History’s documentary series The Mega-Brands That Built America shifts its focus from smokestacks to servers in its latest episode, “Rise of the Internet Empires.” Airing Sunday, June 15, at 9:00 PM ET, this installment tracks the meteoric growth of two rival companies that fundamentally changed how the world shops. The episode tells the origin stories of the online behemoths that began as ambitious startups and grew into global forces.
The first story follows a determined entrepreneur who leaves a lucrative job on Wall Street with a vision for an online store that could sell everything. What starts as a small-scale operation out of a garage soon morphs into a worldwide retail machine, transforming consumer behavior in the process. At the same time, a young computer programmer develops a new platform for online trading, one that empowers everyday people to buy and sell goods from their homes.
Through a blend of archival footage and expert interviews, the episode details the innovations, failures, and rivalries that defined the early days of e-commerce. It examines how these two multibillion-dollar brands not only competed for market dominance but also reshaped the American economy and way of life. It’s a chronicle of disruption, ambition, and the digital gold rush that created a new class of titans.
The Mega-Brands That Built America continues its third season this Sunday, June 15, 2025, at 9:00 PM ET on History.
