# List of years in television
**List of years in television** is a year-by-year index of notable events in the history of television, in which each year is annotated with a significant event as a reference point.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | An index of individual year pages, each annotated with a significant event as a reference point[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) |
| Earliest entry | 1900, when the word "television" was coined by Constantin Perskyi at the First International Electricity Congress in Paris[2](https://americantvdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_years_in_television) |
| Decade groupings | Arranged by decade from the 1900s through the 2000s[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) |
| National variants | Companion lists exist, including a list of years in British television[2](https://americantvdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_years_in_television) |
## Structure and scope
The list is organized as a set of decade groupings running from the 1900s to the 2000s, with each year receiving its own entry.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27)
Because television developed nationally, the general list is supplemented by national variants, such as a list of years in British television.[2](https://americantvdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_years_in_television)
## Early years, 1900s to 1920s
The earliest annotations predate broadcasting. In 1900 the word "television" was coined by Constantin Perskyi at the First International Electricity Congress in Paris.[2](https://americantvdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_years_in_television) In 1923, [Vladimir Zworykin](https://www.edgepedia.org/vladimir-zworykin) patented the "iconoscope", described in the index as the first ancestor of the electric scanning television camera.[2](https://americantvdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_years_in_television)
**Laboratory and public demonstrations.** The mid-1920s entries record the transition from laboratory work to public display. On October 2, 1925, [John Logie Baird](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-logie-baird) achieved transmission and remote display of the first television pictures in his laboratory.[2](https://americantvdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_years_in_television) On January 26, 1926, television was first demonstrated publicly, by Baird in London.[3](https://kpolsson.com/television/)
The 1927 annotations mark two distinct advances. On April 7, telephone lines were used for the first time to transmit a television signal, from Washington, DC to New York City, and the demonstration audience saw an image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover.[3](https://kpolsson.com/television/) On September 7, the first fully electronic television system was achieved by Philo Taylor Farnsworth in San Francisco, California.[3](https://kpolsson.com/television/)
## The broadcast era, 1930s to 1950s
The 1932 entry records the first televised [United States presidential election](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-presidential-election) coverage.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) The 1953 entry notes one of television's first shared mass events: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was seen by approximately 20 million TV viewers in the United Kingdom.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27)
## The 1970s and 1980s
The annotations for these decades lean heavily on program premieres and audience records. For 1971 the entry is the premiere of *All in the Family*.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) The 1975 entry pairs *Saturday Night Live* reaching television for the first time with Sony's introduction of the Betamax home video tape recorder.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) For 1976, the index records South Africa having a television service for the first time.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27)
**Audience milestones.** In 1981, MTV debuted on cable television playing music videos 24 hours a day, and the marriage of Luke and Laura Spencer on the soap opera *General Hospital* became the highest rated hour in soap opera history.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) The 1983 entry records that over 125 million Americans tuned in to watch the final episode of *M*A*S*H*.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) In 1986, the FOX Broadcasting Company became the United States' fourth commercial television network,[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) and in 1989 *The Simpsons* and *Seinfeld* premiered.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27)
## The 2000s
The most recent decade covered in the retrieved annotations is the 2000s. The 2004 entry records three events: [Ken Jennings](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-jennings) taking up an unprecedented residence on *Jeopardy*, the debut of *Corner Gas* as one of Canada's most successful programs and its first successful sitcom in decades, and the *Friends* finale reaching 52.5 million Americans.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) For 2003, the annotations list *The O.C.* as a surprise hit and the end of Britain's *This Is Your Life* after 48 years.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27) The 2002 entry notes the premiere of the reality show *The Osbournes* on cable television.[1](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27)
## Related chronologies
The year-index format sits alongside other television chronologies. A private chronology project has compiled a timeline of television drawing on published sources and giving numbered references for each entry, with annotations such as the first test of a working television system by John Logie Baird on October 2, 1925.[3](https://kpolsson.com/television/) The Video History Project, a service of the Experimental Television Center, maintains a chronology of 995 events spanning 1864 to 2011, covering the people, tools, and organizations that shaped video as an art form.[4](https://www.videohistoryproject.org/)
## References
1. [List of years in television, Online dictionary (Fact-Archive)](https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/List_of_%27years_in_television%27)
2. [List of years in television, American TV Database Wiki (Fandom)](https://americantvdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_years_in_television)
3. [Chronology of Television, Ken Polsson](https://kpolsson.com/television/)
4. [Video History Project, Experimental Television Center](https://www.videohistoryproject.org/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Screen seasons › Years in television seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license