The First t.v. show?

Question

What was the first t.v. show ever made?

Answer 1

I'd say that the first ever TV show series (The Queen's Messenger wasn't really a series) was Kraft Television Theatre. There were a lot of first broadcasts before that, but this was the first real TV series ever broadcast. All the information is below from a paper I wrote a few years back. I don't remember the source, but it's all accurate.


Aug. 22, 1928. WGY simulcasts on radio and TV (WGY, 2XAF and 2XAD) Al Smith accepting the Democratic presidential nomination. This was the first over-the-air remote pickup and the first TV news event.

Sept. 11, 1928. First play broadcast by television, "The Queen's Messenger," on W2XAD. (Sound was also broadcast over WGY radio.) Video was on 21.4 meters; sound was on 31.96 meters. The event was reported on page 1 of the New York Times the next day. (During 1928, Ernest Frederik Werner Alexanderson of General Electric transmitted daily TV tests over W2XAD.)

1929. Milton Berle appears in an experimental TV broadcast. Film of the appearance survives.

May 11, 1929. The "first regularly scheduled TV broadcasts" begin (one source), three nights per week.
July 21, 1931. W2XAB New York (CBS) begins broadcasting the first regular seven-day-per-week TV broadcasting schedule in the U. S., 28 hours per week with live pickups and a wide variety of programs. The first broadcast included Mayor James J. Walker, Kate Smith, and George Gershwin.

May 31, 1938. W2XBS telecasts the movie The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Leslie Howard; the staff projectionist played the last reel out of order, ending the film 20 minutes early. After this incident, NBC could not obtain first-run movies for many years.

Apr. 30, 1939. President Roosevelt is the first President to appear on television, from the New York World's Fair on W2XBS, now transmitting on 45.25 MHz visual and 49.75 MHz aural.

June 1, 1939. First heavyweight boxing match televised, Max Baer vs Lou Nova, form Yankee Stadium

July 1, 1941 W2XBS New York NY becomes a commercial station, changes call to WNBT (later calls WRCA-TV, WNBC-TV). At 1:29 p.m., General Mills sponsors a Brooklyn Dodgers-Philadelphia Phillies game, followed by the "Sunoco Newscast" with Lowell Thomas. At 9:15 p.m., "Uncle Jims Question Bee," hosted by Bill Slater and sponsored by Spry, made its one-and-only appearance and, at 9:30, Ralph Edwards hosted "Truth Or Consequences," simulcast on radio and TV and sponsored by Ivory Soap. This was the first game show broadcast on TV. The world's first (legal) TV commercial for Bulova watches occurs at 2:29:10 superimposed over a test pattern. According to a 2004 article in Newsday: "On July 1, 1941, the world's first television commercial aired on NBC, at that time known as WNBT-TV. The 10-second advertisement for Bulova clocks and watches consisted of the image of a clock and a map of the United States, with a voice-over that announced, 'America runs on Bulova time.' The ad was broadcast before a game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies and cost the Woodside-based company less than ten dollars." [According to microfiche records at the FCC, WNBT was granted a C.P. on 6/17/41 for Channel 1 (50-56 mhz.), effective 7/1/41. License to cover the C.P. granted 6/17/41, eff. 7/1/41. First operation was granted to be effective 7/1/41. The first listed call letters were WNBT. They changed to WRCA on 10/18/54 and to WNBC on 5/22/60.]

May 7, 1947. Kraft Television Theater premieres on NBC, the first regularly scheduled drama series on a network

Dec. 27, 1947. Puppet Television Theater (later called Howdy Doody Time), debuts on NBC TV with Buffalo Bob Smith. It was carried by six stations.

June 8, 1948. Milton Berle Show premieres on NBC.

I didn't list EVERYTHING that came before the Milton Berle Show, but I just wanted to show that it wasn't this show that was the first.

Answer 2

"The Queen's Messenger, a drama broadcast in 1928....

A search on "television Queen's Messenger" verified our finding and offered additional information. The modest 40-minute production was broadcast from Schenectady, New York, and the sound was carried on General Electric's local WGY radio station. A far cry from NYPD Blue and Seinfeld, The Queen's Messenger consisted of two WGY actors, two hand models, and thready camera shots."

Answer 3

Try as I might, I could not find the answer to your question, exactly... I was able to find an article or two about the early days of television... I hope it helps a little bit...