A television program (US), television programme (UK) or simply television show is a segment of programming in television broadcasting. It may be a one-off broadcast or, more usually, part of a periodically returning television series. A television series that is intended to be broadcast a finite number of episodes is usually called a miniseries or serial (although the latter term also has other meanings). Americans call a short run lasting less than a year a season; People of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland generally call this a series. This season or series usually consists of 6-26 installments. U.S. industry practice tends to favor longer seasons than those of some other countries.

A single instance of a program is called an episode, although this is sometimes also called a "show" or "program." A one-off broadcast may be called a "special". A television movie ("made-for-TV" movie) is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than being released in theaters or direct-to-video, although many successful television movies are later released on video.

Today, advertisements play a role in most television programming, such that each hour of programming can contain up to 15 minutes of advertisements in some countries. By contrast, being publicly funded, the BBC in the United Kingdom does not run advertisements, except to trail (promote) its own output. Its promotions appear between and near the end of shows but not in the middle of them, much like the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Australia. With rise of internet video clips, there is serious debate about where the future of television programs is going.