This section lists major events in radio and television, including station and channel launches, technological advances, significant schedule changes, major relaunches and new looks.

1920s-1930s The pioneering days of British broadcasting	1940s-1950s Wartime broadcasting and the dawn of commercial television	1960s BBC2, colour television and the swinging new radio service

1970s The decade that saw the start of Ceefax and the Open University	1980s From breakfast television to satellite television
1990s 24-hour news, Channel 5, and a big red balloon	2000s A new century - and a new digital era beckons