1949 in radio

• 2 January – The Jack Benny Program first appears on CBS after 16 years on NBC – one of the most visible results of CBS' "talent raids."Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0786438488}}. p. 7.
• 1 April – The facilities and staff of the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland are transferred to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on the former British colony joining Canada as its 10th province.
• 15 April – KPFA 94.1 FM in Berkeley, California, begins broadcasting as the first listener-sponsored radio station in the United States and the first of five stations founded by the Pacifica Radio network.
• 23 November – James Lindenberg branches into radio broadcasting with the official launch of DZBC 1000 kilohertz on AM, owned by Bolinao Electronics Corporation (the predecessor of ABS-CBN Corporation) in the Philippines.

• January 9 – Screen Directors Playhouse premieres on NBC.
• January 31 – Book at Bedtime debuts on the BBC Light Programme.
• February 11 – Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (1949–1962) debuts on CBS.
• February 27 – Broadway Is My Beat debuts on CBS.
• April 4 – Ray's a Laugh debuts on the BBC Light Programme.{{cite book|title=A Concise History of British Radio, 1922–2002|first=Sean|last=Street|authorlink=Sean Street|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7jo0IcUZeoC&q=%22Ray%27s+a+Laugh%22+%22first+broadcast%22+1949&pg=PA103|year=2002|location=Tiverton|publisher=Kelly|isbn=9781903053140|page=103}}
• May 1 – The Adventures of Frank Race, a syndicated program, debuts in some markets.
• May 7 – The Affairs of Peter Salem debuts on Mutual.
• June 3 – Dragnet premieres on NBC.
• June 5 - The Green Lama premieres on CBS.{{r|dunningota|page1=299}}
• June 29 – Candy Matson debuts on NBC West Coast.
• July 3 – Four Star Playhouse debuts on NBC.Dunning, John. (1976). Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925–1976. Prentice-Hall, Inc. {{ISBN|0139326162}}.
• July 4
• Add a Line debuts on ABC.Terrace, Vincent. (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0786445134}}.
• Leave It to Joan debuts on CBS.
• Young Love debuts on CBS.
• August 25 – Father Knows Best debuts on NBC.Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0195076783}}.
• September 4 – Chance of a Lifetime debuts on ABC.
• September 5 – Light-Up Time debuts on NBC.

• January 25 – Bayerischer Rundfunk is reconstituted from Munich Radio in West Germany. This year it establishes the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
• February 22 – KWPC-FM (99.7 FM) of Muscatine, Iowa, with a broadcasting power of 3,000 watts, signs on the air as a sister station of KWPC-AM (860 AM). Studios are located on the outskirts of Muscatine.
• June 26 – WWON-FM/105.5-Woonsocket, Rhode Island, begins broadcasting at 390 watts. It is the sister station of WWON/1240 in the same community.
• September 10 — [http://wjma.radiohistory.net WJMA]/1340-Orange, Virginia, begins broadcasting with 250 watts full time.
• December 11 – KALA/1400-Sitka, Alaska, begins broadcasting. The owner is Baranof Enterprises.{{cite news|title=KALA on Air|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-BC-IDX/49-OCR/1949-12-19-BC-OCR-Page-0074.pdf|accessdate=23 September 2014|agency=Broadcasting|date=December 19, 1949}}{{Dead link|date=February 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• December 22 – WPEP/1570-Taunton, Massachusetts, begins broadcasting from studios atop the Roseland Ballroom, north of downtown Taunton.

• January 2 – Cabin B-13 ends its run on network radio (CBS).
• January 9 – WWDX-FM, Paterson, New Jersey, ceases broadcasting.{{cite news |title=WNNJ-FM |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1949/1949-01-24-BC.pdf |accessdate=16 April 2019 |work=Broadcasting |date=January 24, 1949 |page=80}}
• April 17 – Manhattan Merry-Go-Round ends its run on network radio (NBC Blue Network).
• June 4 – The Adventures of Frank Merriwell ends its run on network radio (NBC).
• June 5 – The Alan Young Show ends its run on network radio (NBC).
• June 10 – Herb Shriner Time ends its run on network radio (CBS).
• June 25 – Famous Jury Trials ends its run on network radio in the United States.
• June 27 - Child's World ends its run on network radio (ABC).{{r|dunningota|page1=152-153}}
• July 1 - Ford Theater (radio series) ends its run on network radio (NBC).{{r|dunningota|page1=257-258}}
• July 3 – Mayor of the Town ends its run on network radio.
• August 20 - The Green Lama ends its run on network radio (CBS).{{r|dunningota|page1=299}}
• August 22 – Leave It to Joan ends its run on network radio (CBS).
• September 4 – The Burl Ives Show ends its run on network radio (ABC).
• September 25 – Call the Police ends its run on network radio (CBS).
• September 26 – Add a Line ends its run on network radio (ABC).
• October 28 – The Abe Burrows Show ends its run on CBS.
• December 15 – Captain Midnight ends its run on network radio Mutual.
• December 25 - The House of Mystery ends its run on network radio Mutual.{{r|dunningota|page1=333}}

• February 7 – Les Ross, né Meakin, English midlands DJ.
• March 12 – David Mellor, English politician and radio presenter.
• April 2 – Paul Gambaccini, American-born British music presenter.
• April 20 – Paul Heiney, English broadcaster.
• May 22 – Jesse Lee Peterson, American political radio host.
• November 23 – Tom Joyner, American radio host
• November – Neal Conan, American NPR host, producer, editor and correspondent, captured during the 1991 Gulf War by the Iraqi Republican Guard (died 2021)
• December 12 – Bill Nighy, English actor.
• Philip Dodd, English creative arts academic and broadcaster.
• David Stafford, English writer and broadcaster.

• January 9 – Tommy Handley, English comedian (born 1892).
• February 15 – Patricia Ryan, American actress (born 1921); she was stricken with a severe headache the night before while performing in a broadcast of Cavalcade of America, and her husband found her dead the next morning at home.{{cite news|title=Death Claims Radio Actress|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6251951/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/|work=The San Bernardino County Sun|agency=United Press|date=February 16, 1949|location=California, San Bernardino|page=2|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = August 15, 2016}} {{Open access}}
• June 10 – Sir Frederick Ogilvie, British broadcasting executive and university administrator (born 1893).

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Category:Radio by year