Cole was the first black man to have his own television program. His program began on NBC Television in 1956. NBC agreed to support "The Nat King Cole Show" for a while. It hoped American companies would pay to sell their products on the program. However, major companies were not willing to advertise on a program that had a black performer. They believed that white people in the southern part of the United States would not buy their products. Many Americans watched the show, but NBC stopped production after a year.