The year 1974 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1974.

For the American TV schedule, see: 1974-75 American network television schedule.

Events

• January 6 CKGN-TV begins broadcasting in Brantford, Ontario.
• January 31 CBS airs a multi-Emmy-winning adaptation of Ernest J. Gaines' novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, which follows the 110-year life of a former slave from the Civil War to the civil rights movement. Cicely Tyson portrays the title role.
• February 8 After 20 years, The Secret Storm airs its 5195th and final episode on CBS Daytime. The show is replaced ten days later by Tattletales, a game show hosted by Bert Convy.
• March 11 The children's special Free to Be... You and Me, produced by comedic actress Marlo Thomas, airs on ABC.
• March 13 The Execution of Private Slovik airs on NBC. A made for television film, it told the story of Pvt. Eddie Slovik, the only American soldier to be executed for desertion since the American Civil War.
• April 6 "Waterloo" wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden and launches ABBA on their stellar global career.
• May 4 Steve Frame (George Reinholt) marries Alice Matthews (Jacqueline Courtney) for the second time on a special hour-long broadcast of Another World, coinciding with the show's tenth anniversary.
• June 8 Jon Pertwee makes his final regular appearance as the Third Doctor in the concluding moments of Part Six of the Doctor Who serial Planet of the Spiders. Tom Baker briefly appears as the Fourth Doctor at the conclusion of this serial.
• August 5 For the first time on a pre-school children's programme, the UK show Inigo Pipkin covers the death of the main character, Inigo, as the actor who played him (George Woodbridge) had died. The show is renamed Pipkins.
• August 8 US President Richard Nixon resigns live on television.
• September 10 The controversial TV movie Born Innocent, starring Linda Blair, airs on NBC. The film, which involved a fourteen-year-old being sent to what the television preview deemed a women's prison (when in reality it was a reform school), drew heavy criticism due to an all-female rape scene, the first ever seen on American television. The scene was deleted in subsequent re-airings after a group of girls assaulted an eight-year-old with a pop bottle, influenced by the scene in the film.
• December 28 Tom Baker makes his first full appearance as the Fourth Doctor in the Doctor Who serial Robot.
• Monty Python's Flying Circus, the popular British sketch comedy which aired its final episode this year, is first shown in the US on KERA-TV in Dallas, Texas.
• Meg Dale (Tudi Wiggins) calls her son Ben (Christopher Reeve) a "bastard" on the soap opera Love of Life, the first time a profanity was spoken on American daytime television.
• US television game show program Match Game is the #1 rated program and #1 rated game show for the second year in a row.

Debuts

• January 5 Tiswas starts as a local programme in the Midlands (ATV) in the UK, but the television show wasn't fully automatically networked through ITV until 1979 (1974 1982).
• January 7 How to Survive a Marriage debuts in a 90-minute special on NBC daytime. The episode shows the first nudity (which was merely simulated and not visible) on American daytime television. Jackpot! (1974 1975), a game show, premiered earlier in the day on NBC.
• January 15 Happy Days premieres on ABC (1974 1984). It spawns a record eight spin-off series (five live-action, three animated).
• February 1 Good Times, a spinoff of Maude (which itself was a spinoff of All in the Family,) premieres on CBS (1974 1979).
• February 18 Tattletales, hosted by Bert Convy, premieres on CBS daytime (1974 1978, 1982 1984).
• April 12 Ultraman Leo premieres on TBS in Japan (1974 1975).
• May 6 The $10,000 Pyramid moves to ABC with Dick Clark as host.
• July 1 High Rollers premieres on NBC (1974 1976; 1978 1980).
• September 7 Land of the Lost premieres on NBC (1974 1977).
• September 7 Valley of the Dinosaurs premieres on CBS (1974 1976).
• September 7 Shazam! premieres on CBS (1974 1977).
• September 7 Hong Kong Phooey premieres on ABC (1974).
• September 9 Rhoda premieres on CBS (1974 1978).
• September 9 The $25,000 Pyramid premieres in syndication with host Bill Cullen; basically The $10,000 Pyramid with larger prizes.
• Dinah! premieres (syndicated 1974 1980), succeeding Dinah Shore's cancelled NBC daytime show Dinah's Place.
• September 11 Little House on the Prairie starring Michael Landon, premieres on NBC (1974 1983). It spawns two spin-off series.
• September 13 Chico and the Man (1974 1978),The Rockford Files (1974 1980), and Police Woman (1974 1978) all premiere on NBC .
• Countdown premieres on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1974 1987).
• Derrick, German Krimi written by Herbert Reinecker, starring Horst Tappert, premieres on ZDF (1974 1988).
• Definition (TV series) premieres on CTV daytime (1974 1989).
• Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins premieres on CBC (1974 1975).
• House of Pride premieres on CBC (1974 1976).
• Wish You Were Here...? premieres on ITV (1974 2003, 2007 ).
• July 4 CBS airs its first Bicentennial Minute. They will continue until the end of 1976.
• March 3 Nova premieres on PBS (1974 present).
• Name That Tune premieres on NBC daytime with Dennis James hosting, and in nighttime syndication with Tom Kennedy hosting.

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).
• Love of Life (1951 1980).
• Search for Tomorrow (1951 1986).
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951 present).
• American Bandstand (1952 1989).
• The Guiding Light (1952 2009).
• The Today Show (1952 present).
• Panorama (UK) (1953 present).
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953 1983).
• Face the Nation (1954 present).
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962 1992).
• Captain Kangaroo (1955 1984).
• Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955 1976).
• Gunsmoke (1955 1975).
• The Lawrence Welk Show (1955 1982).
• This Is Your Life (UK) (1955 2003).
• As the World Turns (1956 2010).
• Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956 1978).
• 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).
• co (Australia) (1961 present).
• It's Academic (1961 present).
• The Mike Douglas Show (1961 1981).
• The Late Late Show (Ireland) (1962 present).
• Z-Cars (UK) (1962 1978).
• Doctor Who (UK) (1963 1989, 1996, 2005 present).
• General Hospital (1963 present).
• The Doctors (1963 1982).
• Another World (1964 1999).
• Crossroads (UK) (1964 1988, 2001 2003).
• Jeopardy! (1964 1975, 1984 present).
• Top of the Pops (UK) (1964 2006).
• Days of our Lives (1965 present).
• World of Sport (UK) (1965 1985).
• Play School (Australia) (1966 present).
• The Money Programme (UK) (1966 present).
• Ironside (1967 1975).
• Mannix (1967 1975).
• The Carol Burnett Show (1967 1978).
• 60 Minutes (1968 present).
• Dad's Army (UK) (1968 1977).
• Hawaii Five-O (1968 1980).
• Magpie (UK) (1968 1980).
• One Life to Live (1968 present).
• Hee Haw (1969 1993).
• Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969 1976).
• Sesame Street (1969 present).
• The Benny Hill Show (UK) (1969 1989).
• The Wonderful World of Disney (1969 1979).

1970s

• All My Children (1970 present).
• Mary Tyler Moore (1970 1977).
• McCloud (1970 1977).
• Monday Night Football (1970 present).
• Play for Today (UK) (1970 1984).
• The Odd Couple (1970 1975).
• All in the Family (1971 1979).
• Columbo (1971 1978).
• Masterpiece Theatre (1971 present).
• McMillan & Wife (1971 1977).
• Old Grey Whistle Test (UK) (1971 1987).
• Soul Train (1971 present).
• Are You Being Served? (UK) (1972 1985).
• Emergency! (1972 1977).
• Emmerdale Farm (UK) (1972 present).
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972 1984).
• John Craven's Newsround (UK) (1972 present).
• Kung Fu (1972 1975).
• Maude (1972 1978).
• M*A*S*H (1972 1983).
• Sanford and Son (1972 1977).
• The Bob Newhart Show (1972 1978).
• The Price Is Right (1972 present).
• The Waltons (1972 1981).
• Barnaby Jones (1973 1980).
• Kojak (1973 1978, 2005 present).
• Last of the Summer Wine (UK) (1973 present).
• Match Game '74 (1962 1969, 1973 1984, 1990 1991, 1998 1999).
• Schoolhouse Rock! (1973 1986).
• The Six Million Dollar Man (1973 1978).
• Superstars (UK) (1973 1985, 2003 2005).
• The Tomorrow Show (1973 1982).
• The Young and the Restless (1973 present).
• Cutey Honey (Japan) (1973 1974)
• Majokko Megu-chan (Japan) (1974 1975)
• Space Battleship Yamato (Japan) (1974 1975)

Ending this year

• January 11 Love, American Style (1969 1974), Room 222 (1969 1974).
• February 8 The Secret Storm (1954 1974).
• March 8 The Brady Bunch (1969 1974).
• March 11 The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971 1974).
• March 18 Here's Lucy (1968 1974), leaving Lucille Ball without a regular, weekly TV show for the first time in 12 years.
• March 23 The Partridge Family (1970 1974).
• March 24 The Dean Martin Show (1965 1974).
• April 1 Colditz (UK) (1972 1974).
• April 5 Ultraman Taro (Japan) (1973 1974).
• May 29 The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971 1974).
• June Audubon Wildlife Theatre (1968 1974).
• June 27 The Flip Wilson Show (1970 1974).
• September 8 The F.B.I. (1965 1974)
• October 12 Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973 1974).
• December 5 Monty Python's Flying Circus (UK) (1969 1974).
• December 20 The Newlywed Game (1966 1974).

Births

• January 2 Ursula Holden-Gill, British actress.
• January 12 Melanie Chisholm, British singer. Spice Girls
• January 30 Christian Bale, Welsh actor.
• February 17 Jerry O'Connell, actor
• March 1 Mark-Paul Gosselaar, actor
• March 24 Alyson Hannigan, actress.
• March 31 Angela Dotchin, actress.
• April 11 Tricia Helfer, Canadian actress and model.
• April 17 Victoria Beckham, English singer. Spice Girls
• April 23 Barry Watson, actor. 7th Heaven
• May 27 Denise van Outen, British actress and singer.
• June 26 Derek Jeter, baseball player, New York Yankees
• July 26 Genevieve Gorder.
• August 15 Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress and model.
• October 7 Allison Munn, American actress
• November 11 Leonardo DiCaprio, actor.
• November 28 Kristian Schmid, Australian actor
• December 13 Sara Cox, radio and television presenter.
• December 17 Giovanni Ribisi and Marissa Ribisi, actor and actress

Deaths

• March 20 Chet Huntley, journalist, co-anchor of the NBC nightly newscast.
• April 17 Frank McGee, journalist, NBC news.
• April 30 Agnes Moorehead, actress (Endora on Bewitched).
• July 15 Christine Chubbuck, news reporter on WXLT in Sarasota, Florida, suicide by gunshot on the air.
• October 13 Ed Sullivan, host of the Ed Sullivan Show.
• November 5 Stafford Repp, actor (Chief O'hara on Batman).
• December 26 Jack Benny, American comedian (born 1894)

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