Electrophone theatre relay by Electrophone Company

Electrophone theatre relay

Electrophone Company · 1895

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

The Electrophone Company began a London service in 1895 that relayed live performances over telephone lines, following the Paris [[theatrophone|Théâtrophone]]. Carbon microphones in theatre footlights fed a manual switchboard, and home subscribers paid £5 a year for headset service; the service ran until 1925.

Why it mattered

01
One of the first commercial services distributing live performances, not recordings, to distant listeners.
02
It also gave free listening to hospital patients.

Engineering record

Subscriber access: £5 annual headset subscription via a central switchboard; coin-operated hotel receivers were also installed[1]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Use in the field

Relayed Covent Garden opera and London theatres and music halls to subscribers[1]

Manuals & original documents

No authoritative manual or original document has been located for this profile.

Sources

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