# 1961 in American television

This is a list of American television-related events in 1961.

## Events

| Date | Event |
| January 20 | President John F. Kennedy becomes the first president to be inaugurated with a color telecast. NBC's news division provided coverage in color. |
| January 25 | John F. Kennedy held the first live televised presidential press conference. |
| March 5 | The launch of the spacecraft Freedom 7 in a 15-minute sub-orbital spaceflight is seen by 45 million American television viewers. Alan B. Shepard becomes the first U.S. astronaut in space. He was the second person to travel into space,following the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. |
| May 5 | In a speech on "Television and the Public Interest" to the National Association of Broadcasters, Federal Communications Commission chairman Newton N. Minow describes commercial television programming as a "vast wasteland" and tells the broadcasters that they could do a better job of serving the public. |
| May 29 | Dave Garroway announces that he would be leaving the Today show on NBC. |
| July 1 | The Brighter Day airs its first episode after moving to Los Angeles from New York City. The move also marks the writing out of Baby Dennis and his love interest, because the actors who played them didn't want to relocate. |
| September 23 | NBC begins its long-running series of movie presentations under the umbrella banner, NBC Saturday Night at the Movies. The first movie to be broadcast was the 1953 film How to Marry a Millionaire, starring Marilyn Monroe. |
| November 19 | Lucille Ball marries Gary Morton |

### Other events in 1961

* The Sports Broadcasting Act was passed into law.

## Television programs
### Debuts

| Date | Debut | Network |
| January 1 | The Dick Tracy Show | Broadcast syndication |
| January 5 | Mister Ed | Broadcast syndication |
| January 20 | You're in the Picture | CBS |
| January 23 | The Americans | NBC |
| January 30 | The Yogi Bear Show | Broadcast syndication |
| February 9 | Gunslinger | CBS |
| February 27 | Acapulco | NBC |
| March 17 | Five Star Jubilee | NBC |
| March 31 | 'Way Out | CBS |
| April | The Ernie Kovacs Show | ABC |
| April 2 | The Asphalt Jungle | ABC |
| April 29 | Wide World of Sports | ABC |
| May 8 | Whispering Smith | NBC |
| June 3 | Ripcord | Broadcast syndication |
| July 6 | Great Ghost Tales | NBC |
| July 14 | Westinghouse Preview Theatre | NBC |
| September 1 | Tales of the Wizard of Oz | Broadcast syndication |
| September 17 | Car 54, Where Are You? | NBC |
| September 17 | The DuPont Show of the Week | NBC |
| September 17 | Follow the Sun | ABC |
| September 19 | Cain's Hundred | NBC |
| September 20 | The Joey Bishop Show | NBC |
| September 25 | 87th Precinct | NBC |
| September 26 | Ichabod and Me | CBS |
| September 26 | The Dick Powell Show | NBC |
| September 27 | Top Cat | ABC |
| September 28 | Hazel | NBC |
| September 29 | Target: The Corruptors! | ABC |
| October 1 | Bus Stop | ABC |
| October 2 | Ben Casey | ABC |
| October 2 | Password | CBS |
| October 2 | Window on Main Street | CBS |
| October 3 | Calvin and the Colonel | ABC |
| October 3 | The Dick Van Dyke Show | CBS |
| October 3 | The New Breed | ABC |
| October 4 | The Alvin Show | CBS |
| October 4 | Mrs. G. Goes to College | CBS |
| October 5 | Frontier Circus | CBS |
| October 5 | The Investigators | CBS |
| October 5 | The New Bob Cummings Show | CBS |
| October 6 | The Hathaways | ABC |
| October 6 | Straightaway | ABC |
| October 9 | The Everglades | Broadcast syndication |
| October 10 | Alcoa Premiere | ABC |
| October 11 | The Bob Newhart Show | NBC |
| October 12 | Margie | ABC |
| December 11 | The Mike Douglas Show | Broadcast syndication |

### Changes of network affiliation

| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
| Walt Disney Presents | ABC | NBC |
| The Detectives | ABC | NBC |
| Rocky and His Friends | ABC | NBC |
| The Wonderful World of Disney | ABC | NBC |
| Bachelor Father | NBC | ABC |
| Mister Ed | Syndication | CBS |

### Ending this year

| Date | Show | Network | Debut |
| January 2 | Riverboat | NBC | September 12, 1959 |
| January 6 | Dan Raven | NBC | September 23, 1960 |
| January 27 | You're in the Picture | CBS | January 20, 1961 |
| February 9 | Take a Good Look | ABC | October 22, 1959 |
| February 13 | Klondike | NBC | October 10, 1960 |
| March 29 | Wanted Dead or Alive | CBS | September 6, 1958 |
| March 30 | The Ann Sothern Show | CBS | October 6, 1958 |
| March 31 | DuPont Show of the Month | CBS | September 24, 1957 |
| April 3 | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | CBS | September 21, 1959 |
| April 7 | Happy | NBC | June 8, 1960 |
| April 12 | My Sister Eileen | CBS | October 5, 1960 |
| April 16 | Omnibus | NBC | November 9, 1952 (on CBS) |
| April 17 | Sugarfoot | ABC | September 17, 1957 |
| April 24 | Acapulco | NBC | February 27, 1961 |
| April 30 | The Tab Hunter Show | NBC | September 18, 1960 |
| May 1 | The Play of the Week | NTA Film Network | October 12, 1959 |
| May 15 | The Americans | NBC | January 1961 |
| May 18 | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | CBS | October 5, 1956 |
| May 23 | The Tom Ewell Show | CBS | September 27, 1960 |
| May 31 | Peter Loves Mary | NBC | October 12, 1960 |
| June 1 | Bat Masterson | NBC | October 8, 1958 |
| June 3 | Gunslinger | CBS | February 9, 1961 |
| June 17 | Lock-Up | Syndication | September 26, 1959 |
| June 18 | The Rebel | ABC | October 4, 1959 |
| June 25 | The Asphalt Jungle | CBS | April 2, 1961 |
| June 27 | Stagecoach West | ABC | October 4, 1960 |
| June 27 | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | ABC | September 6, 1955 |
| June 29 | The Ford Show | NBC | October 4, 1956 |
| July 1 | The Deputy | NBC | September 12, 1959 |
| July 3 | Bringing Up Buddy | CBS | October 10, 1960 |
| July 4 | Alcoa Presents One Step Beyond | ABC | January 20, 1959 |
| July 14 | 'Way Out | CBS | March 31, 1961 |
| July 16 | Shirley Temple's Storybook | CBS | January 12, 1958 |
| September 9 | The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole | First-run Syndication | September 6, 1958 |
| September 18 | Peter Gunn | NBC | September 22, 1958 |
| September 21 | Great Ghost Tales | NBC | July 6, 1961 |
| September 22 | Five Star Jubilee | NBC | March 17, 1961 |
| September 22 | The Lawless Years | NBC | April 22, 1959 |
| September 22 | Westinghouse Preview Theatre | NBC | July 14, 1961 |
| September 23 | Sea Hunt | First-run Syndication | January 4, 1958 |
| September 28 | Frontier Justice | CBS | July 7, 1958 |
| October 20 | The Quick Draw McGraw Show | First-run Syndication | September 28, 1959 |
| October 30 | Whispering Smith | CBS | May 8, 1961 |
| December 1 | The Huckleberry Hound Show | First-run Syndication | September 29, 1958 |
| December 15 | Sam and Friends | WRC-TV (Washington, D.C.) | May 9, 1955 |
| December 28 | The Investigators | CBS | October 5, 1961 |
| December 30 | Matty's Funday Funnies | ABC | October 11, 1959 |
| Unknown date | Shotgun Slade | Syndication | October 24, 1959 |
| Unknown date | This Is Your Life | NBC | October 1, 1952 |

### Network launches

| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes |
| Christian Broadcasting Network | Religious-formatted television network | October 1 | First religious broadcasting network in the United States |

### Network closures

| Network | Type | End date | Notes |
| NTA Film Network | Broadcast | November | Launched in October 1956, the NTA Film Network was another attempt to create a fourth television network in the wake of the closing of the DuMont Television Network two months prior. The network relied on filming the programming before sending it to air on its affiliates. |

## Networks and services
### Closures

| Network | Type | Closure date | Notes | Source |
| NTA Film Network | Cable television | November | | |

## Television stations
### Station launches

| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
| January 21 | Idaho Falls, Idaho | KIFI | 8 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | |
| January 30 | Phoenix, Arizona | KAET | 9 | NET | |
| February 1 | Hot Springs, Arkansas | KFOY-TV | 9 | NBC | |
| February 6 | Portland, Oregon | KOAP-TV | 10 | NET | Flagship of Oregon Public Broadcasting |
| February 27 | Douglas, Arizona | KCDA | 3 | Independent | |
| March 29 | Kansas City, Missouri | KCSD-TV | 19 | NET | |
| June 18 | Beaumont, Texas | KBMT | 12 | ABC | |
| July 5 | Vermillion, South Dakota | KUSD-TV | 2 | NET | Later became the flagship of the South Dakota Public Broadcasting television network |
| July 22 | Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands | WBNB-TV | 10 | CBS (primary) NBC (secondary) | First licensed television station in the Virgin Islands |
| August 7 | Elk City, Oklahoma | KSWB | 8 | CBS | |
| September 5 | Charlotte, North Carolina | WUTV | 36 | ABC (primary) NBC/CBS (secondary) | |
| September 16 | Louisville, Kentucky | WLKY | 32 | ABC | |
| September 25 | Tacoma, Washington | KTPS | 28 | NET | |
| September 27 | Norfolk, Virginia | WHRO-TV | 15 | NET | |
| October 2 | Washington, D.C. | WETA | 26 | NET | |
| October 3 | Medford, Oregon | KMED-TV | 10 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | |
| October 10 | Richland, Washington | KNDU | 25 | ABC (primary) NBC (secondary) | |
| November 5 | New York City | WUHF | 31 | Independent | |
| November 6 | Carbondale, Illinois | WSIU-TV | 15 | NET | |
| November 13 | Augusta/Portland, Maine | WCBB | 10 | NET | Maine's first educational station; now part of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network |
| November 19 | Waycross/Valdosta, Georgia | WXGA-TV | 8 | NET | Part of the Georgia Public Broadcasting television network |
| November 27 | Hilo, Hawaii | KHAW-TV | 11 | NBC | Satellite of KHAW-TV (now KHON-TV)/Honolulu |
| December 18 | Flagstaff, Arizona | KVLS | 13 | Independent | |
| December 18 | Fresno, California | KAIL | 53 | Independent | |

### Network affiliation changes

| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation |
| April 2 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | WISN-TV | 12 | ABC | CBS |
| April 2 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | WITI | 6 | CBS (primary) NTA Film Network (secondary) | ABC (exclusive) |
| September 16 | Louisville, Kentucky | WAVE | 3 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | NBC (exclusive) |
| October 3 | Klamath Falls, Oregon | KOTI | 2 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | ABC (primary) NBC (secondary) |
| October 3 | Medford, Oregon | KOBI | 5 | CBS (primary) ABC/NBC (secondary) | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
| Unknown date | Lexington, Kentucky | WKYT-TV (formerly WKXP-TV) | 27 | CBS (exclusive) | ABC (primary) CBS (secondary) |
| Unknown date | Mankato, Minnesota | KEYC-TV | 12 | NBC | CBS |
| Unknown date | Ogden, Utah | KVOG-TV | 9 | NTA Film Network | Independent |

### Station closures

| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | First air date | Notes/Ref. |
| February 16 | Fort Pierce, Florida | WTVI | 19 | CBS | November 23, 1960 | |
| August | Douglas, Arizona | KCDA | 3 | Independent | February 27, 1961 | |
| August | Rochester, New York | WVET-TV | 10 | CBS/ABC | November 1, 1953 | Merged operations with current CBS affiliate WHEC-TV |