June 25

Color TV Day

A U.S. observance on June 25 commemorating the first commercial color television broadcast by CBS on that date in 1951.

Yearly Date

June 25

Observed in

Introduction

It took 21 years from the first commercial color broadcast for color television sets to outsell black-and-white in the United States. Color TV Day marks the beginning of that transition: June 25, 1951, when CBS aired an hour-long variety show called "Premiere" in color to five East Coast affiliates. Most viewers saw only scrambled images because the CBS system was incompatible with existing sets.

The technology that ultimately won, RCA's NTSC-compatible standard, would not receive FCC approval until December 1953. By 2024, Americans watch an average of 3.7 hours of television per day, nearly all of it in color that descends from the engineering breakthroughs of the early 1950s.

Color TV Day History

The race to broadcast in color began decades before any commercial signal reached a living room. Scottish inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated a mechanical color television system in 1928, proving the concept was technically feasible but far too crude for consumer use. The real engineering challenge was not producing color images but making them compatible with the millions of black-and-white sets already installed in American homes.

By the late 1940s, two competing approaches had emerged. CBS, led by engineer Peter Goldmark, developed a field-sequential system that transmitted color using a spinning disc filter synchronized between camera and receiver. The system produced vivid color but was entirely incompatible with existing televisions.

A broadcast almost nobody saw in color

The FCC approved the CBS color system in October 1950, and on June 25, 1951, CBS aired "Premiere," an hour-long variety show featuring Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, and Garry Moore. The broadcast reached five East Coast affiliates in Boston, Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, but the audience for actual color was minuscule. Viewers without specially equipped receivers saw only scrambled images. CBS discontinued color broadcasting by October 1951, citing the Korean War and virtually nonexistent consumer demand.

RCA wins with backward compatibility

RCA took the opposite engineering approach, building a color system that could transmit signals viewable in black-and-white on existing sets. The FCC approved the NTSC standard on December 17, 1953, and RCA demonstrated it with a live national broadcast of the 1954 Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day. In April 1954, RCA released the CT-100, the first mass-produced color television, priced at roughly $1,000, about half the cost of a new car. Only 4,400 units were manufactured.

A slow transition

Color adoption moved gradually through the 1960s. NBC, owned by RCA's parent company, led the push, but CBS and ABC were slower to convert. The 1966-67 season was the first in which all three major networks broadcast their entire prime-time lineups in color. Even then, most households still watched on black-and-white sets. It was not until 1972, a full 21 years after the first CBS color broadcast, that annual color TV sales finally surpassed black-and-white in the United States.

Color TV Day Timeline

1928

First color TV demonstration

Scottish inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated the world's first color television transmission using a mechanical system with spinning discs. The demonstration proved color was technically possible but remained far from commercially viable.

1940

Mexican engineer patents trichromatic adapter

Guillermo González Camarena patented a trichromatic chromoscopic adapter that allowed existing black-and-white cameras to capture color images. The invention became a key contribution to the engineering foundation of broadcast color television.

1951

CBS airs first commercial color broadcast

On June 25, CBS broadcast 'Premiere,' a one-hour variety show featuring Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, and Garry Moore. The signal reached five East Coast affiliates, but the CBS field-sequential system was incompatible with existing black-and-white sets.

1953

FCC approves NTSC color standard

The FCC approved the NTSC color standard on December 17, 1953. Developed by RCA, the system was backward-compatible with existing black-and-white televisions, solving the critical adoption barrier that had doomed the CBS system.

1954

First mass-produced color TV goes on sale

RCA released the CT-100, the first mass-produced color television set, with approximately 4,400 units manufactured. At roughly $1,000, it cost about half the price of a new car.

1972

Color TV sales surpass black-and-white

For the first time, annual sales of color television sets in the United States exceeded sales of black-and-white sets, completing a transition that had taken over two decades since the first color broadcast.

How to Celebrate Color TV Day

1

Watch a classic early color broadcast

NBC's 'Wonderful World of Disney,' which debuted in color in 1961, is one of the earliest programs still widely available. Streaming the original episodes shows how early color production adapted lighting and sets for the new technology.
2

Visit a TV history museum or exhibit

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., houses early television equipment in its media and technology collections, including examples of pioneering broadcast technology.
3

Learn how modern display technology evolved

The journey from cathode-ray tubes to OLED took decades. The IEEE History Center documents the engineering milestones that turned color television into the high-resolution displays used today.
4

Compare how the same scene looks in B&W versus color

Many films and television shows have been colorized or restored from their original black-and-white versions. Watching both versions side by side reveals how much narrative information color adds to staging, mood, and visual storytelling.
5

Read about the CBS-RCA standards war

The competition between CBS's incompatible system and RCA's backward-compatible NTSC standard is one of the earliest format wars in consumer technology, predating VHS vs. Betamax and Blu-ray vs. HD DVD by decades. The Wikipedia color television article provides a detailed account of the engineering and regulatory battle.

Why We Love Color TV Day

A

Backward compatibility determined the winning technology

CBS produced better color images in 1951, but its system could not work with existing black-and-white sets. RCA's NTSC standard succeeded because it was backward-compatible, allowing the tens of millions of monochrome televisions already in homes to display color broadcasts in grayscale. The lesson shaped technology adoption strategy for decades.
B

Color changed how television told stories

The shift from black-and-white to color transformed television production. Costume design, set decoration, lighting, and makeup all had to be reconceived for color cameras. News broadcasts gained the ability to show events as viewers would see them in person, increasing the emotional immediacy of coverage from the Vietnam War to the Apollo moon landings.
C

The economics of a $1,000 TV set

The RCA CT-100 cost approximately $1,000 in 1954, equivalent to roughly $11,500 today. That price point confined color viewing to wealthy early adopters for years. The two-decade gap between the first broadcast and mass adoption illustrates how price, not technology, often controls the pace of consumer adoption.