History of Sports Broadcasting Timeline

(1921 – Present)

The history of sports broadcasting traces the evolution of how sporting events have been transmitted to audiences, beginning with radio play-by-play coverage in the 1920s and expanding through the golden age of television, the rise of cable networks like ESPN, satellite technology, and the modern era of digital streaming platforms. This transformation revolutionized sports culture, turning athletes into global celebrities and making live sports a cornerstone of mass entertainment. More Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Early Broadcasting

Stanley Cup updates sent by telegraph to Winnipeg

1896

In 1896, a telegraph line was connected to the Victoria Rink in Montreal to update fans in Winnipeg of the Stanley Cup challenge series between Montreal and Winnipeg ice hockey teams.

Image source: Victoria Skating Rink

Marconi broadcasts the 1899 America's Cup

1899

Perhaps the first sports broadcast was by Guglielmo Marconi, who transmitted reports of the 1899 America's Cup race from New York Harbor, pioneering the idea of delivering live sports results over distance by wireless telegraphy.

Image source: 1899 America's Cup

First prerecorded sportscast in Kansas

1911

The first ever prerecorded sportscast occurred in 1911 in Kansas. More than 1,000 people gathered in downtown Lawrence, Kansas to watch a mechanical reproduction of the 1911 Kansas vs. Missouri football game.

Image source: Broadcasting of sports events

First true broadcast of a college football game

Nov 27, 1919

On Thanksgiving 1919 came the first true broadcast (as opposed to the 1911 point-to-point transmission) of a college football game, over 5XB, the experimental station that eventually became WTAW. That year's Lone Star Shootout was distributed in telegraph code but was open to anyone listening to the station.

United States Radio and TV

First voice broadcast of a boxing match

Apr 11, 1921

The first voice broadcast of a sporting event took place on April 11, 1921 when Westinghouse station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcast a 10-round, no decision boxing match between Johnny Dundee and Johnny Ray at Pittsburgh's Motor Square Garden.

Image source: KDKA (AM)

First radio broadcast of a baseball game

Aug 5, 1921

The first radio broadcast of a baseball game occurred on August 5, 1921 over KDKA from Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, marking the beginning of baseball on American radio.

First radio broadcast of a college football game

Oct 8, 1921

On October 8, 1921, from Forbes Field, Arlin announced the first live radio broadcast of a college football game on KDKA when he gave the play-by-play action of the University of Pittsburgh victory over West Virginia University.

US first televised sporting event: Columbia vs Princeton baseball

May 17, 1939

On May 17, 1939, the United States' first televised sporting event, a college baseball game between the Columbia Lions and Princeton Tigers, was broadcast by NBC from Columbia's Baker Field.

Image source: NBC

First televised college football game

Sep 30, 1939

On September 30, 1939, the first American football game, a college contest between Fordham and Waynesburg College, was broadcast on television in the United States.

First televised NFL game

Oct 22, 1939

NBC broadcast the first televised National Football League (NFL) game when they carried the October 22, 1939 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Image source: NFL on NBC

NBC airs NHL game

1940

NBC also broadcast an NHL game in 1940; the league would briefly air games in the 1950s, but due to a dispute over rights fee money for players and programming difficulties around Canadian teams, the NHL refused to televise its games in the US for six years in the 1960s.

Image source: NHL on NBC

First televised basketball game at Madison Square Garden

Feb 28, 1940

The first-ever television broadcast of a basketball game occurred on February 28, 1940 when the University of Pittsburgh defeated Fordham at Madison Square Garden on NBC station W2XBS.

NCAA restricts college football broadcasts

1950 - 1984

The NCAA severely restricted broadcasts of college football from the 1950s until a judge ruled that the action was a violation of antitrust rules in 1984, which allowed for a much greater expansion of college football broadcasting.

Image source: NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma

First sports color telecast: Dodgers vs Braves

1951

In 1951, the first sports color telecast was a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves.

Image source: Color television

First coast-to-coast college football broadcast

Sep 29, 1951

The first nationwide broadcast of college football, which was also the first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast, was a game between Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh that was televised by NBC on September 29, 1951.

Professional basketball airs on television

1953

Professional basketball has been aired on television since 1953, shortly after the founding of the National Basketball Association, and has been aired on television ever since.

NCAA Tournament begins airing on television

1962

Although the NCAA Tournament has aired since 1962, it was not until the mid-1970s that regular-season college basketball games would air on major network television.

Image source: NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

FCC restrictions ruled invalid

1977

In 1977, restrictions on sports broadcasting were deemed invalid when a federal district court ruled that the FCC did not have the authority to make such decisions, also noting that the constitutional basis for such a law had not been proven.

Image source: Federal Communications Commission

Canadian Sports Broadcasting

First radio broadcast of an ice hockey game in Canada

Feb 8, 1923

In 1923, the first radio broadcast of an ice hockey game took place on 8 February, with the broadcast of the third period of a game between Midland and North Toronto of the Ontario Hockey Association.

Image source: Ice hockey broadcasting

Hewitt calls NHL game in olympic games-wide broadcast

1933

In 1933, Hewitt called an olympic games-wide radio broadcast of an NHL game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, helping popularize hockey broadcasting across North America.

Image source: Foster Hewitt

CBC debut begins CFL television broadcasting

1952

Broadcasting of the Canadian Football League has been a fixture of Canadian television since the CBC's debut in 1952. From 1962 through 2007 there were two separate CFL contracts: one for CBC, and one for CTV or a sister channel such as TSN.

Hockey Night in Canada makes national TV debut

Oct 1952

Starting with "Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland!", CBC's first national television broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada aired in October 1952, following a closed-circuit broadcast at Maple Leaf Gardens in Spring 1952.

Image source: Hockey Night in Canada

TSN acquires exclusive CFL TV rights

2008

Terrestrial television broadcasts of CFL games ended in 2008, when TSN acquired exclusive TV rights to the league, moving Canadian football entirely to cable television.

Image source: CFL on TSN

British and European Broadcasting

BBC relays boxing from National Sporting Club

Feb 26, 1926

A boxing commentary was relayed from the National Sporting Club in London on 26 February 1926, one of the BBC's early sports broadcasts.

Image source: National Sporting Club

Further BBC boxing commentaries in Britain

Mar 29, 1926 - Oct 6, 1927

Further boxing commentaries were broadcast by the BBC on 29 March 1926, a British featherweight title defence by Johnny Curley, and 6 October 1927, when Teddy Baldock lost his claim to the British version of the World bantamweight title to South African Willie Smith.

Paddy Mehigan covers All-Ireland Hurling Semi-Final

Aug 29, 1926

The first live commentary on a field sport anywhere in Europe was when Paddy Mehigan covered the All-Ireland Hurling Semi-Final between Kilkenny and Galway on 29 August 1926.

First outdoor UK sports event broadcast: England vs Wales rugby

Jan 1927

The first outdoor sports event broadcast in the United Kingdom was a Rugby Union international between England and Wales, broadcast from Twickenham in January 1927.

Image source: Twickenham Stadium

Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin begins weekly Gaelic Games commentary

1930

One prominent figure in Irish sports broadcasting was Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin, who broadcast Gaelic Games with live commentary weekly beginning in 1930.

Image source: Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin

First live televised sporting event: Epsom Derby

Jun 3, 1931

Then the first live televised sporting event occurred on June 3, 1931, the Epsom Derby in the UK. It was also the first sporting event to be televised in the United Kingdom.

Image source: Epsom Derby

World's first live televised event: 1936 Berlin Olympics

Aug 1, 1936 - Aug 16, 1936

The world's first live televised sporting event had been the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, which demonstrated television's potential for bringing large-scale sporting spectacles to audiences.

Image source: 1936 Summer Olympics

England vs Ireland boxing tournament at Alexandra Palace

Feb 4, 1937

Other early British television broadcasts include an international boxing tournament between England and Ireland from Alexandra Palace on 4 February 1937.

Image source: Alexandra Palace

First live televised football match in the UK

Sep 17, 1937

The United Kingdom saw the first live television broadcast of a football match, with the BBC showing 20 minutes of a specially arranged fixture between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserves on 17 September 1937.

Image source: Association football

Launch of BBC Radio 5 boosts sports coverage

1990

Initially broadcast as a MW opt-out on BBC Radio 2, the launch of Radio 5 in 1990 saw a huge increase in the level of coverage on BBC Radio.

Image source: BBC Radio 5 Live

Radio 5 becomes BBC Radio 5 Live

1994

Radio 5 became BBC Radio 5 Live in 1994 and the station, which combines live news and sport, provides round-the-clock coverage of sport through both live commentary and sports news and discussion.

Setanta Sports challenges Sky Sports dominance

2006 - 2009

Starting in 2006, the Irish company Setanta Sports emerged as a challenger to Sky Sports' dominance of the British pay-TV sports market; however, Setanta's UK channel went into bankruptcy administration and off the air in 2009.

Image source: Setanta Sports

ESPN's British operations bought out by TNT Sports venture

2009 - 2013

Between 2009 and 2013 ESPN made an attempt to challenge Sky Sports before its British operations were bought out by Sky's current main competitor, TNT Sports, a joint venture between former telecommunications monopoly BT Group and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Image source: TNT Sports (United Kingdom)

Modern Era

Debut of ESPN revolutionizes sports broadcasting

1979

The debut of ESPN in 1979 revolutionized the broadcasting of sports events, establishing the model of dedicated 24-hour all-sports cable networks.

Image source: ESPN

Ohio State vs West Virginia streamed online

Sep 1998

An early internet streaming of a sporting event took place in September 1998, in which a football game between Ohio State and West Virginia was aired on WBNS-TV.

Ohio State spring football game streamed

2001

Another early sports stream was the Ohio State spring football game in 2001 by WBNS-TV, further demonstrating the growth of online sports distribution.

Image source: Streaming media

NHL establishes stable broadcast partner with NBC and OLN

2004

After decades bouncing around networks (and a stretch from 1975 to 1994 with no permanent partner), the NHL established a stable broadcast partner in 2004, when NBC and Outdoor Life Network took over NHL broadcast rights; they have since renewed those rights through 2021.

Rogers Sportsnet acquires NHL rights, keeps HNIC on CBC

2014

The National Hockey League survives on Canadian broadcast television because Rogers Sportsnet, the cable broadcaster that acquired exclusive rights to the league in 2014, offers two weekly games to CBC Television for free to allow the network to continue Hockey Night in Canada.

Major college sports move largely to cable

2016

The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and national championship games in college football have also largely moved to cable (since 2016, the semi-finals of the former only air on broadcast television in odd-numbered years).

Viaplay Sports replaces Premier Sports in the UK

2022

Alongside a dedicated UK version of Eurosport called British Eurosport, Viaplay Sports, which replaced Premier Sports in 2022, also broadcasts live and recorded sports coverage in the UK.

Image source: Premier Sports

CFL returns to broadcast television

2024

The CFL left broadcast television in 2008 and did not return again until 2024, part of a broader trend away from cable toward over-the-air options, as the NFL had made more Monday Night Football games available on broadcast television and plans call for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game returning to broadcast in 2027.

Key Facts

The first live radio broadcast of a sporting event is widely considered to be the 1921 World Series game between the New York Giants and New York Yankees, called by Sandy Hunt on WJZ radio.
NBC aired the first televised sporting event in the United States on May 17, 1939, a college baseball game between Columbia and Princeton.
The launch of ESPN in 1979 created a 24-hour all-sports network that fundamentally changed how fans consumed sports news and highlights.
Monday Night Football debuted on ABC in 1970 and became one of the most successful and influential programs in television history.
The rise of streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, ESPN+, and Apple TV+ in the 2010s and 2020s has shifted sports broadcasting from traditional cable toward digital subscription services.

Source

This History of Sports Broadcasting timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

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