Times on TV 65th Year (1965-2010) 1886 Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates the telephone, ushering in the broadcasting age, and the eventual dawning of television. 1897 Guglielmo Marconi establishes the world's first radio station on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. 1906 The first time a significantly powerful signal carrying voice and music takes place, when Reginald Fessenden made a Christmas Eve broadcast to ships at sea from Massachusetts in United States. 1909 First documented radio transmission begins at KCBS in San Jose in the United States (now of CBS of the United States). 1920 Broadcasting begins in Europe as the BBC of the United Kingdom becomes the world's first broadcaster. 1923 Radio Ceylon (now Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation) becomes the first radio station, and the oldest broadcaster, in Asia. 1925 John Logie Baird invents television. 1928 Broadcasting in the Philippines begins, as the Manila Broadcasting Corporation is the first broadcaster in the Philippines, via its legendary radio station--the first Philippine radio station DZRH--with the Elizalde family buying it from its American owners later on. January 13: The United States becomes the world's first nation to introduce TV. WRGB, the first TV station of CBS, becomes the world's first television station. 1946 June 13: American soldier James Lindenberg, pioneer of Philippine TV, establishes the Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC), naming after the town of Bolinao in the northern Philippine province of Pangasinan--the hometown of Lindenberg's wife. Establishing itself as a radio manufacturing company, BEC involves in selling radio sets and local assembly of radio transmission equipment and manufacture of RCA equipment (transmitters, radio spare parts) for export abroad. 1948 1st Quarter: Government policies on import controls of foreign radio equipment cause BEC to divert its resources into radio broadcasting. March 1: BEC sets up the Bolinao Broadcasting System (BBS) in San Juan in Rizal (now in Metro Manila). November 23: BEC opens its first radio station DZBC, with a wire tied to two mango trees atop a hill in San Juan as its first antenna. December: With the transmission of 1 million hertz, BEC-DZBC airs variety shows. BEC-DZBC becomes the first station to broadcast dramas of the Procter and Gamble Company as it introduces its first drama production of Procter and Gamble as the first commercial serialized radio soap opera then, and becomes the closest competitor to MBC-DZRH. Lindenberg checks out the houses with radios blaring the BEC-DZBC broadcasts to determine the size of the station's audiences for advertisers' purposes--the crude measurement serving as precursor to the ratings. 1949 BEC-DZBC shows Tawag ng Tanghalan/Call of the Stage, Doctor Selga, Prinsipe Amante/Prince Amante, Gulong ng Palad/Wheel of Fate (with the TV adaptation by BEC itself, now ABS-CBN, in 2006), Aklat ng Pag- Ibig/Book of Love, Ilaw ng Tahanan/Light of the Home and Camay Theater of the Air--some of them the first dramas of Proctor and Gamble--become the first radio shows serving as vehicles for commercials. Lindenberg becomes the first to apply a franchise to operate a TV station from Philippine Congress. 1950 University of Santo Tomas engineering student Jose Nicholas begins first attempt of a TV broadcast as an experiment. June 14: The Philippine Congress gives Lindenberg the franchise for what will be BEC/ABS-CBN Manila, the first TV station in the Philippines. 1950-1960 BEC airs • the drama Flor de Luna (with its TV adaptation in the late 1970's this time on KBS/RPN) • the variety show Mahiwagang Kahon/Magic Box 1952 The FEATI Institute of Technology conducts academic experiments with television. BEC becomes the first Philippine media station to establish a provincial radio station, as it launches 3 more provincial radio stations--one in Davao, one in Dagupan and one in Naga. Judge Antonio Quirino, President Elpidio Quirino's brother, plans to ask a TV franchise from Congress but backs out due to charges of nepotism and instead buys 70% of BEC from Lindenberg. September: BEC changes into Alto Broadcasting Systems (ABS) after its new co-owners--Aleli (AL) and Tony (TO), the nickname of Judge Quirino. Lindenbreg is still part owner, this time as ABS general manager. 4th quarter: Quirino begins negotiating for TV equipment with David Sarnoff of the radio company RCA via Quirino's friend Marvin Grey, whose family is a friend of Sarnoff's. 1953 Eugenio Lopez Sr, owner of newspaper Manila Chronicle, gets a TV franchise from Congress. February 1: The first TV station in Asia begins in Japan, with the first TV broadcast of the NHK. May: Quirino sends Jose "Joe" Navarro, Arcadio "Cady" Carandang, Henry "Slim" Chaney and Romualdo "Romy" Carballo to RCA in New York to study TV technology. ABS, via Quirino, begins importing 300 TV sets with the help of the Binondo hardware store Joe's Electronics and sets up the TV sets in restaurants, hospitals, church plazas, advertising agencies, hotels, other public places and homes of prominent people. Lindenberg and Chaney bring TV technology in the Philippines afterward and training of ABS employees in TV technology starts. July: The ABS TV tower is set up in San Juan. September: ABS launches DZBC as DZAQ (AQ for Quirino's initials) as the Philippines' most powerful commercial radio station with the ABS tower--then a 50 KW transmitter and begins test TV broadcasts. ABS general manager Tony Chavez flew to Tokyo in Japan to meet with executives of the Matsushita company and buy from them the antennas to distribute for the TV sets. October 7: Quirino and Lindenberg open ABS's DZAQ Channel 3, the first commercial TV station in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia. October 23: DZAQ Channel 3 begins telecast to TV audience of mostly rich people. [A TV set then costs P1,200--10 times the monthly salary then. 1 out of 2,000 Pinoys own a TV set.] Quirino's birthday party at his residence in San Juan with President Quirino as special guest--the first TV coverage of a special event--airs on ABS then. ABS telecasts 50 miles from San Juan at 6:00-10:00pm starting then. 4th Quarter: The open spaces above the Republic Supermarket at Florentino Torres Street in Manila is ABS's new studio complete with a transmitter from RCA. Quirino uses ABS as an information medium for the reelection bid of the sickly President Quirino. ABS reports the reelection campaigns of President Quirino, the Philippine national elections and the eventual win of Ramon Magsaysay as president. ABS broadcasts old American movies, films from foreign embassies and special events. November 23: ABS then airs Edmond Rostand's romantic drama Cyrano de Bergarac, the 3-hour full-length play, the first play on TV and the first big dramatic production on TV with Jesuit priest and media pioneer Father James Reuter as director. 1953-1960 ABS airs • the comedies Candid Camera, Life with Father, Eddy Cantor Comedy Theater and I Love Lucy, which re-airs in the 1990’s on IBC • the drama Highway Patrol, Gene Autry, I Led Three Lives and Mister District Attorney • the variety shows Pista ng Caltex, Unahan sa Kampana/Rush to the Bell, Kualta Na/Money Now, Vi-Milk Party, Children on Parade, Your Show of Shows and Tawag ng Tanghalan/Call of the Stage for which the first TV advertising contract is signed, being handled by J. Walter Thompson Philippines for Proctor and Gamble-PMC • the newscast Tomorrow's News Aired Tonight 1955 ABS gets a TV companion: the Clark Armed Forces Television Station Channel 8. [Ownership of a TV set becomes a status symbol as 6,000 TV sets are found in the Philippines then.] September: ABS covers The Taal Volcano Eruption and introduces TV as public service. 1956 September 24: ABS gets a new companion--Lopez brothers Eugenio Sr. and Fernando, owners of newspaper Manila Chronicle, inaugurate the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN) with its radio station DZXL, the country's first FM station. 4th Quarter: CBN's DZXL wins over ABS's DZAQ in audiences. CBN launches another FM station DZYL. 1957 CBN airs the variety show Student Canteen, the Philippines' first and top noontime variety show. January-February: Eugenio Lopez Sr negotiates the selling of ABS with Quirino. March: ABS and CBN report the airplane crash death of President Magsaysay and the Philippine national elections that sees the win of Carlos Garcia as president. 1958 January: CBN buys ABS from Quirino with the memorandum of agreement signed on a breakfast table napkin. The Lopezes then incorporate ABS and CBN under the name Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC--the original name of ABS), making BEC the 1st Philippine radio-TV network. April 19: BEC opens its second TV station Channel 9, with Eugenio Sr's eldest son Eugenio Jr as manager and Jaime Navarro as production manager. Channel 9's working transmitter consists of bamboo strips and rags. Post April: Eugenio Lopez Sr's son Eugenio Jr gets TV traning from Lindenberg and Chaney. Romy Caraballo and Cady Carandang, co- trainees of Chaney, start building the BEC TV station and studio at Aduana in Intramuros in Manila. 1959 BEC opens 2 more radio stations in Metro Manila: DZMM and DZRD. BEC airs • the variety show The Perry Como Show and the NCAA Basketball Games • the dramas Tombstone Territory, Annie Oakley and Dragnet • other shows like Chelsea Dancetime, Pacosta Hit Parade, Darigold Jamboree, Tia Dely/Aunt Dely, United American Tiki-Tiki and Operatang Sampay Bakod/Operation Clothesline 1960 BEC begins to air shows from its American partner, the United States' NBC (National Broadcasting Company).