RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc Dealer Introduction
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- Live From NBC Studio 8H
Feb 25 1981
Sat F2 - T8
Hosted by Tom Brokaw
With
• Edgar Griffiths • Chairman of the Board & CEO
• Roy Pollack • Executive Vice President
• Herb Schlosser • Executive Vice President
• Jack Sauter • Group Vice President and General Manager RCA Consumer Electronics
I didn't know this video existed. What a treasure of American technology and innovation!
Dang, those RCA people were savage in those songs! I love the "finding out too late that it's pornographic" line.
Although the SelectaVision system sounded very intriguing, the inability of the user to record things on it was a problem. And I don't think there were any special qualities to the discs when compared with VHS tapes either.
The one special quality that the discs had over video cassettes was that prerecorded material could be had at far lower prices on discs at the time. Therefore, part of the strategy of the format's success was that collecting movies wouldn't be as expensive. However, such a strategy never took into account video rental, which made watching movies on VHS and Beta cheaper still. Rental would be a sensible choice for people as most wouldn't have cared to own a copy of a movie unless they really liked it enough to do so.
Another flawed strategy was to market videodisc and video cassette like phonograph records and audio cassettes. If you had a stereo system at the time, you likely had the ability to play records and tapes, each complementing each other as part of a whole. The same was intended with videodisc and video cassette. However, the rather considerable expense of video equipment at the time pretty much ensured that most people would choose disc or tape rather than buying both to make a complete home video system. And most chose tape because it offered the most value for money, such as being able to record programming.
What's funny is that RCA did it to themselves; they heavily marketed their line of VHS VCRs without realizing that their own VCRs wound up competing against their own videodisc format despite such a thing not being their intent.
And the CED format wasn't really intriguing from a practical standpoint. Indeed, the format had serious shortcomings, such as issues with excessive skipping and carrier distress (loss of signal) if the disc wasn't perfectly clean. Additionally, and as you've alluded to, picture quality was only about on par with VHS at best. But at least CED stereo sound with CX noise reduction was superior to video cassette ... up until Beta hi-fi came out in 1983 followed by VHS Hi-Fi about a year later, which offered superior dynamic range and frequency response.
In spite of its initial problems, LaserVision (LaserDisc) was a superior videodisc format to CED, and that came out about three years prior. By about 1983, there was no advantage of CED over any of its competition, not even with the advent of computerized random access operation and interactivity functions for the format ... functions which LaserVision was capable of well before CED managed it. However, even LaserVision wasn't able to compete against VCRs beyond being a niche product for people who wanted the best possible picture and sound. It would take DVD-Video to give people what videodiscs in the past had promised.
@@Watcher3223CED’s video quality was indeed superior to that of VHS. We loved the format, because we got a player at a third of the cost of a VCR, the films were much more affordable to buy, and the A/V quality was better.
@@WaverBoyIf there was any degree of superiority, it would have to been very slight.
Meanwhile, none of my CEDs really exceed VHS in terms of picture quality.
The baseband video frequencies between both formats are roughly equivalent and both formats use heterodyne color ... which is color that's downconverted into a way lower resolution compared to the color carrier in a true composite video signal from, say, a LaserDisc. This compromise was done because human vision doesn't perceive color as well as contrast, permitting the recording of reasonable quality color video within a very limited span of signal bandwidth available in formats like CED and VHS.
With regard to sound quality, it depends. The longitudinal track (a.k.a. linear track) on VHS will always sound inferior to CED.
But VHS Hi-Fi sound will blow CED stereo with CX noise reduction out of the water because video cassette Hi-Fi has a wider frequency response, greater dynamic range, and better S/N. Hi-Fi basically works by reading and writing an AFM audio signal to the tape at very high speed via the rotary head drum that's also used to read and write the video signal.
I've collected on the CED format for decades and my current CED players are three RCA 400 series random access players and one RCA SGT-250, so I am speaking from experience as well.
It's not that CED discs skip. It's not that you have to replace the stylus. It's not that the machine was too expensive. It's not that the picture wasn't good enough. It's not that RCA didn't spend enough money on it. It's not Laserdiscs. It's not that the library wasn't big enough. It's not that the discs were too expensive. None of those issues are the reason it failed. The machines were significantly cheaper than VCRs and the cost to to buy the movies even more so. The picture quality of the discs in 1981 was amazing (enough). The reason it failed is because video tape recorders were sold to solve an existing problem that ever household with a TV had. VideoDisc was an answer to a problem that simply didn't exist. There was zero market for people to own (or even rent) their own video library. Z E R O existing market for the VideoDisc product. Beta & VHS was NOT sold to the public based on owning or renting a video library but rather on the concept of time shifting - it was the first DVR; watching the existing broadcasts coming into your home when you wanted. Watch this and tape that. Tape it when you're gone. Rewatch it when you want. Go back and look at all the advertising for VCRs. Renting tapes came in after and buying after that, but only after millions of VCRs were already in people's home acting like today's DVR. VHS was more popular than Beta because that tape was two hours and you could record a 2 hour TV movie (later 4 & 6 hours). LD and CED was an answer to a question that people weren't asking. Take for example the first VCR my father bough, it was a Quasar which was marketed as the Quasar "Time Machine" Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. is why VCRs existed and why DVRs exist today and that was all about time shifting, not about buying or renting movies. It's not coincidental that Universal (one of the main backers of Discovision, Laservision, LaserDisc et al) is the plaintiff in that landmark case that still effects us today. Y'now...just saying, IMHO and all.
CED failed and bombed for one specific reason and one reason alone: It was outdated and out of style by the time it came out in early 1981. IT was TEN years out of date and 8 years LATE to the market.
Had it launched in 1973, it REALLY would have caught on.
It was the correct answer or at least would have generated the adecuate questions back in late 60s or early 70s. You know, color TV wasnt a required solution, but once you see the set performing, you want one. By late 70s, CED wasnt the only game player. People was aware that image could be played at home. CED was late to be groundbreaking. VHS and BETA to help with time shifting (Tec Connections). I didnt feel this was a heavily asked question neither. VTR was on heavy use on TV where it was really IMPORTANT for non live programs. IT all started with Bing Crosby and AMPEX ... the idea of PRERECORDED programs for radio. But consumers have different questions.
_"There was zero market for people to own (or even rent) their own video library. Z E R O existing market for the VideoDisc product. Beta & VHS was NOT sold to the public based on owning or renting a video library but rather on the concept of time shifting"_
Exactly.
The demand for videodisc ... and prerecorded video cassettes incidentally ... did not exist and had to be created. That's what marketing was for, to show people that they could have a use ... and a desire ... for something they've never had a need nor want for. In other words, a new idea had to be sold to them.
Otherwise, video cassettes like U-Matic, Cartrivision, the Time Machine, Philips VCR, Beta, VHS, Video 2000, etc. were devised for precisely the reason stated; time-shifting. The ability to record a television program for later viewing in the event that one cannot watch it at the time of its broadcast.
The Betamax case, brought against Sony by MCA (Universal) and Buena Vista (Disney) was partly to settle the question over whether recording a TV broadcast constituted copyright infringement. The U.S. Supreme Court determinted that it did not, at least not if that wasn't the intent of making the recording in the first place.
And VHS had multiple reasons for its success. The ability to record for longer times was the biggest factor, an aspect that RCA seemed to be more aware of than even JVC was. When RCA approached JVC to become a VHS licensee, they wound up going over JVC's head to its parent at the time, Matsushita Electric, to develop the 4 hour speed in conjunction with Panasonic ... which was why JVC referred to the four hour speed as "the bastard." RCA had wanted a longer recording time than 2 hours for VHS and JVC wasn't immediately responsive to RCA's concerns. JVC, of course, would then develop the 6 hour speed. Another factor was JVC's better flexibility and friendliness with licensees compared to Sony. Sony, unfortunately, had a rather adversarial attitude toward their licensees, a tendency which Sony essentially persisted with throughout their format's life. An example was Sony's refusal to sign Hitachi onto Betamax, fearing that doing so would alienate Matsushita Electric without realizing that Matsushita's JVC subsidiary was developing VHS. Also, a license to manufacture Betamax equipment and cassettes was far more expensive compared to the same for VHS. JVC's strategy for success was to ensure a greater likelihood of industry-wide adoption of VHS over Beta.
@@Tornado1994 Of course, in 1973, the technology behind CED was not sufficiently developed to create a marketable product. For instance, it wouldn't be until the very late 1970s when RCA would figure out how to make a CED as a simple disc rather than a multi-layered disc that didn't last for very long. They also hadn't developed the auto-loading system to address problems with people touching the signal surface of the disc in handling.
It also didn't help that RCA lost its focus after David Sarnoff retired from the company. Under the direction of David's son, Robert Sarnoff, RCA diversified into a conglomerate, acquiring businesses outside of RCA's expertise. On top of that, it wasn't helpful for the company to have had revolving door management after ousting Robert in a boardroom coup. All of that meant that the development of RCA home video products, including CED, weren't consistently supported by the company's leadership, even being under the threat of cancellation ... and a few products were canceled, like Holotape and Magtape.
People were ready for video discs - 1997. DVD. Essentially 99% used as video disc.
Man, a couple of those RCA execs looked super nervous... especially Jack Sauter, "General Manager RCA Consumer Electronics". They were really banking on the lower cost of hardware and movie titles giving them an edge over LD and VHS, and Sauter looks like he knew that this product wasn't up to snuff for the current home video climate.
I believe this was the moment they knew they had screwed the pooch. They were EIGHT years late to the party, CED was supposed to launch in 1973. RCA realized how much time and money they had wasted and how outdated CED was about to become.
Edgar Griffiths had already announced his resignation and retirement a month before. He would leave RCA on 1st July 1981.
He knew better not to stay on a sinking ship so he bailed out before the whole thing foundered. Watching this, I feel like I am looking at a grand farewell and not a new product announcement. :-/ It goes to show how a bad decision (this product) can tank a company.
" RCA'n in " was the original Netflix and Chill lol .
That must’ve been the “find out too late it’s pornographic” part. 💀💀💀
5:15 mentions that SNL is recorded there. This was during the tumultuous season 6. This was also recorded just 4 days after Charles Rocket uttered the f-bomb during the goodnights when Charlene Tilton hosted. The backdrop at around 6:20 was used many times in SNL's season 6 as well.
Yup. The 1980-81 Season Produced by Jean Domeanian.
An interesting look at 8H in very rare form, when SNL was not using it. (Interestingly, during SNL's infamous "Season 6".) You can barely tell that 8H was, at the time, home to a show in turmoil.
This Vido was made during the time when Fred Silverman was president of NBC and when NBC was in last place despite Good Shows like The Facts of Life, Different Strokes, Hill Street Blues, and CHiPS. Brandon Tartikoff at the time was President of NBC Entertainment a role which He kept until 1991 when He was replaced by Warren Littlefeld.
NBC's slogan at the time were "Proud as a Peacock" and also this video was made after John Lennon's Death which was in December 1980.
The RCA board seems like a wild bunch
To think RCA was big enough to have their name in neon on the top of Rockefeller Plaza...
Worth mentioning - Laserdisc's came out in 78 - two years before this did.
And VHS a bit eairler. The foot note is the original idea was from the mid to end 60s and it wasnt pollished properly and paused many times due to managment changes. If execetued properly, they would have been dominated the market. The commited to launch this project at a time that didnt made too much sense. The discs were affordable, big point.
@@38911bytefree Actually, RCA originally had a Holiday 1973 rollout planned for CED, and had a Working Prototype as Early as May 1972, but Internal Politics caused things to fall to the wayside and put them WAY behind. RCA didn't finish the CED project until The Summer of 1980.
The RCA neon sign was on top of the Rockefeller Center, but it was changed to GE, and then Comcast where it still is today.
Stupidly RCA marketed Panasonic and Hitachi made VCRs as Selectavision. Average consumer: I already have one of those.
This is when you are TOO LATE and the last resource ... rebadge. IT was impossible to think a VCR machine outside Matsushita expetirse ... Even JVC was under Matsushita rules ... VHS was an open standard. I mean they didnt sony-ed the format LOL
They bet all their money on the CED, plus MATSUSHITA (Panasonic / National Quasar Technics) was the LARGEST VCR producer at that time and other brand would keep using matsushita parts too. No point on develping a complete VCR when its already done. Same as philips and cassette. First tape recorders, EVEN PANASONIC used Philips styled transport. But they moved away from them in a couple of years. Matsushita was not only a manufacturer of consumer electronics, but the manufacturer of components, chips, motors, speakers. JVC is nothing but a Matsushita satellite (IMHO).
By 1981 30% of homes had cable...HBO was $6.95 a month and featured most of those same movies. Those suits still had the mentality that the CED videodisc was like the color TV launch of the 1950s -- needing trained sales staff, in store demos, training thousands of authorized service people, huge advertising budgets, and paying all these local dept store owners round trip airfare and hotel to New York. And the VCR was the biggest game changer since color TV. Needle in a groove is so 1877! It's the old fallacy... we can't shut it down because we have invested so much already!
Songs/musical numbers:
Prelude: “The Year With Our Name On It” 3:36
“We’re Staying In Tonight” 20:05
“We’re Gonna Make Magic” 33:20
Finale: “The Year With Our Name On It” 52:08
(with, as flagged by YT, Dave Grusin’s “Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow” as preshow countdown music)
Lyrics to "We're Staying In Tonight":
We're all through saying "Hey what else is playing?"
Or "What time's the game or fight?"
We can stay right home and see it all
Night after night...
We won't have to stand in line, we're staying in tonight
You play your disc, I'll play mine, we're staying in tonight
We don't have to fight the crowds or traffic
Or find out too late it's pornographic!
We won't have to race the clock, we're staying in tonight
We won't have to go in hock, we're staying in tonight
You put _Casablanca_ on and I'll turn off the light,
We're staying in, we're staying in,
We're staying in tonight!
We can sit and take a tennis lesson
Or learn how to make a salad dressing
In the front row for ballet, we're staying in tonight
TV greats of yesterday, we're staying in tonight
Right at ringside cheering Ali on to win that fight
We're staying in, we're staying in,
We're staying in tonight!
We're staying in, we're staying in,
We're staying in tonight!
Thanks to RCA now we can say we've seen the light
We're staying in, we're playing in,
RCA-ing in...
Tonight!
Here's my attempt at transcribing the three musical numbers, along with their time stamps. I think I'm mostly right, except for a few lines in the third song. Corrections welcome!
-------
3:38
This is the year we're gonna look up,
And splashed across the sky,
In great big flashing capital letters,
Twenty stories high,
Will be our name!
Our name!
RCA that's why!
------
20:05
We're all through sayin',
Hey what else is playin'?
Or what time's the game or fight?
We can stay right home and see it all,
Night after night!
We won't have to stand in line,
We're stayin' in tonight!
You play your disk I'll play mine,
We're stayin' in tonight!
We won't have to fight the crowds or traffic,
Or find out too late it's pornographic!
We won't have to race the clock,
We're stayin' in tonight!
We won't have to go in hock,
We're stayin' in tonight!
You put Casablanca on,
And I'll turn off the light.
We're stayin' in,
We're stayin' in,
We're stayin' in tonight!
We can sit and take a tennis lesson,
Or learn how to make a salad dressing.
In the front row for ballet,
We're stayin' in tonight!
TV greats of yesterday,
We're stayin' in tonight!
Right at ringside cheering,
Ali ought to win that fight!
We're stayin' in,
We're stayin' in,
We're stayin' in tonight!
(video clips)
We're stayin' in,
We're stayin' in,
We're stayin' in tonight!
(Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid clips)
Thanks to RCA now we can say,
we've seen the light!
We're stayin' in,
We're playin' in,
RCA'n in,
Tonight!
----
33:30
We guarantee a year you won't believe,
When we reveal what we got up our sleeve!
The time is right at hand,
To do a sleight of hand,
And we're gonna make magic!
The competition will be sawed in two,
When they see what our magic box can do!
It's gonna do the trick,
We'll be the one they pick,
'Cause we're gonna make magic!
They want a system that a child can play now,
To grant their wish that great magician RCA now,
Presents the magic entertainment toy.
Sit back America, relax, enjoy.
In your living room, it's no con,
The magic's on its way!
The magic's on its way!
It's on its way!
To you from RCA!
(dance)
Just wait until the public sees the rabbit,
That's in our hat, we promise that
They're gonna grab it!
Step right this way,
We got the magic here!
Video disc by RCA this year!
Built in mass appeal,
That's no con,
The magic's on its way!
The magic's on its way!
It's on its way!
They're gonna bring the magic home,
From RCA!
------
52:12
It's gonna be a year with our name on it,
Our name on it,
Our name!
You're gonna see,
This year will be ours!
Our banner year,
We're stakin' our claim on it,
Our claim on it,
Our claim!
We're takin' it,
And makin' it ours!
It's gonna be a year of sky rockets,
And full pockets that jingle.
It's like a silver lining,
Let's celebrate, let's sell a great day!
That's why the gang's all here,
To help ring it in,
Ring ding it in,
This year!
Our year!
Already the world's spinning our way!
It's gonna be a year when all records break,
A year we make magic!
A year we help Houdini, (?)
Houdini make our genie appear!
Make way for RCA,
There's no stopping us,
No topping us,
This year!
Our year!
Our personal,
Just made for us,
With ticker-tape,
parade for us,
Our name on it year!
So lights up on RCA,
Light up a great event.
Lights up on what we now so proudly present!
We know something, (?)
We know what's right, (?)
Let there be magic,
Starting tonight!
Turn every spot on,
What we're so hot on,
Video disk from RCA!
Launch window discs advertised in the first "giant CED player" musical break...
The Graduate (Avco-Embassy thru RCA)
The Bad News Bears (Paramount)
Ninotchka (MGM)
Love Story (Paramount)
Patton (Fox)
Star Trek: The Menagerie (Paramount)
The Longest Day (Fox)
Heaven Can Wait (Paramount)
The Ten Commandments (Paramount)
Adam's Rib (MGM)
Paper Moon (Paramount)
Casablanca (United Artists)
The Muppet Movie (ITC thru RCA)
Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (Paramount)
The Absent Minded Professor (Disney)
Grease (Paramount)
The Philadelphia Story (MGM)
Romeo & Juliet (Paramount)
The Longest Yard (Paramount)
Easter Parade (MGM)
Nureyev in Giselle (ITC thru RCA)
Sands of Iwo Jima (Republic thru RCA)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Fox)
Candleshoe (Disney)
Show Boat (MGM)
A Charlie Brown Festival (United Features Syndicate thru RCA)
The French Connection (Fox)
Starting Over (Paramount)
Charlotte's Web (Paramount)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (Fox)
Laura (Fox)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Disney)
Fiddler on the Roof (United Artists)
Planet of the Apes (Fox)
Meet Me in St. Louis (MGM)
The Bears and I (Disney)
Looking For Mr. Goodbar (Paramount)
M-A-S-H (Fox)
Escape From Alcatraz (Paramount)
The Love Bug (Disney)
The Godfather (Paramount)
A Night at the Opera (MGM)
Foul Play (Paramount)
Lady Sings the Blues (Paramount)
Rocky (United Artists)
Clips also seen but covers not shown...
Disney Cartoon Parade Volume 1 (Disney)
Saturday Night Fever (Paramount)
All the corporate suits and salespeople probably loved that dance number.
oh wow, that song...
That music at the beginning is RAD
Do you mean the Dave Grusin track? You can download that on iTunes :o)
+Anthony Hobson cool I,ll check out his work
At 45:50 he starts talking about "the biggest miniseries of 1981." He's referring to "Masada," which was nominated for a few Emmys but... seems forgotten today. And it was also on ABC -- direct competitor to the network owned by RCA (NBC).
CED (1981) RCA
VHD (1983) JVC
The VHD did not skip as it is grooveless with a much wider stylus and a servo tracking system. That enabled those discs to be in Rental stores in Japan as playback was more robust.
My Favorite Release of 1976's ROCKY on VHS and Beta is 1982 by 20th Century Fox Video.
60 million down the tube. My 81 player is still banging! ?
more than half billion, RCA bankrupted basically because of that.
@@38911bytefree Nah, even if CED succeeded, RCA might have still failed; it would have just delayed the inevitable. After David Sarnoff retired from RCA, it was not a well-focused company and seemed to consist of management that were more concerned about themselves than they were of the company, the people working for it, and its customers.
I Love This Number Because It Reminds of Musical Movies Like 1930's Musical Films to 1960's Like FUNNY GIRL to THE MUSIC MAN to HELLO DOLLY! 20:07
The RCA logo not being centered on the podium is killing me!
rca execs failed to realize people werent going to buy movie discs the way they bought record albums. they thought people would buy the movies failing to realize that people would rather rent vhs movies from video stores that were starting to pop up all over the place around 1981 ---82
Too bad it all went south for them. There were quite a few factors as to why it tanked . Firstly , the Videotape ( both Beta and VHS ) .
The cost of the player (starting at 500 bucks). In 1981 that was quite steep.
Plus , the economy was in the toilet so most people couldn't afford them.
Laserdisc systems were somewhat competition for high end audio / video consumers. They should have released the CED system a few years earlier and at a lower cost.
Then , it might have had a fighting chance.
Yeah, if it had been released in 1976 or 1977 it might've had a fighting chance; VCRs were available but very very expensive, whereas videodisc players were deliberately kept very very simple.
It flopped because it took WAY Too long to be released to retail. Pure and Simple. RCA had been developing it since the year JFK was shot. They had a Working Prototype ready by the Autumn of 1971 and a Beta Stage fully functional being tested and used behind closed doors during 1972, with a Targeted Spring 1973 launch date. But they completely shelved CED until 1978. Which was very shortsighted and stupid on RCA's part.
The idea behind was genious. They would get the control of film distribution with dirt cheap production costs for titles, something that VHS wasnt offering. THe player was way cheaper than a VCR. Issue is like you said, once people experience the magic of recording ... they are not going back. And even when RCA tried HARD, reliability was poor. They pushed the discs limit too hard iMHO. If it was delivered 10 years before and with more reliability, they would have won
loving the 1970s porno music at the start 🤣
I hope you don't mind if we download this video and use parts of it in our videos. This is some really good stuff.
Anyone else here from Oddity Archive?
Yes!
And then the project failed and RCA was taken over by GE.
CED's failure was one factor, albeit a big one.
By the time CED failed, RCA was a highly confused company that was ripe for the picking. The beginning of the slow decline began when David Sarnoff retired and his son, Robert, took the company in a direction from which it never really recovered.
Oyyyy! Tom Brokaw making the fat shaming remark about Willard Scott..
Nothing like those Lawrence Welk kind of singers/dancers...
It’s a shame it bombed so badly. Had it been able to stay on track during development and hit a 1975 release, we’d had likely been consuming video very differently before streaming really became a thing.
Cool!
This could use a creepypasta version. Or just do 33:26 to 36:00 in G Major.
RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc Dealer Introduction
...Little that they know that their ambitious project would end up being the biggest piece of dog shit that fucked the REAL RCA up the ass so royally that they were bought by GE. Now the RCA name is currently slapped onto pretty pathetic generic US electronics today with not a single new kind of innovation...except for that satellite dish thing from the early to mid 90s that spawned DirecTV.
Watching that lying sack of shit CEO, only brings back memories of abandonment from a US company that "had" a stellar reputation. They starting working on this technology in the 60's and could have released it in the mid 70's. The story I got was there was a changing of the guard within RCA that delayed the product arrival to the US public until 1980. Ergo, one prick up high sabotaged his own company. In the 70's it would have competed well with early VCR's.
What was RCA Corporation is now RCA Trademark Management
They manufactured a wide variety of electronics including their new Blu-ray Disc player
Technically speaking RCA Corporation ceased to exist in 1985 shortly after going bankrupt. It quickly went back to being a subsidiary of GE who proceed to divest a lot of RCA's remaining assets most notably inducing their music division who became BMG. This effectively created two RCA's the record label and the electronics company both with completely different history. After being reabsorbed by GE, RCA electronics effectively became an alternative label for GE's consumer electronics. This changed to trademark management as GE gradually lost interest in consumer electronics and sold their related property including RCA to other firms such as Thomson SA (ironically also formerly a GE owned company).
Thomson SA is who ultimately started to license the RCA trademark to other companies. Currently Thomson SA is running under the name Technicolor SA.
I see E3 wasn't the originator of cringe musical numbers for electronics presentations.
If not for this major product flop and the billions of dollars that was pissed away. I almost guarantee RCA-The real RCA corporation would've still survived to this day. Granted like most U.S brands that were struggling against Japanese competition in the 1980s. They would go into decline but...Eventually just like Apple. I believe they could have made a big comeback around this time. We'll never know.
General Electric wanted NBC television and owner RCA would not sell that cash cow at any price. In 1985 RCA had no debt, $2 BILLION in cash , NBC-TV network was valued at $4 billion, so GE bought the entire RCA Corp for $6.2 billion. The NBC radio network, RCA Victor records, the Princeton research center, the Bloomington TV factory, broadcast equipment, the patents for everything from radar to Directv , the space satellite division, all sold off or shut down, and the staff of scientists and engineers with 65 years of cumulative knowledge that could not be put together again at any price , sent to the unemployment line.