First news broadcasts of the Beatles in America
Today’s trivia question deals with the first news broadcasts of the Beatles in America.
On November 16, 1963, all three American television networks had their London bureaus film the Beatles in concert for potential stories on the group’s success in England.
Which American networks ran Beatles stories in 1963 and on what dates did the stories run?
Bonus Question: Where were the Beatles filmed in concert for these stories?
NBC was the first American television network to run a story on the Beatles. The network’s “Huntley-Brinkley Report” ran a four-minute story on Monday, November 18, 1963, at 6:53 p.m., with Edwin Newman doing the voice-over of film of the group and its fans. This was followed by CBS-TV’s five-minute story, which first ran on the “CBS Morning News with Mike Wallace” on November 22, 1963. The story was rebroadcast on the “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite” on December 10, 1963. There is no record of ABC ever running a story of the Beatles until 1964. The concert footage used by the networks was taken at the group’s November 16, 1963, performance at the Bournemouth Winter Gardens. The significance of these television broadcasts is detailed on pages 60-61 and 82-83 of “The Beatles Are Coming! The Birth of Beatlemania in America.”
Images from “The Beatles: New Phenomena In Britain,” which ran twice on the CBS television network:
George, Paul and John being interviewed backstage
reporter Alexander Kendrick at the London Beatles Fan Club
Opening shot of the band on stage at Bournemouth