1979 in television
See also:
1978 in television,
other events of 1979,
1980 in television and the
list of 'years in television'.
Events
- February 3 - Dead Man's Curve, a made-for-TV-movie about surf-rock singers Jan & Dean, airs on US television.
- February 11 - In the US, 43 million viewers watch "Elvis!" on ABC, a made for TV movie starring Kurt Russell as Elvis.
- March 5 - Another World becomes the first (and, to date, the only) soap opera to air regularly-scheduled ninety-minute telecasts. This does not last more than a year, however.
- August 10 - In the UK, the whole of the ITV network except in the Channel Islands, is affected by a technicians' strike for eleven weeks.
- September 7 - ESPN begins broadcasting sports 24/7 and was the first cable channel to be launched.
- October 24 - On ITV's first night back on air after the strike, Quatermass, the fourth and final serial featuring the heroic Professor Bernard Quatermass, begins its run on the network.
- October - The long-running soap opera Love of Life is taken off the air for emergency retooling, due to falling ratings.
- Over 300 million households worldwide now own television sets.
- CFMT (now OMNI1) began launching Toronto's first multicultural channel.
- Un Pecado del Amor premieres in Guatemala.
Debuts
Popular Television Shows
Ending this year
Births
Deaths
