[78-L] NBC (was: YOU)

[Michael Shoshani]

On Thu, 2010-10-14 at 09:13 -0700, Michael Biel wrote:
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> > Even if the music had been from earlier, wouldn't a 1930 audition
> > disc have opened with "The National Broadcasting Company presents.."
> > instead of "NBC presents.."?  dl
> 
> What an interesting thought.  Did they ever refer to themselves by
> initials that early?  I will have to start listening for this and ask
> the OTR people about this.

I'd be surprised if they used 'NBC' on the air before the 1940s.  I've
heard the "live audience" Amos & Andy broadcast from 1937 (or was it
1936?), in which the exit cue is "This is the Red Network of the
National Broadcasting Company".  I've also heard a post-war Abbott and
Costello program in which the Grand Ole Opry program is teased as coming
"Saturday night on NBC".

I honestly have not sat through the entire 25 hours-ish of NBC's D-Day
coverage, but parts that I have heard - including the fourth chime at
some unholy hour in the morning - have repeated references to "The
National Broadcasting Company" rather than NBC.  Based on that, I'm
going to hazard a guess that using "NBC" on the air may have started
about the same time that The Blue Network began identifying itself by
that name.

MS