| overview
landmarks
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landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
Context is provided by the broader communications and
media timeline on this site.
The NBC profile and RCA/GE
notes provide more detailed information regarding those
groups. There is a supplementary note on AT&T.
beginnings
1876 Thomas Edison opens laboratory at Menlo Park
1882
BF Keith founds Keith (later Keith-Albee-Orpheum) vaudeville
chain
1883 Thomson-Houston founded
1883 Emil Rathenau licences Edison's electrical patents,
founds Allgemeine Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft (AEG)
1885 American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T)
founded
1890 Edison forms Edison General Electric Company
1892 General Electric (GE) formed
through merger of Edison General Electric & Thomson-Houston
Electric
1915 General Tire & Rubber Company founded by William
O'Neill
1919 Radio Corporation of America (RCA) incorporated to
control US patents of General Electric, AT&T,
Westinghouse, United Fruit
1919 RCA acquires British Marconi's controlling interest
in American Marconi
1922 AT&T establishes radio station in New York (later
WEAF) and forms Broadcasting Corporation of America
1925
speculator Joseph Kennedy forms Film Booking Office (FBO)
1926 AT&T sells Broadcasting Corporation of America
(inc radio stations WEAF and WCAP) to RCA
1927
RCA buys stake in FBO, Kennedy takes stake in Keith-Albee-Orpheum
(KAO) cinema chain
1926 NBC established by RCA (50%), GE (30%), Westinghouse
(20%)
1926 NBC radio network launched
1927 Radio Act
1928 RCA divides affiliates into NBC-Red and NBC-Blue
networks
RKO established
1929
RCA merges film interests with FBO and KAO to form Radio
Keith Orpheum (RKO) production, distribution and exhibition
group
1929 R H Macy Company gains control of L Bamberger &
Company department stores and Bamberger Broadcasting Service
(WOR New York)
1930
RKO absorbs Pathe Exchange
1930 Justice Dept launches antitrust action against 'radio
trust'
1930 General Tire & Rubber establishes manufacturing
operation in Mexico
1932 General Electric and Westinghouse
sell RCA
1934 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) replaces
Federal Radio Commission
1934 Mutual Broadcasting System founded by Bamberger Broadcasting,
Chicago Tribune (WGN Chicago),
Crosly Radio Company (WLW Cincinnati) and King-Trendle
Broadcasting (WXYZ Detroit)
1934 General Tire & Rubber establishes manufacturing
operation in Canada
1941 Federal Communications Commission Report on Chain
Broadcasting recommends that RCA dispose of one of
its networks
1942 General Tire & Rubber buys The Yankee Network,
inc radio WEZE Boston
1942 buys radio WEAN Providence
1943 RCA sells 'Blue' network (later ABC)
to Edward Noble for US$8m
1948
controlling stake in RKO sold to Howard Hughes
1948 General Tire & Rubber launches WNAC tv Boston
1949 buys WOR New York
1950 buys radio KHJ Los Angeles
1950 General Teleradio formed through merger of Don Lee
Broadcasting System (centred on KHJ-AM/FM/TV Los Angeles)
and Bamberger Broadcasting Service (centred on WOR-AM/FM/TV
New York)
1952 General Tire & Rubber buys General Teleradio
1952 gains control of Mutual Broadcasting System and New
York station WOR
1953 General Tire & Rubber sells radio WEZE Boston
to Vic Diehm Associates
1954 takes stake in Western Ontario Broadcasting Co
1954 sells buys radio WEAN Providence to Providence
Journal Co.
1956 gains majority of Western Ontario Broadcasting Co
RKO acquired by General Tire & Rubber
1955
Hughes splits RKO into RKO Pictures (sold to General Tire
& Rubber's General Teleradio for US$25m) and RKO Theatres
1957 RKO production lot sold to Desilu Productions for
US$6m
1957 Henry Griffing's VuMore cable tv trial in Bartlesville,
Oklahoma
1958 RKO Teleradio Inc becomes RKO General
1960 conglomerate H&B American Corp buys Jerrold cable
tv systems for US$5m
1960 FCC forbids planned swap of WNAC TV/AM/FM for NBC
stations WRC AM/FM/TV in Washington DC
move into cable tv
1961 General Tire & Rubber buys VuMore cable tv group
1962 General Tire & Rubber announces merger, later
abandoned, with H&B American
1962 license for KHJ-TV 9 Los Angeles was challenged
1963 buys remaining stake in Western Ontario Broadcasting
1965 H&B merger abandoned
1965 RCA buys Random House
1968 H&B buys most cable holdings of Jack Kent Cooke,
absorbing American Cablevision
1968 American Television & Communications Corp (ATC)
established, later buys Time Life
cable systems
1969 merger of H&B and Teleprompter, US first and
second largest cable operators
1969 license for WNAC-TV 7 Boston challenged
1970 Western Ontario Broadcasting sells CKLW-TV for US$5m
to Baton Broadcasting (75%) and CBC
(25%)
1970 sells radio CKLW-AM-FM for US$4m to Baton Broadcasting
(75%) and CBC (25%)
1971 RKO/Vumore changes name to Cablecom General
1978 Time buys ATC
1980 Capital Cities Communications buys Cablecom General
for US$139 million
collapse
1982 forced divestiture of WNAC-TV Boston (now WHDH-TV)
1984 General Tire & Rubber reorganized as GenCorp
holding company, with RKO General and General Tire &
Rubber divisions
1985 Disney makes unsuccessful
bid for NBC
1985 GE buys RCA for US$6.3bn, primarily to acquire NBC
1986 Capital Cities Communications buys ABC
network for US$3.5 billion to create Capital Cities-ABC
1986 Capital Cities-ABC sells cable systems to Washington
Post
1987 license for WOR-TV sold to MCA
Universal
1987 RKO General spun off by GenCorp, renamed RKO Pictures
1987 GenCorp sells General Tire & Rubber division
1989 forced divestiture of KHJ-TV Los Angeles (now KCAL-TV),
acquired by Disney
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