1963 in television

The year 1963 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1963.

Events

• January 13 – BBC Television broadcasts the play The Madhouse on Castle Street in the Sunday-Night Theatre strand. The play co-stars a young American folk music singer named Bob Dylan.
• April 1 – German terrestrial channel ZDF (pronounced tseh-deh-ehf) began broadcasting.
• May 15 – First television pictures transmitted from a US manned space capsule ("Faith 7"). Due to the poor picture quality, only NBC carries the transmission, and on tape-delay, not live.
• July 22 – Bob Crane quits his DJ job at radio station KNX to become a regular on The Donna Reed Show.
• September 2 – CBS Evening News becomes network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
• September 9 – NBC also expands its evening network news program to 30 minutes.
• September 30 – BBC Television begins using a globe as their symbol. They would continue to use it in varying forms until 2002.
• October 1 – ABC News at last drops its dependence on outside sources of news film and begins to rely on its own camera crews.
• November 22 – All three major U.S. networks start pre-emptions for a week following the news of John F. Kennedy's assassination. The pre-emptions unofficially begin a few minutes after Kennedy was shot; on the top-rated American soap opera As the World Turns, Nancy Hughes (Helen Wagner) was in the middle of a discussion with Grandpa (Santos Ortega) about Bob's (Don Hastings) decision to invite Lisa (Eileen Fulton) to Thanksgiving dinner. Walter Cronkite interrupted Wagner mid-speech to deliver the bulletin. As the World Turns continued for one more scene (at that time, the show was transmitted live) before Cronkite cut in permanently. News of the assassination, and later the funeral procession, were the first television broadcasts across the Pacific Ocean (via Relay 1 satellite).
• November 23 – UK BBC tv That Was The Week That Was broadcasts its famous, non-satirical Kennedy tribute episode. William Hartnell stars in the very first episode of Doctor Who: "An Unearthly Child". So many people complained of having missed it (because of the disruption to schedules caused by the assassination) that on the following Saturday Episode 1 was repeated followed by Episode 2.
• November 24 – Jack Ruby murders John F. Kennedy's suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald live on television.
• December 7 - Instant Replay is used for the first time during the live transmission of the Army Navy Game by its inventor, director, Tony Verna.
• For the first time, most Americans say that they get more of their news from television than newspapers.
• The television remote control is authorized by the FCC.

Debuts

• January 1 – Astro Boy (known as Mighty Atom in Japanese), Japan's first anime, was launched on Fuji TV.
• January 6 – Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom premieres on NBC (1963–1988, 2002–present).
• January 7 - World in Action, investigative current affairs series, premieres on Granada Television in Britain (1963–1998).
• April 1 – General Hospital (created by Frank and Doris Hursley) and The Doctors premiere on the same day, the former on ABC (1963–present) and the latter on NBC (1963–1982).
• August 9 – Ready Steady Go! premieres on ITV (1963–1966).
• September 16 – The Outer Limits premieres on ABC (1963–1965).
• September 17 – The Fugitive premieres on ABC (1963–1967).
• September 18 - The Patty Duke Show premieres on ABC (1963–1966)
• September 20 – Burke's Law premieres on ABC (1963–1965).
• September 24 – Petticoat Junction premieres on CBS (1963–1970).
• September 29 – The Judy Garland Show premieres on CBS (1963–1964). My Favorite Martian premieres on CBS (1963–1966).
• November 23 – Doctor Who premieres on BBC Television (1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present). The first actor to play the The Doctor is William Hartnell (1963–1966).
• The Littlest Hobo premieres in Canada (1963–1965; 1979–1985).
• Mack & Myer for Hire debuts this year in syndication (1963–1964).

Television shows

1940s

• Meet the Press (1947–present).
• Candid Camera (1948–2004).
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971).
• Bozo the Clown (1949–present).
• Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995).

1950s

• The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965).
• Truth or Consequences (1950–1988).
• What's My Line (1950–1967).
• I Love Lucy (1951–1957)
• Adventures of Superman (1951–1957)
• Love of Life (1951–1980).
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present).
• Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).
• American Bandstand (1952–1989).
• The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
• Death Valley Days (1952–1975)
• The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
• Hockey Night in Canada (1952–present)
• The Today Show (1952–present).
• Panorama (UK) (1953–present).
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983).
• Face the Nation (1954–present).
• Lassie (1954–1974)
• The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967).
• Rin Tin Tin (1954–1959)
• The Secret Storm (1954–1974).
• The Tonight Show (Steve Allen, 1954–1957; Jack Paar, 1957–1962).
• Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964).
• Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984).
• Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976).
• Gunsmoke (1955–1975).
• The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982).
• This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003).
• Armchair Theatre (1956–1968).
• As the World Turns (1956–2010).
• Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978).
• The Edge of Night (1956–1984).
• The Price Is Right (1956–1965).
• What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–present).
• The Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz Show (The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour) (1957–1960)
• The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present).
• Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present).
• Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007).
• The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966).
• Bonanza (1959–1973).
• Juke Box Jury (1959–1967, 1979, 1989–1990).
• The Bell Telephone Hour (1959–1968).
• The Twilight Zone (1959–1964, 1985–1988, 2002).

1960s

• The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
• Coronation Street, UK (1960–present)
• The Flintstones (1960–1966).
• My Three Sons (1960–1972)
• ABC's Wide World of Sports (1961–1998)
• The Avengers, UK (1961–1969)
• Ben Casey (1961–1966).
• The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966).
• Four Corners, Australia (1961–present)
• The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968).
• It's Academic (1961–present).
• Mister Ed (1961–1966).
• The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981).
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961–1969)
• The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971).
• Combat! (1962–1967).
• The Jetsons (1962–1963, 1984–1985, 1987).
• The Late Late Show, Ireland (1962–present)
• The Lucy Show (1962–1968).
• Match Game (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999).
• Professional Bowlers Tour (1962–1997)
• The Saint, UK (1962–1969)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992)
• The World Tonight, Philippines (1962–present)
• Z-Cars, UK (1962–1978)
• The Patty Duke Show, (1963–1966)
• Doctor Who, UK (1963–1989), (1996), (2005–present)
• Mack & Myer for Hire (1963–1964)

Ending this year

• May – Empire (1962–1963).
• May – The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963).
• June - The Real McCoys (1957–1963)
• June 20 – Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963).
• September 10 – Hawaiian Eye (1959–1963).

Births

• January 4 – Dave Foley, Canadian actor and comedian
• February 17 – Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player
• February 26 - Chase Masterson, actress, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• May 8 – Stella Gonet, actress
• May 25 – Mike Myers, Canadian actor
• May 28 – Michelle Collins, actress
• May 29 – Lisa Whelchel, actress, The Facts of Life
• June 9 – Johnny Depp, actor
• June 15 – Helen Hunt, actress
• June 17 – Greg Kinnear, actor
• July 30 – Lisa Kudrow, actress, Friends
• August 19 – John Stamos, actor
• November 21 – Nicollette Sheridan, actress
• December 18 – Brad Pitt, actor

Deaths

• November 22 – John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States