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When did the first commercial radio station in the US go on the air?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
The answer to this question is still debated by media scholars. In Canada, historians would say it was XWA, later known as CFCF, owned by the Marconi Company. It went on the air in late 1919. In the USA, several stations claim to have been first: 8MK in Detroit (later known as WWJ, and still on the air today) was on the air in August 1920, owned by the Detroit News; it was also the first station owned by a newspaper. 1XE (later known as WGI) in Medford Hillside, Massachusetts, seems to have been on the air in the summer of 1920 too; it was owned by the Amrad Company.
And one station that many textbooks insist was the first (although it really wasn't) was KDKA in Pittsburgh, owned by the Westinghouse Company. KDKA went on the air on November 2, 1920. KDKA was very well-funded and well-publicized, and in radio's first year, it had a number of very important accomplishments that other stations could not equal. There were also early stations in Argentina (Radio Argentina, which went on the air in late August 1920), and several other countries had early stations too. And at colleges, there were some stations playing hit songs and doing the news as early as 1912, when Charles "Doc" Herrold and his wife Sybil put a station on the air at the Herrold College of Wireless in San José, California.
It should also be noted that "professional" or "commercial" stations did not exist in those early days. Most stations were run by amateur radio operators, often working for a manufacturer of radio receiving equipment. The first "commercial" license was not issued till mid-September 1921. Contrary to myth, KDKA in Pittsburgh did not get the first professional license-- rather, a sister company, WBZ (then in Springfield MA, today in Boston) received the first commercial license.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
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What is the location of the worlds first commercial radio station KDKA which began broadcasting in 1920?
Although KDKA in Pittsburgh has long claimed to be first, that is a myth. Certainly, KDKA was an influential and important early station, and its broadcast of the returns from the presidential election (Harding vs. Cox) on November 2, 1920 is a seminal moment in early radio history. But KDKA was neither the first station on the air, contrary to their parent company (Westinghouse) and its excellent publicity department; nor was it the first station with a commercial license. 8MK (today WWJ) in Detroit was on the air in late August 1920, a fact documented from newspaper reports. It too broadcast the presidential returns, but unfortunately, it did not have a huge publicity department. Still, based on facts and evidence, 8MK was the first station to do what we associate with modern radio-- broadcast music, news, and educational talks to a wide-ranging audience. But there were others doing that too. In greater Boston, 1XE (later WGI) was also on the air at that time. So were stations in Madison, Wisconsin and several other cities; there is also evidence that XWA in Montreal was on the air at that time as well. Further, KDKA did not have a commercial license-- nobody did. Such a license was not created until September 1921, and another Westinghouse station, WBZ (today in Boston, but then in Springfield MA) received that first license. So, while KDKA is indeed a major factor in early radio, it is incorrect to say it was the first commercial station.
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When did James maxwell send the first radio signal?
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What radio station was the first commercial bradcasting station to go on the air?
KDKA broadcast in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
When did commercial radio programming begin?
The debate over the first licensed commercial radio station has been going on for years, and is something of a standing joke, but one of the very first - if not the first (and it may have been) is KDKA radio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which went on the air on November 2, 1920.
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What is the location of the worlds first commercial radio station KDKA which began broadcasting in 1920?
Although KDKA in Pittsburgh has long claimed to be first, that is a myth. Certainly, KDKA was an influential and important early station, and its broadcast of the returns from the presidential election (Harding vs. Cox) on November 2, 1920 is a seminal moment in early radio history. But KDKA was neither the first station on the air, contrary to their parent company (Westinghouse) and its excellent publicity department; nor was it the first station with a commercial license. 8MK (today WWJ) in Detroit was on the air in late August 1920, a fact documented from newspaper reports. It too broadcast the presidential returns, but unfortunately, it did not have a huge publicity department. Still, based on facts and evidence, 8MK was the first station to do what we associate with modern radio-- broadcast music, news, and educational talks to a wide-ranging audience. But there were others doing that too. In greater Boston, 1XE (later WGI) was also on the air at that time. So were stations in Madison, Wisconsin and several other cities; there is also evidence that XWA in Montreal was on the air at that time as well. Further, KDKA did not have a commercial license-- nobody did. Such a license was not created until September 1921, and another Westinghouse station, WBZ (today in Boston, but then in Springfield MA) received that first license. So, while KDKA is indeed a major factor in early radio, it is incorrect to say it was the first commercial station.
What was the first radio station made a broadcast in 1922?
If you are asking about the United States, the year was not 1922. It was actually 1920. Many sources say the first station was KDKA in Pittsburgh, but that is not entirely accurate. The first American station to keep a regular schedule and be heard by a local audience was probably 8MK (today WWJ) in Detroit, which went on the air in August 1920. KDKA has spread the story that it was the first "licensed commercial station" but there was no such thing as a commercial license until mid-September 1921, and WBZ (then in Springfield MA) got the first of those. Bottom line-- both 8MK and KDKA were pioneering stations in 1920, but 8MK took to the air more than three months before KDKA did. As for 1922, it was the year of the "radio craze" -- in 1921 there were perhaps 20 stations in operation, but by mid-1922, radio's popularity had exploded, and several hundred stations went on the air.
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The first radio station was NOT Pittsburgh's KDKA, although it was certainly an important early station. Commercial radio began in 1920, and probably 8MK (later known as WWJ) in Detroit was the first, going on the air in August of 1920, while KDKA went on the air in late October. Early radio did not have commercial advertising. Most stations were only on the air a couple of hours a night in those early days. In the first year of radio, there were perhaps ten stations. But by 1922, the radio craze was exploding all over the US, as several hundred stations went on the air. Commercial advertising didn't become common till the mid-1920s. Some stations aired news reports as early as 1921-1922. Most radio broadcasts in the 1920s featured live performers, as tape had not yet been invented. Some stations played phonograph records, but most used live and local talent. The first national radio network was NBC (National Broadcasting Company), which began in late 1926.
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She listened to the radio for updates.The scanner picked up some radio waves.I was once a local events newsreader for a local radio station.
