Responding to a need indicated by President Reagan's 1983 Initiative on Adult Literacy, this monograph considers the past, present, and future uses of television technology in literacy programs. Recognizing the amount of time Americans spend viewing television and the new possibilities for service delivery offered by such technological developments as cable TV, videocassettes, and videodiscs, the document presents a classification scheme of literacy levels, examines literacy programming of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and describes the British Broadcasting Corporation's pioneering outreach programs. Advantages and disadvantages of TV as an instructional medium are considered, as well as the potential audience; kinds of programming at Federal, state, and local levels; new applications of existing programs; and the use of innovative technologies to reach adult illiterates. The authors conclude with a moderate view of electronic media as part of an ecology of learning and stress the need for engaging leadership to meet the literacy challenge, perhaps in the spirit of campaign or competition that motivates other areas of American life. An appendix provides a comprehensive list of literacy television programs, including titles, descriptions, and information on availability. References are also listed. (SK)