1980
- January 10
- Last broadcast of Rockford Files TV show on NBC. [1]
- February 1
- TV soap opera Love of Life ends a 28-year run. [1]
- Jack Bailey, TV host (Queen for a Day), dies at age 72. [1]
- March 21
- On TV show Dallas, JR is shot. [1]
- March 24
- ABC's nightly Iran Hostage crisis program renamed Nightline with Ted Koppel. [1]
- April 24
- The Pennsylvania Lottery is rigged by six men including the host of the live TV drawing, Nick Perry. [120]
- June 1
- CNN (Cable News Network) debuts, as the world's first 24-hour television news network, from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. [1] [129]
- September 7
- 32nd Emmy Awards shown despite boycott. [1]
- September 25
- Chevy Chase calls Cary Grant a homo on Tomorrow show (lawsuit follows). [1]
- October 20
- Death of Lady Isobel Barnett, British television personality (suicide following her conviction for shoplifting) (born 1918). [120]
- November 19
- CBS TV bans Calvin Klein's jeans ad featuring Brooke Shields. [1]
- November 21
- 350 million people around the world tune in to television's primetime drama Dallas to find out who shot J.R. Ewing (Kristin Shepard, J.R.'s wife's sister and his former mistress). [1] [120]
- December 8
- "Bravo" network premieres on cable TV. [1]
- December 20
- NBC broadcasts New York Jets' 24-17 win over Miami Dolphins without audio. [1]
- December 28
- A made-for-television film of Michael Cristofer's Tony and Pulitzer-winning play about terminal illness, The Shadow Box, is telecast by ABC. [120]
- December 30
- Wonderful World of Disney last airs on NBC-TV. [1]
1981
- January 12
- Dynasty, a prime time soap opera inspired by Dallas, starring Joan Collins, premieres on ABC-TV. [1]
- January 14
- US Federal Communications Commission frees stations to air as many commercials an hour as they wish. [1]
- January 15
- Hill Street Blues premieres on NBC-TV. [1]
- February 6
- Brady Brides debuts on NBC TV. [1]
- March 6
- After 19 years hosting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time. [1] [5] [119]
- March 9
- Dan Rather becomes primary anchorman of CBS-TV News. [1]
- April 20
- Final performance of TV show Soap airs. [1]
- April 26
- Madge Evans, TV panelist (Masquerade Party), dies at age 71. [1]
- May 15
- SCTV Network 90, sequel to Second City Television debuts on NBC. [1]
- June 9
- Allen Ludden, American television game show host (Password), dies at age 63 (born 1917). [1] [119]
- June 13
- Tom Snyder interviews Charles Manson on Tomorrow TV show. [1]
- August 1
- MTV music video TV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, Video Killed The Radio Star by the Buggles. [1] [119]
- August 18
- Jerry Lewis appears on Donahue TV show to defend Telethons. [1]
- September 7
- Judge Wapner and the People's Court premier on TV. [1]
- September 13
- 33rd Emmy Awards (Hill Street Blues big winner). [1]
- September 14
- Entertainment Tonight premieres on TV. [1]
- September 26
- Disney's weekly TV show moves to CBS, making it the first prime-time series to have appeared on all three major networks. The show is renamed Walt Disney, airing on Saturdays from 8:00 to 9:00. [6]
- November 10
- Walt Disney Productions and Westinghouse Broadcasting announce an agreement to produce a family-oriented cable television service. [6]
- November 16
- Luke and Laura marry on the U.S. TV soap opera General Hospital; it is the highest-rated hour in daytime television history. [1] [119]
- November 21
- Harry Von Zell, TV announcer (Burns and Allen), dies at age 75. [1]
- December 4
- Falcon Crest TV show premieres on CBS-TV. [1]
- December 10
- John Kieran, TV host (Information Please), dies at age 89. [1]
- December 31
- CNN Headline News debuts. [1]
1982
- January 1
- ITV companies Central Independent Television, Television South and Television South West start broadcasting, replacing ATV, Southern Television and Westward Television respectively. [116]
- January 4
- Bryant Gumbel became co-host of NBC's Today Show. [1]
- January 7
- Fame TV show premieres on NBC TV. [1]
- February 2
- Late Night with David Letterman TV show premieres on NBC. [1]
- March 7
- NCAA Tournament Selection televised live for first time. [1]
- March 9
- Rex Marshall, TV announcer (Circuit Rider, Herman Hickman Show), dies. [1]
- March 12
- Palestinian Liberation Organization chief Yasser Arafat appears on TV show Nightline. [1]
- March 17
- The CBS TV network debuts the series Herbie, the Love Bug. [6]
- March 26
- TV soap opera Capitol premieres. [1]
- April 14
- The CBS TV network airs the last episode of the TV series Herbie, the Love Bug. Only five episodes were produced. [6]
- April 25
- Don Wilson, TV announcer (Jack Benny Show), dies at age 81. [1]
- May 2
- The Weather Channel (United States) airs on cable television for the first time. [116]
- June 9
- Hank Ladd, TV host (Arrow Show, Waiting for the Break), dies at age 74. [1]
- July 21
- Dave Garroway, TV host (Today Show), dies at age 69. [1]
- October 19
- Jock Ewing dies in an aircrash on TV show "Dallas". [1]
- November 2
- Channel 4, the fourth terrestrial television channel, is launched in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland with the first program broadcast being the game show Countdown, which is still in production. [5] [116]
- November 22
- Burton Turkus, lawyer/author/TV host (Mr Arsenic), dies at age 80. [1]
- December 31
- TV soap The Doctors ends 19-year run. [1]
1983
- January 3
- CITV is launched in the United Kingdom on the channel ITV. [115]
- January 23
- A-Team with Mr T premieres on NBC. [1]
- February 28
- Final TV episode of MASH airs (CBS); record 125 million watch. [1]
- March 7
- TNN (The Nashville Network) begins on Cable TV. [1]
- The CBS TV network debuts the Disney TV series Small and Frye. [6]
- March 16
- Arthur Godfrey, TV host (Arthur Godrey Show), dies at age 79. [1]
- March 25
- The Disney TV show Gun Shy debuts. (The show lasts only a month, with six episodes produced.) [6]
- During the anniversary show Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever Michael Jackson thrills the audience by dancing and singing while performing his hit song Billie Jean. The highlight of his act is his signature move: the moonwalk, which he performs in public for the first time. [115]
- April 6
- The Disney-produced TV show Zorro and Son first airs on CBS. [6]
- April 7
- Gavin Gordon, television actor (Romance, Lone Cowboy), dies at age 82. [1]
- April 18
- The Disney Channel, a cable-TV network, begins broadcasting, at 7:00 AM, with a show called Good Morning, Mickey. The service runs for 18 hours per day. [6]
- April 19
- The last episode of the Disney TV show Gun Shy airs. [6]
- April 25
- Nightline TV show expands from half hour to a full hour. [1]
- May 10
- Laverne and Shirley last airs on ABC-TV. [1]
- June 1
- The CBS TV network airs the last episode of Zorro and Son. Only five episodes were aired. [6]
- June 15
- The CBS TV network airs the sixth and last episode of the TV series Small and Frye. [6]
- June 26
- Walter O'Keefe, songwriter/TV host (Mayor of Hollywood), dies at age 82. [1]
- July 20
- Frank Reynolds, news anchor (ABC Evening News), dies at age 59. [1]
- July 29
- Friday Night Videos premieres on NBC TV. [1]
- September 5
- Tom Brokaw becomes lead anchor for NBC Nightly News. [115]
- September 24
- The CBS TV network airs the Walt Disney TV show for the last time, entitled Walt Disney's Mickey and Donald. [6]
- October 3
- John K.M. McCaffery, TV host (One Minute Please), dies at age 69. [1]
- October 23
- The game show GO! premieres on NBC. [115]
- Jessica Savitch, of Margate, New Jersey, newscaster (NBC Weekend), dies in car accident drowning at age 36 (born 1947). [1] [115]
- November 20
- In the U.S., an estimated 100 million people watch the controversial made-for-television movie The Day After, depicting a nuclear war and its effects on the United States. [1] [5]
- December 2
- Michael Jackson's music video for "Thriller" is broadcast for the first time. [115]
- December 25
- The ABC TV network airs Walt Disney World's Very Merry Christmas Parade for the first time. [6]
1984
- January 4
- Night Court starring Harry Anderson premieres on NBC TV. [1]
- January 9
- TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes premieres on NBC TV. [1]
- January 11
- Jack La Rue, TV narrator (Lights Out), dies at age 84. [1]
- January 17
- US Supreme Court rules (5-4) private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws. [1]
- January 22
- Apple Computer runs its "1984" 60 second TV commercial during the NFL SuperBowl football game, introducing the Macintosh computer, without showing the computer, or listing features. Apple Computer runs the ad publicly only once, but dozens of news and talk shows replay it, making it one of the most memorable advertisements in TV history. [4]
- January 27
- Pop star Michael Jackson's scalp is seriously burned by pyrotechnics during filming of a Pepsi television commercial. [1] [114]
- Lou Crosby, TV announcer (Mayor of Hollywood), dies at age 72. [1]
- January 31
- Edwin Newman retires from NBC News after 35 years with the network. [1]
- February 16
- Ken Williams, TV announcer (Video Village), dies at age 69. [1]
- March 19
- Kate and Allie TV show premieres. [1]
- April 15
- British comedian/magician Tommy Cooper suffers a massive heart attack while live on TV, dying at age 61 (born 1921) [1] [114]
- April 21
- Nightline TV show reverts back from 1 hour to 1/2 hour. [1]
- May 1
- Gordon Jenkins, orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at age 73. [1]
- May 2
- Death of Jack Barry, American television host and producer (Joker's Wild) (born 1918). [1] [114]
- June 19
- First live TV appearance by Chief Justice Warren Burger (Nightline). [1]
- June 27
- US Supreme Court ends NCAA monopoly on college football telecasts. [1]
- July 30
- Soap opera Santa Barbara premieres on NBC. [1]
- September 6
- US TV show Today Show begins live remote telecasts from Moscow, USSR. [1]
- September 14
- The first MTV Video Music Awards are held in Radio City Music Hall, New York City; Bette Midler and Dan Aykroyd host. [1] [114]
- September 16
- Miami Vice TV show premieres in USA. [1]
- October 16
- Ken Carpenter, TV announcer (Lux Video Theater), dies at age 84. [1]
- October 18
- Florence Rinard, TV panelist (20 Questions), dies at age 82. [1]
- October 23
- NBC airs BBC footage of Ethiopian famine. [1]
- October 24
- Walter Woolf King, actor/TV host (Lights Cameras Action), dies at age 85. [1]
- December 28
- TV soap Edge of Night ends 28-year run. [1]
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