This is a list of American television-related events in 1949.
| Date | Event | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| January 11 | All four American television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and DuMont) broadcast a two-hour special celebrating the linking of the eastern and mid-western networks via a coaxial cable. | |
| January 31 | The annual Emmy Awards were presented and broadcast on television for the first time ever, from Los Angeles. | |
| May | Milton Berle hosts the first-ever telethon, which lasted 24 hours, to benefit the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund. | |
| August 29 | The development of RCA's compatible color television system was announced. | |
| September | The ABC Television Network becomes the first television network to offer a four-hour primetime programming schedule on Sunday nights. | |
| The 1949-50 television season marks the first time all four networks offered at least some prime time programming on all seven nights of the week. | ||
| December 29 | KC2XAK in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the first-ever experimental UHF television station to operate a daily schedule, begins operation. | |
| Unknown | The Sears and Roebuck catalog offers television sets by mail order for the first time. | |
| Show | Moved from | Moved to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candid Camera | ABC | NBC | |
| Bowling Headliners | ABC | Dumont | |
| The Wendy Barrie Show | ABC | Dumont | |
| The Morey Amsterdam Show | CBS | Dumont | |
| The Armed Forces Hour | NBC | Dumont | |
| The Ted Steele Show | NBC | Dumont | |
| Okay, Mother | WABD | Dumont |
| Date | Show | Network | Debut | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 10 | Champagne and Orchids | September 6, 1948 | ||
| January 14 | Tales of the Red Caboose | DuMont | October 29, 1948 | |
| March 4 | Café de Paris | DuMont | January 17, 1949 | |
| March 4 | These Are My Children | NBC | January 31, 1949 | |
| March 5 | Quizzing the News | ABC | August 11, 1948 | |
| March 7 | Photographic Horizons | DuMont | January 12, 1949 | |
| March 17 | Hotel Broadway | DuMont | January 20, 1949 | |
| April 14 | Window on the World | DuMont | January 27, 1949 | |
| April 19 | The School House | DuMont | January 18, 1949 | |
| April 22 | Stop Me If You've Heard This One | NBC | March 4, 1948 | |
| May 24 | Places Please | CBS | August 16, 1948 | |
| May 26 | The Adventures of Oky Doky | DuMont | November 4, 1948 | |
| June 3 | Admiral Broadway Revue | NBC/DuMont | January 28, 1949 | |
| June 23 | King Cole's Birthday Party | DuMont | May 15, 1947 | |
| Charade Quiz | DuMont | November 27, 1947 | ||
| July 4 | Americana | December 8, 1947 | ||
| Doorway to Fame | DuMont | May 2, 1947 | ||
| July 5 | Teen Time Tunes | DuMont | March 7, 1949 | |
| July 15 | A Woman to Remember | DuMont | February 21, 1949 | |
| July 15 | Your Show Time | NBC | January 21, 1949 | |
| July 23 | Television Screen Magazine | NBC | November 17, 1946 | |
| August 3 | The Growing Paynes | DuMont | October 20, 1948 | |
| August 23 | Talent Jackpot | DuMont | July 13, 1949 | |
| August 27 | Stand By for Crime | January 11, 1949 | ||
| August 30 | Wesley | May 8, 1949 | ||
| September 10 | For Your Pleasure | NBC | April 15, 1948 | |
| September 12 | Academy Theatre | NBC | July 25, 1949 | |
| September 14 | Program Playhouse | June 22, 1949 | ||
| September 22 | Flight to Rhythm | DuMont | March 10, 1949 | |
| September 23 | Key to the Missing | DuMont | July 4, 1948 | |
| September 30 | The Family Genius | DuMont | September 9, 1949 | |
| October 16 | Stained Glass Windows | September 26, 1948 | ||
| October 20 | Uptown Jubilee | CBS | September 13, 1949 | |
| October 27 | Crusade in Europe | ABC | May 5, 1949 | |
| October 27 | Fireball Fun for All | NBC | June 28, 1949 | |
| October 30 | ABC Television Players | January 16, 1949 | ||
| November | Cinema Varieties | DuMont | September | |
| November 4 | Oboler Comedy Theater | ABC | September 23, 1949 | |
| November 14 | ABC Barn Dance | ABC | February 21, 1949 | |
| November 27 | Let There Be Stars | ABC | October 16, 1949 | |
| December | The Roar of the Rails | CBS | October 26, 1948 | |
| December 14 | Photocrime | ABC | September 28, 1949 | |
| December 15 | Starring Boris Karloff | ABC | September 21, 1949 | |
| December 15 | Tonight on Broadway | CBS | April 6, 1948 | |
| December 28 | The Crisis | NBC | October 5, 1949 | |
| December 29 | Romance | CBS | November 3, 1949 | |
| Unknown date | Boxing From Jamaica Arena | DuMont | 1946 | |
| See What You Know | CBS | 1946 | ||
| Musical Merry-Go-Round | NBC | July 25, 1947 | ||
| Amanda | DuMont | November 1, 1948 | ||
| Missus Goes a Shopping | November 19, 1947 | |||
| Date | City of License/Market | Station[15] | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | 2 | NBC (primary) ABC/CBS/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| Los Angeles, California | KTTV | 11 | Now a FOX affiliate since 1986 | ||
| January 11 | 3 (now 2) | DuMont (primary) NBC/ABC (secondary) | Eventually became CBS affiliate KDKA, now a CBS O&O station branded as CBS Pittsburgh | ||
| January 16 | Los Angeles, California | 4 | |||
| WOIC | 9 | ||||
| February 23 | 7 | CBS (primary) DuMont (secondary) | |||
| March 8 | 5 | CBS | |||
| March 15 | Dayton, Ohio | 5 (now 2) | NBC (primary) DuMont (secondary) | ||
| WICU-TV | 12 | NBC (primary) ABC/CBS/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| March 18 | Lancaster/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 8 | NBC (primary) ABC/CBS/DuMont (secondary) | ||
| March 21 | 4 | CBS | Now an NBC affiliate on channel 6 | ||
| March 25 | 12 | NBC (primary) DuMont (secondary) | First licensed television station in Delaware | ||
| April 3 | 4 | ||||
| April 4 | 11 (now 12) | ||||
| May 5 | 7 | ABC | |||
| May 18 | 8 | CBS (primary) NBC/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| May 29 | 13 | ||||
| May 30 | 6 | CBS (primary) Paramount/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| June 1 | 5 | CBS (primary) ABC/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| June 6 | 4 | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| June 11 | 8 | NBC (primary) DuMont (secondary) | |||
| July 1 | Birmingham, Alabama | 4 (moved to 6 in 1953) | |||
| 4 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||||
| July 10 | WJAR | 11 | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC/DuMont (secondary) | ||
| July 15 | 3 | CBS (primary) NBC/ABC/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| July 26 | Cincinnati, Ohio | 7 (now 9) | ABC | ||
| August 15 | 8 | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| August 29 | WOW-TV | 6 | CBS | ||
| September 1 | Lincoln, Nebraska | KMTV | 3 | NBC | |
| September 15 | 4 | CBS (primary) ABC/NBC (secondary) | |||
| 13 (now 6) | NBC (primary) ABC/CBS/DuMont (secondary) | ||||
| September 16 | 7 | ABC | |||
| September 17 | KBTV | 8 | DuMont | ||
| September 22 | 2 | CBS (primary) ABC/NBC/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| September 29 | 6 | DuMont (primary) ABC (secondary) | |||
| September 30 | 6 | CBS (primary) DuMont/Paramount (secondary) | |||
| October 5 | Columbus, Ohio | 10 | |||
| October 11 | 9 | Independent | |||
| October 16 | 4 | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC/DuMont (secondary) | |||
| October 29 | 6 | CBS (primary) ABC/DuMont/NBC/Paramount (secondary) | |||
| October 31 | Davenport, Iowa | WOC-TV | 5 | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC/DuMont (secondary) | |
| November 11 | Bloomington/Indianapolis, Indiana | 10 (now 4) | NBC (primary) ABC/DuMont (Secondary) | ||
| November 15 | Huntington/Charleston, West Virginia | 5 (now 3) | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC/DuMont (Secondary) | ||
| San Francisco, California | 4 | ||||
| December 1 | WNBF-TV | 12 | CBS (primary) ABC/NBC/DuMont (secondary) | ||
| 2 | NBC (primary) ABC/CBS/DuMont (secondary) | ||||
| December 3 | 4 | CBS | |||
| December 4 | KPHO | 5 | CBS (primary) ABC/DuMont/NBC (secondary) | ||
| December 11 | 4 | NBC (primary) CBS/DuMont/ABC (secondary) | |||
| December 19 | Cleveland, Ohio | 9 (now 8) | DuMont (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
| December 29 | KC2XAK | 24 | NBC | ||
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