absolut Vodka), Wetten, dass..?, Dynasty, Greatest American Hero, Postman Pat, Danger Mouse, "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?, Elvira's Movie Macabre, Falcon Crest, Only Fools and Horses and Brideshead Revisited; MTV launched; hundreds of millions watch Prince Charles Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer; A writers' strike disrupts U.S. television for three months.
• 1982: First broadcast of Cheers, Knight Rider, Family Ties, Countdown, Remington Steele, Brookside, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Chiquilladas, Macross, The Snowman, Boys from the Blackstuff, Newhart and St. Elsewhere; Channel 4 (UK) and The Weather Channel launched.
• 1983: First broadcast of The A-Team, The Day After, V (original miniseries), 1984 (Apple Computers), He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Inspector Gadget, Fraggle Rock, Oshin, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Reading Rainbow, Press Your Luck, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Eddie Murphy Delirious, The Joy of Painting, An Englishman Abroad, J. R. Hartley (Yellow Pages), Blackadder and Terrahawks; Disney Channel launched.
• 1984: First broadcast of Airwolf, Blue Thunder, Murder, She Wrote, Miami Vice, Fist of the North Star, Who's the Boss?, Top lista nadrealista, The Cosby Show, The Transformers, Voltron, Night Court, Tales from the Darkside, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, Where's the beef? (Wendy's), Muppet Babies, La piovra, Santa Barbara, Spitting Image, Heimat and The Jewel in the Crown; A&E and Canal+ launched.
• 1985: First broadcast of MacGyver, Growing Pains, The Raccoons, ThunderCats, Neighbours, Mr. Belvedere, Moonlighting, 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: First broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Perfect Strangers, Double Dare, Designing Women, Chester Cheetah (Cheetos), ALF, Malgudi Days, Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin, Dragon Ball, The Scottish Widow (Scottish Widows), London's Burning, Takeshi's Castle, The Noid (Domino's Pizza), Vasko de Gama from Rupcha Village, Alternatywy 4, first My Pet Monster commercial, Pee-wee's Playhouse, Saint Seiya, The California Raisins, Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, The Singing Detective and Pingu; the Fox Broadcasting Company, (Fox), is launched, television is introduced in Mayotte and Niue.
• 1987: First broadcast of Full House, Married... with Children, DuckTales (1987), Headbangers Ball, Thirtysomething, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ChuckleVision, Ramayan, Fireman Sam, Inspector Morse, The Bold and the Beautiful, Star Trek: The Next Generation, This is Your Brain on Drugs, The Tracey Ullman Show and 21 Jump Street (TV series)
• 1988: First broadcast of Roseanne, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Red Dwarf, In the Heat of the Night, Just Do It (Nike), Murphy Brown, Yo! MTV Raps, Garfield and Friends, America's Most Wanted, The Wonder Years and Mahabharat; TNT, (Turner Network Television), is launched; first LCD televisions go on sale; a writers' strike disrupts U.S. television for five months.
• 1989: First broadcast of The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Family Matters, Baywatch, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Saved By The Bell, American Gladiators, Dekalog, Wallace and Gromit, Hey Dude, Face (British Airways), America's Funniest Home Videos, Quantum Leap, COPS, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Shining Time Station, Coach and Inside Edition; CNBC and Eurosport launched.

1990s

• 1990: First broadcast of TaleSpin, Beverly Hills, 90210, In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Wings, Law & Order, Tiny Toon Adventures, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Twin Peaks, Bobby's World, Mr. Bean, and Northern Exposure
• 1991: First broadcast of Home Improvement, Dinosaurs, Darkwing Duck, Step By Step, Nummer 28, Papa and Nicole (Renault), The Julekalender, Æon Flux, the first three Nicktoons (Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren & Stimpy Show) and The Jerry Springer Show
• 1992: First broadcast of The Larry Sanders Show, Mad About You, Batman: The Animated Series, Barney & Friends, Martin, The Real World, Cha Cha Cha, YuYu Hakusho, Bananas in Pyjamas, Sailor Moon, Melrose Place, X-Men, and Absolutely Fabulous; Cartoon Network is launched.
• 1993: First broadcast of Late Show with David Letterman, Animaniacs, The X-Files, Beavis and Butt-Head, Power Rangers, Got Milk?, WWF Monday Night Raw, Walker, Texas Ranger, Boy Meets World, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, VeggieTales, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Cracker, seaQuest DSV, The Nanny, Ricki Lake and Frasier
• 1994: First broadcast of Friends, Party of Five, The Kingdom, Chicago Hope, Babylon 5, The National Lottery Draws, Dining Room Table (IKEA), Inside the Actors Studio, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Spider-Man, The Tick, ER, All That, and Gullah Gullah Island; Turner Classic Movies is launched; several TV stations in the US switch their affiliates until 1996.
• 1995: First broadcast of Father Ted, NileCity 105,6, The Wayans Bros., Spokescandies (M&M's), Xena: Warrior Princess, Triple Nine, The Late Late Show, WCW Monday Nitro, Road Rules, The Drew Carey Show, Budweiser Frogs, Mad TV, Holidays are Coming (Coca-Cola), JAG, El y Ella, Sevcec, and O. J. Simpson murder trial televised; the programme Rox makes a move to the internet, by becoming the first ever web series; The History Channel is launched.
• 1996: First broadcast of The Crocodile Hunter, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Blue's Clues, Hey Arnold!, Spin City, Kenan and Kel, The Daily Show, Judge Judy, Churchill Nodding Dog, Arthur, Detective Conan, Dexter's Laboratory, Our Friends in the North, and Everybody Loves Raymond; Fox News is launched; the first high-definition television broadcasts; the first DVDs and DVD players go on sale.
• 1997: First broadcast of South Park, Pokémon, Stargate SG-1, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rachel Leigh Cook's Brain on Drugs, King of the Hill, Todd MacFarlane's Spawn, Teletubbies, Alles Kan Beter, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, Priceless (Mastercard), Daria and I'm Alan Partridge; first plasma televisions on sale; millions watch the funeral of Princess Diana.
• 1998: First broadcast of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, The Powerpuff Girls, Dawson's Creek, Will & Grace, Charmed, Cowboy Bebop, That '70s Show, Bob The Builder, Sex and the City, Khakis Swing (GAP Inc.), WCW Thunder, The Royle Family, and The King of Queens; Kingston Communications launches the first major video-on-demand service.
• 1999: First broadcast of SpongeBob SquarePants, The Sopranos, Family Guy, Futurama, One Piece, The West Wing, Whassup? (Budweiser), Digimon: Digital Monsters, Ed, Edd n Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, WWF Smackdown, The Amanda Show, Happy Tree Friends, Big Brother (Netherlands), the GEICO Gecko, Walking with Prehistoric Life, Yo soy Betty, la fea, Surfer (Guinness), Freaks and Geeks, Trick, and Angel; first digital video recorders go on sale.

2000s

• 2000: First broadcast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Malcolm in the Middle, MTV Cribs, Survivor, Even Stevens, Jackass, Bear Fight (John West Foods), Da Ali G Show, Halifax Singing Staff, 106 & Park, Just for Laughs: Gags, Dora the Explorer, Star Trek: Enterprise, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Homestar Runner and Gilmore Girls
• 2001: First broadcast of 24, Scrubs, The Office (UK), Band of Brothers, Sangdo, Merchants of Joseon, The Secret Life of Us, Fear Factor, The Fairly OddParents, Invader Zim, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Samurai Jack, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lizzie McGuire, How It's Made, Smallville and Six Feet Under; The world witnesses the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington. Regular programming is suspended in order to bring up to date coverage of events relating to the attacks.
• 2002: First broadcast of American Idol, Kim Possible, The Shield, City of Men, Extreme Makeover, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Madventures, Firefly, Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, 100 Greatest Britons, Winter Sonata, The Basil Brush Show, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, George Lopez, The Wire and Naruto
• 2003: First broadcast of Two and a Half Men, One Tree Hill, The O.C., That's So Raven, Teen Titans, Cog (Honda), Chappelle's Show, Reno 911!, Mythbusters, Peugeot 206 Sculptor, Dae Jang Geum, NCIS, Jimmy Kimmel Live, All In, Silhouette Style (iPod), Little Britain, Peep Show, Arrested Development, Los Serrano, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Venture Bros.
• 2004: First broadcast of Bleach, Desperate Housewives, House, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, the GEICO Cavemen, Battlestar Galactica, Ghost Hunters, Hassan and Habibah, Peppa Pig, LazyTown, Drake & Josh, Citroën C4 Dancing Robot, Super Girl, The Angry Video Game Nerd, Veronica Mars, Entourage, Hell's Kitchen, the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, The Apprentice, The Biggest Loser, Lost and The X Factor; Euro1080 launches the first high-definition television broadcast.
• 2005: First broadcast of Avatar: The Last Airbender, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Grey's Anatomy, Spiral, Noghtechin, Dancing with the Stars, Ben 10, My Name is Earl, The Closer, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, noitulovE (Guinness), So You Think You Can Dance, Bones, The Colbert Report, How It Should Have Ended, Robot Chicken, American Dad!, Erin Esurance, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office (U.S.), How I Met Your Mother, Criminal Minds, Deal or No Deal, Carlton Draught: Big Ad, Supernatural, Prison Break, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, My Lovely Sam Soon and Sto Para Pente
• 2006: First broadcast of High School Musical, Türkisch für Anfänger, Planet Earth, Jumong, Heroes, Psych, Dancing on Ice, The Most Interesting Man in the World (Dos Equis), Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Ugly Betty, Hannah Montana, 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; The WB and UPN shut down and merge to become The CW.
• 2007: First broadcast of The Big Bang Theory, Britain's Got Talent, Gorilla (Cadbury's Dairy Milk), Phineas and Ferb, Total Drama, Gossip Girl, iCarly, Shaun the Sheep, the John Lewis Christmas advert, Burn Notice, Jon & Kate Plus 8, The Golden Path, Pushing Daisies, Monkey and Al (PG Tips), Nostalgia Critic, Wizards of Waverly Place, Golden Bride, The Killing, Chuck, Mad Men and Damages; a writers' strike shuts down U.S. scripted programming in November.
• 2008: First broadcast of Breaking Bad, The Mentalist, Sons of Anarchy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Wipeout, True Blood, Simon's Cat, Fringe, Underbelly, The Inbetweeners, Radio Arvyla and 19 Kids and Counting; first 3D TV broadcasts; the historical miniseries John Adams premieres on HBO and wins a record-breaking thirteen Emmys.
• 2009: First broadcast of Modern Family, Pawn Stars, Cake Boss, Tosh.0, Jersey Shore, Castle, Horrible Histories, Compare the Meerkat, The Vampire Diaries, The Good Wife, Cougar Town, Archer, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, The Middle, Glee, Parks and Recreation, Community and Misfits

2010s

• 2010: First broadcast of Adventure Time, Downton Abbey, Glass Home, Borgen, Sherlock, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like (Old Spice), Solsidan, Pretty Little Liars, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Boardwalk Empire, Parenthood, Louie, Conan, The Great British Bake Off, Treme, Luther, Regular Show, Storage Wars, Young Justice, Good Luck Charlie, The Walking Dead and The Voice (Holland), Tonight Show conflict between Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien
• 2011: First broadcast of Game of Thrones, Black Mirror, Bob's Burgers, Leyla ile Mecnun, Once Upon a Time, American Horror Story, The Killing, Austin & Ally, Suits, Impractical Jokers, The Amazing World of Gumball, Last Man Standing, Shameless, Grimm, 2 Broke Girls, New Girl and Homeland; millions watch Prince William marry Kate Middleton, IBM's Watson competes against former champions Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings on Jeopardy!, President Obama announces death of Osama bin Laden on live television
• 2012: First broadcast of Duck Dynasty, Satyamev Jayate, Girls, Red Bull Stratos, Scandal, Nashville, Državni posao, Call the Midwife, Mystery Diners, Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States, House of Lies, Veep, the Arrowverse, Catfish: The TV Show, Honest Trailers, The Mindy Project, Coco Rocha Tap Dancing (White House Black Market), Omar, Key & Peele, The Legend of Korra, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Gravity Falls and Kitchen; 2012 London Olympics becomes the most-watched event of the year.
• 2013: First broadcast of Rick and Morty, Steven Universe, The Americans, Peaky Blinders, Epic Split (Volvo Trucks), Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, The Following, House of Cards (which debut on Netflix instead of cable), Bates Motel, Broadchurch, Hannibal, Vikings, Teen Titans Go!, PAW Patrol, Orange is the New Black, Chicken (Mercedes Benz), Liv and Maddie, The Goldbergs and Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• 2014: First broadcast of True Detective, Black-ish, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Fargo, BoJack Horseman, Gotham, Scorpion, Gomorrah, The 100, Outlander, Lucha Underground, Transparent, Broad City, Over the Garden Wall, Silicon Valley, The Leftovers, Jane the Virgin, Chrisley Knows Best and Girl Meets World
• 2015: First broadcast of Better Call Saul, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Fresh Off the Boat, Empire, Narcos, Daredevil, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Trivago Girl, Lucifer, Life in Pieces, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Love Island, Mr. Robot, We Bare Bears, Schitt's Creek, Critical Role, Master of None, Deutschland 83, Lip Sync Battle, F is for Family and Superstore; Super Bowl XLIX breaks the record for most-watched program in the history of American television; Mayweather–Pacquiao boxing match is history's biggest pay-per-view fight; ten are killed during a helicopter crash during filming of reality series Dropped.
• 2016: First broadcast of Stranger Things, The Night Of, The Loud House, Fleabag, War & Peace, Mann Mayal, Atlanta, This Is Us, The Good Place, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, American Housewife, American Crime Story, Insecure, My Hero Academia, Milo Murphy's Law, Westworld, Tales of Arcadia, Victoria and The Crown
• 2017: First broadcast of American Gods, DuckTales (2017), Hanazuki: Full of Treasures, Riverdale, Big Little Lies, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The End of the F***ing World, Big Mouth, The Handmaid's Tale, GLOW, Counterpart, Legion and A Series of Unfortunate Events; At the 89th Academy Awards, the film Moonlight is announced the correct winner for Best Picture, after actors Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announce La La Land, another acclaimed film, the winner by mistake on national television.
• 2018: First broadcast of Hilda, The Circle, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Barry, Killing Eve, Bodyguard, Pose, Succession, Disenchantment, A.P. Bio, Kidding, Lodge 49, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Carpool Karaoke, Cloak & Dagger, Final Space, Forever, Homecoming, Grown-ish, Splitting Up Together and The Kids Are Alright; millions watch Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle.
• 2019: First broadcast of Chernobyl, The Mandalorian, Harley Quinn, Watchmen, His Dark Materials, The Masked Singer, All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite, Russian Doll, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Umbrella Academy, Euphoria, Ramy, What We Do in the Shadows, Undone, Hanna, Sex Education, When They See Us, Good Omens, The Morning Show, Mixed-ish and Schooled

2020s

• 2020: First broadcast of Star Trek: Picard, Central Park, Solar Opposites, Star Trek: Lower Decks, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Four television shows, Avenue 5, Dispatches from Elsewhere, The Great, Ted Lasso, Close Enough and Utopia Falls; the 2019-20 COVID-19 epidemic shuts down production on many television programs. ABS-CBN franchise renewal, ABS-CBN Radio stations and TV stations Shutdown, Philippines May 5, 2020.
• 2021: First broadcast of Hazbin Hotel

See also

• Table of years in radio
• 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 Belgian television
• List of years in Brazilian television
• List of years in British television
• List of years in Canadian 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 Hong Kong television
• List of years in Indian television
• List of years in Irish 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 Polish television
• List of years in Portuguese television
• List of years in Scottish television
• List of years in South African television
• List of years in Spanish television
• List of years in Swedish television
• List of years in Turkish television
• Timeline of the BBC