NBC
American television and radio network
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television network, serving as the flagship property of NBC Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, which is a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's two flagship namesake properties, alongside Universal Studios. It is the first and oldest major broadcast network in the United States.
NBC's headquarters are located in New York City at Rockefeller Center's Comcast Building, the network's longtime home. The network's predecessor parent companies were integral to the center's construction. NBC also notably has offices at the NBC Tower in Chicago, Illinois, and at 10 Universal City Plaza in Los Angeles, California.
Founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America through its newly created "National Broadcasting Company, Inc." division, then shortly thereafter co-owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, and AT&T Corporation, NBC is the oldest of the traditional "Big Three" American television networks in the 21st century (along with ABC and CBS) 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.
NBC has 12 owned-and-operated stations and has affiliates in almost every TV market in the United States. Some of the stations are also available in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Canada, via pay-television providers or in border areas over the air.
History
NBC was formed in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) as the first and oldest major broadcast network in the United States.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “NBC” is american television and radio network. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through American, television and radio, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “american television and radio network” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q13974. VIAF identifies the subject as 134861149. The Library of Congress control number is n80050398. Authority coordinates are 40.759, -73.980. 3 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926 and 1956.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “NBC”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow NBC primary sources, NBC archive and American research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “NBC”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “NBC” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.