Finance & Loans
How NBC Started
May 7, 2014 by admin · Leave a Comment
This article was written by Samuel Phineas Upham
It was November of 1926 when NBC first aired a radio program from the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. It was the product of three large media groups: Radio Corporation of America (now known as RCA), American Telephone and Telegraph (now known as AT&T), and Westinghouse Electric (which would become CBS/Viacom).
It was David Sarnoff, the general manager of RCA, who facilitated the creation of NBC and became its sole owner by 1930. Sarnoff wanted to build a vast information network, but NBC found a lot of popularity with shows like Amos N’ Andy and The Jack Benny Program. It also owned “The Blue Network,” which it was forced to sell in 1943. The FCC feared a monopoly, so NBC sold off the undervalued asset and The Blue Network became known as ABC.
CBS and NBC were bitter rivals for a period. In 1948, NBC had a small crisis when its rival network made a talent raid. They took George Burns, Gracie Allen and the stars of the Amos N’ Andy Show amongst others.
But NBC was not down and out. It began television broadcasting with the World’s Fair in April of 1939. That kicked off a coast-to-coast bid to be on the sets of every television owner in America. A goal they all but reached by 1951.
Though NBC pioneered innovations like color TV, and had great success with stars like Milton Bearle and Sid Ceaser, they perpetually came in second place beneath CBS. NBC has always been the leader in technology though, helping the FCC to adapt color television as the standard and introducing taped broadcasts to its repertoire.
About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Samuel Phineas Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Technology group. You may contact Samuel Phineas Upham on his Twitter page.