1955: NBC executive Pat Weaver pioneers 'magazine-style' advertising on TV
Pat Weaver joined NBC to lead its television division in 1949 and went onto become president of the network soon after.
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During his time at NBC, he revolutionized the way television advertising operated. When he joined, ad sponsors often had control over whichever broadcast they were sponsoring. Weaver worked to change this by introducing ‘magazine style’ advertising on TV, allowing a number of advertisers to display their message during a show. This in turn gave the control of programming back to the networks since no one advertiser would be able to have full control over a program.
He also created NBC’s iconic ‘Today’ show in 1952, which to this day is one of America’s longest-running television shows.
Before joining NBC, Weaver worked in radio and advertising. At one point in his career, he served as an executive at ad agency Young & Rubicam. He died in 2002 at 93 year old.
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