Today in History: February 8, 1924: First Coast-to-Coast Radio Broadcast

1924 – General John J. Carty  spoke in Chicago, but his voice was heard around the United States. This was the first ever Coast-to-Coast broadcast. Only 10% of Americans had a radio and many states missed the broadcast, but it was expected that millions still heard the broadcast.

The broadcast stretched from San Francisco to Providence, Rhode Island then down to Havana, Cuba via submarine cable. A couple independent receivers picked up the broadcast in Texas.

This ushered in the Golden age of Radio as people had a voice across a continent for the first time. Radio production and market share rose as President Coolidge and baseball teams started to use coast-to-coast broadcasts on a regular basis.