Mail service in California, begun in 1851 by means of mule-drawn wagons, was soon taken over by stagecoach companies. The need for speedier delivery led to the founding in April 1860 of the Pony Express, which operated between San Francisco and Missouri. On the western end, relays of couriers picked up mail in San Francisco, carried it by boat to Sacramento, and then conveyed it on horseback to St. Joseph, Missouri, a hazardous journey of nearly 2,000 mi (3,200 km) within 10 days. The Pony Express functioned for only 16 months, however, before competition from the first transcontinental telegraph line (between San Francisco and New York) put it out of business; telegraph service between San Francisco and Los Angeles had begun a year earlier.
California has more telephones than any other state. In 2001, 97.0% of the state's occupied housing units had telephones.
The state's first radio broadcasting station, KQW in San Jose, began broadcasting speech and music on an experimental basis in 1912. California stations pioneered in program development with the earliest audience-participation show (1922) and the first "soap opera," One Man's Family (1932). When motion picture stars began doubling as radio performers in the 1930s, Hollywood emerged as a center of radio network broadcasting. Similarly, Hollywood's abundant acting talent, experienced film crews, and superior production facilities enabled it to become the principal production center for television programs from the 1950s onward.
California ranks 1st in the US in the number of commercial television stations, and 2nd only to Texas in radio stations. In 2003 there were 268 FM and 86 AM major radio stations and 68 major television stations. In 1999, Los Angeles alone had 3,392,820 cable television households (65% of television-owning households); second only to the New York City area. The Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto area had 64% cable penetration of 1,19,820 television households. The San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area had cable in 72% of its TV-owning homes. San Diego had cable in 83% of its television-viewing households.
A total of 1,511,571 Internet domain names had been registered in California by the year 2000; the most of any state.