Broadcasting was founded in Washington, D.C., by Martin Codel, Sol Taishoff and former
National Association of Broadcasters president Harry Shaw, and the first issue was published on October 15, 1931. Originally, Shaw was publisher, Codel editor, and Taishoff managing editor; when Shaw retired, Codel became publisher and Taishoff took over as editor-in-chief. (Taishoff had succeeded Codel writing the radio column for the Consolidated Press Association, both men using the pseudonym "Robert Mack"; the two met while covering radio in Washington.) The men operated under the corporate name Broadcasting Publications, Inc.; after Shaw's departure, the company was owned by Codel, Taishoff, and their wives. Codel left the magazine in January 1943, to work in public relations for the
Red Cross in
the North African theater of the
war, but remained on the
masthead as publisher until June 1944, at which point Taishoff and his wife bought out the Codels' interest in the magazine. Taishoff then assumed the post of the publisher in addition to editor.
Broadcasting merged with
Broadcast Advertising in 1932, with the
Broadcast Reporter in 1933, and with
Telecast in 1953. The title was changed to
Broadcasting-Telecasting beginning with the November 26, 1945, issue;
Telecasting was dropped from the cover page on October 14, 1957, but remained on the masthead through January 5, 1959. The title remained
Broadcasting thereafter until February 22, 1993, becoming
Broadcasting & Cable with the March 1, 1993 issue. Sol Taishoff won a
Peabody Award for his reporting in 1980.
Times Mirror bought
Broadcasting in 1986 from the Taishoff family. Cahners Publishing bought
Broadcasting in 1991. In 2009, Cahners successor
Reed Business Information sold
TWICE,
Broadcasting & Cable and
Multichannel News to
NewBay Media.
Future acquired NewBay Media in 2018. In 2020, Future folded
Broadcasting & Cable into its new platform, Next TV. In August 2024, Future announced the magazine would cease the following month, though it and
Multichannel News (which also ceased publication) would survive as sub-brands on sister industry news website
Next TV, which primarily focused on the streaming industry. However, the magazine's Hall of Fame would continue. On September 30, a notice was posted to
Next TV indicating new content had ceased altogether, but that the website would remain online with archive content. ==Hall of Fame==