Cbc Broadcasting History

The history of NBC is, in many ways, the history of television. The company itself began as a system of radio networks created (in complex fashion) by RCA (and by extension, General Electric), AT&T, and Westinghouse. With the introduction of television, NBC became even more of a household name, more-or-less directly created one of their competitors, and became the company we know today. In some ways, NBC has been the most volatile of the Big Three TV networks, bouncing between multiple corporate parents - and yet the company continues to produce important and influential content. NBC has been pivotal in the development of much of the entertainment industry and warrants a deeper look. NBC's long history begins in the offices of the Radio Corporation

By as early as 1931, RCA was testing television broadcasts from atop the Empire State Building ("Our History"). At the 1939 New York World's Fair, RCA introduced their black and white television. After FCC testing, a NBC affiliate obtained the first commercial television license and began a string of industry firsts for NBC and RCA. NBC had some of the first "big names" of the television industry. By the mid-1950s, NBC was broadcasting in "RCA Color", beating their main competitor CBS to an all-color lineup. RCA worked with the NTSC in developing the first US color television standards and they were soon the main manufacturer of color television sets in America. NBC continued this strong push into the 1960s with the introduction of the first made-for-TV movie, the original run of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, and an annual airing of The Wizard of Oz, which was otherwise unavailable for viewing in a time before VCR and VHS. However, the company's success would not last. RCA encountered a number of challenges in the early 1970s, and NBC reveled in its 60s successes before falling into a long decline in the late

Despite the introduction of a number of popular shows like NBC's Saturday Night and The Tonight Show, NBC's executive office had become a revolving door and the network struggled to stay afloat, mirroring challenges RCA was encountering as they overextended the company by acquiring multiple unrelated businesses. Even shows as popular as Disney were losing to competition from others in their time slots. A number of NBC Radio and TV affiliate stations defected to ABC and CBS, compounding the loss of viewership. Topping it all off, the network lost millions when the US pulled out of the 1980 Olympics after NBC had already committed to acting as their broadcast partner. By 1981 the network was in a concerning position and replaced their entertainment president yet again - but this time, it worked. The network put out a number of classic hits, took advantage of the growth of "prime time", and rejoined their former corporate parent - as RCA fell apart, GE purchased its remaining assets. Due to a variety of legal and synergy issues, GE decided to sell off the original NBC radio network, which RCA had continued to operate. While the NBC Radio name was still used, it no longer operated within the same management structure. The remaining NBC television company continued to flourish through the 1990s as NBC Sports became a significant force and the network pushed a number of hits such as Seinfeld and Friends. The