1953 in television

Events

• January 19 - 68% of all United States television sets were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth
• February 18 - Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz sign an $8,000,000 contract to continue the I Love Lucy' television series through 1955.
• March 25 - CBS concedes victory to RCA in the war over color television standards.
• April 3 - TV Guide is published for the first time, with 10 editions and a circulation of 1,562,000
• May 25 - KUHT in Houston, becomes the first non-commercial educational TV station
• June 2 - The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is televised in the U.K.
• The Tonight Show begins as a local New York variety show.
• August 30 - NBC's Kukla, Fran, and Ollie[?] Show is broadcast in color
• October 19 - Arthur Godfrey[?] fires Julius La Rosa[?] on the air.
• November - RCA tests its compatible color TV system on the air for the first time with a telecast of the Colgate Comedy Hour.
• December 24 - NBC's Dragnet becomes the first network-sponsored television program.
• December 17 – The FCC reverses its 1951 decision and approves the RCA/NTSC color system
• Japanese television goes on the air for the first time

Popular Television Shows

• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971)
• Flash Gordon, (1953-1954), starring Steve Holland[?]

Births

• June 13 - Tim Allen, actor
• October 9 - Tony Shalhoub[?], actor
• October 22 - Jeff Goldblum[?], actor

Deaths