This is a timeline of the history of football on television in the United Kingdom.
1930s
1937 16 September – The BBC makes the world's first television broadcast of a football match, a specially arranged local mirror match derby fixture between Arsenal and Arsenal reserves.
1938 9 April – The BBC broadcasts live television coverage of the England v Scotland international from Wembley. This is the first senior match to be shown on television as it happened. The BBC Radio commentary by George Allison and Thomas Woodrooffe is broadcast with the pictures. 30 April – The BBC broadcasts live television coverage of the FA Cup Final for the first time. 26 September – The first half of the FA Charity Shield is broadcast live from Highbury.
1939 29 April – The FA Cup Final is again shown live accompanied, for the first time, by a commentator working solely for television. George Allison provided the commentary. 1 September – The BBC Television Service is suspended, owing to the imminent outbreak of the Second World War.
1940s 1940 to 1945 Television was closed for the duration of the Second World War.
1946 7 June – BBC Television broadcasts resume. 19 October – The first live televised post-war football match is broadcast by the BBC, the Athenian League match between Barnet and Wealdstone. Twenty minutes of the first half and thirty five minutes of the second half were shown before it became too dark. The broadcast only went ahead after a nearby resident allowed engineers to use their telephone line and the owner of a local allotment, Mr Overall, gave permission to erect scaffolding on his land with compensation promised for any crop damage.
1947 8 February – A non-final match of the FA Cup is broadcast live for the first time when the BBC shows the fifth round match between Charlton Athletic and Blackburn Rovers. 25 October – Scheduled live coverage of a First Division match between Charlton Athletic and Chelsea is pulled after objections from the Football League.
1948 10 August – An evening kick-off and a match between two foreign teams is broadcast for the first time, as Sweden v Denmark in the semi-finals of the Olympic football tournament is shown live from Wembley. This is also the first time an international football tournament has been shown on television. 13 August – Two full matches are shown live on the same day for the first time; the bronze medal play-off and then the final of the Olympic tournament, both at Wembley. 13 November – An FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie between Romford and Gillingham is televised live on the BBC.
1949 9 April – The British Championship serves as a qualifying group for the 1950 World Cup. As a result, the BBC live broadcast of Scotland's 3–1 win against England at Wembley is the first World Cup match to be shown on British television. 23 April – The first FA Amateur Cup Final staged at Wembley is also the first to be televised. The whole match is shown on the BBC, Bromley beating Romford 1–0. 10 September – An African national team appears on British television for the first time. Nigeria lose 5–1 to an Isthmian League XI at Lynn Road, Ilford. 30 November – The earliest live match from which some footage of the television coverage still exists, England v Italy at White Hart Lane.
1950s 1950 Very brief filmed excerpts of matches from the 1950 FIFA World Cup were shown on BBC Television. 14 October - Kenneth Wolstenholme commentates on BBC Television for the first time.
1951 28 April – The FA restricts the BBC to second half only coverage of the FA Cup Final. Kenneth Wolstenholme commentates on the final for the first time. 9 May – A South American national team is shown on British television for the first time. Live second half coverage of England's 2–1 win over Argentina is broadcast on BBC Television. 20 October – A Wales international, a 1–1 draw with England, is televised live for the first time. It is the first live football broadcast from outside England.
1952 The FA blocks live television coverage of the FA Cup Final. Coverage was restricted to filmed excerpts, and could only be shown from the following Monday. Every final since has been televised in full. 22 November – For the first time, a live game from the first two rounds of the FA Cup is shown as the BBC televise the match between Leyton and Hereford United.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000681/19521122/044/0003 20 December – The first live football broadcast from Scotland features a match between the University Select teams from England and Scotland at Westerlands, Glasgow.
1953 2 May – The FA Cup Final between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers is the earliest surviving full match recording in the BBC archive. 20 October – Falkirk’s Brockville is the first Scottish club ground to stage a live televised match. Their floodlit friendly with Newcastle United is shown on BBC TV. 21 October – England's match with a FIFA XI is the first to be recorded for a repeat broadcast. The second half was shown live and then again that evening. The whole match was shown for the first time in January 1954. 25 November – England's 6–3 defeat to Hungary at Wembley is the first match recorded primarily for delayed broadcast. While the second half was shown live, the whole match was shown as scheduled on BBC TV that evening.
1954 16 June – 4 July – The FIFA World Cup is broadcast as it happened by the BBC for the first time with eight matches shown live via the Eurovision link. 3 November – A Northern Ireland international, a 2–2 draw in Scotland, is televised live for the first time. This is also the first such broadcast of a Scotland home match. 11 November – A friendly international between France and Belgium is televised live on BBC TV. Outside of a tournament this was the first time a match between two overseas teams had been shown.
1955 23 April – The 1955 Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Clyde is the first final in Scotland to be televised live 10 September – After two pilot programmes, BBC TV launches Sports Special on Saturday nights. This is the first weekly programme to show highlights of Football League and FA Cup matches. The first edition includes a Scottish League match between Rangers and Stirling Albion. 22 September – Independent Television (ITV) launches in the London area. 12 October – ITV shows live football for the first time. They cover the second half of a floodlit friendly between Tottenham Hotspur and Vasas Budapest from White Hart Lane, although the foggy weather may have affected the broadcast. 26 October – For the first time, a match in European competition is televised. ITV shows the second half of the Inter-Cities’ Fairs Cup tie between London and Frankfurt. This is also the first floodlit match at Wembley Stadium. The European Cup begins this season, though there is no television coverage of Scotland's entrant Hibernian. England is not represented in the inaugural competition. 30 November – ITV shows a home England international live from Wembley for the first time when Associated Rediffusion broadcasts their 4–1 victory over Spain, with Kent Walton commentating.
1956 12 January – ITV broadcasts its first coverage of the FA Cup when it shows live second half coverage of the Third Round replay between non-league Bedford Town and Arsenal. The network covers two further replays that season. 17 March – ITV company ABC televises recorded highlights (on film) of the FA Cup Semi-final between Birmingham City and Sunderland, the network's first ever highlights programme. 5 May – The FA Cup Final is broadcast live simultaneously on BBC TV and ITV for the first time.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000681/19560505/084/00 ITV's main commentator Peter Lloyd becomes the only broadcaster to commentate on the final for both BBC and ITV, having covered the 1949 and 1950 finals for BBC TV. England captain Billy Wright and former Manchester City and England goalkeeper Frank Swift join him in the commentary box for ITV's first Cup Final broadcast. 13 June – BBC TV relays live second half coverage of the inaugural European Cup Final from Paris. 6 July – The Football League management committee recommends that the clubs accept a £50,000 proposal from ITV company ATV to televise 35 live Saturday night matches a season starting from 1956 to 1957. 16 July – The BBC counters with a £60,000 bid to show a mixture of live FA Cup ties and League matches, both on Saturdays and on midweek evenings. 20 July – The Football League clubs reject the proposals from BBC and ITV to show regular live matches from the 1956–57 season. Representations from the theatre and cinema industries were influential in the decision. ITV were prepared to double their bid to £100,000 but were still rebuffed.
1957 12 April – A European Cup tie featuring a British side is televised for the first time. A BBC film crew travels to Spain to cover . Manchester United’s 3–1 defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-final. Edited highlights are shown the day after the game was played. 25 April – The second leg of the Manchester United v Real Madrid semi-final is shown live on ITV. The network takes coverage of the second half, but in the Granada region (covering the north of England) the whole match was shown with Gerry Loftus and Frank Swift commentating. 4 May – ITV declines the opportunity to cover the FA Cup Final. 30 May – The European Cup Final is not televised due to a lack of coverage in Spain, whose first football outside broadcast did not come until the following year. Film footage of the match exists. 18 September – Scotsport launches on Scottish Television as a midweek only programme, its sister show Sports Desk begins the following Saturday. 27 November – BBC TV shows a European Cup match involving a Scottish team for the first time. Rangers’ 4–1 defeat to AC Milan is shown live north of the border. However, only the first half and last fifteen minutes were shown with the networked drama A Time of Day given precedence at 8:30 pm. 14 December – Scottish Television shows a club football match for the first time. Three days after the game was played, a ten-minute film of Rangers’ European Cup tie away to AC Milan is broadcast on the Sports Desk programme.
1958 18 January – The first live football broadcast from the island of Ireland features Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifier with Italy. 26 March – A semi-final match in the FA Cup is shown live for the first time. BBC TV covers, in full, the replay at Highbury between Fulham and Manchester United. 8 May – BBC TV shows a European Cup semi-final live for the first time, as Manchester United faced AC Milan at Old Trafford. 28 May – Full live coverage of the European Cup Final is seen on British screens for the first time. 8–29 June – The 1958 FIFA World Cup is covered live by BBC Television and, for the first time, by ITV. Ten live matches are made available via Eurovision. All were shown by the BBC, while seven were taken by the commercial network. August – Scottish Television gains rights to televise filmed highlights of Scottish League matches. Scotsport, which was previously shown mainly on Wednesdays, becomes part of the Saturday night schedule. 9 September – Scottish Television broadcasts live football for the first time. The European Cup Preliminary Round tie between Hearts and Standard Liège is also ITV’s first contribution to the Eurovision network.
1959 13–24 May – A BBC film crew is dispatched to the Americas to cover England’s summer tour. Highlights of the matches with Brazil, Peru and Mexico are shown.
1960s
1960 29 March – The final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup is televised live for the first time. BBC TV shows Birmingham City’s first leg clash with Barcelona.