September 09
RCA's dominance in radio—its network of stations, its roster of radio stars, and its in-house research lab—positioned it to explore, and soon dominate, the early days of television.
Photo by Wally Gobetz
1926:
Broadcast News
NBC is formed by RCA
Noticing that radio stations were popping up all over the place, forward-thinking executives at Radio Corporation of America predicted the new medium was going to be the next big thing. Sales of what were then called “wireless sets” were brisk; and with an average of five people listening to each radio, that meant a potential market of many millions of more listeners.
RCA teamed with General Electric and Westinghouse to purchase a station called WEAF, the anchor station in what became known as the National Broadcasting Company, or NBC. NBC rapidly acquired more radio stations around the U.S., and by the time the Rose Bowl game took place in January of 1927, every play could be heard by radio listeners across the country. With that, NBC became the first major broadcast network in the United States.
