When Was Color Television Invented?

The invention of color television was a gradual process, with multiple inventors and technologies contributing to its development. While a single “invention” date is debatable, key milestones mark the journey from concept to widespread adoption.

Early concepts for color television systems emerged in the early 20th century. A German patent for a color television system was filed in 1904, and Russian inventor Vladimir K. Zworykin filed a patent disclosure for an all-electronic color television system in 1925. These early designs, while ultimately unsuccessful, laid the groundwork for future advancements.

Between 1946 and 1950, researchers at RCA Laboratories developed the world’s first electronic color television system. This breakthrough paved the way for the first commercial broadcast of color television, which occurred on December 17, 1953, based on RCA’s system.

Prior to RCA’s success, CBS, under the leadership of Peter Goldmark, had developed a mechanical color television system based on designs from John Logie Baird in 1928. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initially approved CBS’s technology as the national standard in October 1950. However, this system faced several challenges, including bulkiness, poor picture quality, and incompatibility with existing black-and-white televisions.

CBS initiated color broadcasting on a limited scale in June 1951. However, RCA challenged this by filing a lawsuit to halt the public broadcasting of CBS-based systems. The widespread adoption of black-and-white televisions (approximately 10.5 million sets, half of which were RCA sets) further hindered the acceptance of CBS’s color system. The Korean War also contributed to a halt in color television production. Faced with these obstacles, the CBS system ultimately failed.

These setbacks provided RCA with the opportunity to refine its color television technology based on Alfred Schroeder’s 1947 patent application for a shadow mask CRT. This improved system received FCC approval in late 1953, and RCA began selling color televisions in 1954.

Early color television broadcasts were initially preserved using the black-and-white kinescope process, introduced in 1947. In 1956, NBC started using color film for delayed broadcasts and preservation. Ampex developed a color videotape recorder in 1958, which NBC used to record “An Evening With Fred Astaire,” the oldest surviving network color videotape.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s visit to an NBC station in Washington, D.C., and his subsequent speech on the merits of color television, marked another significant milestone. This speech was recorded in color and preserved in the Library of Congress.

The first coast-to-coast color broadcast occurred on January 1, 1954, with NBC’s telecast of the Tournament of Roses Parade. The premiere of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color in September 1961 proved to be a major turning point, driving consumer demand for color televisions.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, television stations and networks globally transitioned from black-and-white to color transmission. By 1979, almost all broadcasting had switched to color. By the early 1980s, black-and-white sets were primarily small portable televisions or used as monitors in less expensive consumer equipment. By the late 1980s, even these niche uses had largely transitioned to color.