The Grammy Awards were first broadcast live on television in 1971.
The ceremony had begun in 1959, but its earliest editions were not presented as the large-scale live television event audiences know today. The 1971 ceremony was held at the Hollywood Palladium and aired on ABC, establishing a recurring broadcast home for the awards.
This date is often confused with the inaugural Grammy ceremony, which occurred in 1959, or with later years when the telecast moved between networks and venues. Television transformed the Grammys by making performances, acceptance speeches, and category results available to a mass audience. The broadcast also increased the ceremony’s importance as a showcase for new musical styles.