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LISTEN: How NBC Created the Broadcast Network Paradigm and Other Firsts; Andy Cohen Reflects on 20 Years of ‘Real Housewives’

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LISTEN: How NBC Created the Broadcast Network Paradigm and Other Firsts; Andy Cohen Reflects on 20 Years of ‘Real Housewives’
Jun 10, 2026 11:43am PT LISTEN: How NBC Created the Broadcast Network Paradigm and Other Firsts; Andy Cohen Reflects on 20 Years of ‘Real Housewives’

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Cynthia Littleton

Business Editor

@Variety_Cynthia See All David Sarnoff , President of RCA and head of NBC, dedicates the RCA pavilion, an event covered by the first coverage of television news (broadcast, not coincidentally, by NBC). Bettmann Archive

On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Variety‘s Michael Schneider discusses Variety’s plans to take a long look at NBC’s centennial and its role in advancing mass media in the electronic age with the creation of the first radio network. And we have highlights from Kate Aurthur’s recent sit-down with Andy Cohen at the Newport Beach TV Fest. The two reflect on the “ongoing documentary project” that is “The Real Housewives” franchise.

In tackling a large project on NBC, Schneider observes that the value of taking a retrospective look back is to find the patterns and parallels to the modern era. The mid-1920s period when the National Broadcasting Company was born was a gold rush era driven by emerging technology (thank you, Marconi) and the opportunity to prosper by achieving scale — i.e. creating a network that would have much larger reach than any single radio station. That was the inspiration of David Sarnoff, the RCA Corp. leader who drove the launch of NBC, which laid the foundation for many more firsts.

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