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First Live Boxing Match
On May 17, 1939, the first-ever sporting event aired live on television. Middleweights, Archie Sexton and Lauri Raiteri faced a six-round exhibition match in the United Kingdom. The boxing match was aired by BBC TV in a broadcasting house in London. -
Anti-broadcasting
In 1934, the Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers signed a 5 year anti-broadcasting pact. These major league clubs feared that radio broadcasting stations would steer fans away from their ballparks. By 1939, all 16 major league clubs were back on radio. -
Baseball in America
On May 17, 1939, baseball became the first sporting event to air on live television in the United States. College baseball teams, the Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers played a doubleheader at Baker Field. About 400 television sets were capable of viewing the broadcast through NBC. Although the baseball was faint on home screens, NBC got the chance to experiment and it was a giant step for moving past radio broadcasting. -
MLB Live
Three months after the college baseball game aired on television, NBC telecast its first Major League Baseball game. Two stationary cameras were used to capture the Cincinnati Reds vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebbets Field in New York. Dodgers radio announcer Red Barber announced the game live and revolutionized live commentating. -
Live Football
In the fall of 1939, the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Eagles had a regular season matchup at Ebbets Field. This was NBC's first live broadcast of an NFL game. The broadcast utilized two cameras, and one announcer, and reached 1,000 viewers in New York City. The Radio Corporation of America developed television broadcast technology that was presented at the New York World's Fair. The game ran for a total of 2 hours, 33 minutes, and 10 seconds with no commercial interruptions. -
"Dark Age" of Sports
By 1948, sports broadcasting occupied 27 hours of programming every day of the week but Saturday. As more television sets were bought post World War II, entertainment programs sought to draw in a wider audience and provide a greater diversity of content. Sports programming was viewed as not suitable for mass streaming on television until the late 1950's. By 1961, the market for sports advertisers became appealing to networks which allowed sports television deals to be negotiated.