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History of Broadcasting
Radio
Radio developed from two early forms of
"wired" communication
Where Did Radio Come From?
Telegraph
Telephone
The Next Step: Getting Rid of the Wires
James Maxwell
Theorized existence of invisible, radiant energy
(electromagnetic energy)
Heinrich Hertz
First to prove Maxwell’s theory
Guglielmo Marconi
Put Hertz’s waves to practical use: Wireless
communication
Created hardware to transmit coded messages
Lee De Forest
Created the AUDION
Vacuum tube that allowed human voice to be
carried on the Hertzian waves
Audion permitted development of wireless
telephony (radio)
Reginald Fessenden
Made first radiotelephone transmission in 1906
This transmission led to development of radio
broadcasting
Military Intervention - WW I
Navy took over wireless radio
Civilian radio operation became illegal
At the end of war, AMATEURS advanced development
of radio
Post-War Developments
Gov’t worried about possible foreign control
from Marconi’s large companies
GE took over American Marconi in 1919, creating
RCA
Post-War Developments
AT & T and Westinghouse joined GE as
investors in RCA
Patent holders joined a cross-licensing agreement
The First Broadcast Station
Frank Conrad set up 8XK in
Pittsburgh, playing music and news.
The First Broadcast Station
Conrad developed many loyal listeners
8XK became KDKA
Boom Era (1920s)
November 1920 KDKA went on the air
Programming created to sell radios
Boom Era (1920s)
Programming was very basic
Technology was limited
Interference became major problem
The Start of Radio Advertising
AT&T-owned WEAF began "toll
broadcasting"
Station later moved to sponsorship of programs
Radio Networks
The First Radio Network
Cross-licensing agreement began to crumble
AT&T set up first network
(chain-broadcasting)
The First Radio Network
AT & T owned telephone lines
AT & T had big stations in all major markets
The Radio Group
Westinghouse, GE, RCA tried to set up competing
network
Problems with AT&T
Gov’t forced AT&T to choose between
wireless and telephone delivery
Problems with AT&T
AT&T sold all stations to RCA
RCA leased network relays from AT & T
In 1926, RCA formed the National Broadcasting
Company (NBC)
NBC
NBC set up two networks
The RED network -- mostly AT&T
stations
NBC
The BLUE network -- mostly RCA stations
David Sarnoff was NBC’s CEO
Emergence of CBS
Arthur Judson organized United Independent
Broadcasters
UIB tried to circumvent the ASCAP rate and fee
structure
Emergence of CBS
UIB joined with Columbia Phonograph Company to
create the Columbia Phonograph Broadcast Company
CBS Grows
William Paley bought CBS in 1928
Under Paley CBS became a legitimate competitor of
NBC
Mutual Broadcasting System
Mutual formed when 4 major-market stations pooled
programming
Difficulty gaining other affiliates
Chain B/casting Rules - 1941
FCC didn’t have power to regulate networks
Rules applied to broadcast licensees
Chain B/casting Rules - 1941
O & Os
Affiliates
Chain B/casting Rules - 1941
No licensee could sign contract with org. that
operated more than one network
No licensee could sign contract with network that
forced it to carry programs
Birth of ABC
NBC was forced to sell one of its networks after
losing court battle
Edward Noble bought NBC’s Blue
network in 1945 -- changed name to American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
History of Broadcasting
FM Radio
FM Development
Credited to one person: Edwin Armstrong at
Columbia Univ.
Developed & demonstrated FM technology in
1935
FM Development
FM was not readily accepted until the mid-1960s
Why Wasn’t FM Accepted?
AM was firmly entrenched
RCA wanted to use FM for TV audio only
FCC didn’t support until 1960s
Why was FM Finally Accepted?
People changed
FCC changed rules governing FM
FM receivers more readily available
Rock ‘n Roll
© B.L. Yates 2000
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