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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.
antecedents
1869
George Westinghouse forms Westinghouse Air Brake Company
1884 forms Westinghouse Electric Company
1886 becomes Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing
Company
1888 buys rights to Nikola Tesla's alternating current
patents
1896 initiates hydroelectric generation at Niagara Falls
1899 forms British Westinghouse
1907 Westinghouse loses control of companies as result
of 1907 financial panic
1912 US Radio Act introduces spectrum licencing
1912 Fessenden's National Electric Signaling Co goes into
receivership
1913 AT&T forced to divest Western
Union
1916 British Westinghouse separates from US Westinghouse
1917
Westinghouse buys Copeman Electric Stove Company
1917 US Navy buys Marconi's US shore and ship radio network
1919 Westinghouse's Pittsburgh radio station 8XK gets
experimental licence
1919 British Westinghouse becomes Metropolitan Vickers
Electrical Co and Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Export
Co after acquisition by Vickers
1919 Radio Corporation of America (RCA) incorporated to
control patents of General Electric,
AT&T, Westinghouse and United Fruit
1919 RCA acquires British Marconi's controlling interest
in American Marconi
1920
Westinghouse receives first US commercial broadcasting
licence, with 8XK broadcasting as KDKA
1920 Westinghouse buys International Radio Telegraph Co
beginnings
1921
launches KYW radio station Philadelphia in partnership
with Edison Company
1921
launches WJZ Newark and KDKA Pittsburgh
1926 AT&T sells Broadcasting Corporation of American
(inc radio stations WEAF and WCAP) to RCA
1926 NBC established by RCA (50%),
GE (30%), Westinghouse (20%)
1926
RCA, GE and Westinghouse buy WEAF in New York it as NBC
anchor station
1927 music agent Arthur Judson creates United Independent
Broadcasters (UIB) with 16 stations, with support from
William Paley of La Palina Cigar and the Columbia Phonograph
1928 UIB restructured as the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting
System (CBS) with 16 affiliate stations
1930 Justice Dept launches antitrust action against 'radio
trust'
1932
General Electric and Westinghouse sell RCA
1934 Federal Communications Commission replaces Federal
Radio Commission
1935 Public Utility Holding Co Act
1936
Westinghouse Broadcasting buys radio stations WGL and
WOWO
1938 CBS buys Columbia Records (formed 1889)
1932 NBC and CBS allow prices to be mentioned in radio
commercials
1940 CBS demonstrates color television in New York
1941 first commercial black & white television broadcast
in New York
1945 Westinghouse renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation
1945 sells WGL radio station
1951 first coast to coast live tv in US
1954 Westinghouse founds Westinghouse Credit to finance
appliance sales
1955 Westinghouse pays US$9.75m for DuMont's
WDTV, Pittsburgh
1955 buys radio KYW Cleveland from NBC
1966 buys toy business
1963 CBS Records sets up first European branch, in UK
1965 CBS buys New York Yankees
1965
Westinghouse buys Marketeer electric vehicle business
1966 establishes Cinema Center Films
1966
Westinghouse establishes land development arm
1968 CBS-Sony Records founded in
Japan as a joint venture
1969
Westinghouse buys 7Up bottling operation
1972
sells small home appliance business
1973 CBS sells New York Yankees
1974
Westinghouse sells stove and other large appliance arm
to White Consolidated Industries (later acuired by Electrolux)
1975
reneges on uranium supply contracts (later sues Australian
and other uranium producers for alleged cartel)
1975
sells Econo-Car car rental agency
1975
sells 45% stake in French nuclear plant builder Framatome
1976
closes mail order and record club business
1977
sells electric vehicle arm
1978
rebuys electric vehicle unit, sells to Nordskog
Westinghouse buys TelePrompter
1981
Westinghouse Broadcasting & Cable buys TelePrompter
cable tv group (rebadged as Group W Cable) for US$646m,
inc Jack Kent Cooke stake for
US$70m
1982
sells 50% interest in Showtime.
1982
sells WOWO radio station to Price Communications
1982
sells lamps business to Philips
1982
sells 50% stake in Satellite Network News
1982 Tri-Star Pictures formed by CBS, HBO
(Home Box Office) and Columbia
Pictures
1984 CBS buys 33% stake in SportsChannel regional sports
networks with Washington Post
1984 Westinghouse buys Unimation robotics for US$107m
1984
sells educational and language product operations
1984
sells industrial fan operations
1984
Prodigy online service provider launched by IBM, CBS and
Sears
1985 Ted Turner, Jesse Helms and
Ivan Boesky make unsuccessful bids for CBS
1985 CBS sells St Louis tv station to Viacom
1985 sells general books division of Holt Rinehart Winston
1985 sells 33% of TriStar Pictures
1986 cigarette, tobacco, cinema and insurance conglomerate
Loews buys 25% stake in CBS
1986 CBS sells stake in Prodigy, later acquired by AOL
1986
Westinghouse sells Muzak
1986
buys Los Angeles TV station
1987
buys radio stations in Sacramento and Chicago
1987
buys electrical equipment, engineering and waste-disposal
businesses
1987 CBS book publishing arm sold for US$500m
1987 music publishing arm sold for US$125m
1987 stake in SportsChannel sold
1987
Westinghouse sells Group W Cable to Comcast,
AT&T and TCI
1987
sells elevator division to Schindler
1987
sells transmission division to ABB Asea Brown Boveri
1987
sells rail/peoplemover division
1987
sells 7Up bottling division
1988 CBS records sold to Sony for
US$2bn
1989
Westinghouse buys Legacy Broadcasting Company
1989
buys Shaw-Walker and Reff furniture
1990
buys Knoll International furniture
1991
Westinghouse borrows US$3bn from GE
1994
sells distribution & controls arm for US$1.1bn
1994 sells electrical supplies arm for US$0.34bn
1994
buys Norden electronic systems division of United Technologies
1994
establishes partnership with CBS
1995
sells Westinghouse Communities (land development) for
US$0.43bn
Westinghouse buys CBS
1995 Westinghouse buys CBS
1996 CBS buys Infinity radio broadcasting and outdoor
advertising group for US$4.7bn
1996
sells The Knoll Group (office furniture) for US$0.56bn
1996
sells Defense electronics arm for US$3bn
1996 sells Westinghouse Security Systems for US$0.43bn
1997 Westinghouse Electric changes name to CBS
1997
sells Thermo King refrigerated transport arm for US$2.56bn
1997 buys American Radio Systems chain for US$2.6 billion,
increasing its radio stations to 175
1998 sells 17% of Infinity Broadcasting for US$2.9bn
1998 sells WEEI-AM, WRKO-AM, WWTM-AM, WAAF-FM and WEGQ-FM
in Boston to Entercom
1998 buys WYUU-FM and WLLD-FM in Tampa from Entercom
1999 CBS buys King World Productions, leading television
program syndicator, for US$2.5bn
1999 Infinity buys Outdoor Systems billboard group for
US$8.7bn
Viacom buys CBS
1999 Viacom buys CBS for US$50bn
1999
finalises sale of CBS nuclear power business to BNFL (British
Nuclear Fuels), rebadged as Westinghouse Electric Company
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