It has been thirty years since Joseph Segel founded the hugely successful QVC network in West Chester, giving avid shoppers the opportunity to move their favorite activity from stores into their living rooms, writes Ethan Alter for Yahoo!TV.

Segel founded the company in June three decades ago at its current location. But it was actually November 1986 when viewers got their first chance to sample QVC’s wares as the channel flickered to life offering the Windsor Shower Companion, a water-resistant AM/FM radio for use in the shower. 

Since then, the shopping network giant has presented countless products to its customers, seen many celebrities take part in its sales, and has even dipped its toes into Internet waters with IQVC.  

Despite the November air date, the network scheduled its birthday celebration for June 11th and 12th. The weekend-long anniversary broadcast included 48 full hours of its most popular shows and a special Super Saturday LIVE telecast which benefited the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance.

The celebration will continue throughout the month, with a special “30 Days, 30 Discoveries” sale and the birthday sweepstakes with weekly prizes and a $30,000 grand prize.

Doug Rose, QVC’s Senior Vice President of Brand said that when QVC was just beginning, there was plenty of doubt that a retail business could find a space in the television landscape.

“I think maybe TV has learned a little bit about how to manage an audience in more real-time ways,” he noted. “You look at some of the more interactive forms of television, like American Idol, where there’s live voting happening. We basically were a precursor of that 30 years ago.”  

Read more about QVC’s three successful decades at Yahoo!TV here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of QVC here.