Television was an American rock band from New York City, most notably active in the 1970s. The group's most prominent lineup consisted of Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, Billy Ficca, and Fred Smith. An early fixture of CBGB and the 1970s New York rock scene, the band is considered influential in the development of punk and alternative rock.
Although they recorded in a stripped-down, guitar-based manner similar to their punk contemporaries, Television's music was by comparison clean, improvisational, and technically proficient, drawing influence from jazz and 1960s rock. The group's 1977 debut album, Marquee Moon, is considered one of the defining releases of the punk era.