News Broadcasting
Colour TV clocks polychromatic half century
MUMBAI: Colour TV turned 50 on Thursday.
It was on 25 March, 1954, that the Radio Corporation of America’s (RCA) plant in Bloomington, Indiana, produced the first CT-100, a $1,000 set (approaching $7,000 in today’s dollars) that historians call the first mass production color TV. The 160-pound unit had 1,012 parts, 36 vacuum tubes and 150 feet of wire.
Called The Merrill, the model hit US stores in April 1954. Only about 5,000 of these 12-inch sets were manufactured however. This was because colour took its time to spread its reach, high cost the culprit. Most Americans saw the Kennedy assassination in 1963 in black and white. It was only in 1967 that colour outsold black-and-white for the first time – with more than 5.5 million sets sold. By 1973, more than half of all American households had colour.
In India, colour came into television with the Asian Games in 1982. Today, about 32 million households in the country have colour TV sets, while the majority of 56 million households still has black and white sets. Last year, a total of seven million TV sets were sold, of which approximately seven per cent were 21 inches or of the “flat” category. The television market, which has been growing at a rate of 11-13 per cent annually, is expected to maintain this momentum, if not up it.
According to reports, the domestic colour TV market has grown 50 per cent in three years from five million units in 2000, with the growth rate hovering around 10-15 per cent, as against five -10 per cent in China and three to five per cent in Europe and North America .
With flat screens and new technology making their way into Indian households, the high growth rates are likely to hold in the coming years. While the market size is miniscule compared to bigger markets like China and the US, it is fast catching up, reports indicate.
50 years ago, NBC made history with the first live broadcast in colour; the event – the Tournament of Roses Parade in California.
The first cartoons that aired in colour were The Flintstones and The Jetsons in 1962.
However many industry experts consider the first definitive colour show to be the western Bonanza., which started airing on NBC from 1959.
In India, colour TV bloomed with national colours with the New Delhi Asiad and flowered with the coming of the satellite age and multi-hued programming from overseas. Lowering import duties and relaxation of rules on the import of colour picture tubes added to the colour lure.
Today, consumer electronics companies (with the TV enjoying pride of place) vie for sponsorships of important events and sports on television.
With flat screens, HDTV and even better technology, television has a colourful future ahead.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 to spotlight India’s global rise
PM Modi keynotes two-day event on 27–28 February in New Delhi with ministers, diplomats and icons.
MUMBAI: India’s rise isn’t just making headlines, it’s headlining its own summit, and this time the guest list reads like a global power playlist. News18 Network will host the Rising Bharat Summit 2026, a high-powered thought-leadership forum anchored around the theme “Spotlighting Bharat’s Rise: Driven by Strength Within.” The two-day event kicks off on 27 February 2026 at 10:00 AM in New Delhi, bringing together policymakers, diplomats, business leaders, strategists, innovators, and cultural icons for conversations that aim to define India’s confident, self-assured role on the world stage.
Prime minister Narendra Modi will deliver the keynote address, setting the tone for discussions on economic momentum, geopolitical positioning, and long-term aspirations for the decade ahead.
The ministerial lineup includes Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry), Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & IT), Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (Communications & Development of North Eastern Region), and Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta.
Global diplomacy and strategic voices feature former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo, ex-UK Chief of defence staff general Sir Nick Carter, former US commerce secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, and ambassadors from Norway (May-Elin Stener), Germany (Philipp Ackermann), and Sweden (Jan Thesleff).
Industry, innovation, and economic perspectives come from veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems Founder & CEO Dr Vishal Sikka, and Deeptech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati.
Defence, technology, and thought leadership include Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar, Apple expert Patrick McGee, military aviation historian Tom Cooper, and defence scholar Adrian Fontanellaz.
Culture, sports, and popular influence bring actor-MP Kangana Ranaut, Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PR Sreejesh, cricketers Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Mithali Raj, plus film stars Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
Broadcast live across News18 Network channels, CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, and streaming platforms from 10:00 am on both days, the summit aims to move beyond headlines and shape deeper narratives around policy, leadership, and innovation at a decisive moment for India’s global trajectory.
In a world watching Bharat’s next moves, this gathering isn’t just talk, it’s the opening scene of a story that’s already rewriting the script.
