The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was a cultural phenomenon, a dazzling spectacle of lingerie, supermodels, and musical performances that captivated audiences worldwide for years. For those wondering where to relive the iconic moments or discover the show for the first time, the question “where can I watch Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show?” often arises. While the show is no longer in production, its legacy lives on, intertwined with the early history of internet streaming and one infamous event that pushed the boundaries of technology in 1999.
Back in the late 1990s, the internet was a vastly different landscape. Streaming video was a nascent concept, and the bandwidth to support it was limited. Enter Broadcast.com, a company co-founded by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, who envisioned a future where audio and video could be delivered over the internet. This was before YouTube, Netflix, or even widespread broadband. Broadcast.com aimed to be a pioneer, and they chose a bold event to showcase their vision: the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
In February 1999, Broadcast.com attempted to stream the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show live online. Hyped with a Super Bowl commercial, millions flocked to the website, eager to witness the glamorous runway event from their computers. However, the internet of 1999 was simply not ready. Servers buckled under the unprecedented demand, video streams sputtered, and many users were unable to connect at all. While a publicity triumph for Victoria’s Secret, the online viewing experience was largely a disaster.
Despite the technical difficulties, the 1999 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show webcast became a landmark event. It offered a tantalizing glimpse into the future of online video, hinting at a world where live events could be broadcast globally to anyone with an internet connection. It was a moment that, while flawed in execution, foreshadowed the streaming era we inhabit today.
Newspaper clipping from 1999 detailing the Broadcast.com Victoria's Secret fashion show stream failure, highlighting the overwhelmed servers and early internet video streaming challenges.
This event perfectly illustrates the concept of the “adjacent possible” in innovation. Broadcast.com was pushing the boundaries of what was technologically feasible and publicly acceptable at the time. They were ahead of the curve, attempting to deliver high-demand video content online before the infrastructure and technology were truly ready for mass consumption.
Interestingly, despite the technical shortcomings and the eventual dot-com bubble burst, Yahoo acquired Broadcast.com for a staggering $5.7 billion later in 1999. Yahoo recognized the long-term potential of internet video, even if the technology wasn’t quite there yet. However, the timing was premature, and Yahoo eventually shut down most of Broadcast.com’s assets as the internet landscape evolved.
While Broadcast.com’s ambitious foray into streaming the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 1999 was a technical stumble, it was a pivotal moment in the history of online video. Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, despite the Broadcast.com venture’s ultimate fate within Yahoo, emerged successfully, demonstrating that sometimes being too early can still lead to future opportunities. The story serves as a reminder of the rapid evolution of technology and how quickly dreams of “where can I watch…” can become everyday realities.
