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[CrazyAboutTV]

In 1927, Bell Telephone Labs transmitted the first show using radio waves but they weren't sent over the air. They were sent via cable to only one television set.

The first TV broadcast over the air was "Queen's Messenger", a 40 minute long drama in 1928 with video broadcast from Schenectady, New York and the audio broadcast seperately on WGY radio. Not many viewers saw that episode though as televisions didn't even go on sale to the public until the late 1930s. Add to that the fact that the sets were very expensive and the screens were only about 3 inches square at the time.

The FCC didn't even issue commercial broadcast licenses until July 1, 1941 (see programming schedule below). Before that only experimental broadcast licenses had been issued. The only show that might sound familiar to some of you from the first week of commercial broadcasts was the game show, "Truth or Consequences".

The first television program that was ongoing, lasted more than a few months, and was broadcast to a wide viewing area is "Meet the Press" which first aired in 1947 and is still on the air! The first entertainment series that became a big hit with audiences was "Toast of the Town" with eventually became the "Ed Sullivan Show".

The first color broadcast was an episode of the "Colgate Comedy Hour" on November 22, 1953.

So the answer to "What was the first TV show?" is "It depends on what you mean by 'show'".