September 18
CBS DAY
The Columbia Broadcasting System was born on this day in 1927, although its rival, NBC, had been on the air for some time. The Tiffany Network, as CBS was later to be called, broadcast an opera, The King’s Henchman, as its first program.
William S. Paley put the network together, purchasing a chain of 16 failing radio stations. The controlling interest cost between $250,000 and $450,000. The following year, the 27-year-old Paley became President of CBS. It only took one more year for him to profit 2.35 million dollars as the network grew to over 70 stations.
In 1978 Paley received the First Annual ATAS (Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) Governor’s Award as Chairman of the Board of CBS.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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