RCA

The RCA Corporation (RCA), founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America, was a major American electronics company during most of the 20th century. Initially RCA was a patent trust owned by a partnership of General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Company. It became an independent company in 1932 after the partners agreed to divest their ownerships in settling an antitrust lawsuit by the United States. An innovative and progressive company, RCA was the dominant electronics and communications firm in the United States for over five decades. In the early 1920s, it led the mushrooming radio industry within the US, both as a major manufacturer of radio receivers and as the exclusive manufacturer of the first superheterodyne receiver. In 1926 the company founded the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the first nationwide radio network. During the '20s and '30s RCA also pioneered the introduction and development of broadcast television—both black and white and especially color television. Throughout most of its existence, RCA was closely identified with the leadership of its founder David Sarnoff. He became general manager at the company's founding, served as president from 1930 to 1965, and remained active as chairman of the board until the end of 1969. Until the 1970s, RCA maintained a seemingly impregnable stature as corporate America's leading name in technology, innovation, and home entertainment. However, the company's performance began to weaken as it expanded beyond its original focus—developing and marketing consumer electronics and communications in the US—towards the larger goal of operating as a diversified multinational conglomerate. And the company now faced increasing domestic competition from international electronics firms such as Sony, Philips, Matsushita and Mitsubishi. RCA suffered enormous financial losses attempting to enter the mainframe computer industry, and in other failed projects including the CED videodisc system. Although it was rebounding by the mid-1980s, RCA never regained its former eminence. In 1986 the company was reacquired by General Electric during the Jack Welch era at GE. Welch sold or liquidated most of RCA's assets, retaining only NBC and some government services units. Today, RCA exists as a brand name only; the various RCA trademarks are currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment and Vantiva, which in turn license the RCA brand name and trademarks for various products to several other companies, including Voxx International, Curtis International, AVC Multimedia, TCL Corporation, and Express LUCK International.

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