1963 in American television

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This is a list of American television-related events in 1963.

Events[edit]

Date Event Ref.
May 15 NBC carries the first transmission from "Faith 7", a U.S. manned space capsule. It was broadcast on tape delay due to poor picture quality.
September 2 The CBS Evening News becomes the first half-hour weeknight news broadcast in American network television when the show was lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes. NBC's evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, follows suit one week later.
October 1 ABC News begins to rely on its own camera crews, after depending on outside sources for news film.
November 22 Regular programming of all three major U.S. networks start pre-emptions following the news of John F. Kennedy's assassination. The most notable preserved recording of the wall-to-wall news coverage of the assassination was that of CBS, when CBS News interrupts that day's episode of As the World Turns. Through the facilities of the Relay 1 satellite, the news bulletins about the assassination, as well as the funeral procession later that week, were the first television broadcasts across the Pacific Ocean.
December 7 Instant Replay, the brainchild of CBS Sports director Tony Verna makes its debut during CBS's live broadcast of the Army-Navy Game. Following a series of improvements, instant replay goes on to become a vital part of televised sports coverage around the world. It is often credited as a primary factor in the rise of televised American football.

Other television events in 1963[edit]

  • The Federal Communications Commission approves authorization of television remote controls to be included with each manufactured television set.
  • For the first time, most Americans say that they get more of their news from television than newspapers.

Television programs[edit]

Debuts[edit]

Date Debut Network
January 1 Fractured Flickers Syndication
January 6[1] Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom NBC
January 7 The Dakotas ABC
January 14 The Magilla Gorilla Show Syndication
April 1 The Doctors[2] NBC
General Hospital ABC
You Don't Say! NBC
April Hootenanny ABC
July 22[3] Vacation Playhouse CBS
September 14 The Lieutenant NBC
September 15 Arrest and Trial ABC
September 15 Grindl NBC
September 16 Breaking Point ABC
September 16 The Outer Limits ABC
September 17 The Greatest Show on Earth ABC
September 18[4] Channing ABC
September 18 The Patty Duke Show ABC
September 19[5][6] The Jimmy Dean Show ABC
September 19 Temple Houston NBC
September 20 Burke's Law ABC
September 20 The Farmer's Daughter ABC
September 21 The Funny Company Syndication
September 21[7] The Jerry Lewis Show ABC
September 22 The Bill Dana Show NBC
September 23 East Side West Side CBS
September 24 Mr. Novak NBC
September 24 Petticoat Junction CBS
September 24 The Richard Boone Show NBC
September 25[8] The Danny Kaye Show CBS
September 25[9] Glynis CBS
September 27 The Great Adventure CBS
September 28 The New Phil Silvers Show[10][11][12] CBS
September 28 Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales CBS
September 29 The Judy Garland Show CBS
September 29 My Favorite Martian CBS
September 29 The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters ABC
September 30 Hollywood and the Stars NBC
October 2[13] Espionage NBC
October 4 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre NBC
October 5[14] The New Casper Cartoon Show ABC
October 10 Kraft Suspense Theatre NBC
November 10[15] That Was the Week That Was NBC
December 30 Let's Make a Deal NBC
December 30 Mack & Myer for Hire Syndication

Ending this year[edit]

Date Show Network Debut Notes
January 25 Don't Call Me Charlie! NBC 1962
March 25 The Jetsons ABC September 23, 1962 Returned in 1985.
April 2 Hawaiian Eye October 1959
April 14 Car 54, Where Are You? NBC September 1961
May 5 Ensign O'Toole September 23, 1962
May 14 Empire September 25, 1962
May 21 Laramie September 15, 1959
The Voice of Firestone September 1949
June 5 The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis CBS September 29, 1959
June 20 Leave It to Beaver ABC October 4, 1957 Returned in 1983.
June 23 The Real McCoys CBS October 3, 1957
August 26 Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har Syndication September 3, 1962
Touché Turtle and Dum Dum
August 30 Wally Gator
September 28 The Shari Lewis Show NBC October 1, 1960 Returned in 1968.

Television stations[edit]

Sign-ons[edit]

Date City of License/Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/Ref.
January 1 New Bedford, Massachusetts
(Providence, Rhode Island)
WTEV 6 ABC
January 29 Milwaukee, Wisconsin WMVS 10 NET
January 31 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania WPCA-TV 17 Independent Second incarnation
March 5 Washington, D.C. WOOK-TV 14 Independent [16]
March 18 Columbus, Ohio WGSF 28 NET
July 15 Jonesboro, Arkansas KAIT 8 Independent
September 7 New Bern/Greenville/Washington, North Carolina WNBE-TV 12 ABC
September 15 Durango, Colorado KREZ-TV 6 CBS Satellite of KGGM-TV (now KRQE) in Albuquerque, New Mexico
September 17 Savannah, Georgia WVAN-TV 9 NET Part of the Georgia Public Broadcasting television network
September 23 Orono/Bangor, Maine WMEB-TV 12 NET Part of Maine Public Broadcasting Network
September 29 Greenville, South Carolina WNTV 29 NET Part of South Carolina ETV
October 14 High Point, North Carolina
(Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC)
WGHP 8 ABC
November 2 Yuma, Arizona KBLU-TV 13 CBS
November 4 Durango, Colorado KJFL-TV 6 Independent
November 28 Huntsville, Alabama WHNT 19 CBS [17]
December 28 Sterling, Colorado KTVS 3 CBS Satellite of KFBC (now KGWN-TV) of Cheyenne, Wyoming
Unknown date Philadelphia, Pennsylvania WUHY-TV 35 Educational independent

Network affiliation changes[edit]

Date City of license/Market Station Channel Old affiliation New affiliation Notes/Ref.
August 1 Davenport, Iowa
(Moline-Rock Island, IL/Bettendorf, Iowa)
WOC-TV 6 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)
NBC (exclusive)

Station closures[edit]

Date City of license/Market Station Channel Affiliation Sign-on date Notes
April 17 Hot Springs, Arkansas KFOY-TV 9 NBC February 1, 1961
May 16 Charlotte, North Carolina WUTV 36 ABC (primary)
NBC/CBS (secondary)
September 5, 1961
June Philadelphia, Pennsylvania WPCA-TV 17 Independent July 10, 1960 (first incarnation)
January 31, 1963 (second incarnation)
Financial distress; returned in 1965 as WPHL-TV
June 10 Ann Arbor, Michigan WJMY 20 Independent October 7, 1962
July 15 Flagstaff, Arizona KVLS 13 Independent December 18, 1961

Births[edit]

Deaths[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Classic Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom: Nostalgia". Wildkingdom.com. 1963-01-06. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  2. ^ Schemering, Christopher (1987). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Ballantine Books. pp. 78–83. ISBN 0-345-35344-7.
  3. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 1077. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
  4. ^ Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 154
  5. ^ Adams, Val (January 1, 1964). "A.B.C.-TV TO DROP '77 SUNSET STRIP' / Also Discontinuing 3 Other Series Before April". The New York Times, p.41. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  6. ^ [1], The Jimmy Dean Show Official Site - History
  7. ^ "Jerry Lewis".
  8. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 197. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  9. ^ Staff. "C.B.S.-TV MAY DROP 'GLYNIS' ON DEC. 18; Decision on Comedy Series Is Expected Next Week Tom Gallery Leaves N.B.C. New Show on Westerns Casals Conducts Tomorrow", The New York Times, October 23, 1963. Accessed October 28, 2008
  10. ^ McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, ISBN 0 14 02 4916 8, p. 598.
  11. ^ Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition), New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 740.
  12. ^ Classic TV Archive The New Phil Silvers Show (1963-64)
  13. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 261. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  14. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 188–191. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  15. ^ Gardner, Paul (3 January 1964). "Originator Here to Assist 'T.W. 3' / David Frost Will Appear on New Satirical Revue". The New York Times. p. 49. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  16. ^ "History of UHF Television: WOOK-TV/Washington, DC". Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  17. ^ "WHNT's Founder Brought Station On Air In Crucial Time". WHNT.com. July 8, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2021.

External links[edit]