QVC sold its stock to the public months before its first broadcast.
Joseph Segel, who had founded the Franklin Mint, watched the Home Shopping Network go public in May 1986. Two months later he had a team, a company and the cable systems lined up for a channel that did not yet exist. QVC listed on the Nasdaq on 5 September 1986, and on 24 November its first host sold a waterproof shower radio for $11.49.
QVC on Brandseum