1924 in radio

List of years in radio (table)

1924 in radio details the internationally significant events in radio broadcasting for the year 1924.

Events

  • 5 January The British Broadcasting Company makes its first broadcast of a religious service from a church (St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, with Rev. Dick Sheppard).
  • 15 January The world's first radio play, Danger by Richard Hughes, is broadcast by the British Broadcasting Company from its studios in London.[1]
  • 8 February John Joseph Carty, vice-president at American Telephone & Telegraph Company, speaks on the first nationwide radio hookup in the United States, between New York's WEAF, Washington, D.C.'s WCAP and Providence's WJAR. He is heard by an estimated fifty million people.
  • 12 February Calvin Coolidge makes the first presidential political speech on radio. Broadcast from New York City, it is carried by five stations. It is listened to by an estimated five million people.
  • 2 March MIRAG, the Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk Aktien-Gesellschaft (Central German Broadcasting Co. Ltd), begins radio transmissions from Leipzig in Germany.
  • 30 March The Deutsche Stunde in Bayern GmbH (German Hour in Bavaria Ltd), begins radio transmissions from Munich in Germany.
  • 1 April SWR, the Südwestdeutsche Rundfunkdienst A.G (South-west German Broadcasting Service Ltd), begins radio transmissions from Frankfurt am Main in Germany.
  • 2 May NORAG, the Nordische Rundfunk Aktien-Gesellschaft (Northern Broadcasting Co. Ltd), begins radio transmissions from Hamburg in Germany.
  • 12 May SÜRAG, the Süddeutsche Rundfunk Aktien-Gesellschaft (South German Broadcasting Co. Ltd), begins radio transmissions from Stuttgart in Germany.
  • 26 May SFAG, the Schlesische Funkstunde Aktien-Gesellschaft (Silesian Radio Hour Ltd), begins radio transmissions from Breslau in Germany (now Wrocław in Poland).
  • 10 June ORAG, the Ostmarken-Rundfunk Aktien-Gesellschaft (Eastern Marches Broadcasting Co. Ltd), begins radio transmissions from Königsberg in Germany (now Kaliningrad in Russia).
  • 2 August The Deutsche Stunde in Bayern opens its second station, in Nuremberg.
  • 15 August The British Broadcasting Company's Hull relay station, 6KH, goes on air.
  • 27 August URI, the Unione Radiofonica Italiana, Italy's first licensed broadcasting company, is formed in Turin with backing from the Marconi Company.
  • 14 September 2BE Belfast, operated by the British Broadcasting Company, opens as the first official radio station in Northern Ireland.
  • 6 October URI makes its first broadcast from station 1RO in Rome.
  • 10 October WEFAG, the Westdeutsche Funkstunde Aktien-Gesellschaft (West German Radio Hour Ltd), begins radio transmissions from Münster in Germany.
  • 14 November Station EAJ-1 Radio Barcelona, the first radio station to receive an official licence from the Spanish government, begins regular broadcasting.
  • 15 November NCRV (the Nederlandse Christelijke Radio Vereniging) is established in the Netherlands.
  • 30 November NORAG opens its second station, in Bremen.
  • 1 October RAVAG, the Radio-Verkehrs-Aktien-Gesellschaft (Radio Communication Co. Ltd) – a collaboration between government and private industry – is given responsibility for all radio broadcasting in Austria.
  • 12 December The British Broadcasting Company's Swansea relay station, 5SX, goes on air.

Debuts

  • 12 February The Eveready Hour debuts on WEAF. It is considered the first commercially sponsored variety program in the history of broadcasting.
  • 4 March KFOR in Lincoln, Nebraska, begins transmitting. The station is still on the air today.
  • 17 March The A&P Gypsies musical program begins regularly scheduled broadcasts on WEAF. The group had appeared unsponsored in 1923.[2]
  • 8 July WNYC, New York City's municipally owned and operated station, officially goes on the air.[3]
  • 16 September WEBK in Grand Rapids, Michigan, begins transmitting. Because its original owners were backed by the Furniture Manufacturers Association of Grand Rapids, the station later receives the appropriate WOOD call letters.
  • 30 September WAHG (now WCBS) in New York City begins transmitting.
  • 13 October 774 ABC Melbourne begins transmitting.
  • 24 October WGBS (now WINS) in New York City is signed on by the Gimbel Brothers department store.
  • 20 December First broadcast of the Norwegian children's radio programme Lørdagsbarnetimen ("Saturday children's hour") – still on the air today on NRK radio, making it the world's longest-running radio show.

Births

References

  1. The Stage - Mining the seams of radio history
  2. Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
  3. "City's Radio Plant Opened by Mayor," The New York Times, July 9, 1924, page 1.
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