1956 in television

Events

January 28 - Elvis Presley makes his national television debut on The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show.
February 17 - The Midlands becomes the first part of the UK outside London to receive ITV, when ATV Midlands begins broadcasting their weekday franchise. The weekend franchise, ABC, appears a day later.
April 2 - As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS as the first half-hour American soap operas. Previously, all soaps had been just fifteen minutes in length.
April 3 - Elvis Presley appears on The Milton Berle Show.
April - WNBQ Chicago becomes the first TV station to broadcast all its local programming in color.
April 14- Ampex demonstrates a videotape recorder at the 1956 NARTB (now NAB) convention in Chicago, Illinois. It was the demonstation of the first practical and commercially successful videotape format known as 2" Quadruplex. The three networks place orders for the recorders.
May 3 - Granada Television begins broadcasting, extending ITV's coverage to Northern England. ABC's weekend franchise appears two days later.
May 6 - Elvis Presley appears on The Milton Berle Show
July 1 - Elvis Presley appears on The Steve Allen Show.
August 8 - Final telecast of the DuMont Network.
September - NBC introduces a still version of its peacock color logo.
September 4 - Television broadcasting begins in Sweden.
September 9 - Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.
September 16 - TCN-9 Sydney becomes the first Australian TV station to begin regular transmission.
October 1 - Ernie Kovacs becomes the host for NBC's The Tonight Show on Mondays and Tuesdays.
October 29 - First use of videotape in network television programming; CBS uses its Ampex VTR to record the evening news, anchored by Douglas Edwards. The tape is then fed to West Coast stations three hours later.
October 29 - Chet Huntley and David Brinkley take over anchor duties of the NBC evening newscast, which is renamed The Huntley-Brinkley Report.
November 3 - The 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz is shown on television for the first time in the US, on CBS (the viewing audience was estimated at 45 million people).
November - The first use of videotape on a network television entertainment program. Jonathan Winters uses videotape and superimposing techniques to be able to play two characters in the same skit for his NBC television show.
Color television broadcasting begins in Germany.
Television broadcasting begins in Australia, Spain and Uruguay.
Black-and-white portable TV sets hit the market.

Debuts

April 2 - As the World Turns (1956-present).
April 2 - The Edge of Night (1956-1984).
July 6 - Hancock's Half Hour on BBC Television (1956-1962).
September 15 - The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (UK) debuts on ITV. After being sold to the NBC network in the United States, it later becomes the first British television series ever to be made in colour. (1956-1957).
The hugely popular anthology drama series Armchair Theatre, produced by ABC Television for the ITV network, begins its long run in the UK (1956-1968).
Jungle Jim (1956-1957), starring Johnny Weissmuller.
The National premieres (1956-present).
Opportunity Knocks on ITV (UK) (1956-1978).
The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna (1956-1960), starring Gale Storm and Zazu Pitts.
The Price is Right game show premieres (1956-1965).
The Steve Allen Show premieres (1956-1960).
What the Papers Say on ITV (UK) (1956-present).