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Making Music: Sarnoff Takes His Idea to the Masses

Article Overview: When the General Electric Company purchased American Marconi to form the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), Sarnoff believed it was finally his chance to bring his product to market. Still, however, his superiors ignored his memos.

Making Music: Sarnoff Takes His Idea to the Masses

When the General Electric Company purchased American Marconi to form the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), Sarnoff believed it was finally his chance to bring his product to market. Still, however, his superiors ignored his memos.

Forced to sit tight, Sarnoff quietly rose in the ranks of RCA until finally, in 1930, Sarnoff had become president. By that time, RCA had already purchased its first radio station, and launched the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), which was the first radio network in the country.

As president, Sarnoff finally held the reigns of the company he dreamed of transforming. He immediately set out to build and establish the AM broadcasting radio business, which would come to dominate the public radio airwaves for almost the rest of the 20th century, until the introduction of FM broadcasting in the 1960s.

Still, having realized the success of radio at RCA, he was already thinking onto bigger and brighter opportunities. Sarnoff decided that television was going to be the next medium of the masses, and directed his attentions accordingly. In 1928, he met with an engineer who was working on an all-electronic television system that showed promise, and decided to fund his research. Although Sarnoff had originally been told it would cost just $100,000 over two years, the project in fact took close to $50 million, several more years, and numerous patent lawsuits. In the end, Sarnoff lost one of the lawsuits and was fined $1,000,000.

The Great Depression cut into RCA's costs, but Sarnoff remained determined to see this project through to the end. Finally, in 1939, television was introduced to America, with the first show airing at the New York World's Fair. RCA soon became the market leader of manufactured television sets, and profits continued to rise, until the onset of World War II.

During the War, Sarnoff served on President Eisenhower's communications staff, where he worked to facilitate the transmission of news on the invasions of France in June 1944. He also helped arrange for the restoration of Radio France in Paris, which the Germans had destroyed, which enabled the construction of a radio so powerful that it could reach all the allied forces in Europe. For his efforts, he earned the Brigadier General's star in 1945, and became known thereafter as "General Sarnoff".

Over the next few years, Sarnoff continued to wage - and win - the innovation wars, thanks largely to his fierce determination. For instance, Sarnoff insisted his engineers work towards the creation of an all-electronic colour TV system, which would use a signal that could be picked up on existing black and white TV sets. That decision alone gave Sarnoff the win in the so-called ‘Colour Wars,' as he soared past the other companies that were busy making special colour sets at three times the cost.

Sarnoff worked until his death at the age of 80 years old. For his achievements, he was given numerous awards and distinctions, including the Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award for his contributions to the City.

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Article Tags: attentions, communications staff, electronic television, first radio station, fm broadcasting, great depression, lost one, national broadcasting company, patent lawsuits, president eisenhower, public radio, radio airwaves, radio business, radio corporation of america, radio network, s communications, sarnoff, television sets, television system, world war ii



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