1940 in television

The year 1940 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1940.

Events

 * January – The FCC has public hearings concerning television.
 * January 12 - The first network telecast, a play entitled "Meet The Wife," is televised by NBC over W2XBS (NBC) and W2XB.
 * February 25 – The first ice hockey game is televised in the United States, the New York Rangers vs Montreal Canadiens, from Madison Square Garden on W2XBS-TV.
 * February 28 – The first basketball game is televised, from Madison Square Garden: Fordham University vs the University of Pittsburgh.
 * March 10 – The Metropolitan Opera broadcast for the first time from NBC studios at Rockefeller Center an abridged performance of the first act of Pagliacci, along with excerpts from four other operas.
 * March 15 – RCA reduces the price of television sets.
 * May 21 – Bell Telephone Laboratories transmits a 441-line video signal, with a bandwidth of 2.7 MHz, by coaxial cable from New York to Philadelphia and back.
 * June – W2XBS in New York (NBC) covers the Republican National Convention from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for 33 hours, during a five-day period. The signal is transmitted via coaxial cable.
 * August 1 – W2XBS goes out of commission from 1 August 1940 until the 27th of October 1940 while the transmitter is adjusted from 441-line picture to 525-line picture.
 * August 29 – Peter Carl Goldmark of CBS announces his invention of a color television system.
 * September 3 – CBS resumes its television transmissions with the first demonstration of high definition color TV, by W2XAB, transmitting from the Chrysler Building.
 * November 5 - First televised Presidential election coverage is carried by W2XBS (NBC) and W2XWV (DuMont).

Debuts

 * February 3 - Art for Your Sake, an art discussion program hosted by Dr. Bernard Myers, debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940).
 * February 21 - NBC News with Lowell Thomas, a simulcast of Lowell Thomas’ daily radio newscast, debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940).
 * March 27- The Esso Television Reporter debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940).
 * July 8 - Boxing from Jamaica Arena debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940-42).

Births

 * January 5 – Michael O'Donoghue, writer (died 1994)
 * January 14 – Trevor Nunn, British theatre director
 * January 19 – Mike Reid, English actor and comedian (died 2007)
 * January 22 – John Hurt, English actor (died 2017)
 * January 27 – James Cromwell, actor
 * January 29 – Katharine Ross, actress
 * January 31 – Stuart Margolin, actor, The Rockford Files (died 2022)
 * February 2 – David Jason, English actor, Only Fools and Horses
 * February 3 – Jim Hartz, television personality (died 2022)
 * February 6
 * Tom Brokaw, American journalist
 * Jimmy Tarbuck, English comedian
 * February 8 – Ted Koppel, journalist
 * February 10 – Kathryn Mullen, puppeteer
 * February 12 – Ralph Bates, English actor (died 1991)
 * February 17 – John Lewis, politician (died 2020)
 * February 20 – Smokey Robinson, singer
 * February 22
 * Don Cannon, American news anchor
 * Judy Cornwell, English actress
 * February 23 – Peter Fonda, actor (died 2019)
 * February 24 – James Sloyan, actor
 * February 27 – Howard Hesseman, actor, WKRP in Cincinnati, Head of the Class (died 2022)
 * February 29
 * Sonja Barend, talk show host
 * Margit Carstensen, actress
 * Yoshio Harada, actor (died 2011)
 * Harvey Jason, actor
 * Monte Kiffin, coach
 * March 7 – Daniel J. Travanti, actor, Hill Street Blues
 * March 10 – Chuck Norris, actor, Walker, Texas Ranger
 * March 15 – Phil Lesh, musician
 * March 26
 * James Caan, actor, Las Vegas (died 2022)
 * Nancy Pelosi, politician
 * March 28 – Tony Barber, host
 * April 2 – Penelope Keith, English actress, To The Manor Born
 * April 12
 * John Hagee, pastor
 * Herbie Hancock, jazz pianist
 * April 15 – Thea White, American voice actress (died 2021)
 * April 17 – Chuck Menville, American television animator and writer (died 1992)
 * April 25 – Al Pacino, actor
 * April 30 – Burt Young, actor (died 2023)
 * May 5 – Lance Henriksen, actor
 * May 6 – Rick Husky, producer
 * May 8
 * Emilio Delgado, actor (died 2022)
 * Ricky Nelson, actor (died 1985)
 * May 9 – James L. Brooks, producer
 * May 10 – Taurean Blacque, actor, Hill Street Blues (died 2022)
 * May 15
 * Roger Ailes, American television executive (died 2017)
 * Lainie Kazan, American actress
 * May 17 – Peter Gerety, actor
 * May 22
 * Michael Sarrazin, actor (died 2011)
 * Bernard Shaw, journalist (died 2022)
 * May 24 – Arvin Brown, American theatre and television director
 * June 1 – René Auberjonois, actor, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (died 2019)
 * June 2 – Maree Cheatham, actress (Search for Tomorrow, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives)
 * June 6 – Richard Paul, actor (died 1998)
 * June 11 – Daniel J. Sullivan, film director
 * June 14 – Jack Bannon, actor, Lou Grant (died 2017)
 * June 20 – John Mahoney, English-born actor, Frasier (died 2018)
 * June 21 – Mariette Hartley, actress
 * June 22 – Esther Rantzen, English consumer affairs presenter, That's Life!
 * June 26 – Mel White, author
 * July 3 – Michael Cole, actor, The Mod Squad
 * July 6 – Jeannie Seely, singer
 * July 7 – Ringo Starr, English rock drummer, The Beatles
 * July 13 – Patrick Stewart, English actor, Star Trek: The Next Generation
 * July 17
 * Tim Brooke-Taylor, English comedy performer, The Goodies (died 2020)
 * Verne Lundquist, American sportscaster
 * July 18 – James Brolin, actor, Marcus Welby, M.D.
 * July 22 – Alex Trebek, game show host, Jeopardy! (died 2020)
 * July 23 – Don Imus, American radio/television host, Imus in the Morning (died 2019)
 * July 24 – Dan Hedaya, American actor
 * July 31 – Roy Walker, television host
 * August 3 – Martin Sheen, actor, The West Wing
 * August 19 – Jill St. John, actress
 * August 22 – Judy Nugent, actress
 * August 23 – Richard Sanders, actor, WKRP in Cincinnati
 * August 26 – Don LaFontaine, voice actor (died 2008)
 * August 28
 * Ken Jenkins, actor, Scrubs
 * Bonnie Turner, producer
 * September 1 – Gary Bender, sportscaster
 * September 5 – Raquel Welch, actress (died 2023)
 * September 11 – Brian De Palma, screenwriter
 * September 12 – Linda Gray, actress, Dallas
 * September 21 – Bill Kurtis, news anchor
 * October 4 – Christopher Stone, actor (The Interns) (died 1995)
 * October 9 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter, The Beatles (killed 1980)
 * October 16 – Barry Corbin, American actor
 * October 19 – Michael Gambon, Irish-born British actor, The Singing Detective (died 2023)
 * October 28 – Susan Harris, writer
 * November 9 – Reynaldo Villalobos, director
 * November 13 – Daniel Pilon, Cuban-born actor, Dallas (died 2018)
 * November 15 – Sam Waterston, actor, Law & Order
 * November 20 – Tony Butala, singer
 * November 21 – Freddy Beras-Goico, TV host
 * November 22 – Terry Gilliam, actor
 * November 27 – Bruce Lee, actor (died 1973)
 * December 2 – Connie Booth, actress, Fawlty Towers
 * December 7 – Carole Simpson, broadcast journalist
 * December 11 – Donna Mills, actress, Knots Landing
 * December 12 – Dionne Warwick, singer
 * December 21
 * Arvi Lind, Finnish newsreader
 * Don Phillips, American casting director
 * December 30 – James Burrows, director