This lecture considers the effectiveness of television as a medium for distance education in light of the experiences of the Open University in Great Britain. The main theses of the paper are that television is an important component of high quality open and distance education, but only when its unique teaching characteristics are exploited, and that the effectiveness of television depends to some extent on how the material is structured and to some extent on the technology available to the student. Discussion of the presentational characteristics of television presents five examples of ways in which it can bring unique teaching resources to students. How such material actually influences the learning process is emphasized, e.g., the usefulness of documentary-style programs in encouraging the skills of analysis and application of knowledge. The advantages of using videotape cassettes as opposed to live broadcasts are also discussed, including student control over viewing and increased learning effectiveness. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of interactive television and Tutored Video Instruction are considered. The television extracts that were presented for each of the examples are listed, as well as 22 references. (EW)