1951 in television

Hit Television Shows

January 3 - Dragnet debuts on NBC. (1951-1959)
October 15 - I Love Lucy debuts on CBS. (1951-1957) The ground breaking show is produced on film, instead of being broadcast live. The show also makes Lucille Ball the worlds first major female television star.
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971)
The Roy Rogers Show (1951-1957), debuts on NBC, starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

May 28 - The U. S. Supreme Court upholds the FCC's approval of the CBS color television system
June 25 – CBS presents its first commercial color telecast with Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, and Faye Emerson.
June - RCA demonstrates its new electronic color system.
August 11 - The first baseball games televised in color, a double-header between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves
September 4 - The first coast-to-coast TV broadcast, featuring President Truman.
September 22 - The first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast, a college football game between Duke and the University of Pittsburgh, is televised on NBC.
October 3 - The first live coast-to-coast network telecast of a World Series game
December 24 - The first televised opera written for television, Amahl and the Night Visitor, airs on NBC.
Ernie Kovacs' Time for Ernie and Ernie in Kovacsland television shows premiere. Kovacs pushes the limits of television technology with his use of camera tricks and special effects.