1951 in American television
# 1951 in American television

This is a list of American television-related events in 1951.

## Events

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| March 22 | RCA introduces an eight-pound (3.6 kg) monochrome television camera with a 53-pound (24 kg) backpack transmitter, both operated by batteries. It is the first portable television camera. |
| May 28 | The Federal Communications Commission's approval of the Columbia Broadcasting System's color television system is upheld by the United States Supreme Court. |
| June 25 | CBS presents its first commercial color telecast, featuring Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, and Faye Emerson. |
| August 11 | A double-header between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves becomes the first baseball game to be televised in color. |
| September 4 | The first live transcontinental television broadcast occurs in San Francisco, California from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference. |
| September 29 | CBS presents the first American football game to be presented in color, a college game between the University of California Bears and the University of Pennsylvania Quakers, taking place in Philadelphia |
| September 29 | NBC broadcasts the first live sporting event coast-to-coast, in all time zones. It was a college football game between the Duke University Blue Devils and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. |
| October 3 | The first-ever color telecast of a World Series baseball game. |
| October 20 | CBS debuts its trademark eye logo. |
| November 11 | Bing Crosby Enterprises demonstrates black-and-white video recording through using a modified Ampex tape recorder. |
| December 6 | The National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (NARTB) establishes the Television Code, a set of ethical standards for television broadcasting in the public interest. It would be abolished in January 1983. |
| December 23 | The 1951 NFL Championship Game becomes the first professional football game ever to be telecast on a live, coast-to-coast basis on the DuMont Television Network. DuMont purchased the rights to broadcast the championship game for the next five years. The game resulted in the Los Angeles Rams winning their second pre-Super Bowl era NFL championship by defeating the Cleveland Browns, 24-17. |

## Television programs

### Debuts

| Date | Debut | Network | Notes/Ref. |
| - | - | - | - |
| January 8 | Say It with Acting | NBC |
| February | Public Prosecutor | NBC |
| February 3 | The Victor Borge Show | NBC | |
| March 3 | Watch Mr. Wizard | NBC | |
| March 12 | Miss Susan | NBC | Later retitled as Martinsville, U.S.A. |
| March 23 | Beat the Clock | CBS |
| April 5 | The Range Rider | First-run syndication |
| April 15 | The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok | First-run syndication |
| April 19 | Casey, Crime Photographer | CBS |
| May 7 | Strike It Rich | CBS |
| May 11 | The Lawrence Welk Show | KTLA |
| June 2 | A Date with Judy | ABC |
| June 7 | Racket Squad | CBS |
| June 15 | Midwestern Hayride | NBC | |
| June 28 | The Amos 'n Andy Show | CBS |
| July 6 | Front Page Detective | DuMont Television Network |
| July 13 | Hollywood Opening Night | CBS |
| August 3 | The Ad-Libbers | CBS |
| August 3 | Tales of Tomorrow | ABC |
| August 11 | The Adventures of Kit Carson | First-run syndication |
| September | The Adventures of Boston Blackie | First-run syndication |
| September 3 | Search for Tomorrow | CBS |
| September 16 | Sky King | NBC |
| September 24 | Love of Life | CBS | |
| September 30 | The Red Skelton Show | NBC |
| October 2 | Cosmopolitan Theatre | DuMont Television Network |
| October 3 | Celanese Theatre | ABC | |
| October 5 | ABC Mystery Theater | ABC |
| October 5 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | CBS |
| October 14 | Goodyear Television Playhouse | NBC |
| October 15 | I Love Lucy | CBS |
| October 18 | Foreign Intrigue | First-run syndication |
| October 28 | Out There | CBS |
| November 18 | See It Now | CBS |
| November 23 | The RCA Victor Show | NBC |
| November 27 | The Dinah Shore Show | NBC | |
| December 5 | The Name's the Same | ABC |
| December 14 | Dragnet | NBC |
| December 24 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | NBC | |
| December 30 | The Roy Rogers Show | NBC | |
| April 12 | DuMont Royal Theater | Dumont Television Network | |
| April 15 | Music From Chicago | Dumont Television Network | |
| April 29 | Not for Publication | Dumont Television Network | |
| April 7 | Major Dell Conway of the Flying Tigers | Dumont Television Network | |
| August 27 | The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong | Dumont Television Network | |
| December 1 | The Pet Shop | Dumont Television Network | |
| February 28 | Ladies Before Gentlemen | Dumont Television Network | |
| January 21 | With This Ring | Dumont Television Network | |
| July 3 | Georgetown University Forum | Dumont Television Network | |
| June | At Home With Billie Burke | Dumont Television Network | |
| June 25 | What's the Story? | Dumont Television Network | |
| June 6 | Shadow of the Cloak | Dumont Television Network | |
| March 6 | Once Upon a Tune | Dumont Television Network | |
| May 2 | Stage Entrance | Dumont Television Network | |
| May 22 | Washington Report | Dumont Television Network | |
| May 30 | Down You Go | Dumont Television Network | |
| May 30 | International Playhouse | Dumont Television Network | |
| May 6 | Pentagon | Dumont Television Network | |
| May 7 | Jacqueline Susann's Open Door | Dumont Television Network | |
| November 29 | This Is Music | Dumont Television Network | |
| October 11 | Football This Week | Dumont Television Network | |
| October 13 | The Talent Shop | Dumont Television Network | |
| October 9 | Keep Posted | Dumont Television Network | |
| September 1 | Kids and Company | Dumont Television Network | |
| September 6 | Crawford Mystery Theatre | Dumont Television Network | |
| | News Gal | Dumont Television Network | |
| | NFL on DuMont | Dumont Television Network | |
| | Take the Break | Dumont Television Network | |

### Changes of network affiliation

| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
| - | - | - |
| Author Meets the Critics | ABC | NBC |
| Candid Camera | NBC | First-run syndication |
| Twenty Questions | ABC | Dumont |
| Pro Football Highlights | ABC | Dumont |

### Ending this year

| Date | Show | Network | Debut | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| January 16 | The Alan Dale Show | DuMont | 1948 | |
| July 18 | Four Star Revue | unknown | unknown | |
| August 29 | Stars Over Hollywood | NBC | September 6, 1950 | |
| December 28 | Miss Susan | NBC | March 12, 1951 | Also known as Martinsville, U.S.A. |
| Unknown date | Club Seven | ABC | August 12, 1948 | |

## Television stations

### Station launches

| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| September 15 | Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico (Brownsville/McAllen, Texas, USA) | XELD-TV | 7 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) | First Mexican-licensed television station meant to serve an American-based audience |
| September 30 | Atlanta, Georgia | WLTV | 11 | ABC | now an NBC affiliate. |

### Network affiliation changes

| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| January 1 | Los Angeles, California | KTSL | 2 | DuMont | CBS | Now CBS O&O station KCBS-TV. |
