1956 in television
The year 1956 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1956. Events January 1 – Beleteleradio begins transmissions as the first television channel in Belarus. January 25–February 5 – The 1956 Winter Olympics staged at Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy are the first multi-sport event to be televised to an international audience, although the broadcasts are not monetized. Warsaw Pact countries have the technology to be able to broadcast coverage with a communist slant into Finland and parts of West Germany and Austria. January 28 – Elvis Presley makes his national television debut on CBS in the United States on the program Stage Show, the first of six appearances on the series. January 30 – NBC swaps its Cleveland radio and TV stations to Westinghouse Broadcasting in exchange for Westinghouse's own Philadelphia radio and TV stations. The trade is eventually reversed in 1965. February 14 – Television broadcasting begins in Azerbaijan (AzTV), at this time the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. February 17 – The English Midlands becomes the first part of the United Kingdom outside London to receive Independent Television (ITV), when the Associated Television Network (as ATV Midlands) begins broadcasting their weekday franchise.