OKLAHOMA CITY – These days, many children find it hard to believe there was a time when television was only in black and white.
But that is the way things were until Channel 4, then WKY TV, introduced the first color television broadcast in Oklahoma, and truthfully, in much of the nation.
On Friday, Channel 4 will celebrate 65 years of broadcasting and countless “firsts” during our time on the air.
WKY was the first independent station in the world to have regular live color programming.
WKY ordered the cameras even before they were invented.
The move from black and white to color was not without problems.
The cameras weighed 900 pounds each and took three men to move them.
Edward Gaylord wanted his television station to lead the way and he did everything to make sure it did.
The most unusual color broadcast was a live hysterectomy broadcast on closed circuit TV to doctors.
It had to be done in the studio because the color cameras were too heavy to take out.
Click here to see tons of historical photos and stories.
Click here for additional coverage of the station’s 65th anniversary.
