Almost 99 years to the day that the National Broadcasting Company first signed on the radio airwaves, the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation will be kicking off NBC’s centennial celebration during the 2025 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts gala.
The milestone moment will be recognized alongside a slate of industry leaders during LABF’s annual awards ceremony, set for November 14 at Gotham Hall in New York City.
Launched by RCA on November 15, 1926, NBC was the country’s first permanent radio network, launching with a four-hour coast-to-coast broadcast across 26 stations. Its Blue and Red networks became the blueprint for broadcast syndication, and the Red Network’s transformation into today’s NBC laid the groundwork for mass media as we know it.
That legacy will be front and center as the network marks a century of innovation, journalism, and entertainment.
Accepting the Giants of Broadcasting award on behalf of NBC will be Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, whose program holds the distinction of being the longest-running show in US broadcast history. The show first aired on radio in 1945 before transitioning to television two years later.
LABF Co-Chairs Heidi Raphael, Beasley Media Group Chief Communications Officer, and longtime DC communications attorney Jack Goodman praised NBC’s impact across both radio and television. “For 100 years, NBC has been a pillar of American broadcasting,” they said in a joint statement. “We are thrilled to recognize NBC’s 100th anniversary celebration during this year’s Giants of Broadcasting event and present the award on behalf of the network to Kristen Welker.”
The LABF’s Giants of Broadcasting honors those who have shaped the media and communications industries. Alongside NBC, this year’s honorees include:
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David Muir, anchor and managing editor, ABC World News Tonight
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Lynn Beall, retired EVP and COO of Media Operations, TEGNA
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Rick Dees, radio personality, entertainer, and entrepreneur
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John Feore Jr., communications attorney and advisor
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Dick Ferguson, former EVP, Cox Radio Group
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Gary Sandy, actor best known as Andy Travis on WKRP in Cincinnati
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Lesley Visser, trailblazing sportscaster and first woman in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
ABC News White House Correspondent and former WHCA President Steven Portnoy will receive the LABF Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award for his commitment to safeguarding broadcast journalism history.
Tickets for the Giants of Broadcasting luncheon are available through the LABF website.
