.svg){kind=logo} Sixth version of the 1986 logo, used since 2022 | |
| Type | Radio network and television network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Affiliates | |
| Headquarters | 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Rockefeller Center, New York City |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NBCUniversal |
| Parent | NBC Entertainment |
| History | |
| Founded | May 19, 1926 |
| Launched |
|
| Founder | David Sarnoff |
| Replaced | NBC Radio Network |
| Links | |
| Website | nbc |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Affiliated Streaming Service(s) | Peacock |
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The headquarters of NBC is in New York City at the Comcast Building. NBC also has offices in Chicago at the NBC Tower.
Founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America, NBC is the oldest of the traditional "Big Three" American television networks and is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network" in reference to its stylized peacock logo, which was introduced in 1956 to promote the company's innovations in early color broadcasting.[1]
NBC has twelve owned-and-operated stations and has affiliates in every TV market in the United States. Some of the stations are also available in Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico via pay-television providers or in border areas over the air. NBC also maintains brand licensing agreements for international channels in South Korea and Germany.[2]
| 1912 | Universal Pictures is founded |
|---|---|
| 1926 | NBC is founded |
| 1928 | Walter Lantz Productions is established |
| 1943 | MCA Inc. establishes Revue Studios (later Universal Television) |
| 1953 | NBC begins first compatible color broadcasts, preceding other networks by nine years |
| 1956 | NBC's first peacock logo debuts |
| 1963 | American Cable Systems is founded |
| 1964 | Universal Studios Hollywood opens |
| 1967 | NBC broadcasts the first Super Bowl |
| 1968 | American Cable Systems rebrands to Comcast |
| 1972 | Comcast began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) |
| 1975 | Universal releases Jaws Filmworks is founded |
| 1976 | Filmworks becomes Casablanca Record & Filmworks |
| 1980 | PolyGram renames Casablanca Record & Filmworks to PolyGram Pictures MCA Videocassette‚ Inc. (later Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) is established |
| 1982 | Universal releases E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial |
| 1983 | PolyGram Pictures closes |
| 1984 | Walter Lantz Productions' assets are sold to Universal Telemundo is founded |
| 1985 | Universal releases Back to the Future |
| 1986 | General Electric re-purchases its former subsidiary RCA for $6.4 billion, including NBC and a stake in A&E |
| 1987 | PolyGram Movies is founded |
| 1989 | NBC relaunches Tempo Television as CNBC |
| 1990 | Universal Studios Florida opens Law & Order premieres on NBC PolyGram Movies is renamed PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting merge to form British Sky Broadcasting Universal Cartoon Studios (later Universal Animation Studios) is established |
| 1993 | Universal releases Jurassic Park |
| 1994-1997 | DreamWorks Animation is founded Seagram acquires Universal through it's acquisition of MCA NBC and Microsoft replace America's Talking with MSNBC Barry Diller purchases Universal's domestic television assets |
| 1998 | Seagram acquires PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Universal Television is renamed Studios USA Television |
| 1999 | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is folded into Universal Pictures Universal Studios Florida expands to become Universal Orlando Resort Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premieres on NBC |
| 2000 | Seagram is sold to Vivendi and merged with StudioCanal to become Vivendi Universal Entertainment |
| 2001 | Grand opening of Universal Studios Japan Universal releases The Fast and the Furious Vivendi purchases Studios USA |
| 2002 | NBC acquires Telemundo and Bravo Studios USA assets are folded into Universal Focus Features is formed Comcast acquires AT&T Broadband for $44.5 billion |
| 2003 | Universal becomes the first studio with five summer releases breaking the $100 million mark |
| 2004 | GE and Vivendi merge NBC and Universal into NBCUniversal |
| 2005 | The Office premieres on NBC Comcast sets up a joint-venture with PBS, Sesame Workshop & HIT Entertainment to form PBS Kids Sprout Comcast & Time Warner Cable jointly acquire Adelphia Cable assets for $17.6 billion |
| 2006 | USA Network begins 13-year streak as #1 cable network in total viewers |
| 2007 | Illumination is founded |
| 2010 | Universal releases Illumination's first film Despicable Me |
| 2011 | Vivendi divested in NBCU; Comcast buys 51% of NBCU from GE, turning it into a limited liability company NBCUniversal Archives is founded |
| 2012 | Universal celebrates its 100th anniversary NBCUniversal divests its A&E Networks minority stake |
| 2013 | Comcast buys GE's remaining 49% of NBCU Comcast/NBCU assumes full ownership of Sprout |
| 2014 | Comcast attempts to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion NBCUniversal reaches a new long-term deal with WWE |
| 2016 | NBCU acquires DreamWorks Animation |
| 2017 | Sprout relaunches as Universal Kids |
| 2018 | Comcast acquires Sky after a heated bidding war with 21st Century Fox |
| 2019 | NBCU acquires Cineo Lighting |
| 2020 | NBCU launches Peacock DreamWorks’s Trolls World Tour is releasing on Video on Demand |
| 2021 | Grand opening of Universal Beijing Resort |
| 2023 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie becomes Illumination's highest-grossing film |
- ^ "Slanguage Dictionary: P". Variety. February 20, 2013. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- ^ "Company Overview". NBC Universal. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2008.