The Station That Introduced Color TV to Texas

June 25th is National Color TV Day. So, when did Texas see color TV for the first time? Well, we'll need to travel back just a couple of years to 1954 in Fort Worth, TX.

WBAP-TV

The precursor to NBC 5/KXAS, WBAP was Texas' very first television station in '48.

Although not in color, the first television broadcast in Texas happened to be of President Truman delivering a 49-minute speech in Fort Worth.

Skip ahead a few years and, in 1953, WBAP televised the Cotton Bowl and Rose Bowl live from Dallas.

It took five years for the color TV equipment to be delivered to the station. WBAP placed the order in 1949 but didn't receive it until 1954, allowing broadcasts to be aired in color for the first time ever in Texas.

Texas' first color broadcast

In may of 1954, WBAP made the switch to color as they aired a three-hour telecast for all of Texas to see (those who owned TV sets, that is).

Other notable achievements from WBAP-TV include:

• 1948 - The first live news report
• 1959 - The first color tape recorder in Texas
• 1966 - First news film broadcasted in full color
• 1977 - The first intercontinental satellite report (live from London, aired in Dallas)
• 1989 - The first Texas station to offer subtitles (closed captions) with newscasts

So, the next time that you are watching Howdy Doody (okay, maybe a little dated) in full color in Texas, you have WBAP-TV to thank.