List of longest-running television shows
This is a list of the longest-running television shows across all countries and categories. To be included, a programme must have been broadcast for at least 50 years.
 |
Programmes with a shaded background indicate it is no longer in production.
| Years | Category | Show name | Country | Duration | Channel/network | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | Outside broadcast | Lord Mayor's Show |  United Kingdom
|
1937–1938, 1946–present (not broadcast during WW2 1939–1945)[1] | BBC Television Service, BBC One | |
| 77 | Sports outside broadcast | The Championships, Wimbledon[2] | United Kingdom
|
1937,[3] 1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present (not played during World War II, nor in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns) | BBC Television Service, BBC One/Two | |
| 75 | News show | Meet the Press |  United States
|
1947–present | NBC | 4,946+ |
| 73 | Newscast | CBS Evening News | United States
|
1948–present | CBS | 16,400+ |
| 73 | Religious program | Le Jour du Seigneur |  France
|
1949–present | TF1 (1949–87)
France 2 (since 1987) |
|
| 70 | Sports show | Hockey Night in Canada |  Canada
|
1952–present | CBC, City/Sportsnet, CTV | |
| 68 | Sports magazine show | La Domenica Sportiva |  Italy
|
1953–present | RAI | 3318 (as of 10 May 2020[update]) |
| Music talent show | NHK Nodo Jiman |  Japan
|
1953–present | NHK | 2,900 (as of 2012[update]) | |
| Current affairs series | Panorama | United Kingdom
|
1953–present | BBC One | ||
| 67 | Talk show | The Tonight Show | United States
|
1954–present | NBC | |
| 66 | Song contest | Sanremo Music Festival | Italy
|
1955–present | RAI (radio broadcast since 1951, TV broadcast since 1955) | |
| Annual live international beauty pageant | Miss Universe | United States
|
1955–present | CBS, NBC, FOX | 72 | |
| Annual live national beauty pageant | Miss America | United States
|
1955–present | ABC, NBC, CBS | 96 (102) | |
| 67 | Song contest | Eurovision Song Contest |  Various participating countries
|
1956–2019,2021–present | European Broadcasting Union | The most recent contest (2023) is hosted in Liverpool, United Kingdom, on behalf of Ukraine. |
| 65 | Science show | The Sky at Night | United Kingdom
|
1957–present | BBC One, BBC Four | 804 (as of September 2020[update]) |
| News show | Telediario |  Spain
|
1957–present | TVE | ||
| Children's show | Blue Peter | United Kingdom
|
1958–present | BBC One, CBBC | 5,000 (as of 1 February 2018[update]) | |
| 63 | Historical drama | Zenigata Heiji | Japan
|
1958–2034 | ||
| Agriculture information | Plodovi zemlje |  Croatia
|
1958–present | HRT 1 | 1900 (as of 14 March 2017) | |
| 62 | Animated | Sandmännchen |  Germany
|
1959–present | Deutscher Fernsehfunk, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg | 22,200 |
| News show | Telejornal |  Portugal
|
1959–present | RTP 1 | ||
| Soap opera | Coronation Street | United Kingdom
|
1960–present | ITV | 10000+ | |
| 60 | Comedy | KVN |  Soviet Union (1961–1991)
|
1961–present | Channel One Russia, KVN TV | |
| TV feedback show | Points of View | United Kingdom
|
1961–present | BBC One, BBC Two | ||
| Quiz show | It's Academic | United States
|
1961–present[4] | |||
| 60 | Song contest | Festivali i Këngës |  Albania
|
1962–present | RTSH | |
| 60 | Medicine talk show | Trupi dhe Shëndeti | Albania
|
1962–present | RTSH | 1000+ |
| 60 | Science fiction | Doctor Who | United Kingdom
|
1963–1989, 1996,[5] 2005–present | BBC One | 875 (as of 25 December 2023) |
| 58 | Variety show | Programa Silvio Santos |  Brazil
|
1963–present | SBT | 3000+ |
| 59 | Music Chart show | Top of the Pops | United Kingdom
|
1964–2006; Christmas shows only 2006–present | BBC One, BBC Two | 2,219 |
| Documentary | Four Corners |  Australia
|
1961–present | Australian Broadcasting Corporation | ||
| 57 | Agriculture information | Country Calendar |  New Zealand
|
1966–present | ||
| 56 | Game show | Des chiffres et des lettres | France
|
1965–present | France 2 (1965–2006)
France 3 (since 2006) |
20,000 (as of October 2012[update]) |
| 56 | Children's show (preschool) | Play School | Australia
|
1966–present | Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) | 4,500+ |
| 56 | Comedy special | Áramótaskaupið |  Iceland
|
1966–present | Ríkisútvarpið | 56 |
| 55 | Variety show | Súper Sábado Sensacional |  Venezuela
|
1968–present | RCTV (1968–1972), Venevisión (1972–present) | 2,800+ |
| 53 | Anime for kids | Sazae-san | Japan
|
1969–present | Fuji Television | 7000+[6] |
| Kids Educational | Sesame Street | United States
|
1969–present | NET (1969–1970), PBS (1970–), HBO (2016–2020), HBO Max (2020–) | 4000+ | |
| 52 | Police procedural | Tatort | Germany
|
1970–present | Das Erste | 1,136 (as of 6 September 2020[update])[7] |
| 51 | Sketch comedy show | Radio Rochela | Venezuela
|
1959–2010 | RCTV | 2652 |
References[edit]
- ^ "The Lord Mayor's Show dates". BBC Genome. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ "Wimbledon". Genome Project. 9 October 2018.
- ^ "Wimbledon and the BBC 1927 to 2017". History of the BBC. 22 November 2018.
- ^ "Mac McGarry, 'It's Academic' host, dies at 87". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ^ "BBC – Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – Doctor Who: The TV Movie – Details". 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ "Sazae-san". IMDb.
- ^ "Die Fälle – Tatort – ARD | Das Erste".