Episode 1438 March 31, 1947. The first of 2,956 radio episodes of The Lone Ranger premiered on WXYZ, a radio station serving Detroit, Michigan, on January 31, 1933.[ As Dunning writes in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. There may have been a few late-night on-air shakedown shows prior to the official January 31, 1933 premiere date. The show was an immediate success.