Explore Media & Entertainment Firsts — from Print, Audio & Broadcast Beginnings to Television Trailblazers to Cinema & Film History. Discover Gaming & Virtual Entertainment Firsts.
The first printed newspaper was Relation in Germany, 1605.
The first magazine was Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen in 1663.
The first comic strip appeared in The Yellow Kid (1895).
The first radio broadcast was Christmas Eve, 1906.
The first news radio station was KDKA Pittsburgh in 1920.
The first audiobook was recorded on Edison cylinders in 1932.
The first radio jingle aired in the U.S. in 1926.
The first podcast was launched in 2004.
The first 24-hour news station was CNN in 1980.
The first satellite radio channel began in 2001.
The first TV broadcast was in London in 1926.
The first televised event was a Japanese doll performance in 1928.
The first color TV broadcast aired in 1954.
The first TV commercial was for Bulova watches (1941).
The first soap opera was The Queen’s Messenger (1928).
The first children’s TV show was Howdy Doody (1947).
The first reality show was An American Family (1973).
The first streaming service to win an Emmy was Netflix (2013).
The first TV show broadcast in space was Doctor Who.
The first TV remote control was invented in 1950.
The first motion picture was Roundhay Garden Scene (1888).
The first public film screening was by the Lumière brothers (1895).
The first silent film star was Charlie Chaplin.
The first feature-length film was The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906).
The first color movie was Cupid Angling (1918).
The first “talkie” was The Jazz Singer (1927).
The first Oscar awards were held in 1929.
The first CGI character in film was the stained-glass knight in Young Sherlock Holmes (1985).
The first 3D movie was The Power of Love (1922).
The first IMAX movie was Tiger Child (1970).
The first recorded music was etched onto a phonautograph in 1860.
The first vinyl record was pressed in 1948.
The first music video was Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody (1975).
The first opera was Dafne by Jacopo Peri (1598).
The first musical theater show was The Black Crook (1866).
The first bra brand was Maidenform (1922).
The first Broadway musical hit was Show Boat (1927).
The first radio hit song was Dinah by Bing Crosby.
The first all-female orchestra formed in 1932.
The first concert livestreamed online was the Rolling Stones (1994).
The first hologram concert was Tupac at Coachella (2012).
The first MP3 song released was by Suzanne Vega in 1993.
The first file-sharing platform for music was Napster (1999).
The first viral music video was Evolution of Dance (2006).
The first YouTube video was Me at the Zoo (2005).
The first video to hit 1 billion views was Gangnam Style (2012).
The first streaming-only Grammy winner was Chance the Rapper.
The first Netflix original was House of Cards (2013).
The first TikTok trend to reach global charts was Old Town Road.
The first virtual influencer was Lil Miquela.
The first movie made for streaming only was Roma (2018).
The first video game was Tennis for Two (1958).
The first arcade game was Computer Space (1971).
The first home gaming console was Magnavox Odyssey (1972).
The first handheld console was Game Boy (1989).
The first esports competition was at Stanford (1972).
The first million-dollar gaming tournament was in 2005.
The first female gaming protagonist was Samus in Metroid (1986).
The first VR headset was created by Sega in 1993.
The first livestream of a video game: Justin.tv (2007).
The first game to reach 1B downloads was Subway Surfers.
The first printed book was the Diamond Sutra (868 CE).
The first Gutenberg Bible was printed in 1455.
The first comic book was Famous Funnies (1933).
The first manga was Toba Ehon (12th century Japan).
The first graphic novel was A Contract with God (1978).
The first self-published novel was by Jane Austen.
The first viral fan fiction was Fifty Shades of Grey.
The first ebook bestseller was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
The first audiobook bestseller was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
The first pop culture fanzine appeared in the 1930s.
The first social media platform was SixDegrees (1997).
The first tweet ever sent was “just setting up my twttr” (2006).
The first Instagram post was by co-founder Kevin Systrom.
The first viral challenge was the Ice Bucket Challenge (2014).
The first meme to go global was “Dancing Baby” (1996).
The first live Instagram concert? John Legend, 2020.
The first digital art to sell for $69M was Beeple’s NFT.
The first YouTuber to hit 100 million subs: PewDiePie.
The first social media ban in history: MySpace in schools.
The first hashtag ever used was #barcamp in 2007.
The first media mogul was William Randolph Hearst.
The first celebrity influencer? Josephine Baker.
The first female media empire was led by Oprah Winfrey.
The first reality TV star to run for office: Donald Trump.
The first person to cross media genres was David Bowie.
The first fandom convention was Worldcon in 1939.
The first movie fandom was for Star Wars.
The first viral catchphrase: “I’ll be back.”
The first pop idol to reach space: Yusaku Maezawa.
The first Oscar for an animated film was Shrek (2002).
The first global film blockbuster was Jaws (1975).
The first world tour by a band was The Beatles in 1964.
The first international news channel was BBC World (1991).
The first global reality TV show was Big Brother.
The first foreign film to win Best Picture: Parasite (2020).
The first K-pop group to perform at the Grammys was BTS.
The first Bollywood film in Cannes was Neecha Nagar.
The first African superhero movie was Black Panther.
The first Chinese movie to win global awards: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
The first anime to go global was Astro Boy.
The first Guinness World Record edition was published in 1955.