March 4, 1877 - Emile Berliner announced his invention of the microphone.

December 16, 1907 - The first U.S. radio broadcast of a singer featured Eugenia H. Farrar on the occasion of departure of Admiral Robley Dunglison Evans ("Fighting Bob Evans") on a cruise with the fleet; her voice transmitted by Lee De Forest from Brooklyn Naval Yard, Brooklyn, NY.

January 13, 1910 - Lee De Forest, American inventor of vacuum tube, broadcast live performance of Enrico Caruso from Metropolitan Opera over telephone transmitter (heard only by the small number of electronics hobbyists who had radio receivers); 1915 - started regular nightly concerts, increased interest in radio receivers, which at the time depended on the vacuum tubes manufactured by De Forest's company.

December 13, 1910 - Lee De Forest (invented much of technology involved in early radio) arranged first opera broadcast from stage of Metropolitan Opera, featuring Enrico Caruso; Met did not broadcast over radio again until 1922.

November 14, 1911 -  Ernst F. W. Alexanderson, of Schenectady, NY, received patent for a "High-Frequency Alternator"; radio tuning system.

November 23, 1919 - The first play-by-play football game radio broadcast took place during the Texas A&M - Texas game.

April 26, 1921 - WEW in St. Louis, MO  broadcast weather report for federal government, first time on radio, 

April 29, 1921 - David Sarnoff became general manager of RCA.

October 5, 1921 - The World Series broadcast on radio for first time.

June 30, 1921 - Radio Corporation of America (RCA) incorporated.

February 27, 1922 - Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover called conference to allocate radio wavelengths (500 stations broadcasting on the same wavelength); 1921 - Americans spent about $10 million on radio sets and parts.

March 22, 1922 - Crosley Broadcasting (Cincinnati, OH) went on the air with commercial station (65th licensed radiotelephone station); call letters WLW-AM (amplitude modulation) assigned by new Federal Radio Commission; 50-watt signal received from Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Connecticut; station's broadcast power increased to 50,000 watts over next six years; October 4, 1928 - nation's first 50,000-watt commercial broadcasting station to operate on regular schedule; April 17, 1934 - FCC granted Crosley Broadcasting authority to use 500 kW experimentally, during regular hours, with regular WLW call; May 3, 1934 - 500,000-watt transmitter put on the air (on occasion, the station's power was boosted as high as 700,000 watts); most powerful AM radio station in the world.

August 28, 1922 - First radio commercial aired on WEAF in New York City; 10-minute advertisement for the Queensboro Realty Co., for $100.

October 18, 1922 - The British Broadcasting Company formed by group of leading wireless manufacturers to sell radios; November 14, 1922 - daily broadcasting from Guglielmo Marconi's London studio; 1925 - BBC heard throughout most of UK; John Reith, Scottish engineer, general manager; 1927 - received first Royal Charter, became British Broadcasting Corporation; John Reith knighted; 1932 - opened Empire Service (forerunner of BBC World Service); December 25, 1932 - King George V gave first royal broadcast to Empire; November 2, 1936 - opened world's first regular service of high-definition television; May 12, 1937 - King George VI's coronation procession broadcast to 10,000 people; June 1937 - first Wimbledon coverage.

November 14, 1922 - BBC officially began daily domestic radio service broadcasting with the 6:00pm news read by Arthur Burrows from 2LO, Marconi House, London (Manchester and Birmingham stations went into service next day). 

December 23, 1922 - The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began daily news broadcasts.

1923 - First American broadcasts heard in Britain.

October 11, 1923 - The first political telecast, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, aired from New York.

February 8, 1924 - First coast-to-coast radio broadcast; Speech by Bell Telephone's vice president and chief of research at a meeting of the Bond Men's Club in a Chicago hotel was broadcast in Providence, New York, Washington, Oakland, and San Francisco, heard by some 50 million people.

February 12, 1924 - The Eveready Hour, first network radio program sponsored by advertising debuts; sponsored by the National Carbon Company and broadcast in New York, Washington, and Providence.

June 13, 1925 - Charles Jenkins invented first telecast in the U.S. of objects in motion, called it "visions by radio"; first mechanical TV system broadcast used 48 scanning lines, showed a model of Dutch windmill with its blades turning.

June 30, 1925 - Charles F. Jenkins, of Washington, DC, received a patent for "Transmitting Pictures by Wireless" ("wireless electrical agency"); electromechanical television.

October 30, 1925 - John Logie Baird made first televised transmission of moving object in London, UK; transmitter made from a tea chest, cardboard scanning discs, empty biscuit box, old electric motors, darning needles, motorcycle lamp lenses, piano wire, glue, string, sealing wax.

January 12, 1926 - Radio program Sam 'n' Henry debuted on WGN radio in Chicago; starred two white vaudeville performers, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll; portrayed two black characters from  South looking to make their fortune in Chicago during Depression; March 19, 1928 - show moved to WMAQ, name changed to Amos 'n' Andy (WGN owned rights to prior character names); 1948 - attracted more than 40 million listeners, most highly rated comedy in radio history; 1951 - came to TV, starred Alvin Childress and Spencer Williams; first TV series to feature an all-black cast; 1953 - show cancelled; November 25, 1960 - last radio broadcast.

January 26, 1926 - John Logie Baird, Scottish inventor, gave first public demonstration of true television system to members of Royal Institution, reporter from The Times in London, launched  revolution in communication, entertainment; pictorial transmission machine (called "televisor") used mechanical rotating disks to scan moving images into electronic impulses, then transmitted by cable to a screen where it showed up as a low-resolution pattern of light and dark; 1928 - established Baird Television Development Company Ltd.; made first transatlantic television transmission from London to New York.

September 9, 1926 - Radio Corporation of America created The National Broadcasting Co.; November 15, 1926 - NBC debuted with a radio network of 24 stations, nation's first permanent radio network; celebrated launch with one of the earliest remote musical broadcasts ( nationally known bands played at several locations).

February 23, 1927 - President Calvin Coolidge signed the Radio Act of 1927 into law; transferred most of responsibility for radio to newly created Federal Radio Commission; five-person FRC given power to grant, deny licenses, assign frequencies and power levels for each licensee; divided country into five geographical zones (each represented by one of five Commissioners); February 26, 1927 - Radio Division of the Department of Commerce created in the Office of the Secretary; 1928 - issued first noncommercial TV license; some powers transferred to Department of Commerce; July 20, 1932 - Radio Division abolished, its functions transferred to Federal Radio Commission.

April 7, 1927 - A group of newspaper reporters and dignitaries gathered at AT&T Bell Telephone Laboratories auditorium in New York viewed first public display of a long distance television transmission - "operative one-way systems for television over telephone circuits and by radio" (speech by then Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, as his live picture. voice were transmitted over telephone lines from Washington, DC).

September 7, 1927 - TV pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth succeeded in transmitting an image through purely electronic means by using  device called an image dissector.

September 18, 1927 - The Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (later CBS) went on air with 47 radio stations; lost money in first year.

January 13, 1928 - American inventor Ernst F. W. Alexanderson broadcasted first experimental television program in Schenectady, NY (delivered poor, unsteady picture only 1.5 inches square); broadcast signal had range of 15 to 20 miles; Spring 1928 - US Federal Government issued first name to WRGB, with call letters "W2XB" (station popularly known as WGY Television, after its sister radio station founded 1922); May 10, 1928 - First TV Newscaster, Kolin Hager, broadcasted farm, weather reports twice a day, three times weekly; programs lasted from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays; most viewers were on technical staff at nearby General Electric (had designed system, was using broadcasts to refine its equipment); August 22, 1928 - world's first remote news telecast from State Capitol in Albany; end of 1928 - 17 more stations around country began scheduled broadcasts, designed to test  apparatus rather than attract viewers.

January 13, 1928 - Experimental television station founded from General Electric facility in Schenectady, NY, under call letters W2XB; claimed to be first U. S. television station; March 1942 -- renamed WRGB, in tribute to Dr. Walter R. G. Baker, GE vice president, pioneer in US television and radio.

February 8, 1928 - John Logie Baird's transmission of TV image received across Atlantic ocean, from Purley, England to Hartsdale, NY. 

February 25, 1928 - The Federal Radio Commission issued first television license to Charles Francis Jenkins's Jenkins Television Corporation for television station, W3XK; July 2, 1928 - went on air, broadcast from Jenkins Laboratories on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, DC; 1929 - station moved to Wheaton, MD; March 1932 - liquidated; assets acquired by Lee DeForest Radio Corporation.

September 1928 - William S. Paley (27), Philadelphia cigar manufacturer, acquired United Independent Broadcasters Inc., network of 16 independent radio stations, changed name to Columbia Broadcast System, became President of the Company; January 8, 1929 - tripled broadcasting coverage, served 49 stations in 42 cities throughout country; July 21, 1931 - began first regularly scheduled television broadcasting in country on experimental station W2XAB in New York City (broadcasted seven hours daily, seven days a week by end of year); 1933 - Paul White (news editor) organized Columbia News Service, first network news operation; 1935 - nation’s largest radio network with 97 stations; 1937 - went public; August 1940 - first color television broadcast from CBS transmitter atop Chrysler Building received in CBS building; 1941 - first FM station (147 stations by 1944); 1945 - Paley named Chairman of Board, Frank Stanton President; 1946 - first television broadcast of National Football League; November 2, 1948 - first dual radio, television coverage of political conventions; August 11, 1951 - first baseball game on color television (Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Boston Braves from Ebbets Field); July 7, 1952 - term "anchor" coined to describe Walter Cronkite's role in covering at Democratic convention; 1954 - News and Public Affairs departments of CBS Radio and Television Divisions combined, officially formed CBS News, first autonomous news organization in network television designed to serve both radio television networks of CBS; November 30, 1956 - first videotaped news broadcast (magnetic tape); 1960 - first network to broadcast Olympics; 1961 - CBS Sports became division of CBS Television Network; 1965 - fifty percent of CBS’s regular primetime schedule  broadcast in color; November 25, 1965 - first color broadcast of NFL game on Thanksgiving Day; August 19, 1965 - "CBS Morning News with Mike Wallace" first major network news program broadcast in color; 1966 - first primetime schedule all in color; 1967 - entire CBS schedule broadcast in color; April 9-17, 1967 - "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" first network news program seen via satellite; April 17, 1971 - Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. officially changed name to CBS Inc.; January 15, 1978 - Super Bowl XII (Dallas Cowboys defeated Denver Broncos) largest audience ever to watch sporting event (47.2/67 national household rating/share, highest-rated Super Bowl to date); November 21, 1980 - "Who Shot J. R.?" episode of "Dallas" most-watched television program up to that time (90 million viewers, nearly 80 percent of all television viewers); second most-watched primetime broadcast in television history; February 1994 - 204 million viewers tuned in to CBS Sports’ coverage of XVII Olympic Winter Games from Lillehammer, Norway (most-watched Winter Games in history); November 28, 1995 - merged with Westinghouse Electric Corporation; June 20, 1996 - Westinghouse Electric Corporation announced decision to merge with Infinity Broadcasting Corporation; December 1, 1997 - Westinghouse Electric Corporation changed name to CBS Corporation; launched as largest combined television, radio, out-of-home media entity in history; May 4, 2000 - merged with Viacom, name changed to Viacom Inc.; February 21, 2001 - Infinity Broadcasting Corp. merged with Viacom as wholly owned subsidiary.

September 11, 1928 - General Electric made first simulcast in Schenectady, NY; broadcast a play, The Queen's Messenger, over radio and TV at same time.

January 18, 1929 - Columbia Records was sold to a group of private investors, led by William S. Paley, a Philadelphia cigar manufacturer, for $400,000; renamed The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).

June 27, 1929 - Scientists at Bell Laboratories revealed Bell Labs Mechanical Color System for transmitting television pictures in color; used scanning disk with three banks of photoelectric cells, amplifiers, glow-tubes, color filters; receiver used three lights with filters and system of mirrors to reconstruct the image.

August 19, 1929 - The comedy program "Amos and Andy" debuted on network radio; starred Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll.

December 19, 1930 - BBC Empire Service went on air from studio in newly-built Broadcasting House in London; opened by BBC chairman JH Whitley, followed by director general Sir John Reith, with two-hour transmission for Australia and New Zealand.

June 30, 1930 - First round-the-world broadcast from U.S. used  series of short-wave radio relays, took only one-eighth of a second; carried voice of Clyde D. Wagoner; signal from W2XAD began in Schenectady, NY, relayed through Holland, Java, Australia, across Pacific Ocean, back to Schenectady.

July 31, 1930 - Radio mystery program "The Shadow" first aired; drew listening audience of about 15 million a week during its peak; featured crime-fighting superhero, the Shadow, played by three different actors during the show's 25 years; 1937-1938 - Orson Welles played the Shadow for $185 a week; show became famous for trademark opening line: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows..."

August 20, 1930 - Allen Balcom DuMont produced first demonstration telecast of home television reception in U.S. in New York City (sets had been set up in homes beginning on January 13, 1928); half-hour program, signal traveled about six miles (greatest distance for TV transmission to date).

1931 - NBC began experimental TV broadcasts from top of Empire State Building.

February 17, 1931 - First telecast of a sporting event in Japan (baseball).

March 6, 1931 - First radio newsreel, The March of Time, debuted; associated with Time magazine, featured dramatizations of news events, complete with music, sound effects, and a stable of actors to impersonate real news figures; 1942 - shifted to straight news, with only a few dramatized events.

April 6, 1931 - Radio show Little Orphan Annie debuts, based on the comic strip by Harold Gray; first late-afternoon radio serial for children (ran until 1942).

1932 - Canadian Broadcasting Act created Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC); November 2, 1936 - Canadian Broadcasting Act replaced the CRBC with a Crown Corporation, the CBC; 1940 - CBC symbol showing radio waves and a map of Canada is adopted; 1941 - Formal opening of CBC News Service; 1946 - opening of first CBC FM stations in Toronto and Montreal; September 6, 1952 - Canadian television broadcasting began, CBFT Montreal (bilingual); September 8 - CBLT Toronto (English).

February 15, 1932 - George Burns and Gracie Allen make their U.S. radio debut as regulars on the Guy Lombardo Show.

March 29, 1932 - Jack Benny debuts on a fifteen-minute radio program hosted by a Broadway columnist for The New York Daily News named Ed Sullivan; May 2, 1932 - Jack Benny's first radio show debuted on the NBC Blue Network (sponsored by Canada Dry); aired for more than 20 years and evolved into a popular TV show; Benny was born Benjamin Kubelsky.

August 22, 1932 - The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began its first experimental TV broadcast in England.

January 30, 1933 - Station WXYZ (Detroit) broadcast first episode of ''Lone Ranger'' radio program (total of 2,956 episodes over 21-year run); created by station-owner George Trendle, writer Fran Striker; televised version of The Lone Ranger, starred Clayton Moore as masked man; became ABC's first big hit in early 1950s (remaibed on air until 1957).

June 26, 1933 - Kraft Foods sponsored Kraft Music hall, two-hour radio program; part of a promotional push to introduce its new salad dressing, Miracle Whip; ran from 1933 to 1949, featured singer, actor Bing Crosby as host; May 7, 1947 - sponsored Kraft Television Theater on NBC with play called Double Doors; show ran for 11 years.

March 24, 1934 - Radio program Major Bowes' (theater owner and variety-show producer) Original Amateur Hour debuts, launches a national craze among amateur performers hoping to hit the big time; 1935 - Frank Sinatra appears on show.

June 19, 1934 - President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Communications Act of 1934 into law; Act replaced Federal Radio Commission with Federal Communications Commission (FCC); transferred regulation of interstate telephone services from Interstate Commerce Commission to FCC; July 1, 1934 - The Federal Communications Commission replaced Federal Radio Commission as regulator of broadcasting in United States.

March 22, 1935 - Television broadcasts begin in Berlin, Germany, with a low definition, 180 lines system.

April 16, 1935 - Marian and Jim Jordan launch Fibber McGee and Molly, a show about an incessant teller of tall tales and his wife who gets him out of trouble; 1943 - top-rated radio program in the nation (ran until 1959).

1934 - North American Company first tested  wired-wireless technology by bringing music into homes in Cleveland under the name Muzak Corporation (name invented by Retired Major General George O. Squier, a la Kodak); 1936 - Wired Radio Inc. renamed Muzak with plan to provide businesses, not individuals, with background-free music; 1938 - Warner Brothers acquired Muzak Corporation from the North American Company; 1939 - William Benton, founder of Benton & Bowles Advertising Agency and publisher of the Encyclopedia Britannica, acquired Muzak; 1954 - Muzak switched from records to tapes; 1956 - Muzak began broadcasting on FM subcarriers (SCAs) as a second means of distribution to phone lines; largest user of phone line networks in the world; 1957 - 150 franchises in the U.S. and abroad. Muzak was acquired by Wrather Corporation; 1972 - acquired by TelePrompter Corporation; 1981 - acquired by Westinghouse; 1986 - acquired by The Field Corporation, owned by department store heir, Marshall Field V; 1992 - acquired by Centre Partners, an investment group based in New York City.

January 6, 1936 - Porky Pig makes his world debut in a Warner Brothers cartoon, "Gold Diggers of '49"; 1937 - Mel Blanc joined Warner Brothers, became the famous voice behind Porky as well as the Warner Brothers characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, and Tweety.

April 24, 1936 - Group of firemen responding to an alarm in Camden, New Jersey, is televised; first time an unplanned event was broadcast on television, anticipated development of live TV news coverage.

June 10, 1936 - First coaxial cable telecast transmitted 1.5 miles from Radio City, New York City to transmitter on top of Empire State Building; October 5, 1936 - first intercity telecast in U.S. using coaxial cable transmitted from New York City to Philadelphia; September 4, 1951 - first U.S. coast-to-coast telecast made between New York City and San Francisco.

November 2, 1936 - BBC began the world's first high-definition television service from studios and transmitters at Alexandra Palace, in north London; range about 35 miles; February 1937 - Marconi-EMI won the contract with a 405-line transmitting system (vs. 240-line Baird system) which was more mobile, flexible and easy to use.

November 3, 1936 - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is established.

December 17, 1936 - Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wisecracking dummy Charlie McCarthy debut on Rudy Vallee's popular radio show; became a hit radio star with his own show for more than 20 years.

January 25, 1937 - First broadcast of Soap Opera "Guiding Light" on NBC radio.

February 11, 1937 - For the first time, all three major radio networks (CBS, NBC, Mutual) simultaneously broadcast a program, a benefit concert from Radio City Music Hall for the American National Red Cross.

February 17, 1938 - First public experimental demonstration of Baird color television was transmitted from Crystal Palace to the Dominion Theatre, London.

April 19, 1938 - RCA-NBC launches its first regular TV broadcasts  from the Empire State Building, five hours a week; few TV sets existed to receive the programs.

July 11, 1938 - Radio drama Mercury Theater on the Air debuted; dramatic anthology program featured Orson Welles and John Houseman (founders of the Mercury Theater in New York); best remembered for 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds, a fictional drama about a Martian invasion in Grovers Mill, New Jersey; aired on Halloween, sparked a panic among listeners who believed the play was a real news broadcast.

August 26, 1938 - A tape recorder (sapphire stylus engraved Millertape invented by James Arthur Miller of the Miller Broadcasting Company) was used for the first time in the U.S. to send a radio broadcast; 1,000 foot section of tape could carry a 15-min program (edited by cutting); first program to use sound tape was transmitted by WQXR, the Interstate Broadcasting Company, in New York City.

October 30, 1938 - The radio play ''The War of the Worlds'' (H.G. Wells' 19th-century science fiction novel), starring Orson Welles (23 years old), aired on CBS; live drama, employed fake news reports, panicked an estimated million listeners who thought its portrayal of a Martian invasion was true; panic broke out across the country; terrified civilians jammed highways in New Jersey seeking to escape the alien marauders; news of the real-life panic leaked into the CBS studio, Welles went on the air as himself to remind listeners that it was just fiction. Federal Communications Commission investigated the program but found no law was broken.

November 11, 1938 - Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's ''God Bless America'' on network radio.

April 30, 1939 - The New York World's Fair, billed as a look at ''the world of tomorrow,'' opened; first day of television broadcasting in New York; Roosevelt first president to appear on television (broadcast was beamed to only 200 television sets).

August 26, 1939 - Major league baseball was televised for the first time as experimental station W2XBS broadcast a doubleheader between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.

December 27, 1939 - The Glen Miller Show debuts on CBS radio; 1944 - his plane from England to Paris disappeared, never found (age 40).

January 7, 1940 - Gene Autry's musical variety show premieres on CBS radio, where it will run for the next 16 years.

February 25, 1940 - New York City station W2XBS televised a hockey game for the first time.

February 28, 1940 - The first televised basketball game was shown, from Madison Square Garden in New York.

April 17, 1940 - DuMont received a license to operate New York's second television station; November 1940 - inaugurated New York City's experimental W2XWV; station broadcast throughout World War II; May 2, 1944 - granted a commercial license; call letters changed to WABD (Du Mont's initials); May 19, 1945 - received license first station in Washington DC, known as experimental W3XWT; August 9, 1945 - first DuMont network telecast occurred when DuMont's New York and Washington TV stations were linked via coaxial cable for an announcement concerning the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki; April 26, 1946 - granted a commercial television license for a Washington station, WTTG-TV, channel five; 1947 - broadcats first network program, "Walter Compton and the News" (aired simultaneously on WABD and WTTG); 1955 - Du Mont Broadcasting incorporated; 1958 - renamed Metropolitan Broadcasting; New York station call letters changed to WNEW; 1961 - renamed Metromedia (after John Kluge gained control of the company).

July 27, 1940 - Bugs Bunny made his debut in the Warner Bros. animated cartoon ''A Wild Hare.''

1941 - FCC licensees allowed to sell air time for advertisements or other commercial purposes;

March 1, 1941 - Nashville radio station W47NV begins transmitting, first station in the country to receive a license for FM radio transmission.

April 2, 1941 - Radio sitcom Life of Riley debuts starring William Bendix as a bullheaded family man; ran for 10 years on radio and about six years on television.

Mid-1941 - President Roosevelt established the U.S. Foreign Information Service (FIS), named speechwriter Robert Sherwood as its first director; December 1941 - FIS made its first direct broadcasts to Asia from a studio in San Francisco; February 24, 1942 - beamed first broadcast to Europe via BBC medium- and long-wave transmitters; announcer William Harlan Hale opened the German-language program with the words: "Here speaks a voice from America, name took hold; June 1942 - Voice of America (VOA)  had twenty-three transmitters and 27 language services;  February 17, 1947 - begins its first radio broadcasts to the Soviet Union.

May 2, 1941 - The Federal Communications Commission agreed to regular scheduling of TV broadcasts by commercial TV stations to begin July 1; start of what would become network television.

July 1, 1941 - NBC broadcasted first TV commercial sanctioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); Bulova paid $9 to advertise its watches on the air during a Dodgers-Phillies game 

July 1, 1941 - NBC granted FCC's first commercial TV station license for WNBT in New York.

February 24, 1942 - The Voice of America went on the air as a  multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

August 2, 1943 - Edward J. Noble, who acquired rights to Life Savers in 1913, grew Life Savers Incorporated from fledgling mint candy company into global food business with sales of $20 million in the mid-1950s, and who already owned American Broadcasting Company, bought a network division from NBC for $8 million (in a Federal Trade Commission-mandated divestiture), promptly renamed it American Broadcasting Systems; December 25, 1944 - FCC transfers owned-station licenses, ratifies  change of network to American Broadcasting Co.; June 14, 1945 - name of network changed to American Broadcasting Company, Inc. (ABC).

October 8, 1944 - ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' made its debut on CBS Radio; October 3, 1952 - "Ozzie and Harriet" premiered on television (ran until 1966).

1945 - FCC reserved 20 FM channels, between 88 and 92 MHz, for non-commercial, educational broadcasting; represented 20 percent of broadcast band.

December 9, 1945 - Oscar Brand's radio show, "Folksong Festival" debuts on WNYC radio; December 9, 2005  - won Guinness Book of World records as longest-running radio show with the same host (60 years); beat Alistair Cooke's "Letter from America" (58 years).

 1946 - "Geographically Speaking", first commercially sponsored TV show, debuted with backing of Bristol-Myers.

May 9, 1946 - First variety show on TV, hour-long "NBC's Hour Glass," premieres.

June 1, 1946 - Television licenses were first issued in Britain (financed BBC's domestic radio and TV services); sold at Post Offices at a cost £2, included radio (radio-only licenses then cost £1); September 1, 1939 - TV service was suddenly blacked out for defense purposes, suspended for duration of WW II; June 8, 1946 - television re-opened to cover the Victory Parade; November 1922 - first radio license fee began, cost 10 shillings (50p); April 1, 2002 - license fees cost £112.00 for color and £37.50 for black and white.

October 27, 1946 - Debut of first television program with a commercial sponsor ("Geographically Speaking", a travel show, sponsored by Bristol-Myers); ran until December 1, 1946.

November 7, 1946 - Tradio Inc., of Asbury Park, NJ publicly exhibited the first U.S. coin-operated television (25 cents) in New York City.

1947 - Dorothy Stimson Bullitt purchased KEVR, small Seattle AM radio station with almost no listeners; negotiated swap for call letters KING (King County, WA); 1948 - received license for FM station, KING-FM, broadcast classical music; 1949 - purchased 8-month-old ABC affiliate television station, KRSC-TV, renamed it KING-TV (1959 - became NBC affiliate); 1961 - Stimson (son) assumed presidency; 1992 - acquired by Providence Journal; 1998 - acquired by A. H. Belo.

January 22, 1947 - KTLA-TV in Hollywood, CA, first commercially-licensed television station west of Mississippi River, went on air as Bob Hope signed the station on with a special program billed as "Western Premiere of Commercial Television"; originated from small garage on Paramount Studios movie lot; 1939 - Paramount Pictures started KTLA as experimental station W6XYZ under the guidance of television pioneer Klaus Landsberg.

April 16 1947 - National Broadcasting Company in New York City demonstrated the first zoom lens for the television camera; November 23, 1948 - Dr. Frank Gerard Back patented the Zoomar lens, patented as a "varifocal lens for cameras".

June 16, 1947 - Dumont Television Network's "News from Washington" was first network news; parent company DuMont Laboratories, broadcasting-equipment and set manufacturer; founded by Dr. Allen B. DuMont.

November 6, 1947 - "Meet the Press" premiered on TV; oldest program still on television.

December 27, 1947 - The children's TV program ''Howdy Doody'' debuted on NBC.

January 1, 1948 - Warner Brothers-Pathe took first U.S. motion picture newsreel in color, using the Cinecolor process, at the Tournament of Roses and Rose Bowl Game, Pasadena, CA; January 5, 1948 - started showing this first color newsreel to theatre audiences.

January 18, 1948 - Original Amateur Hour, spin-off of a popular radio show, Major Bowes' Amateur Hour, debuts; aired for 12 years; one of few programs aired by all four early TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and the ill-fated DuMont network).

February 16, 1948 - NBC-TV aired its first nightly newscast, ''The Camel Newsreel Theatre''; consisted of Fox Movietone newsreels.

April 19, 1948 - ABC television network went on the air.

August 10, 1948 - Candid Camera, produced and hosted by Alan Funt, debuted.

September 21, 1948 - "Texaco Star Theater" with Milton Berle premiered on NBC-TV.

November 23, 1948 - Frank G. Back, of New York, NY, received a patent for a ""Varifocal lens for cameras" ("for use in connection with moving picture cameras"); zoom effects for television cameras; Zoomar lens was adjustable for close-ups or long-distance shots without requiring the camera be moved toward or away from the object televised; eliminated having to use a lens turret with multiple focal length lenses.

November 25, 1948 - Ed Parsons, electronics equipment, ran radio station in Astoria, OR, invented cable television; picked up usable signal on roof of John Jacob Astor Hotel; set up antenna, strung  cable across street to his living room; installed set in hotel lobby attracted so many people that guests could not reach registration desk; put set in store window across street, brought signal to it with coaxial cable - first recorded use of coaxial to carry television.

November 29, 1948 - Children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie premieres on prime time network TV; featured puppets Kukla, Ollie (a dragon), and others, with live actress Fran Allison as host; one of the two most important series made in Chicago, along with Garroway at Large, during the city's period as an important production center for network programs in the late 1940s; 1957 - show cancelled; 1969-1971 - PBS revives series.

January 11, 1949 - NBC links its East and Midwest TV networks; 1946 - NBC launched its first TV network by transmitting programs from its New York station to its Philadelphia and Schenectady stations; September 1948 - opens its Midwest network; September 1951 - opens West Coast network, creating the country's first coast-to-coast network.

January 17, 1949 - The Goldbergs (from a nearly 20-year-old popular radio program of the same name) debuts as television's first situation comedy (ran until 1954); adventures of a middle-class Jewish family in the Bronx; starred Gertrude Berg and Philip Loeb.

January 25, 1949 - National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presents its first industry award ("Emmy") at Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles; most of the awards were for programs produced by TV station KTLA; award for most popular program went to Pantomime Quiz Time; puppeteer Shirley Dinsdale and her puppet Judy Splinters won award for Outstanding TV Personality.

January 31, 1949 - The first TV daytime soap opera, ''These Are My Children,'' was broadcast from the NBC station in Chicago.

April 1, 1949 - First TV variety show starring an African-American cast debuts; Happy Pappy starred Ray Grant as master of ceremonies; first aired on local television in Chicago.

July 29, 1949 - BBC radio begins broadcasting.

February 16, 1950 - TV game show What's My Line debuts on this day in 1950; produced by game show magnates Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, ran for 18 years, longest-running prime-time game show in the history of television.

August 19, 1950 - The American Broadcasting Company aired the first Saturday morning television shows for children, Animal Clinic and Acrobat Ranch.

October 11, 1950 - Federal Communications Commission authorized the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) to begin commercial color television broadcasts.

October 15, 1950 - The first American radio paging service, Aircall of New York City, sent the first page to a doctor who was on a golf course 25 miles away via a six-ounce pocket radio receiver; call numbers repeated in numerical sequence on the air at least once per minute within a 30-mile radius.

October 28, 1950 - The Jack Benny Show, starring Jack Benny, premieres (it ran for 15 years).

1951 - Hallmark Cards sponsored 'Hallmark Presents Sarah Churchill', 15-minute weekly interview series hosted by Sir Winston Churchill's daughter; Hallmark Hall of Fame debuted on NBC with world premier of Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas opera 'Amahl' and the 'Night Visitors', first original opera commissioned for television.

January 1, 1951 - Zenith Radio Corporation started test transmissions of the first pay television in the U.S. to a limited group of subscribers ( 300 families chosen from 51,000 applicants) in Chicago, Illinois for 90 days; signal could only be viewed by people having the "key signal" sent to them by telephone; company sold over 2,000 program views in the first month, not enough to sustain the commercial venture.

May 1951 - Leonard H. Goldenson, President of United Paramount Theatres, agreed to acquire the $25 million, 14-station ABC network pending FCC approval from Edward J. Noble [Lifesavers candy founder].

June 28, 1951 - "Amos 'N' Andy" premiered on TV, the first series to have an all-black cast.

April 2, 1956 - Soap operas "As the World Turns", "The Edge of Night" premiered on television.

April 24, 1962 - MIT executed the first satellite relay of a TV signal.

April 22, 1976 - Barbara Walters becomes the first female nightly news anchor on network television; signs a record-breaking five-year, $5 million contract with ABC; highest paid TV journalist to date.

November 24, 1978 - David Letterman makes his first guest appearance on The Tonight Show; 1982 - had his own late-night comedy talk show, Late Night with David Letterman; 1993 - launched Late Show on rival network CBS when NBC chose Jay Leno as host of Tonight Show.

June 1, 1980 - Cable News Network made its debut.

March 6, 1981 - Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time as anchorman of "The CBS Evening News."

March 24, 1981 - ABC's nightly Iran Hostage crisis program ("The Iran Crisis--America Held Hostage: Day xxx") renamed Nightline, anchored by Ted Koppel.

August 1, 1981 - Music Television, (MTV), music video cable channel, debuted as an operation of Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment Company (WASEC), a joint venture of Warner Communications and American Express; programming format created by Bob Pittman, one of most successful radio program directors ever; developed concept of all video channel - record-company-produced videos programmed as records on a radio station; (later became president, chief executive officer, of MTV Networks); 1984 - companies divested WASEC; renamed MTV Networks Inc.; first MTV Video Music Awards show; 1985 - MTV introduced new channel, VH-1, Video Hits One; 1986 - MTV Networks Inc. acquired by Viacom Inc.; renamed MTV Networks.

February 1, 1982 - ''Late Night with David Letterman'' premiered on NBC.

May 2, 1982 - Weather Channel went on the air; 10 months from concept to live broadcast (24 hour cable weather station); created by former WLS-TV Chicago chief meteorologist and Good Morning America forecaster John Coleman; took idea to Frank Batten, CEO of Landmark Communications.

November 2, 1982 - Channel Four, public-service television and radio broadcaster in United Kingdom, began transmission; established to provide fourth television service to UK that would break only television services in UK: 1) duopoly of BBC's two established television services, 2) ITV, single commercial broadcasting network; originally a subsidiary of  Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), now owned, operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, public body established in 1990 for this purpose, began operating in 1993, following abolition of the IBA.

January 17, 1984 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the private use of home video cassette recorders to tape TV programs did not violate federal copyright laws; decision paved the way for the success of video store chains like Blockbuster.

March 1985 - News Corporation acquired 50% of TCF Holdings, the parent company of the 20th Century Fox movie studio for $250 million; May 1985 - agreed to pay $1.55 billion to acquire independent television stations in six major U.S. media markets from John Kluge's company, Metromedia; October 1985 - Rupert Murdoch announced intentions to form an independent television system to compete with three major U.S. television networks; May 6, 1986 - Murdoch along with newly-hired Fox CEO and chairman Barry Diller and comedian Joan Rivers announced plans for "FBC" or the "Fox Broadcasting Company", with WNYW in New York as flagship station; October 9, 1986 - Fox network launched; broadcast to 96 stations reaching more than 80 percent of the nation's households.

March 18, 1985 - Capital Cities Communications acquired American Broadcasting Cos. (ABC) for $3.5 billion.

December 11, 1985 - General Electric agreed to acquire RCA and National Broadcasting Co. for $6.3 billion; deal engineered by RCA chairman (former Atlantic Richfield president) Thornton F. Bradshaw; largest acquisition in history outside oil business.

April 5, 1987