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

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• 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.^[1]
• 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. ^[2][3]
• 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).

• February 3 - Art for Your Sake, an art discussion program hosted by Dr. Bernard Myers, debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940).^[4]
• February 21 - NBC News with Lowell Thomas, a simulcast of Lowell Thomas’ daily radio newscast, debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940).^[5]
• March 27- The Esso Television Reporter debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940).^[6]
• July 8 - Boxing from Jamaica Arena debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940-42).^[7]

• 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)
• 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