Author of the article here. I never interpreted that opening line as referring to static, but to gray of a blank television screen. Otherwise why not write "the color of television static?"
(edit: maybe that's not true, perhaps in 1984 TVs with plain blue between the channels did just about exist? I don't know, in the 80s I only had access to the sort of black-and-white TV that meant his image came across to me exactly the way he apparently intended it)
As another commenter pointed out, Gibson did mean static, so I suppose he must have been thinking of a much lighter gray, I guess illuminated by the Chiba city lights.
The Sprawl is a dreary place; it makes no sense to start the book on a bright and sunshiney day with blue skies.
In case there is any more question, this is what a "TV tuned to a dead channel" looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3ZAMjpjYfQ