Norway's 1972 Live Color-TV Switch, and Why Most Viewers Missed the Moment

tinyfool · x · 2026-09-22

A viral post recalls Norway's memorable 1972 broadcast marking the switch to color TV: two hosts' ribbon-cutting fails, they tear the ribbon apart, and confetti bursts as the picture turns from black-and-white to color live on air.

tinyfool quotes it with a reality check: color and black-and-white CRTs differ structurally, so most viewers wouldn't see the change without buying a new TV — and color sets were pricier. He notes his family in China got a color TV around 1990, and relatives still used black-and-white sets into the 2000s: adoption lags far behind the iconic moment.

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