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Reginald Fessenden invents wireless telephony, which was a way for radio waves to carry signals.
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KDKA transmited the first commercial radio broadcast.
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Reacting to problems posed by the Radio Act of 1912, the Commerce Department allows powerful stations to use the 400m wavelength as long as they only broadcast live music.
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General Electric and Westinghouse establish NBC, which operates two national radio networks
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Philo Farnsworth transmits the first all-electronic television image.
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Crossley Inc, the first formal radio ratings system.
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CBS demonstrates color television in New York.
WNBT, the first regularly operating television station, debuts in New York with an estimated 10,000 viewers.
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman! The radio show debuts.
The first Bugs Bunny cartoon. -
Color television introduced in the U.S.
For the first time, a nationwide program airs. Edward R. Murrow, in the first broadcast of his See It Now series, tells viewers, as he looks into the split-screen image of the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges, that they for the first time are able to see the Atlantic and Pacific oceans simultaneously -
President Bill Clinton signs legislation that significantly deregulates telecommunications, creating almost limitless opportunities for broadcasters and cable companies
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Reality TV continues to dominate the airwaves. For the first time in eight years, NBC's “Must-See” Thursday night lineup does not reign in the ratings. Survivor II: The Australian Outback consistently beats Friends.