1946 in television - Definition and Overview

See also: 1945 in television, other events of 1946, 1947 in television and the list of 'years in television'.

Events

• February 4 – RCA demonstrates all-electronic color television system.
• February 18 - The first Washington, DC - New York City telecast through AT&T coaxial cable is termed success by engineers and viewers.
• April 22 - CBS color television program is successfully transmitted over a 450-mile coaxial cable link from New York to Washington.
• June 7 - The BBC begins broadcasting again, and reshows the Mickey Mouse cartoon, that had been the last programme transmitted seven years earlier at the start of the World War II. It is preceded by the announcement: "As we were saying before we were so rudely interrupted..."
• June 19 - The first televised heavyweight boxing title fight between Joe Louis and Billy Conn is broadcast from Yankee Stadium. The fight was seen by 141,000 people, the largest television audience to see a fight.
• July 7 - First BBC TV programming for children is broadcast, titled "For The Children".
• October 2 - The first television network soap opera, Faraway Hill, airs on the DuMont Network.
• December 24 - The first church service is telecast, Grace Episcopal Church in New York, on WABD.
• Tokyo Tushin Kogyo founded, which would later become Sony.
• Zoomar introduces the first professional zoom lens.
• In the United States, only the DuMont Network and NBC were broadcasting in the evening in 1946. DuMont ran a Western movie on Sunday night for an hour, other programming for an hour on Tuesday, and half hours on Wednesday and Thursday nights. NBC ran an hour of programming on Sunday, two hours on Thursday, and the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports on Monday and Friday nights, with an additional hour on Fridays.

Debuts

• May 9 - The first variety show premieres, Hour Glass, on NBC
• Gilette Cavalcade of Sports (1946-1960)

Popular television shows

• Picture Page (UK) (1936-1939; 1946-1952)
• The Voice of Firestone Televues (1943-1947)

Births

• January 20 - David Lynch, film director
• April 5 - Jane Asher, actress
• May 1 - Joanna Lumley, actress
• June 28 - Gilda Radner, actress, comedian, Saturday Night Live
• September 25 - Felicity Kendal, actress
• October 14 - Gwyneth Powell, actress
• October 30 - Lynne Marta, actress
• December 20 - Lesley Judd, television presenter