On June 25, 1951, CBS made history with the debut of "Premiere," the first commercial broadcast using its field-sequential color system. This event followed the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) controversial decision to adopt CBS's system as the U.S. standard, despite strong opposition from RCA. The broadcast was a monumental undertaking, fraught with technical challenges, logistical hurdles, and the pressure of introducing a revolutionary
technology to a largely unprepared public. The preparations for this inaugural colorcast reveal the immense effort and the unique difficulties faced by the pioneers of color television.
Orchestrating the First Colorcast
CBS announced its ambitious plan to colorcast "Premiere" live across a five-city network of East Coast CBS stations, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston. This network was established even though it was clear that very few people would actually be able to view the event in color. The primary reason for this limited viewership was the near-total resistance from television manufacturers, which meant there were virtually no color sets available for sale to the public. To address this, CBS had recently acquired the television manufacturer Air King, rebranding it as CBS-Columbia, with the intention of producing its own Model 12CC2 dual color/black-and-white television set. However, orders for this $499.95 set were not expected to be taken until late September, long after the "Premiere" broadcast.
To make the event a spectacle, CBS enlisted some of its most recognizable stars, including Arthur Godfrey and Ed Sullivan, to participate in the opening commercial colorcast. The network also secured sixteen advertisers, who collectively spent an estimated $10,000 to sponsor the one-hour show. Seven advertisers reportedly paid $1,000 each for a sixty-second announcement, while nine others spent $275 for a simpler display of their products. Rehearsals for the broadcast began on Thursday, June 21, and continued right up to the air date, with directing duties split between CBS Executive Producer Fred Rickey, who handled the entertainment segments, and CBS Director Frances Buss, who managed the commercials.
Technical and Environmental Hurdles
A significant amount of effort was dedicated to perfecting the display of colors. This involved meticulous adjustments to lighting angles and the careful changing and moving of props to achieve the desired visual effect. For the female performers, "regular TV color makeup" was used, which included a special pink lipstick designed to look good on screen. However, the faces of some participants proved particularly challenging. Ed Sullivan, for instance, was asked to wear a cap when golfing that week to minimize the unflattering contrast between his deeply tanned face and the paler complexions of others on set. The intense lighting required for color broadcasting created extremely hot conditions in the studio, with temperatures soaring to around 120 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius). Fans had to be turned off due to their noise, adding to the discomfort. During rehearsals, parts of the studio floor buckled, and food items intended for display melted and ran, highlighting the extreme environment. The stress on both performers and crew was palpable, with CBS Vice President Adrian Murphy quipping, "Now I know how it feels to be pregnant."
Public Reception and Limited Access
Despite the considerable challenges in the studio, the broadcast proceeded as planned, and initial reactions were generally positive, though not without reservations. Many observers were particularly impressed by the vibrant appearance of commercial products, with several write-ups suggesting that the color quality surpassed that of movie color. This led to numerous comments about color TV's potential as a compelling advertising medium. However, a nearly universal observation was that human performers did not fare as well as inanimate objects. When performers moved their heads, the coloring of their faces often varied, sometimes even washing out. Reports also noted the occasionally peculiar appearance of people's hair and clothes, though it was hoped that improvements in lighting techniques would resolve these issues.
Crucially, the problem of limited access to color receivers overshadowed much of the positive feedback. Many reports emphasized that this was a historic television event witnessed by very few. CBS estimated the total number of viewers from all sources to be only 40,000. For the majority of the public who wished to watch CBS color broadcasts in the coming months, they would have to rely on their existing black-and-white televisions and install one of three newly available devices: an external "adapter" for a smaller monochrome picture, a "converter" (which combined an adapter with a spinning tricolor disk) for color on screens up to about 12 inches, or a "companion set" (a separate unit with an enclosed picture tube and color disk) for larger black-and-white TVs. These options were often perceived as too complicated or expensive, especially given the ongoing development of compatible color systems by competitors like RCA, which ultimately led to the CBS system's short commercial lifespan.
