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The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was established
The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was created in 1919 after radio companies Westinghouse, AT&T, and United Fruit merged and formed the infamous RCA. The RCA gained its independence from General Electric, who had orchestrated the deal between its companies. Under the RCA, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was created.
American Business History -
The U.S. First National Radio Broadcast
KDKA, a radio station in Pittsburg, made the U.S. first national broadcast. This occurred on November 2nd, 1920. The broadcast was used to announce the presidential election results. It was only heard by 100 listeners but set the ball rolling for all future broadcasting.
The Conversation -
First Public Television Broadcast
In January 1926, John Logie Baird gave the first public television broadcast in London to 40 members of the Royal Institution. He called this invention the “Televisor”. He achieved this through using mechanical rotating disks to scan moving images which then turned into electric pulses that displayed images. The first public broadcast was that of a human face.
History Channel -
First Electronic Television Was Demonstrated
The first electronic TV was shown on September 7, 1927 in San Francisco, CA. It was created by Philo Taylor Farnsworth. It scanned and projected images through a beam of electrons. One of the first images displayed was a money sign. This was a response to an investor asking “When are we going to see some dollars in this thing, Farnsworth?” This invention is regarded as the direct ancestor of the modern television.
NYU -
The Premiere of the First Television Commercial
The first television commercial occurred on July 1st, 1941. It occurred right before a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. It was an ad for a New York based company named Bulova. It was a 10 second, black and white commercial with the slogan “America Runs on Bulova Time.” The ad cost the company $9
Business Insider -
Cable TV Makes First Appearances in American Homes
Cable TV originated in isolated areas of Arkansas, Oregon, Pennsylvania. It began as Community Area TV and this created opportunities for households in these areas to receive TV signals. Antennas were placed in high elevation places, to get the broadcast signal then a cable connected into subscribing homes, and improved the television image.
Forbes -
First Transcontinental Television Broadcast
On September 4, 1951 a speech made by President Harry Truman during a conference in San Francisco was broadcasted, and became the first broadcast to be seen from coast to coast. The speech was about Truman accepting the end of the American occupation in Japan post World War II. The broadcast was received by 87 stations across 47 U.S. cities.
History Channel