# Canonical recap data for Radio Broadcasting Begins (1920)
# Source: https://recap.at/1920/kdka-radio-broadcast
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: kdka-radio-broadcast
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1920/kdka-radio-broadcast"
title: Radio Broadcasting Begins
aliases:
- KDKA Pittsburgh broadcast
- First commercial radio station
- Birth of radio broadcasting
- November 2, 1920
subtitle: KDKA's first commercial radio broadcast established mass wireless communication as a transformative medium for news, entertainment, and culture.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1920-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1920
decade: 1920
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: Radio broadcasting is the transmission of signals, especially audio, to receivers using radio waves over a wide area. Listeners require a broadcast radio receiver to receive these signals. "Terrestrial" broadcasts come from stations on land, and include AM and FM ; and DAB (digital). Audio is also broadcast via satelli
summaryLong: Radio broadcasting is the transmission of signals, especially audio, to receivers using radio waves over a wide area. Listeners require a broadcast radio receiver to receive these signals. "Terrestrial" broadcasts come from stations on land, and include AM and FM ; and DAB (digital). Audio is also broadcast via satellite in both digital and analog, originating from a satellite in orbit around Earth.
lede: On November 2, 1920, KDKA in Pittsburgh became the first licensed radio station to broadcast scheduled programming to the general public, airing election returns from the Harding-Cox presidential race. This marked the moment radio shifted from a hobbyist technology into mass media, creating a new kind of intimacy between institutions and millions of listeners simultaneously.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Tyholt_taarnet.jpg/1280px-Tyholt_taarnet.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Radio broadcasting"
importance: 90
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Station
  value: KDKA, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- label: Launch date
  value: November 2, 1920
- label: First broadcast event
  value: 1920 U.S. presidential election returns (Harding vs. Cox)
- label: Estimated listeners
  value: Several hundred to low thousands initially
- label: Owner
  value: Westinghouse Electric
- label: Regulatory status
  value: First station with Department of Commerce license for scheduled broadcasts
- label: Radio receivers in U.S. homes (1920)
  value: Fewer than 50,000
- label: Radio receivers in U.S. homes (1930)
  value: Approximately 12 million
timeline:
- date: 1906-01-01
  title: Reginald Fessenden's audio broadcast
  description: Reginald Fessenden transmits voice and music from Brant Rock, Massachusetts—the first amplitude modulation broadcast of audio, though to a limited audience of ship receivers.
- date: 1916-01-01
  title: David Sarnoff's proposal
  description: Young Marconi wireless operator David Sarnoff proposes a 'radio music box' for mass consumption, envisioning radio as a household appliance rather than point-to-point communication.
- date: 1920-08-20
  title: WWJ Detroit broadcasts
  description: WWJ in Detroit (then 8MK) begins experimental broadcasts, sometimes credited as the first radio station, though without formal licensing or scheduled programming.
- date: 1920-11-02
  title: KDKA Pittsburgh launches
  description: KDKA broadcasts the Harding-Cox election returns as the first licensed station with scheduled programming. Westinghouse built the station partly to drive sales of home radio receivers.
- date: 1921-01-01
  title: Rapid station growth
  description: Within weeks of KDKA's success, dozens of radio stations apply for licenses. By end of 1921, over 30 licensed stations operate in the United States.
- date: 1922-06-01
  title: First radio advertisement
  description: WEAF New York airs the first paid radio advertisement—a 10-minute spot for Queensboro realty—establishing the advertising model that would fund American radio.
- date: 1926-01-01
  title: NBC network forms
  description: The National Broadcasting Company launches, connecting WEAF and other stations into the first radio network, enabling simultaneous transmission of programs nationwide.
- date: 1927-02-23
  title: Radio Act of 1927
  description: Congress passes the Radio Act, establishing the Federal Radio Commission to regulate spectrum, licensing, and broadcast standards—the first systematic regulatory framework for radio.
- date: 1930-12-01
  title: Radio dominates households
  description: Radio receivers are now in roughly 12 million American homes—nearly one-third of all households. Radio advertising revenue reaches $40 million annually.
- date: 1938-10-30
  title: Orson Welles broadcast panic
  description: Orson Welles' 'War of the Worlds' broadcast demonstrates radio's power to influence mass behavior, causing localized panic despite clear fictional framing.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_broadcasting"
  title: Radio broadcasting
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Radio broadcasting rewired how information moved through society—fast, simultaneous, and into homes rather than town squares. Within a decade, it became the dominant medium for news, entertainment, and political speech, establishing patterns of mass communication that television and digital platforms would inherit wholesale.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- tech_launch
- infrastructure_rollout
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: KDKA Pittsburgh launched the first licensed radio broadcast in 1920, turning radio into mass media overnight.
wikidataQid: Q273623
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260604010006/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_broadcasting"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-04
  label: Radio broadcasting
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_broadcasting"
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: Wireless Music for the Millions - Broadcasting Station KDKA Opens New Era of Radio
  publishedAt: 1920-11-03
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company's experimental station in Pittsburgh has begun transmitting voice and music directly into the homes of listeners equipped with simple receiving sets. The broadcast, aimed at the general public rather than technical operators, marks a watershed moment for wireless technology.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Times (London)
  publisherSlug: the-times-london
  headline: American Wireless Triumph - Broadcasting Reaches the Household Receiver
  publishedAt: 1920-12-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - British scientific circles have taken note of the American development in wireless transmission, where commercial stations now transmit news, music, and entertainment to domestic audiences. The implications for wireless communication across the Atlantic are profound.
  significance: 72
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Popular Mechanics
  publisherSlug: popular-mechanics
  headline: Radio Broadcasting - How to Build Your Own Receiving Set
  publishedAt: 1920-11-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - With commercial broadcasting now underway, thousands of American enthusiasts are constructing homemade receivers from readily available components. This guide explains the crystal detector, vacuum tube amplification, and tuning circuits needed to join the wireless revolution.
  significance: 75
  type: magazine
  region: United States
- publisher: The Pittsburgh Gazette
  publisherSlug: the-pittsburgh-gazette
  headline: Westinghouse Station KDKA Broadcasts Election Results to Local Radio Fans
  publishedAt: 1920-11-02
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - In what may be the first news broadcast to a mass audience, Westinghouse's Pittsburgh station transmitted election coverage and results to listeners throughout the region. The station's 100-watt transmitter reaches an estimated radius of several miles.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
