1

I know it happened on September 8, 1966, but I would like to find out the exact UTC time. According to Wikipedia,

The first regular episode of Star Trek, The Man Trap,[23] aired on Thursday, September 8, 1966 from 8:30–9:30 as part of an NBC "sneak preview" block.

Unfortunately, this information is insufficient, since I don't know the time zone.

Edit: As DJClayworth kindly pointed out, Canadian CTV network aired it two days earlier, on September 6. I am only interested in NBC broadcast, since it is a bit more well-known.

4

2 Answers 2

3

The actual first ever showing of Star Trek was on the Canadian CTV network, September 6th 1966.

If you mean the first American showing, that was on September 8th 1966 starting at 8.30pm. Times like this are invariably in Eastern Daylight time, so that would have been 12.30am on September 9th UTC.

2

The NBC premiere was at 8:30 Eastern Time on September 8th. According to most sources, such as here, Nielsen uses Eastern Time for their ratings.

Further, the New York Times wrote on September 16, 1966:

Star Trek, which NBC is presenting at 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays this season, makes it clear that life in space will probably be more traumatic than on Earth.

Since the Times is on Eastern Time, presumably 8:30 is when the show aired locally.

The actual premiere was at 7:30 P.M., September 6 in Canada, as indicated in the September 6 Montreal Gazette.

enter image description here

Given that Montreal is on Eastern Time, I would assume this is 7:30 P.M. Eastern Time. However, Canada instituted delays in the 1960s, in order to allow people to watch shows at the same time. If this affected Star Trek, its actual premiere could have been two hours earlier.

1
  • @DJClayworth - Canada instituted delays starting in 1966. Initially it appears they were only for CTV programs, with affiliates not coming until several years later. So in brief - yes.
    – Adamant
    Commented Sep 7, 2016 at 19:13

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.