1949 in television

List of years in television       (table)
... 1939 .  1940 .  1941 .  1942  . 1943  . 1944  . 1945 ... 1946 1947 1948 -1949- 1950 1951 1952 ... 1953 .  1954 .  1955 .  1956  . 1957  . 1958  . 1959 ...        In radio: 1946 1947 1948 -1949- 1950 1951 1952                In film: 1946 1947 1948 -1949- 1950 1951 1952
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The year 1949 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1949.

Events

• January 3 – Colgate Theatre premieres on NBC.
• January 11 – A two-hour special on all American networks celebrates the linking of the eastern and midwestern networks via coaxial cable.
• January 21 - Your Show Time becomes the first filmed dramatic series on American network television.
• January 31 – The first Emmy Awards are presented and broadcast on television from Los Angeles.
• May – The first telethon, benefitting the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund, is hosted by Milton Berle and lasts for 24 hours.
• August 25 – RCA announces the development of a compatible color TV system.
• December 17 – The Sutton Coldfield television transmitter is opened in the English Midlands, making it the first part of the UK outside London to receive BBC Television.
• December 29 – KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut becomes the first Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule.
• First television broadcasts begin in Cuba.
• For the first time, the Sears & Roebuck catalog includes televisions.

Debuts

• January 17 – The Goldbergs, a situation comedy, debuts on CBS (1949–1955).
• May 5 - Series Stop the Music debuts on American Broadcasting Company for a five-year run over seven years.
• June 27 – Captain Video and His Video Rangers, apparently the first science fiction series televised, debuts.
• July 15 - This Is Show Business, panel discussion program, premieres on CBS (1949–1954; 1956).
• September 29 – Come Dancing, a ballroom dancing competition, is first broadcast by the BBC (1949–1995).
• Martin Kane, Private Eye premieres on NBC, becoming the first detective series televised (1949–1954).
• The Voice of Firestone premieres (1949–1963).
• Bozo the Clown premieres (1949–present).
• The Lone Ranger premieres (1949–1957).

Television shows

Series	Debut	Ended
Picture Page (UK)	October 8, 1936	1939
	1946	1952
Starlight (UK)	November 3, 1936	1939
	1946	1949
For The Children (UK)	April 24, 1937	1939
	July 7, 1946	1950
The Voice of Firestone Televues	1943	1947
	1949	1963
Missus Goes A Shopping	August 1, 1944	1949
Kaleidoscope (UK)	November 2, 1946	1953
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports	November 8, 1946	June 24, 1960
Muffin the Mule (UK)	1946	1955
Television Screen Magazine	1946	1949
You Are an Artist	1946	1950
Doorway to Fame	May 2, 1947	July 4, 1949
Kraft Television Theater	May 7, 1947	1958
Kukla, Fran and Ollie	October 13, 1947	1957
Meet the Press	November 6, 1947	—
Mary Kay and Johnny	November 18, 1947	March 11, 1950
Howdy Doody	December 27, 1947	September 24, 1960
Americana	1947	1949
Birthday Party	1947	1949
Café Continental (UK)	1947	1953
Charade Quiz	1947	1949
Juvenile Jury	1947	1954
Musical Merry-Go-Round	1947	1949
Small Fry Club	1947	1951
Television Newsreel (UK)	January 5, 1948	1954
The Original Amateur Hour	January 18, 1948	September 27, 1970
Court of Current Issues	February 9, 1948	June 26, 1951
Stop Me If You've Heard This One	March 4, 1948	April 22, 1949
Author Meets the Critics	April 1948	October 10, 1954
Hollywood Screen Test	April 15, 1948	1953
Texaco Star Theater	June 8, 1948	1953
The Ed Sullivan Show	June 20, 1948	June 6, 1971
Candid Camera	August 10, 1948	—
CBS Evening News	August 15, 1948	—
Foodini the Great	August 23, 1948	June 23, 1951
Actors Studio	September 1948	June 1950
Champagne and Orchids	September 6, 1948	January 10, 1949
Stained Glass Windows	September 26, 1948	October 16, 1949
Ford Theatre	October 17, 1948	July 10, 1957
The Growing Paynes	October 20, 1948	August 3, 1949
The Adventures of Oky Doky	November 4, 1948	May 26, 1949
The Morey Amsterdam Show	December 17, 1948	October 12, 1950
The Alan Dale Show	1948	1951
Amanda	1948	1949
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	1948	January 1, 1958
The Bigelow Show	1948	1949
Break the Bank	1948	1957
Cartoon Teletales	1948	1950
Celebrity Time	1948	September 1952
Child's World	1948	1949
Club Seven	1948	1951
The Philco Television Playhouse	1948	1955
Winner Take All	1948	1952
The Goldbergs	January 17, 1949	1956
These Are My Children	January 31, 1949	February 25, 1949
A Woman to Remember	February 21, 1949	July 15, 1949
Ripley's Believe It or Not!	March 1, 1949	October 5, 1950
Think Fast	March 26, 1949	October 8, 1950
Captain Video	June 27, 1949	April 1, 1955
Mama	July 1, 1949	March 17, 1957
Martin Kane, Private Eye	August 7, 1949	June 17, 1954
The Family Genius	September 1949	September 1949
The Little Revue	September 4, 1949	April 21, 1950
The Lone Ranger	September 15, 1949	June 6, 1957
Come Dancing (UK)	September 29, 1949	1995
The Aldrich Family	October 2, 1949	May 29, 1953
The Life of Riley	October 4, 1949	March 28, 1950
	January 2, 1953	August 22, 1958
Let There Be Stars	October 6, 1949	November 27, 1949
The Ruggles	November 3, 1949	June 19, 1952
One Man's Family	November 4, 1949	June 21, 1952
	March 1, 1954	April 1, 1955
The Admiral Broadway Revue	1949	1949
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends	1949	1959
Easy Aces	1949	1949
Follow That Man	1949	1956

Ending this year

• Missus Goes A-Shopping (1944–1949).
• Starlight (UK) (1936–1939; 1946–1949).
• Television Screen Magazine (1946–1949).
• Musical Merry-Go-Round (1947–1949).
• Americana (1947–1949).
• Birthday Party (1947–1949).
• Charade Quiz (1947–1949).
• Doorway to Fame (1947–1949).
• The Adventures of Oky Doky (1948–1949).
• Amanda (1948–1949).
• The Bigelow Show (1948–1949) with Paul Winchell.
• Champagne and Orchids (1948–1949).
• Child's World (1948–1949).

Changes of Network Affiliation

Show	Moved from	Moved to
Candid Camera	ABC	NBC

Births

• January 16 - Caroline Munro, English actress and model
• January 17 – Andy Kaufman, actor and comedian (died 1984)
• January 24 – John Belushi, actor, comedian, Saturday Night Live (died 1982)
• February 2 – Brent Spiner, actor
• February 8 - Brooke Adams, actress
• February 9 – Judith Light, actress
• February 28 - Ilene Graff, actress and singer
• March 2 - Gates McFadden, actress and choreographer
• March 16 – Erik Estrada, actor, CHiPs
  • Victor Garber, Canadian actor and singer
• March 17 – Patrick Duffy, actor, Dallas
• March 26 – Vicki Lawrence, actress, comedienne, The Carol Burnett Show, Mama's Family, etc.
• April 14 - John Shea, actor
• April 20 - Veronica Cartwright, English-born actress
• April 23 - Joyce DeWitt, actress, Three's Company
• June 15 - Jim Varney, actor and comedian (died 2000)
• July 3 – Jan Smithers, actress, WKRP in Cincinnati
• August 23 – Shelley Long, actress, Cheers
  • Rick Springfield, Australian singer-songwriter and actor
• September 16 – Ed Begley, Jr., actor
• October 14 - Katy Manning, English actress
• November 6 – Nigel Havers, English actor
• December 4 - Pamela Stephenson, New Zealand actress and comedienne
• December 15 – Don Johnson, actor, Miami Vice