RCA

Last updated

RCA Corporation
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Media
Electronics
FoundedOctober 17, 1919;104 years ago (1919-10-17) as Radio Corporation of America. The name changed to RCA Corporation on May 9, 1969.
Founder Owen D. Young
Defunct1987;37 years ago (1987)
FateAcquired by GE in 1986, various divisions sold or liquidated, and Trademark rights sold to Thomson SA in 1988.
Successors General Electric
RCA (owned by Talisman Brands)
RCA Records (owned by Sony Music Entertainment)
NBCUniversal (owned by Comcast)
Headquarters New York City, New York, U.S. [1]
Key people
David Sarnoff (first general manager)
Products Radios
Vacuum tubes
Phonograph records
Electric Phonograph
RCA Photophone
Televisions
CED Videodisc
TV station equipment:
Studio cameras
Videotape machines
Film chains
TV transmitters
TV broadcast antennas
Satellites
Video game consoles
Parent GE (1919–1932, 1986–1987)
Technicolor SA [lower-alpha 1] (trademark rights only, 1987–2022)
Talisman Brands d.b.a Established Inc. (trademark, since 2022)
Divisions RCA Records
NBC
RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
RCA Services

The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Company. In 1932, RCA became an independent company after the partners were required to divest their ownership as part of the settlement of a government antitrust suit.

Contents

An innovative and progressive company, RCA was the dominant electronics and communications firm in the United States for over five decades. In the early 1920s, RCA was at the forefront of the mushrooming radio industry as a major manufacturer of radio receivers, and the exclusive manufacturer of the first superheterodyne sets. The company also created the first nationwide American radio network, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). RCA was also a pioneer in the introduction and development of television, both black and white and especially color television. Throughout most of the company's existence, RCA was closely identified with the leadership of David Sarnoff. He became general manager at the company's founding, served as president from 1930 to 1965, and remained active as chairman of the board until the end of 1969.

During the 1970s, RCA's seemingly impregnable stature as America's leader in technology, innovation and home entertainment began to weaken as the company attempted to expand beyond its main focus of the development and marketing of consumer electronics and communications into a diversified multinational conglomerate. Additionally, RCA began to face increasing domestic competition from international electronics firms such as Sony, Philips, Matsushita and Mitsubishi. RCA suffered enormous financial losses in the mainframe computer industry and other failed projects including the CED videodisc system. Though the company was rebounding by the mid-1980s, RCA never regained its former eminence and was reacquired by General Electric in 1986; over the next few years, GE liquidated most of the corporation's assets. Today, RCA exists as a brand name only; the various RCA trademarks are currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment and Vantiva, which in turn license the RCA brand name and trademarks to several other companies, including Voxx International, Curtis International, AVC Multimedia, TCL Corporation and Express LUCK International, Ltd. for their various products.

Establishment by General Electric

Company logo in 1921 stressed its leadership in international communication. 1921 Radio Corporation of America (Worldwide Wireless) logo.jpg
Company logo in 1921 stressed its leadership in international communication.

RCA originated as a reorganization of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America (commonly called "American Marconi"). In 1897, the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, Limited, was founded in London to promote the radio (then known as "wireless telegraphy") inventions of Guglielmo Marconi. As part of worldwide expansion, in 1899 American Marconi was organized as a subsidiary company, holding the rights to use the Marconi patents in the United States and Cuba. [3] In 1912 it took over the assets of the bankrupt United Wireless Telegraph Company, and from that point forward it became the dominant radio communications company in the United States.

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the federal government took control of most civilian radio stations in order to use them for the war effort. Although the government planned to restore civilian ownership of the radio stations once the war ended, many United States Navy officials hoped to retain a monopoly on radio communication even after the war. Contrary to instructions it had received, the Navy began purchasing large numbers of radio stations. When the war ended, Congress rejected the Navy's efforts to have peacetime control of the radio industry and instructed that the Navy return the stations it had taken control of to the original owners. [4]

Due to national security considerations, the Navy was particularly concerned about returning high-powered international stations to American Marconi, since the majority of its stock was in foreign hands, and the British already largely controlled the international undersea telegraph cables. This concern was increased by the announcement in late 1918 of the formation of the Pan-American Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Company, [5] a joint venture between American Marconi and the Federal Telegraph Company, [6] with plans to set up service between the United States and South America. [7]

Alexanderson 200-kW motor alternator transmitter installed at the U.S. Navy's New Brunswick, New Jersey station 200-kw HF Alternator.jpg
Alexanderson 200-kW motor alternator transmitter installed at the U.S. Navy's New Brunswick, New Jersey station

The Navy had installed a high-powered Alexanderson alternator, built by General Electric (GE), at the American Marconi transmitter site in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It proved to be superior for transatlantic transmissions to the Spark-gap transmitters that had been traditionally used by the Marconi companies. Marconi officials were so impressed by the capabilities of the Alexanderson alternators that they began making preparations to adopt them as their standard transmitters for international communication. A tentative plan made with General Electric proposed that over a two-year period the Marconi companies would purchase most of GE's alternator production. However, the U.S. Navy objected to the plan, fearing British domination in international radio communications and the national security concerns this raised. [9]

The Navy, claiming support from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, looked for an alternative that would result in an "all-American" company taking over the American Marconi assets. In April 1919, two naval officers, Admiral H. G. Bullard and Commander S. C. Hooper, met with GE president, Owen D. Young and requested a suspension of the pending alternator sales to the Marconi companies. This would leave General Electric without a buyer for its transmitters, so the officers proposed that GE purchase American Marconi, and use the assets to form its own radio communications subsidiary. Young consented to this proposal, which, effective November 20, 1919, transformed American Marconi into the Radio Corporation of America. The decision to form the new company was promoted as a patriotic gesture. The corporate officers were required to be citizens of the United States, with a majority of the company stock to be held by U.S. citizens. [9]

Upon its founding, RCA was the largest radio communications firm in the United States. [10] Most of the former American Marconi staff continued to work for RCA. Owen Young became the chairman of the board of the new company. Former American Marconi vice president and general manager E. J. Nally become RCA's first president. Nally was succeeded by Major General James G. Harbord, who served from 1922 until January 3, 1930, when Harbord replaced Owen Young as chairman of the board. David Sarnoff, who was RCA's founding general manager, became its third president on the same day. RCA worked closely with the federal government and felt it deserved to maintain its predominant role in U.S. radio communications. At the company's recommendation, President Wilson appointed Rear Admiral Bullard "to attend the stockholders' and director's meetings... in order that he may present and discuss informally the Government's views and interests". [11]

The radio industry had been making technical advances, particularly in the area of vacuum tube technology and GE needed access to additional patents before its new subsidiary could be fully competitive. During this time American Marconi had been steadily falling behind others in the industry. The two companies entered into negotiations which resulted in a series of mutually beneficial cross-licensing agreements between themselves and various other companies in the industry. On July 1, 1920, an agreement was made with the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), which purchased 500,000 shares of RCA, although it would divest these shares in early 1923. The United Fruit Company held a small portfolio of radio patents and signed two agreements in 1921. GE's traditional electric company rival, the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Corporation, had also purchased rights to some critical patents, including one for heterodyne receiving originally issued to Reginald Fessenden, plus regenerative circuit and superheterodyne receiver patents issued to Edwin Armstrong. Westinghouse used this position to negotiate a cross-licensing agreement, effective July 1, 1921, that included a concession that 40% of RCA's equipment purchases would be from Westinghouse. Following these transactions, GE owned 30.1% of RCA's stock, Westinghouse 20.6%, AT&T 10.3%, and United Fruit 4.1%, with the remaining 34.9% owned by individual shareholders. [12]

In 1930, RCA agreed to occupy the yet-to-be-constructed landmark skyscraper of the Rockefeller Center complex, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which in 1933 became known as the RCA Building (renamed the GE Building in 1988 and currently known as the Comcast Building after Comcast bought NBC-TV). This lease was critical for enabling the massive project to proceed as a commercially viable venture—David Rockefeller cited RCA's action as being responsible for "the salvation of the project". [13]

Radio development

International and marine communication

Illustration of how a fully built RCA Radio Central facility at Rocky Point, Long Island, New York would have appeared. Only two of the twelve "antenna spokes" were actually built. Proposed RCA Radio Central facility at Rocky Point, Long Island, New York.jpg
Illustration of how a fully built RCA Radio Central facility at Rocky Point, Long Island, New York would have appeared. Only two of the twelve "antenna spokes" were actually built.
RCA Satcom K1 geostationary communications satellite deployed from Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986 STS-61-C SATCOM Ku-1 deployment.jpg
RCA Satcom K1 geostationary communications satellite deployed from Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986

RCA's primary business objectives at its founding were to provide equipment and services for seagoing vessels, and "worldwide wireless" communication in competition with existing international undersea telegraph cables. To provide the international service, the company soon undertook a massive project to build a "Radio Central" communications hub at Rocky Point, Long Island, New York, designed to achieve "the realization of the vision of communication engineers to transmit messages to all points of the world from a single centrally located source". Construction began in July 1920, and the site was dedicated on November 5, 1921, after two of the proposed twelve antenna spokes had been completed, and two of the 200-kilowatt alternators installed. The debut transmissions received replies from stations in 17 countries. [15]

Although the initial installation would remain in operation, the additional antenna spokes and alternator installations would not be completed, due to a major discovery about radio signal propagation. While investigating transmitter "harmonics" – unwanted additional radio signals produced at higher frequencies than a station's normal transmission frequency – Westinghouse's Frank Conrad unexpectedly found that in some cases the harmonics could be heard farther than the primary signal, something previously thought impossible, as high-frequency shortwave signals, which had poor groundwave coverage, were thought to have a very limited transmission range. In 1924, Conrad demonstrated to Sarnoff that a low-powered shortwave station in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania could be readily received in London by a simple receiver using a curtain rod as an antenna, matching, at a small fraction of the cost, the performance of the massive alternator transmitters. In 1926, Harold H. Beverage further reported that a shortwave signal, transmitted on a 15-meter wavelength (approximately 20 MHz), was received in South America more readily during the daytime than the 200-kilowatt alternator transmissions. [16]

The Alexanderson alternators, control of which had led to RCA's formation, were now considered obsolete, and international radio communication would be primarily conducted using vacuum tube transmitters operating on shortwave bands. RCA would continue to operate international telecommunications services for the remainder of its existence, through its subsidiary RCA Communications, Inc., and later the RCA Global Communications Company. In 1975, the company formed RCA American Communications, which operated its Satcom series of geostationary communications satellites. International shortwave links were in turn largely supplanted by communications satellites, especially for distributing network radio and television programming.

At the time RCA was founded in 1919, all radio and telegraphic communication between China and the US, including official messages, were sent through either German radio or British cable links. The U.S. Navy lobbied RCA to seek a concession for a radio link to China, however the company was reluctant because its other concessions were already operating at a loss. This link began operation in 1928. The Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company of California signed a similar agreement with China in 1932. RCA claimed this was breach of contract on the grounds that its 1928 agreement had given it exclusive rights. The dispute went to arbitration, and in 1935 a decision, issued in Radio Corporation of America v China , concluded the Mackay concession was valid, because the earlier RCA concession had not granted exclusive rights. [17] [18]

Broadcasting

Advertisement promoting theater attendance to hear the ringside commentary broadcast by RCA's temporary station, WJY (1921) 1921 ad for Playhouse Theater Dempsey-Carpentier radiophone broadcast.jpg
Advertisement promoting theater attendance to hear the ringside commentary broadcast by RCA's temporary station, WJY (1921)
Studio of RCA's first broadcasting station, the short-lived WDY, located at its plant in Roselle Park, New Jersey (1922) 1922 radio station WDY hexagonal studio.JPEG
Studio of RCA's first broadcasting station, the short-lived WDY, located at its plant in Roselle Park, New Jersey (1922)
The June 1, 1922, cover of RCA's equipment catalog showcased the emerging home market. 1922 Radio Enters the Home cover.jpg
The June 1, 1922, cover of RCA's equipment catalog showcased the emerging home market.

The introduction of organized radio broadcasting in the early 1920s resulted in a dramatic reorientation and expansion of RCA's business activities. The development of vacuum tube radio transmitters made audio transmissions practical, in contrast with the earlier transmitters which were limited to sending the dits-and-dahs of Morse code. Since at least 1916, when he was still at American Marconi, David Sarnoff had proposed establishing broadcasting stations, but his memos to management promoting the idea for sales of a "Radio Music Box" had not been followed up at the time. [19]

Around 1920, a small number of broadcasting stations began operating, and soon interest in the innovation was spreading nationwide. In the summer of 1921, a Madison Square Garden employee, Julius Hopp, devised a plan to raise charitable funds by broadcasting, from ringside, the July 2, 1921 Dempsey-Carpentier heavyweight championship fight to be held in Jersey City, New Jersey. Hopp recruited theaters and halls as listening locations that would charge admission fees to be used as charitable donations. He also contacted RCA's J. Andrew White, the acting president of the National Amateur Wireless Association (NAWA), an organization originally formed by American Marconi which had been inherited by RCA. White agreed to recruit the NAWA membership for volunteers to provide assistance at the listening sites, and also enlisted David Sarnoff for financial and technical support. RCA was authorized to set up a temporary longwave radio station, located in Hoboken a short distance from the match site, and operating under the call letters WJY. For the broadcast White and Sarnoff telephoned commentary from ringside, which was typed up and then read over the air by J. Owen Smith. The demonstration was a technical success, with a claimed audience of 300,000 listeners throughout the northeast. [20]

RCA quickly moved to expand its broadcasting activities. In the fall of 1921, it set up its first full-time broadcasting station, WDY, at the Roselle Park, New Jersey company plant. By 1923, RCA was operating three stations—WJZ (now WABC) and WJY in New York City, and WRC (now WTEM) in Washington, D.C. A restriction imposed by AT&T's interpretation of the patent cross-licensing agreements required that the RCA stations remain commercial free, and they were financed by profits from radio equipment sales.

National Broadcasting Company

Beginning in 1922, AT&T became heavily involved in radio broadcasting, and soon became the new industry's most important participant. From the beginning, AT&T's policy was to finance stations by commercial sponsorship of the programs. The company also created the first radio network, centered on its New York City station WEAF (now WFAN), using its long-distance telephone lines to interconnect stations. This allowed them to economize by having multiple stations carry the same program.

RCA and its partners soon faced an economic crisis, as the costs of providing programming threatened to exceed the funds available from equipment profits. The problem was resolved in 1926 when AT&T unexpectedly decided to exit the radio broadcasting field. RCA purchased, for $1,000,000, AT&Ts two radio stations, WEAF and WCAP in Washington, D.C., as well as its network operations. These assets formed the basis for the creation of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), with ownership divided between RCA (50%), General Electric (30%), and Westinghouse (20%) until 1930, when RCA assumed 100% ownership. This purchase also included the right to begin commercial operations. NBC formed two radio networks that eventually expanded nationwide: the NBC-Red Network, with flagship station WEAF, and NBC-Blue, centered on WJZ. Although NBC was originally promoted as expecting to just break even economically, it soon became extremely profitable, which would be an important factor in helping RCA survive the economic pressures of the Great Depression that began in late 1929. [21]

Concerned that NBC's control of two national radio networks gave it too much power over the industry, in 1941 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) promulgated a rule designed to force NBC to divest one of them. [22] This order was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, and on October 12, 1943, the NBC-Blue network was sold to candy magnate Edward J. Noble for $8,000,000, and renamed "The Blue Network, Inc." In 1946 the name was changed to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The "Red" network retained the NBC name and remained under RCA ownership until 1986.

For two decades the NBC radio network's roster of stars provided ratings consistently surpassing those of its main competitor, the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). But in 1948, as the transition from radio to television was beginning, NBC's leadership came under attack due to what became known as the "Paley raids", named after the president of CBS, William S. Paley. After World War II the tax rate for annual incomes above $70,000 was 77%, while capital gains were taxed at 25%. Paley worked out an accounting technique whereby individual performers could set up corporations that allowed their earnings to be taxed at the significantly lower rate. Instead of NBC responding with a similar package, Sarnoff decided that this accounting method was legally and ethically wrong. NBC's performers did not agree, and most of the top stars, including Amos and Andy, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Edgar Bergen, Burns and Allen, Ed Wynn, Fred Waring, Al Jolson, Groucho Marx and Frank Sinatra moved from NBC to CBS. As a result, CBS boasted of having sixteen of the twenty top-rated programs in 1949. The consequences would carry over to television, where CBS maintained its newfound dominance for decades. Paley had personally worked to woo the performers, while Sarnoff professed his indifference to the defections, stating at an annual meeting that "Leadership built over the years on a foundation of solid service cannot be snatched overnight by buying a few high-priced comedians. Leadership is not a laughing matter." [23]

Radio receivers

RCA acted as the sales agent for a small line of Westinghouse and GE branded receivers and parts used by home constructors, originally for a limited market of amateur radio enthusiasts. By 1922, the rise of broadcasting had dramatically increased the demand for radio equipment by the general public, and this development was reflected in the title of RCA's June 1, 1922, catalog, "Radio Enters the Home". RCA began selling receivers under the "Radiola" name, marketing equipment produced by GE and Westinghouse under the production agreement that allocated a 60%–40% ratio in output between the two companies. Although the patent cross-licensing agreements had been intended to give the participants domination of equipment sales, the tremendous growth of the market led to fierce competition, and in 1925 RCA fell behind Atwater Kent as the leader in receiver sales. RCA was particularly hamstrung by the need to coordinate its sales within the limits of the GE/Westinghouse production quotas, and often had difficulty keeping up with industry trends. However, the company made a key advance in early 1924 when it began selling the first superheterodyne receivers, whose high level of performance increased the brand's reputation and popularity. RCA was the exclusive manufacturer of superheterodyne radio sets until 1930. All RCA receivers were battery powered until late 1927 when plug-in AC sets were introduced, providing another boost in sales. [24]

Vacuum tubes

RCA voltage regulator vacuum tube. RCA OA2.JPG
RCA voltage regulator vacuum tube.

RCA inherited American Marconi's status as a major producer of vacuum tubes, which were branded Radiotron in the United States. Especially after the rise of broadcasting, they were a major profit source for the company. RCA's strong patent position meant that the company effectively set the selling prices for vacuum tubes in the U.S., which were significantly higher than in Europe, where Lee de Forest had allowed a key patent issued to him to lapse. RCA was responsible for creating a series of innovative products, ranging from octal base metal tubes co-developed with General Electric before World War II, to miniaturized Nuvistor tubes used in the tuners of the New Vista series of television receivers.

The company began work on a secret project for the U.S. Navy called Madame X in September 1942. The Bloomington, Indiana, plant was one of the first of five RCA plants to produce Madame X vacuum tubes, which included a proximity fuse used to electronically detonate its payload when it was in range of its target, as opposed to relying on a direct hit. James V. Forrestal, former secretary of the Navy said, "The proximity fuse had helped blaze the trail to Japan. Without the protection this ingenious device has given the surface ships of the fleet, our westward push could not have been so swift and the cost in men and ships would have been immeasurably greater." [25]

The Nuvistor tubes were a last major vacuum tube innovation, along with General Electric's Compactron, and were meant to compete with the newly introduced transistor. By 1975, RCA had completely switched from tubes to solid-state devices in their television sets, except for the cathode ray tube (CRT) picture tube itself.

Phonographs and records

The rapid rise of radio broadcasting during the early 1920s, which provided unlimited free entertainment in the home, had a detrimental effect on the American phonograph record industry. The Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey, was then the world's largest manufacturer of records and phonographs, including its popular showcase "Victrola" line. In January 1929, RCA purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company; this acquisition became known as the RCA Victor division of the Radio Corporation of America, and included ownership of Victor's Japanese subsidiary, the Victor Company of Japan (JVC), formed in 1927 and controlling interest in The Gramophone Company Ltd. (later EMI Records) in England.

RCA's acquisition of the Victor company included the western hemisphere rights to the iconic Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademark. [26] RCA Victor popularized combined radio receiver-phonographs, and also created RCA Photophone, a movie sound-on-film system that competed with William Fox's sound-on-film Movietone and Warner Bros.' sound-on-disc Vitaphone. Although early announcements of the RCA and Victor merger stressed that the two firms were linking equally to form a joint new company, RCA initially had little true interest in the phonograph record business. The management of RCA was interested essentially in Victor's superior sales capabilities through the record company's large network of authorized distributors and dealers, as well as the extensive, efficient manufacturing facilities in Camden, New Jersey. Immediately following the purchase of Victor, RCA began planning the manufacture of radio sets and components on Victor's Camden assembly lines, while decreasing the production of Victrolas and records. [27]

The entire phonograph record industry in America nearly foundered after the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression. During the nadir of the record business in the early 1930s, the manufacture of phonographs and records all but ceased; extant older phonographs were now obsolete and many had been relegated to the attic or basement. RCA Victor began selling the first all-electric Victrola in 1930 and in 1931 the company attempted to revitalize record sales with the introduction of 3313 revolutions-per-minute (rpm) long play records, which were a commercial failure during the Great Depression, partly because the Victrolas with two speed turntables required to play them were exorbitantly expensive, and also because the audio performance of the new records was generally poor; the new format used the same groove size as existing 78 rpm records, [28] and it would require the smaller-radius stylus of the later microgroove systems to achieve acceptable slower-speed performance. Additionally, the new long-play records were pressed in a pliable, vinyl-based material called "Victrolac" which wore out rapidly under the heavy tonearms then in use. [29]

In 1934, following the debacle of its long-play record, RCA Victor introduced the Duo Jr., an inexpensive, small, basic electric turntable designed to be plugged into radio sets. The Duo Jr. was sold at cost, but was practically given away with the purchase of a certain number of Victor records. The Duo Jr.'s rock-bottom price helped to overcome the national apathy to phonographs, and record sales gradually began to recover. [30] Around 1935, RCA began marketing the modernistic RCA Victor M Special, a polished aluminum portable record player designed by John Vassos that has become an icon of 1930s American industrial design. [31] In 1949, RCA Victor released the first 45 rpm "single" records, as a response to Columbia Records successful introduction of its microgroove 3313 rpm "LP" format in 1948. RCA Victor adopted Columbia's 3313 rpm LP records in 1950, [32] [33] and in 1951, Columbia adopted RCA Victor's 45 rpm records. [34]

Motion pictures

RCA also made investments in the movie industry, but they performed poorly. In April 1928, RCA Photophone, Inc., was organized by a group of companies including RCA to develop sound-movie technology. In the fall of 1927, RCA had purchased stock in Film Booking Office (FBO), and on October 25, 1928, with the help of Joseph P. Kennedy, the Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation (RKO) studio was formed by merging FBO with Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation (KAO), a company whose holdings included motion picture theaters. The theaters in which RKO had an interest provided a potential market for the RCA Photophone sound systems. RCA ownership of RKO stock expanded from about one quarter in 1930 to about 61% in 1932. [35] However, as with most movie studios during the Great Depression, RKO encountered severe financial problems, going into receivership from early 1933 until 1940. RCA sold its holdings in the studio to raise funds for its basic operations.

Separation from General Electric

After years of industry complaints that the cross-licensing agreements between RCA, GE, and Westinghouse had in effect created illegal monopolies, the U.S. Department of Justice brought antitrust charges against the three companies in May 1930. [36] After much negotiation, in 1932 the Justice Department accepted a consent agreement that removed the restrictions established by the cross-licensing agreements, and also provided that RCA would become a fully independent company. As a result, GE and Westinghouse gave up their ownership interests in RCA, while RCA was allowed to keep its factories. [37] To give RCA a chance to establish itself, GE and Westinghouse were required to refrain from competing in the radio business for the next two and one-half years. [38]

Television

RCA ad for the beginning, in April 1939, of regular experimental television broadcasting by RCA-NBC over New York City station W2XBS (forerunner of today's WNBC/4), for "an hour at a time, twice a week." 1939 RCA Television Advertisement.jpg
RCA ad for the beginning, in April 1939, of regular experimental television broadcasting by RCA-NBC over New York City station W2XBS (forerunner of today's WNBC/4), for "an hour at a time, twice a week."

RCA began television development in early 1929, after an overly optimistic Vladimir K. Zworykin convinced Sarnoff that a commercial version of his prototype system could be produced in a relatively short time for $100,000. Following what would actually be many years of additional research and millions of dollars, RCA demonstrated an all-electronic black-and-white television system at the 1939 New York World's Fair. RCA began regular experimental television broadcasting from the NBC studios to the New York metropolitan area on April 30, 1939, via station W2XBS, channel 1 (which evolved into WNBC channel 4) from the new Empire State Building transmitter on top of the structure. Around this time, RCA began selling its first television set models, including the TRK-5 and TRK-9, in various New York stores. [40] However, the FCC had not approved the start of commercial television operations, because technical standards had not yet been finalized. Concerned that RCA's broadcasts were an attempt to flood the market with sets that would force it to adopt RCA's current technology, the FCC stepped in to limit its broadcasts.

Following the adoption of National Television System Committee (NTSC) recommended standards, the FCC authorized the start of commercial television broadcasts on July 1, 1941. The entry of the United States into World War II a few months later greatly slowed its deployment, but RCA resumed selling television receivers almost immediately after the war ended in 1945.

In 1950, the FCC adopted a standard for color television that had been promoted by CBS, but the effort soon failed, primarily because the color broadcasts could not be received by existing black-and-white sets. As the result of a major research push, RCA engineers developed a method of "compatible" color transmissions that, through the use of interlacing, simultaneously broadcast color and black-and-white images, which could be picked up by both color and existing black-and-white sets. In 1953, RCA's all-electronic color television technology was adopted as the standard for the United States. At that time, Sarnoff predicted annual color television sales would reach 1.78 million in 1956, but the receivers were expensive and difficult to adjust, and there was initially a lack of color programming, so sales lagged badly and the actual 1956 total would only be 120,000. [41] RCA's ownership of NBC proved to be a major benefit, as that network was instructed to promote its color program offerings; even so, it was not until 1968 that color television sales in the United States surpassed those of black-and-white sets.

While lauding the technical prowess of his RCA engineers who had developed color television, David Sarnoff, in marked contrast to William Paley, president of CBS, did not disguise his dislike for popular television programs. His authorized biography even boasted that "no one has yet caught him in communion with one of the upper dozen or so top-rated programs" and "The popular programs, to put the matter bluntly, have very little appeal for him." [42]

RCA professional video cameras and studio gear, particularly of the TK-40/41 series, became standard equipment at many American television network affiliates, as RCA CT-100 [43] ("RCA Merrill" to dealers) television sets introduced color television to the public.

Diversification

David Sarnoff with the first RCA videotape recorder, 1954. Sarnoff RCA videotape recorder 1954.jpg
David Sarnoff with the first RCA videotape recorder, 1954.
RCA Television Quad head 2-inch color recorder-reproducer used at broadcast studios in the late-1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. RCA Video-Aufzeichnungsgerat.jpg
RCA Television Quad head 2-inch color recorder-reproducer used at broadcast studios in the late-1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.

In 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II, the cornerstone was laid for a research and development facility in Princeton, New Jersey called RCA Laboratories. Led for many years by Elmer Engstrom, it was used to develop many innovations, including color television, the electron microscope, CMOS-based technology, heterojunction physics, optoelectronic emitting devices, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), videocassette recorders, direct broadcast television, direct broadcast satellite systems and high-definition television.

RCA plants switched to war production shortly after the U.S. entered the war in December 1941. During World War II, RCA was involved in radar and radio development in support of the war effort, and ranked 43rd among United States corporations in the value of wartime military production contracts. [45] One such contract was to outfit the battleship USS Texas with a 400-megahertz pulse radar set, using technology developed by RCA acoustics scientist, Irving Wolff. [46] During and after the war, RCA set up several new divisions for defense, space exploration and other activities. The RCA Service Corporation provided large numbers of staff for the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line. RCA units won five Army–Navy "E" Awards for Excellence in production. [47] Due to the hostilities between Japan and the United States during World War II, the Victor Company of Japan became an independent company after seceding from RCA Victor in the United States; JVC retained the 'Victor' and "His Master's Voice" trademarks for use in Japan only.

In 1955, RCA sold its Estate brand of large appliance operations to Whirlpool Corporation. As part of this transaction, Whirlpool was given the right to market "RCA Whirlpool" appliances through the mid-1960s.

RCA manufactured equipment for repairing radios, such as oscilloscopes.

RCA Graphic Systems Division (GSD) was an early supplier of electronics designed for the printing and publishing industries. It contracted with German company Rudolf Hell to market adaptations of the Digiset photocomposition system as the Videocomp, and a Laser Color Scanner. The Videocomp was supported by a Spectra computer that ran the Page-1 and, later the Page-II and FileComp composition systems. RCA later sold the Videocomp rights to Information International Inc.

RCA Victor became a major proponent of the 8-track tape cartridge, which it launched in 1965. Initially, the 8-track made a huge and profitable impact on consumers of recorded music. Sales of the 8-track tape format began to decline during the late 1970s when consumers increasingly favored the 4-track compact cassette tape format developed by Philips.

Computers

RCA Spectra 70 Model 46 Spectra7046.jpg
RCA Spectra 70 Model 46

RCA was one of a number of companies in the 1960s that entered the mainframe computer field in order to challenge the market leader International Business Machines (IBM). Although at this time computers were almost universally used for routine data processing and scientific research, in 1964 Sarnoff, who prided himself as a visionary, predicted that "The computer will become the hub of a vast network of remote data stations and information banks feeding into the machine at a transmission rate of a billion or more bits of information a second ... Eventually, a global communications network handling voice, data and facsimile will instantly link man to machine—or machine to machine—by land, air, underwater, and space circuits. [The computer] will affect man's ways of thinking, his means of education, his relationship to his physical and social environment, and it will alter his ways of living. ... [Before the end of this century, these forces] will coalesce into what unquestionably will become the greatest adventure of the human mind." [48]

RCA marketed a Spectra 70 computer line that was hardware, but not software, compatible with IBM's System/360 series. It also produced the RCA Series, which competed against the IBM System/370. [49] This technology was leased to the English Electric company, which used it for their System 4 series, which were essentially RCA Spectra 70 clones. RCA's TSOS operating system was the first mainframe, demand paging, virtual memory operating system on the market. By 1971, despite a significant investment, RCA had only a 4% market share, and it was estimated that it would cost around $500 million over the next five years to remain competitive with the IBM/370 series. On September 17, 1971, the RCA Board of Directors announced its decision to close its computer systems division (RCA-CSD), which would be written off as a $490 million company loss. Sperry Rand's UNIVAC division took over the RCA computer division in January 1972. Univac did not want the Spectra computers because they were similar to its own 9000 series; instead, they wanted RCA's computer customer base.

Later years

Edgar H. Griffiths, RCA president from 1976 to 1981, at the 1979 Annual Meeting, NYC Edgar H. Griffiths, RCA Annual Meeting, NYC.jpg
Edgar H. Griffiths, RCA president from 1976 to 1981, at the 1979 Annual Meeting, NYC

On January 1, 1965, Robert Sarnoff succeeded his father as RCA's president, although the elder Sarnoff remained in control as chairman of the board. The younger Sarnoff sought to modernize RCA's image with the introduction in late 1968 of what was then a futuristic-looking new logo (the letters 'RCA' in block, modernized form), replacing the original lightning bolt logo, and the virtual retirement of both the Victor and Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademarks. The RCA Victor Division was renamed RCA Records; the 'Victor' and 'Victrola' trademarks were no longer used on RCA consumer electronics. 'Victor' was now restricted to the labels and album covers of RCA's regular popular record releases, while the Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademark was seen only on the album covers of Red Seal records.

In 1969, the company name was officially changed from Radio Corporation of America to the RCA Corporation, to reflect its broader range of corporate activities and expansion into other countries. At the end of that same year, David Sarnoff, after being incapacitated by a long-term illness, was removed as the company's chairman of the board. He died in December, 1971.

RCA's exit from the mainframe computer market in 1971 marked a milestone in its transition from electronics and technology toward Robert Sarnoff's goal to diversify RCA as a multinational business conglomerate. During the late 1960s and 1970s, the company made a wide-ranging series of acquisitions, including Hertz (rental cars), Banquet (frozen foods and TV dinners), Coronet (carpeting), Random House (publishing) and Gibson (greeting cards). However, the company was slipping into financial disarray, with wags calling it "Rugs Chickens & Automobiles" (RCA), to poke fun at its new direction. [50]

Robert Sarnoff's tenure as RCA president was unsuccessful, marked by falling profits, in addition to being personally disliked by many company executives. He was ousted in a 1975 "boardroom coup" led by Anthony Conrad, who became RCA's new president. Conrad resigned less than a year later after he admitted failing to file income tax returns for six years. His successor, Edgar H. Griffiths, proved to be unpopular and retired in early 1981. Griffiths was succeeded by Thornton Bradshaw, who turned out to be the last RCA president.

RCA maintained its high standards of engineering excellence in broadcast engineering and satellite communications equipment, but ventures such as the NBC radio and television networks declined.

After the departure of Robert Sarnoff, Griffiths, wishing to restore RCA's heritage and responding to public demand, revived the Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademark. In mid 1976, RCA Records reinstated Nipper to most record labels in countries and territories where RCA held the rights to the trademark. Once again, RCA widely used Nipper in newspaper and magazine advertisements and store displays. The trademark also returned to company stationery, shipping cartons, delivery and service trucks and reappeared for a time on RCA television sets and CED Videodisc players. Several newspaper articles and TV news reports about Nipper's revival appeared at the time. A multitude of new Nipper promotional items and collectibles also reappeared, including T-shirts, caps, neckties, cufflinks, coin banks, keychains, watches, clocks, coffee mugs, drinking glasses, coasters and stuffed toys.

Around 1980, RCA corporate strategy reported on moving manufacture of its television receivers to Mexico. RCA was still profitable in 1983, when it switched manufacturing of its VHS VCRs from Panasonic to Hitachi. Projects attempting to establish new consumer electronics products during this era, failed and lost RCA much money and prestige. An RCA Studio II home video game console, introduced in 1977, was canceled just under two years later due to poor sales. Development of RCA's capacitance electronic (CED) videodisc system, marketed under the SelectaVision name, began in 1964 and after several years of delays, was launched in March, 1981. The CED videodisc system represented the largest investment RCA ever made in a single product, even larger than the company's development of color TV. The CED system was practically obsolete by the time it finally did appear and never reached the manufacturing volumes that even approached the numbers needed to substantially bring down its price to compete against the newer, recordable and increasingly cheaper videotape technology. RCA abandoned the manufacture of CED players in 1984 and discs in 1986, after a loss of around 650 million dollars.

In 1981, Columbia Pictures sold its share in the home video division to RCA and outside of North America this division was renamed "RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video (now Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)". The following year, within North America, it was renamed to "RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video". In 1983, the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann sold 50% of Arista Records to RCA Records; in 1985, RCA and Bertelsmann formed a joint venture, RCA/Ariola International, which took over management of RCA Records. Bertelsmann would fully acquire RCA Records from General Electric after GE absorbed RCA in 1986. [51]

In 1984, RCA Broadcast Systems Division moved from the RCA Victor plant in Camden, New Jersey, to the site of the RCA antenna engineering facility in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. On October 3, 1985, RCA announced it was closing the Broadcast Systems Division. [52] In the years that followed, the broadcast product lines developed in Camden were terminated or sold off, and most of the old RCA Victor buildings and factories in Camden were demolished, except for a few of the original Victor buildings that had been declared national historic buildings. [53] For several years, RCA spinoff L-3 Communications Systems East was headquartered in the famous Nipper Building, but has since moved to an adjacent building built by the city for them. The Nipper Building was restored and now houses shops and luxury loft apartments. [54]

Re-acquisition and breakup by General Electric

In December 1985, it was announced that General Electric would reacquire its former subsidiary for $6.28 billion in cash, or $66.50 per share of stock. [55] GE's acquisition of RCA was the largest non-oil company merger in history up to that time and was completed on June, 9, 1986. Despite initial assurances that RCA would continue to operate as a mostly autonomous unit, it was revealed that GE's main motivation in purchasing RCA was to acquire the corporation's defense-related businesses and the NBC Television Network. Over the next few years, GE proceeded to sell off most of RCA's remaining assets (after the 2011 sale of NBCUniversal to Comcast, the only former RCA unit which GE retained was Government Services). In 1987, GE disposed of its 50% interest in RCA Records to its partner Bertelsmann, and the company was renamed Bertelsmann Music Group. RCA Global Communications Inc., a division with roots dating back to RCA's founding in 1919, was sold to the MCI Communications Corporation; also in 1987, the NBC Radio Network was sold to Westwood One. [56]

In 1988, the rights to manufacture consumer electronics products under the RCA and GE brands was acquired by Thomson Consumer Electronics, in exchange for some of Thomson's medical businesses, which still manages the RCA trademarks today. Also in 1988, its semiconductor business (including the former RCA Solid State unit and Intersil) was bought by Harris Corporation. [57] That same year, the iconic RCA Building, known as "30 Rock" at Rockefeller Center was renamed the GE Building.

In 1991, GE sold its share in RCA/Columbia to Sony Pictures which renamed the unit "Columbia TriStar Home Video" (later further renamed to Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, now Sony Pictures Home Entertainment). This merger surpassed the Capital Cities/ABC merger that happened earlier in 1985 as the largest non-oil merger in business history. [58]

Sarnoff Labs was put on a five-year plan whereby GE would fund all the labs' activities for the first year, then reduce its support to near zero after the fifth year. This required Sarnoff Labs to change its business model to become an industrial contract research facility. In 1988, it was transferred to SRI International (SRI) as the David Sarnoff Research Center, and subsequently renamed the Sarnoff Corporation. In January 2011, Sarnoff Corporation was fully integrated into SRI. [59]

In 2011, GE sold its controlling interest in the National Broadcasting Company, by this time part of the multimedia NBC Universal venture that included TV and cable, to Comcast, and in 2013, Comcast acquired the remaining interest. [60]

Legacy

The historic RCA Victor Building 17 is one of the few remaining buildings in Camden, New Jersey of the dozens that once housed the vast Victor Talking Machine Company/RCA Victor manufacturing complex. RCA Nipper Camden NJ A.JPG
The historic RCA Victor Building 17 is one of the few remaining buildings in Camden, New Jersey of the dozens that once housed the vast Victor Talking Machine Company/RCA Victor manufacturing complex.

RCA antique radios, and early color television receivers such as the RCA Merrill/CT-100, are among the more sought-after collectible radios and televisions, due to their popularity during the golden age of radio and the historic significance of the RCA name, as well as their styling, manufacturing quality and engineering innovations. Most collectable are the pre-war television sets manufactured by RCA beginning in 1939, including the TRK-5, TRK-9 and TRK-12 models.

The RCA Heritage Museum was established at Rowan University in 2012. [61]

The historic RCA Victor Building 17, the "Nipper Building", in Camden, New Jersey, was converted to luxury apartments in 2003. [62]

A type of plug/jack combination used in audio and video cables is still called the RCA connector.

To this day, a variety of consumer electronics including 2-in-1 tablets, televisions and telephones, home appliances and more are sold under the RCA brand name.

Environmental issues

Numerous former RCA manufacturing sites have been reported to be polluted with industrial waste.

See also

Notes

  1. Until 2010 known as Thomson SA

Related Research Articles

The early history of radio is the history of technology that produces and uses radio instruments that use radio waves. Within the timeline of radio, many people contributed theory and inventions in what became radio. Radio development began as "wireless telegraphy". Later radio history increasingly involves matters of broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RCA connector</span> Electrical connector used for analog audio and video

The RCA connector is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals. The name RCA derives from the company Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design in the 1930s. The connector’s male plug and female jack are called RCA plug and RCA jack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Talking Machine Company</span> Former American record and phonograph manufacturer

The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became the RCA Victor Division of the Radio Corporation of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Sarnoff</span> Russian and American businessman (1891–1971)

David Sarnoff was a Russian and American businessman who played an important role in the American history of radio and television. He led RCA for most of his career in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his retirement in 1970.

The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897, which underwent several changes in name after mergers and acquisitions. The company was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming one of the UK's most successful manufacturing companies. In 1999, its defence equipment manufacturing division, Marconi Electronic Systems, merged with British Aerospace (BAe) to form BAE Systems. In 2006, financial difficulties led to the collapse of the remaining company, with the bulk of the business acquired by the Swedish telecommunications company, Ericsson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KYW (AM)</span> All-news radio station in Philadelphia

KYW is a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest continuously operating radio stations in the United States, originating in Chicago before moving to Philadelphia in 1934. KYW's unusual history includes its call sign of only three letters, beginning with a K, rare for a station in the Eastern United States. It broadcasts an all-news radio format and is branded as "KYW Newsradio". KYW serves as the flagship station of Audacy, Inc. KYW's studios are co-located within Audacy's corporate headquarters in Center City Philadelphia and its transmitter and two-tower directional antenna array are located in Lafayette Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGY (AM)</span> Radio station in New York, United States

WGY is a commercial radio station licensed to Schenectady, New York, carrying a news/talk format which is simulcast full-time over WGY-FM. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves Albany, Troy and the Capital District of New York, and is a clear-channel station with extended nighttime range. WGY is one of the first stations in the United States and the oldest to operate continuously in New York State, having launched on February 20, 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarnoff Corporation</span>

Sarnoff Corporation was a research and development company specializing in vision, video and semiconductor technology. It was named for David Sarnoff, the longtime leader of RCA and NBC, and had headquarters in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, though with a Princeton address.

The timeline of radio lists within the history of radio, the technology and events that produced instruments that use radio waves and activities that people undertook. Later, the history is dominated by programming and contents, which is closer to general history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC Radio Network</span> American radio network (1926–1999)

The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it was one of the first two nationwide networks established in the United States. Its major competitors were the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), founded in 1927, and the Mutual Broadcasting System, founded in 1934. In 1942, NBC was required to divest one of its national networks, so it sold NBC Blue, which was soon renamed the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). After this separation, the Red Network continued as the NBC Radio Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RCA (trademark)</span> American multinational trademark brand

RCA is an American multinational trademark brand owned by Talisman Brands, Inc. which is used on products made by that company as well as Sony Music Entertainment, Voxx International and ON Corporation. 'RCA' is an abbreviation for the Radio Corporation of America, founded in 1919. The company became known as the RCA Corporation in 1969. RCA was purchased by General Electric in 1986 and its various divisions and assets were then liquidated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nipper Building</span> United States historic place

The Nipper Building is a colloquial name for The Victor condominiums, and formerly, Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant. The structure is a historical building located in Cooper Grant neighborhood of Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, United States. Since 1901, Camden was the headquarters of the Victor Talking Machine Company, later RCA Victor. Originally a Victrola cabinet factory, the building was converted into luxury apartments and retail space in 2004.

Broadcasting in the United States began with experiments with wireless transmission during the 19th century, with varying degrees of success. These transmissions were initially by radio hobbyists fascinated with the technology. Once techniques were perfected, radio became a necessity for military and commercial users alike. Eventually, broadcasting would come to have a major impact throughout the country. Growth divided television broadcasting into several genres, such as fiction, news, sports, and reality television. Cable television provided more channels, especially for entertainment. By the late 20th century radio (sound) broadcasting had similarly divided, with stations specializing in a particular musical genre, or news or sports.

The following timeline tables list the discoveries and inventions in the history of electrical and electronic engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Bechly</span> American electrical engineer and inventor

Fred Lorin Bechly was an American electrical engineer and inventor in the field of color television broadcasting.

WDY was an AM radio station located in Roselle Park, New Jersey, that was licensed to the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) from September 19, 1921, to February 20, 1923, although its broadcasting career only spanned the period from December 15, 1921, through February 17, 1922. Despite being short-lived, WDY was the first broadcasting station licensed in the state of New Jersey, and one of the first in the United States. It also marked RCA's entrance into the broadcasting field, which the company would dominate in the U.S. for the next half century.

WJY was an AM radio station located in New York City, licensed to the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) from May 1923 to early 1927. It was operated jointly with RCA's primary New York City station, WJZ. After RCA took over operation of a third New York City station, WEAF, WJY was discontinued as being no longer needed.

WJY was a temporary longwave radio station, located in Hoboken, New Jersey and operated by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which was used on July 2, 1921, for a ringside broadcast of the Dempsey-Carpentier heavyweight boxing match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America</span> American telegraph company

The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America was incorporated in 1899. It was established as a subsidiary of the British Marconi Company and held the U.S. and Cuban rights to Guglielmo Marconi's radio patents. American Marconi initially primarily operated high-powered land and transatlantic shipboard stations. In 1912, it acquired the extensive assets of the bankrupt United Wireless Telegraph Company, becoming the dominant radio communications provider in the United States.

Robert W. Sarnoff was an American businessman best known as the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Radio Corporation of America (RCA) after assuming those positions on the retirement of his father, David Sarnoff. During his rise through the company's ranks, he was best known for his advocacy of color television.

References

  1. "RCA (Radio Corporation of America)". IEEE Global History Network. IEEE . Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  2. Radio Corporation of America advertisement, The Wireless Age, August 1921, page 4.
  3. "A Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company for America", Electrical World and Engineer, December 2, 1899, pages 870–871.
  4. "Attempts to Establish a United States Government Radio Monopoly", History of Communications-Electronics in the United States Navy by Captain L. S. Howeth, USN (Retired), 1963, pages 313–318.
  5. Pan-American Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Company (advertisement), Wireless Age, July 1918, page 882.
  6. Adams, Stephen B. "Arc of Empire: The Federal Telegraph Company, the U.S. Navy, and the Beginnings of Silicon Valley." Business History Review, vol. 91, no. 2, 2017, pp. 329–359. doi:10.1017/S0007680517000630.
  7. "A New Wireless Chain Between the Americas" by John V. L. Hogan, Popular Science Monthly, November 1918, pages 140–143.
  8. "Transoceanic Radio Communication" by E. F. W. Alexanderson, General Electric Review, October 1920, page 795.
  9. 1 2 History of Radio to 1926 by Gleason L. Archer, 1938, pages 159–167, 180.
  10. Page, Walter Hines; Page, Arthur W (May 1922). "The March Of Events: America in Control Of Its Wireless". The World's Work. XLIV: 11–13. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  11. Archer (1938), pages 187–188
  12. The Continuous Wave by Hugh G. J. Aitken, 1985, pages 445–447, 454–469, 477–481.
  13. "Rescuing the Project" section of Memoirs by David Rockefeller, New York: Random House, 2002, p. 55.
  14. The Book of Radio by Charles William Taussig, 1922, page 320.
  15. "The Opening of Radio Central", The Wireless Age, December 1921, pages 18–22, 45.
  16. Dr. Harold H. Beverage interview (hard-core-dx.com)
  17. "Cases: Radio Corporation of America v. China (pca-cpa.org)
  18. Maurer, Noel (2013). The Empire Trap: The Rise and Fall of U.S. Intervention to Protect American Property Overseas, 1893–2013. Princeton University Press. ISBN   9780691155821 . Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  19. Archer (1938), pages 112–113
  20. "Voice-Broadcasting the Stirring Progress of the 'Battle of the Century' ", The Wireless Age, August 1921, pages 11–21.
  21. "Early History of Network Broadcasting", Report on Chain Broadcasting: May 1941, Federal Communications Commission, pages 5-8, 17.
  22. Rule 3.107, Report on Chain Broadcasting: May 1941, Federal Communications Commission, page 92.
  23. The General by Kenneth Bilby, 1986, pages 246–249.
  24. Radio Manufacturers of the 1920s: Volume 3 by Alan Douglas, 1991, pages 1–60.
  25. Rollins, Ernest. "RCA is my home". The Hoosier Times. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  26. The Nipper trademark was also used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere by the British music & entertainment firm The Gramophone Company, also known as HMV.
  27. Levins, Hoag (March 2009). "A Photo History of RCA's Golden Years in Camden". historiccamdencounty.com.
  28. Edward, David; et al. "RCA Program Transcription Album Discography (1931–33)". bsnpubs.com. Both Sides Now Publications. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  29. A similar attempt in the late 1920s by Edison Records to market a commercial long play record format had also failed. The Edison approach used a microgroove lateral cut disc with up to 20 minutes playing time per side.
  30. Morton, David (2004). Sound Recording: The Life Story of a Technology. p. 98. ISBN   9780801883989.
  31. Dominic Muren, "Monday Masterpieces: Streamline+Vinyl=Awesome", IDFuel: Industrial Design Weblog, 2004. Accessed July 22, 2012
  32. Wallerstein, Edward. "Development of the LP record in 1948". musicinthemail.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  33. "RCA To Press All Speeds: Diskery Goes 33 in March To Service Entire Market; 45 Promotion in High Gear". Billboard. January 7, 1950. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  34. "Record Collector's Resource: A History of Records". cubby.net. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  35. "RCA's interest in the motion-picture industry", Report on Chain Broadcasting: May 1941, Federal Communications Commission, pages 13-14.
  36. "Government Starts Anti-Trust Suits", Gettysburg Times, May 14, 1930, page 2.
  37. "The Consent Decree", Big Business and Radio by Gleason L. Archer, 1939, pages 364-386.
  38. "RCA and Associates Separate Under Consent Decree Terms", Broadcasting, December 1, 1932, page 16.
  39. Radio & Television (magazine) Vol. X, No. 2, June 1939. (inside front cover) New York: Popular Book Corporation.
  40. "Brochure for 1939 RCA television receivers". tvhistory.tv. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  41. Bilby (1986), pages 208, 213.
  42. David Sarnoff by Eugene Lyons, 1966, page 190.
  43. "CT-100 Color Receiver Gallery". Archived from the original on January 2, 2006.
  44. Based on a design originally developed by Ampex in the mid-1950s, it used a vertical scanning drum with head motion at approximately 90° to tape direction. This method was developed prior to helical scanning, used in commercial and home tape machines.
  45. Peck, Merton J. & Scherer, Frederic M. The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis (1962) Harvard Business School p.619
  46. Allison, David Kite (1981). New Eye for the Navy: The Origin of Radar at the Naval Research Laboratory. The Laboratory.
  47. Radio Age by the Radio Corporation of America, p. 26
  48. Lyons (1966), page 339, from a speech delivered in October 1964 to the Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco.
  49. "RCA Spectra 70" (PDF). (computerhistory.org). March 1965. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  50. Clausing, Don; Fey, Victor (2004). Effective Innovation. New York: ASME Press. p. 7. ISBN   9780791802038 . Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  51. "RCA: Now Elvis rocked for Bertelsmann, too" (PDF). Bertelsmann Worldwide Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2013.
  52. Abramson, Albert (2003). The History of Television, 1942 to 2000. ISBN   978-07864-1220-4.
  53. "RCA TV Equipment Archive". oldradio.com.
  54. The Victor Lofts website, Camden, New Jersey. victorlofts.com
  55. "General Electric Will Buy RCA for $6.28 Billion" by Paul Richer, Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1985.
  56. "MCI Agrees to Acquire RCA Global From G.E." by Barnaby J. Feder, The New York Times , September 4, 1987.
  57. "Company News; Harris Signs Accord To Buy a Unit of G.E." The New York Times . November 9, 1988. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  58. "General Electric Co., in the largest non-oil merger in..." UPI.com. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  59. "SRI International Completes Integration of Sarnoff Corporation" (Press release). SRI International. January 1, 2011. Archived from the original on July 3, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  60. Mayerowitz, Scott (February 12, 2013). "General Electric gets out of the TV business". Usnews.com.
  61. "The RCA Heritage Program Museum". Rowan University. July 17, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  62. "RCA Victor Company, 'Nipper Building' Rehabilitation", New Jersey Historic Preservation Awards Program, 2004,.
  63. Yi, Matthew (May 24, 2002). "Taiwan workers plead cancer case / Link RCA plant to disease". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  64. Ton, 1999 Ton C-D, Exposure and Health Risk Assessment of Groundwater Contamination – A Case Study of Contamination Site of Tao-Yuan RCA. Master Thesis, National Taiwan University. 1999 (in Chinese)
  65. "Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition". Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  66. Chao, Stephanie (April 18, 2015). "RCA parent firms to pay NT$560 mil". The China Post. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  67. EPA, OSWER, ORCR, PIID, US. "Corrective Action Programs around the Nation – US EPA" (PDF). US EPA.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  68. Intersil Corporation, S-1 SEC Filing, 11/10/1999
  69. SUPERFUND ANNUAL REPORT 2001. U.S. EPA Region I
  70. U.S. EPA, Environmental Quality Board, National Priority List (NPL), Site Inspection Report/Site Evaluation Report. EPA, San Juan Barceloneta RCA del Caribe, October 1987
  71. John M. Hunter and Sonia I. Arbona, "Paradise Lost: An Introduction to the Geography of Water Pollution in Puerto Rico" Archived October 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , Soc. Sci. Med. Vol. 40, No. 10, pp. 1331–1355, 1995. Pergamon Press.
  72. 20058 - 20060 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 73 / Monday, April 18, 2005
  73. This photo is reversed from the normal orientation because it was taken from inside the "Nipper Tower". It shows the 2003 replacement of the 1979 replacement of the 1915 original glass.
  74. On display at the Wolfsonian–Florida International University center in Miami, Florida.
  75. Located at the American Museum of Radio And Electricity. The TV is playing an episode of the Superman television program.

Further reading