This would be illegal in many US States, though I doubt anyone would enforce it... unless you got into an accident while yelling at the Price is Right on your tiny screen.
But were these laws on the books back in the 80's when this item would have been newly on the market?
Since laws often occur in a reactive manner, it is very likely these laws were not yet on the books, and when it was new it would not have been illegal at that time.
Looks like NY's law against TV use in cars dates to 1974, Texas's to 1995.