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The year 1980 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1980.

For the American TV schedule, see: 1980-81 American network television schedule.

Events

• January 25 – Black Entertainment Television launches in the United States as a block of programming on the USA Network; it wouldn't be until 1983 that BET becomes a full fledged channel.
• February 1 – The soap opera Love of Life airs its last episode, after twenty-nine years on the air.
• February 3 and 10 – Bob Hope's Overseas Christmas Tours, a two-part six-hour retrospective of Bob Hope's more than 30 years of entertaining at military bases and hospitals in the U.S. and abroad, airs on NBC.
• February 14 – Walter Cronkite announces his retirement from the CBS Evening News.
• February 15 – New Zealand's Television One and Television Two go to air under the newly formed Television New Zealand.
• March 7 – Colour television was introduced in Portugal.
• March 21 – On the season finale of Dallas, J.R. Ewing is shot by an unseen assailant leading to the catchphrase "Who Shot JR?".
• April 4 – Violet Carson makes her last appearance as Ena Sharples on Coronation Street.
• April 7 – The Oldest Living Graduate, a live drama on NBC, is broadcast; the network hadn't aired a program like it since 1962. The production is aired from Southern Methodist University and stars Henry Fonda, George Grizzard, and Cloris Leachman.
• May 24 – The Not Ready For Prime Time Players appear in their final episode on NBC's Saturday Night Live, and many feel it is the end of an era for the venerable series.
• June 1 – The Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
• June 20 – Hollywood Squares presents its 3,536th and final network telecast on NBC; it remains the second-longest-running daytime game show in the network's history, behind the original 1958–1973 run of Concentration.
• June 23 – The David Letterman Show debuts on NBC. Letterman's humor doesn't go over well with a morning audience, and the show is soon cancelled. Letterman would go on to host a late night show two years later.
• June 30 – The ABC game show Family Feud moves from airing at 11:30 am/ET to 12 noon. It is one of the few shows that survived in the 12 noon timeslot considering the fact that many shows that were slated for the noon timeslot on the networks were subject to being pre-empted for local news broadcasts in many markets.
• Summer – SAG and AFTRA go out on strike, effecting television programmes in the United States and Canada forever. Some television shows were permitted to begin airing in late October while many Canadian shows were held back until well into April 1982.
• July 18 – Brazil's Rede Tupi network ends operations.
• August 1 – After a failed experiment, the soap opera Another World airs its last regularly scheduled ninety-minute episode. The show returns to sixty minutes on August 4.
• August 1 – Cinemax launched, broadcasting movies 24/7.
• October 24 – On United Nations Day, multicultural television debuts in Australia, courtesy of the Special Broadcasting Service.
• November 15 – [[Saturday Night Live]] debuts with a new cast and new writers under the reins of new Executive Producer Jean Doumanian.
• November 21 – The mystery of "Who Shot J.R.?" is solved on the soap opera series, Dallas. (Sue Ellen's sister Kristin, played by Mary Crosby, did the deed), drawing a record number of viewers.
• November 22 – Eddie Murphy debuts on Saturday Night Live, appearing in a non-speaking role in the sketch, "In Search Of The Negro Republican"
• December 8 – Howard Cosell announces the murder of former Beatle John Lennon in the closing seconds of a Monday Night Football game.
• December 9 – The cult single drama The Flipside of Dominick Hide is first broadcast as part of the Play for Today series on BBC1.
• December 12 – The burial of John Lennon takes place. It is strictly a private matter and none of the other Beatles attends.
• December 30 – After 26 years on the air and 20 seasons on one network, NBC announces that the longest-running prime-time TV series, Disney's Wonderful World, will not be on the network's fall 1981 schedule. It will be picked up by CBS.
• CBS's top-rated show, spin-off of All in the Family, The Jeffersons, ranks at #3 on the Nielsen Ratings for three seasons in a row: 1979–80, 1980–81 and 1981–82.

Debuts

• January 14 – 3-2-1 Contact premieres on PBS (1980–1992).
• January 29 – Kingswood Country premieres on ATN-7 in Australia (1980–1984).
• February 3 – Denshi Sentai Denziman premieres on TV-Asahi (1980–1981).
• February 5 – Mystery! premieres on PBS (1980–present).
• March 3 – That's Incredible! (1980–1984).
• March 16 – Galactica 1980 (1980)
• March 24 – Nightline officially debuts on ABC following the success of the network late-night Iran Crisis updates.
• April 2 – Ultraman 80 premieres on TBS in Japan (1980–1981).
• April 11 – Fridays premieres on ABC (1980–1982).
• May 5 – America's Top 10 with Casey Kasem, the television version of Kasem's long-running radio institution American Top 40, premieres in U.S. syndication this week.
• June 1 – Moneyline, now known as Lou Dobbs Tonight, premieres as one of the first shows on the newly launched CNN.
• June 26 – Situation comedy Nobody's Perfect premieres on ABC, and lasts for two months.
• July 14 – Sale of the Century, originally a U.S. (NBC) game show, premieres on Australian television on the Nine Network.
• May 30 – The Other 'Arf premieres on ITV starring Lorraine Chase (1980–1984).
• August 4 – Texas, the first soap opera to air hour-long episodes from the beginning, debuts in the slot largely vacated by Another World (1980–1982).
• September 13 – Solid Gold premieres in syndication (1980–1988).
• September 19 – Yes You Can premieres on CBC (1980–1983).
• September 28 – Cosmos, a 13-part science-and-space-exploration series hosted by Carl Sagan, premieres on PBS.
• October 27 – Blockbusters premieres on NBC in the United States (1980–82, 1987)
• October 30 – It's a Living premieres on ABC (1980–1982, 1985–1989).
• November 9 – Home Fires premieres on CBC (1980–1982).
• November 11 – Too Close for Comfort premieres on ABC (1980–1985).
• November 27 – Bosom Buddies premieres on ABC (1980–1982).
• December 11 – Magnum, P.I. premieres on CBS (1980–1988).
• Bizarre premieres on CTV (1980–1985).

Miniseries

• Beulah Land
• The Dream Merchants
• Shogun
• The Last Outlaw
• The Timeless Land
• Water under the Bridge

Television shows

1940s

• Meet the Press (1947–present).
• Candid Camera (1948–present).
• Bozo the Clown (1949–present).
• Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)

1950s

• Truth or Consequences (1950–1988).
• Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present).
• American Bandstand (1952–1989).
• Guiding Light (1952–present)
• Hockey Night in Canada (1952–present)
• The Today Show (1952–present).
• Panorama (UK) (1953–present).
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983).
• Disney's Wonderful World (1954–present; 1979–1981 under this title)
• Face the Nation (1954–present).
• The Tonight Show (1954–present; 1962–1992 as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson)
• Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984).
• The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982).
• This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003).
• As the World Turns (1956–present).
• The Edge of Night (1956–1984).
• What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–present).
• The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present).
• Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present).
• Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007)

1960s

• Coronation Street, UK (1960–present)
• ABC's Wide World of Sports (1961–1998)
• Four Corners, Australia (1961–present)
• It's Academic (1961–present)
• The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981)
• The Late Late Show, Ireland (1962–present)
• Professional Bowlers Tour (1962–1997)
• The World Tonight, Philippines (1962–present)
• Doctor Who, UK (1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present)
• The Doctors (1963–1982)
• General Hospital (1963–present)
• Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (1963–1988, 2002–present)
• Another World (1964–1999)
• Crossroads (UK) (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
• Top of the Pops (UK) (1964–2006)
• Days of our Lives (1965–present)
• World of Sport (UK) (1965–1985)
• The Money Programme (UK) (1966–present)
• Play School (1966–present)
• 60 Minutes (1968–present)
• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001)
• One Life to Live (1968–present)
• The Benny Hill Show, UK (1969–1989)
• Hee Haw (1969–1993)
• Sesame Street (1969–present)

1970s

• All My Children (1970–present).
• Monday Night Football (1970–present).
• Play for Today (UK) (1970–1984).
• Masterpiece Theatre (1971–present)
• Old Grey Whistle Test (UK) (1971–1987).
• Soul Train (1971–2006)
• Are You Being Served? (UK) (1972–1985).
• Emmerdale Farm (UK) (1972–present).
• John Craven's Newsround (UK) (1972–present).
• M*A*S*H (1972–1983).
• The Price Is Right (1972–present)
• The Waltons (1972–1981).
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1984).
• Last of the Summer Wine (UK) (1973–present).
• Match Game (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999).
• Schoolhouse Rock! (1973–1986).
• Superstars (UK) (1973–1985, 2003–2005).
• The Tomorrow Show (1973–1982).
• The Young and the Restless (1973–present).
• Countdown (Australia) (1974–1987).
• Derrick (1974–1998).
• Happy Days (1974–1984).
• Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983).
• The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (1974–1984).
• Tiswas (UK) (1974–1982).
• Wish You Were Here...? (UK) (1974–present).
• Arena (UK) (1975–present).
• Barney Miller (1975–1982).
• Good Morning America (1975–present).
• Jim'll Fix It (UK) (1975–1994).
• Match Game PM (1975–1981).
• One Day at a Time (1975–1984).
• Runaround (UK) (1975–1981).
• Ryan's Hope (1975–1989).
• Saturday Night Live (1975–present).
• The Don Lane Show (Australia) (1975–1983).
• the fifth estate (Canada) (1975–present).
• The Jeffersons (1975–1985).
• Wheel of Fortune (1975–present).
• Alice (1976–1985).
• Charlie's Angels (1976–1981).
• Family Feud (1976–1985, 1988–1995, 1999–present).
• Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983).
• Multi-Coloured Swap Shop (UK) (1976–1982).
• Quincy, M.E. (1976–1983).
• Second City Television (SCTV) (Canada) (1976–1984).
• The Muppet Show (UK) (1976–1981).
• The P.T.L. Club (1976–1987).
• CHiPs (1977–1983).
• Eight is Enough (1977–1981).
• Fantasy Island (1977–1984).
• In Search of... (1977–1982).
• Lou Grant (1977–1982).
• Soap (1977–1981).
• The Love Boat (1977–1986).
• This Week in Baseball (1977–1998, 2000–present)
• Three's Company (1977–1984).
• 20/20 (1978–present).
• 3-2-1 (UK) (1978–1987).
• Battle of the Planets (1978–1985).
• Dallas (1978–1991).
• Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986).
• Grange Hill (UK) (1978–2008).
• Mork & Mindy (1978–1982).
• Taxi (1978–1983).
• WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982).
• Archie Bunker's Place (1979–1983).
• Benson (1979–1986).
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979–1981).
• Knots Landing (1979–1993).
• Real People (1979–1984).
• Tales of the Unexpected (UK) (1979–1985, 1987–1988)
• The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985).
• The Facts of Life (1979–1988).
• Trapper John, M.D. (1979–1986).
• You Can't Do That on Television (Canada) (1979–1990).
• Antiques Roadshow (UK) (1979–present).
• Nightline (1979–present)
• SportsCenter (1979–present)
• The Sunday Game, Ireland (1979–present)
• This Old House (1979–present).

Ending this year

Births

Deaths