1961 in television

List of years in television (table)
… 1951 ^. 1952 ^. 1953 ^. 1954 ^. 1955 ^. 1956 ^. 1957 … 1958 1959 1960 -1961- 1962 1963 1964 … 1965 ^. 1966 ^. 1967 ^. 1968 ^. 1969 ^. 1970 ^. 1971 … In radio: 1958 1959 1960 -1961- 1962 1963 1964 In film: 1958 1959 1960 -1961- 1962 1963 1964
Related time period or subjects
… 1958 ^. 1959 ^. 1960 - 1961 - 1962 ^. 1963 ^. 1964 … … 1930s ^. 1940s ^. 1950s -1960s- 1970s ^. 1980s ^. 1990s … … 19th century ^. 20th century ^. 21st century …
Art ^. Archaeology ^. Architecture ^. Literature ^. Music ^. Science +...

The year 1961 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1961.

[edit] Events

January 20 - John F. Kennedy is the first U.S. president to be sworn in, in a color telecast. NBC covers the inauguration in color.
February 19 - CFTM-TV, future flagship of Quebec's TVA network, opens in Montreal.
April 29 - Westward Television, the first ITV franchise for South West England, goes on air.

July 1 - The soap opera The Brighter Day airs its first episode after moving taping locations from New York City to Los Angeles. As a result, key character Babby Dennis and her love interest are mysteriously written out of the show; the actors who played them didn't want to move.
September 1 - Border Television, the ITV franchise for the English-Scottish Border and Isle of Man, goes on air.
September 30 - Grampian Television, the ITV franchise for North East Scotland, goes on air.
September - NBC begins its long-running NBC Saturday Night at the Movies series with an airing of the 1953 Marilyn Monroe picture How to Marry a Millionaire.
1 October - CTV is launched in Canada, the first privately owned network in the country.
November 4 - RAI's second television channel (now called Rai Due) first airs to 52% of the available households in Italy.
December 31 - RTÉ starts television broadcasts, bringing television to the Republic of Ireland for the first time.
January 25 - John F. Kennedy holds the first live televised Presidential press conference.
Danger Man (UK) (1960-1961, 1964-1966) is cancelled due to lack of interest from Australian broadcasters. The series would be revived and revamped in 1964.
May 9 - Newton Minow uncovers a "vast wasteland".
May 29 - Dave Garroway announces his decision to leave the Today show.
November 19 - Lucille Ball marries Gary Morton.
WBNB brings television to the Virgin Islands for the first time. (It will be destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.)

January 7 - The Avengers premieres on ITV (1961-1969).
April 29 ABC's Wide World of Sports debuts (1961-2006).
August 19 - Four Corners, Australia's first current affairs program, premieres (1961-present).
September 23 - The Stairlit Starways premieres (1961-1968).
October 2 - Ben Casey premieres on ABC (1961-1966). Password debuts on CBS (1961-1967). Robert Young's short-lived second series, Window on Main Street debuts on CBS (1961-1962).
October 3 - The Dick Van Dyke Show premieres on CBS (1961-1966).
October - Songs of Praise debuts on BBC (1961-present).