<P> After a series of hearings beginning in September 1949 , the FCC found the RCA and CTI systems fraught with technical problems , inaccurate color reproduction , and expensive equipment , and so formally approved the CBS system as the U.S. color broadcasting standard on October 11 , 1950 . An unsuccessful lawsuit by RCA delayed the first commercial network broadcast in color until June 25 , 1951 , when a musical variety special titled simply Premiere was shown over a network of five East Coast CBS affiliates . Viewing was again restricted : the program could not be seen on black - and - white sets , and Variety estimated that only thirty prototype color receivers were available in the New York area . Regular color broadcasts began that same week with the daytime series The World Is Yours and Modern Homemakers . </P>
<P> After a series of hearings beginning in September 1949 , the FCC found the RCA and CTI systems fraught with technical problems , inaccurate color reproduction , and expensive equipment , and so formally approved the CBS system as the U.S. color broadcasting standard on October 11 , 1950 . An unsuccessful lawsuit by RCA delayed the first commercial network broadcast in color until June 25 , 1951 , when a musical variety special titled simply Premiere was shown over a network of five East Coast CBS affiliates . Viewing was again restricted : the program could not be seen on black - and - white sets , and Variety estimated that only thirty prototype color receivers were available in the New York area . Regular color broadcasts began that same week with the daytime series The World Is Yours and Modern Homemakers . </P>
when did the first color tv show air
when did the first color tv show air
June 25 , 1951
June 25 , 1951