TelevisioninJapanwas introduced in 1939. However, experiments date back to the 1920s, withKenjiro Takayanagi's pioneering experiments inelectronic television.[1]Television broadcasting was halted byWorld War II,after which regular television broadcasting began in 1950.[2]After Japan developed the firstHDTVsystems in the 1960s,MUSE/Hi-Visionwas introduced in the 1970s.
A modified version of theNTSCsystem for analog signals, calledNTSC-J,was used for analog broadcast between 1950 and the early 2010s. The analog broadcast in Japan was replaced with a digital broadcasts using theISDBstandard. ISDB supersedes both theNTSC-Janalog television system and the previously usedMUSEHi-vision analog HDTV system in Japan.Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting(DTTB) services using ISDB-T (ISDB-T International) started in Japan in December 2003, and since then, Japan adopted ISDB over other digital broadcasting standards.
All Japanese households having at least onetelevision set,or any device that is capable of receiving live television broadcasts, are mandated to hold atelevision license,with funds primarily used to subsidizeNHK,the Japanesepublic service broadcaster.The fee varies from ¥12,276 to ¥21,765 (reduced to ¥10,778 to ¥20,267 for households residing inOkinawa Prefecture)[3][4]depending on the method and timing of payment, and on whether one receives onlyterrestrial televisionor also satellite broadcasts.[5]Households on welfare may be excused from the license fee. Notably, there is no legal authority to impose sanctions or fines in the event of non-payment; people may (and many do) throw away the bills and turn away the occasional bill collector, without consequence.[5]
History
editThe foundation of NHK and Kenjiro Takayanagi's research
edit
In 1924,Kenjiro Takayanagibegan a research program onelectronic television.In 1925, he demonstrated acathode ray tube(CRT)televisionwith thermal electron emission.[1]Television tests were conducted in 1926 using a combined mechanicalNipkow diskand electronicBraun tubesystem.[8]In 1926, he demonstrated a CRT television with 40-lineresolution,[8]the first working example of a fullyelectronic televisionreceiver.[1]In 1927, he increased the television resolution to 100 lines, which was unrivaled until 1931.[9]In 1928, he was the first to transmit human faces in half-tones on television.[10]
In the same period the engineerKenjiro Takayanagialso turned his interest to television studies after having learned about the new technology in a French magazine. He developed a system similar to that ofJohn Logie Baird,using theNipkow diskto scan the subject and generate electrical signals. But unlike Baird, Takayanagi took the important step of using acathode ray tubeto display the received signal, successfully reproducing theKatakanacharacterイin December 1926. In 1928 his research took a further breakthrough, when he managed to reproduce an image of a person with aresolutionof 40linesat a refresh rate of 14frames per second.In the 1930s Takayanagi and his research team developed a fully electronic television system using a revised version of theiconoscope.This was followed by the invention of a video receiver capable of reproducing images with a resolution of 441 lines at 30 frames per second, the best on the market at the time.[11]
After the first broadcasts viaradio,which became a reality in the second half of the 1920s,[12]the creation of a central institution for the management of radio broadcasting services that could reach the entire national territory became increasingly urgent.[13] At the behest of theMinistry of Communicationsthe local stations ofTokyo,OsakaandNagoyawere thus merged in 1926 into a single national organization calledNippon Hōsō Kyōkai.[a]Right after its creation, four other stations were created in other regions, namelyHokkaidō,Tōhoku,ChūgokuandKyūshū,whose first broadcasts took place in November 1928.[13]In 1930 the Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai founded theScience & Technology Research Laboratories(STRL) with the aim of developing a television set in the wake of the inventions ofPaul Gottlieb NipkowandVladimir Zworykin.[15]
Meanwhile inEurope,the first regular test broadcasts were being conducted, withGermanyready to broadcast the imminentBerlin Olympicsof 1936.[11]The following year, it was decided that theGiochiwere to be held inTokyo,and the STRL was put in charge of the event's television project. Takayanagi himself and other leading engineers of the time took part in the program and, although the Olympics were officially canceled in July 1938, television research continued, fueled by the zeal of those involved in the project.[16]On May 13, 1939 an experimental television signal was broadcast from the STRL antenna at the new Broadcasting Hall inUchisaiwaichō,located 13 km away.[17]This represented the first public television experiment conducted through the use of radio waves in Japan.[15]
The beginning of regular broadcasts and the end of the NHK monopoly
editThe experiments continued until the end of the decade. Existing equipment was improved and new lighting systems were created along with smaller, lighter cameras to capture moving images. An all-electronic system was adopted in the 1930s using a domestically developediconoscopesystem.[8]A variety of productions such as films, variety shows, musical shows and TV dramas (such as the family comedyYūge-mae (Before Supper),the firstdoramain history, broadcast live in four episodes over three nights[18]) saw the light, laying the foundations for the development of the television and electronics industry after the Second World War. During the conflict, however, research on television equipment was suspended and electrotechnical companies gave way to the production of weapons, ammunition and other products for war use. Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai itself, which until then had maintained a certain independence from the government, with the increase in military control over the institutions ended up becoming a simple propaganda weapon of the State.[16][19]
For a brief period in the aftermath of Japan's surrender, the occupied government banned television research in 1945, but was lifted in July 1946. Takayanagi joined theVictor Company of Japanto continue research on his own end, while the NHK resumed theirs in November.[20]Takayanagi played a central role in jointly developing television broadcasting technology and television receivers with NHK, Sharp, and Toshiba.
After the war, theoccupation forcesremoved all government and military control over the Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai. In 1950, following a reform of the Japanese broadcasting system, it became an independent company supported by the licence fee paid by listeners and at the same time the market for commercial broadcasting was liberalised.[21]On 1 September 1951, the first commercial broadcaster,CBC Radio (JOAR)in Nagoya, started broadcasting, followed shortly after byNJBin Osaka.[22]Subsequently, several other stations obtained broadcasting rights (among themABC Radio,RKB Radio,KBS KyotoandKRT Radio Tokyo)[23]and by 1952 there were eighteen private radio stations in operation.[24]Thus a new era began, with the public broadcaster Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (since then better identified by its English acronym NHK)[25]on one side and commercial broadcasters financed by advertising revenue on the other.[26]
In 1948 NHK had resumed its research program but since then no great progress had been made in the effective provision of the service to the public. On May 26, 1951, theHouse of Representativesrequested the government's authorization to finally start television broadcasts in the country and on October 2 of the same year the private broadcasterNippon Television(NTV) obtained the broadcasting license, preceding NHK by a few months.[22]The latter began its regular television programming on February 1, 1953, broadcasting for approximately seven hours from 2 to 8:45 in the evening;[27]On August 28 of the same year, Nippon Television, the first commercial television, also became operational.[28]The two broadcasters immediately entered into competition by offering viewers schedules with different styles and contents: if NHK insisted on culturally elevated programs suitable for the highest social classes, NTV aimed more decisively at the masses.[29]Initially the high cost of the receivers slowed down their diffusion, when at the end of March 1954 there were only 17,000 subscribers compared to more than eleven million radio listeners.[28]To overcome this problem, televisions were installed in city centres, in train stations and in parks, attracting large numbers of people and helping to spread television culture in the country.[28]
In the second half of the 1950s,KRT,Fuji TVandNETsigned on, joining the existing NTV.[30]By the end of 1956, NHK had perfected its television broadcasting network, reaching, in addition to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka (these last two started broadcasting in 1954), alsoSapporoandFukuoka,as well as the smaller citires ofSendaiandHiroshima.[31]InKantō region,although each commercial station had installed its own transmitting antennas, the government launched a proposal to build a single large tower capable of transmitting the signal throughout the region.[30][32]In 1958 theTokyo Towerwas inaugurated, symbol of theperiod of great economic growthwhich affected Japan in those years.[33]
At the time of the first regular broadcasts in 1953, there were only 3,000 television sets. The year following the royal wedding of Crown PrinceAkihitoin 1959, the number of sets had increased to 12 million.[34]Local television stations appeared successively on the VHF band, paving way to the first networks, in which a syndication exchange between the five oldest KRT-affiliated stations of the time led to the creation of theJapan News Network,[35]: 100 [36]: 7 which was formalized on August 1, 1959.[36]: 1 The last VHF commercial station to sign on wasTokyo 12 Channelin 1964. Precisely the economic well-being after the Second World War and the lowering of television prices were among the determining factors in the diffusion of television at a national level, which led it to quickly become one of thematerial goodsof greatest importance forJapanese familiestogether with therefrigeratorand thewashing machine.[31]
The arrival of color television
edit
After theUnited StatesandCuba,Japan was the third country in the world to introducecolor television.[37]The first broadcasts began on September 10, 1960 using theNTSCtelevision standard,[28]chosen for its ability to make color content available even for owners of a black and white television set.[37]Color programming initially focused on foreign films, time-delayed sporting events, and short educational programs, due to the inadequacy of television stations' equipment.[37]In 1964 the networks worked to broadcast the1964 Summer Olympics which would have taken place in Tokyo in October of that year, relying on thegeostationary satelliteSyncom 3for the live television broadcast.[37]The latter, however, was not the first satellite to have transmitted a television program across thePacific Ocean,as theRelay 1satellite transmitted the first program from the USA to Japan in November 1963, on the occasion of theassassination of President Kennedy.[38]
Events of such magnitude and general interest, as well as the wedding of the then crown princeAkihitoin 1959, contributed to the rapid popularization of television as a new medium of mass communication. The number of black and white televisions sold exceeded 2 million by the end of the 1950s. However, it took longer for the new color devices to emerge, mainly due to the high prices, and only 1,200 units were sold in the year in which color broadcasts began.[37]Demand grew, however, as prices fell and the production volume increased: from 4,000 units in the two-year period 1962-1963 it went to 1.28 million in 1967 and over 6.4 million in 1970.[39]In November 1975, the number of television sets owned by the general population stood at approximately 46 million, of which 32 million were color televisions.[40]
In the meantime, the last and smallest of the main Japanese commercial broadcasters also appeared on the television scene,TV Tokyo,which began in 1964 as a channel dedicated to cultural and educational programs before later establishing itself also in the entertainment field in general, with particular attention paid toanime.[41]
By the late 1960s, 30 million households owned a television set, commercial TV had 500 transmitters and NHK, 1000. With the early introduction of color television, on the other hand, only a small amount in 1967 afforded such a set, estimated at 80,000-90,000 - aiming for a 100,000 target by spring 1968, accounting to less than 1% of the total number of sets at the time. Its programming in the 1960s was seen as "primitive" for US standards.[42]
TheNippon Hōsō Kyōkai(NHK, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation) began conducting research to "unlock the fundamental mechanism of video and sound interactions with the five human senses" in 1964, after the Tokyo Olympics. NHK set out to create anHDTVsystem that ended up scoring much higher in subjective tests than NTSC's previously dubbed "HDTV". This new system, NHK Color, created in 1972, included 1,125 lines, a 5:3 aspect ratio and 60 Hz refresh rate. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), headed by Charles Ginsburg, became the testing and study authority for HDTV technology in the international theater. SMPTE would test HDTV systems from different companies from every conceivable perspective, but the problem of combining the different formats plagued the technology for many years.[citation needed]
The television industry in Japan affected thefilm industry– in the 1960s, film companies reacted by not allowing their top actors and directors to work on television, not even the formers' production skills. Eventually the film companies lost money.[43]
New technologies, UHF, the age of satellite television and the rise of high-definition television
edit
The first UHF television station to go on air in Japan was theTokushimastation ofNHK Educational TV,on February 20, 1968.[44]
In 1973, the Space Activities Commission launched the experimental satellite transmission program, entrusting its development toNASDAand management to NHK. Five years later, the first Japanese satellite was launched fordirect broadcast satellite(DBS) broadcasts, named BSE orYuri,but the first tests only began in 1984 by means of the BS-2a satellite.[45][46]The latter, unlike its predecessors, allowed signal reception even from smallsatellite dishesof 40 or 60 centimeters in diameter, suitable for domestic use.[47]
In 1989, NHK finally began satellite transmissions, simultaneously launching the newhigh-definition televisiontechnology on an experimental basis.[48]In Japan, research into high definition had begun in the sixties, when Takashi Fujio, director of STRL, believed that television technology, though stillanalog,had reached sufficient maturity to move from the traditional "small screen" to the big movie screen.[49][50]The Fujio's team agreed that, both technically and economically, HDTV technology was more easily applicable to direct satellite broadcasts, also taking into account howcable TVwas poorly developed in Japan than it had been, for example, in the United States.[51]In the 1980s, NHK thus developed the analog Hi-Vision system with 1125 lines, 60 frames per second and an initialaspect ratioof5:3(later upgraded to16:9), beaming the first high definition analog broadcasts via satellite through theMUSEcompression system.[52]However, it took several years before this technology was adopted globally, mainly due to incompatibility with the standards used in the United States andEurope.[48][53]
In the 1980s, the large-scale diffusion of television sets, which had now become universal objects in Japanese homes, also began to have a certain impact on a social level, contributing to loosening family ties and consequently making family members more independent from each other. This also affected the television schedule, from which in a few years the generalist programs designed to entertain the whole family disappeared, replaced by specific programs based on age groups, in addition to programs designed for a mature audience in the late evening hours.[54]
In 1991, the first subscription satellite television network,WOWOW,is born, specialized in broadcasting films, shows and sports. In 2000, digital satellite broadcasts began and several other companies entered the satellite market.[55]SKY PerfecTV!was born in May 1998 from the merger of PerfecTV and JSkyB,[56]whereas the Japanese subsidiary ofDirecTVstarted its services in December 1997.[57]With DirecTV retiring from the Japanese market in March 2000,[57]SKY PerfectTV! emerges as one of Japan's largest pay-TV platforms, competing with WOWOW, cable companyJ:COMandHikari TV'sIPTVservice.
The digital transition and the rise of the Internet
edit
Since the old MUSE system was not compatible with the new digital standards, Japan developed theISDB-Tin the 2000s fordigital terrestrial television,later adopted in other countries inAsiaandSouth America.The first transmission tests using this new generation standard began in 2003 in the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.[58][59]In 2006, the1segfunction was launched, a very popular service that allowed users to watch TV on their mobile phones via digital terrestrial.[60]
From 2010 to 2011 the transition to digital television took place through thedigital switchover,the phased switching off on a regional basis ofanalog television.The transition concluded in most of the country on July 24, 2011, except for the prefectures ofIwate,Miyagi,andFukushima,on whose switchoff was postponed to the following year due to theTōhoku earthquake.[58][61]However, the transition was not without problems: the 333mTokyo Towerwas in fact insufficient to adequately cover the Kantō area with the digital terrestrial signal. For this reason, another 634m high tower was built, theTokyo Skytree,inaugurated in 2012 in theSumidaward.[33]
The total digitalization of television in Japan radically changed the traditional radio broadcasting model, leading the main private broadcasters, satellite platforms and telecommunications companies to offer their programs via paid services on theinternet.[62]GAlready in 2008, NHK inaugurated its subscription service NHK On Demand (now known as NHK+) for the online viewing of programs that were previously shown on terrestrial television.[62]In January 2014, Nippon TV launched a free service that allowed viewers to watch programs online up to a week after the original air date. TBS then followed with the launch of a similar service in October 2014.[62]In 2015, to counter the entry ofNetflixandAmazon Videointo the Japanese market,[63]the main commercial networks based in Tokyo struck a deal by jointly launching the free TVer website.[64][65]In the IPTV sector the Japaneseinternet service providershave been offering their customers the opportunity to use TV-related services via the Internet since the early 2000s,[66]but it was thanks to the launch of the acTVila portal in 2007 by a consortium formed bySony,Panasonic,Sharp,ToshibaandHitachithat Japan entered the Internet TV market forcefully.[67]
The large-scale diffusion of the Internet has led to the formation of a generation gap in which older people spend more time in front of a television compared to younger people, who spend more time online rather than with any other type of media. Especially among teenagers,video sharingorvideo on demandservices such asNiconico,Yahoo! Dougaand GyaO.[62][67]
Terrestrial television
editThere are seven and eight nationaltelevision networksacross Japan – two owned by the nationalpublic broadcasterNHK,and six nationalcommercial key stations(the Japanese counterpart of theBig ThreelikeNippon TV,TV Asahi,andTBS). Although some of thenetworknames shown below are used only fornews programming,the applicable organizations also distribute a variety of other programs over most of the samestations.
|
|
Private commercial networks
edit| Network affiliation name |
Number of affiliates |
Main station inTokyo(Kantō) |
Secondary station inNagoyaandOsaka(ChūbuandKansai) |
Affiliated newspaper(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NNN | 30 | NTV | YTV | CTV | Yomiuri | |
| JNN | 28 | TBS | MBS | CBC | Mainichi | |
| ANN | 26 | EX | ABC | NBN | Asahi | |
| FNN | 28 | CX | KTV | THK | Sankei | |
| TXN | 6 | TX | TVO | TVA | Nikkei | |
| JAITS | 13 | MX,TVK,CTC,TVS, GYT,GTV |
KBS,SUN,BBC,TVN,WTV | GBS,MTV | Chunichi | |
| Network | Flagship station (Tokyo) |
Traded as (Tokyo) |
Transmitter area | Broadcast area | Channel (Tokyo) |
Type (associated newspaper and film company) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHK G | NHK (JOAK-DTV) |
Tokyo Skytree | Kantō region | 1 | Public broadcasting (none) | |
| NHK E | NHK (JOAB-DTV) |
2 | ||||
| JAITS–SYN | tvk (JOKM-DTV) |
3 | Commercial broadcasting (none) | |||
| NNS/NNN | Nippon TV (JOAX-DTV) |
TYO:9404 | 4 | Commercial broadcasting (Yomiuri Shimbun) | ||
| ANN | TV Asahi (JOEX-DTV) |
TYO:9409 | 5 | Commercial broadcasting (The Asahi ShimbunandToei Company[b]) | ||
| JNN | TBS (JORX-DTV) |
TYO:9401 | 6 | Commercial broadcasting (Mainichi Shimbun) | ||
| TXN | TV Tokyo (JOTX-DTV) |
TYO:9413 | 7 | Commercial broadcasting (The Nikkei) | ||
| FNS/FNN | Fuji TV (JOCX-DTV) |
TYO:4676 | 8 | Commercial broadcasting (Sankei Shimbun[c]andToho[d]) | ||
| JAITS–SYN | Tokyo MX (JOMX-DTV) |
Tokyo | 9 | Commercial broadcasting (Chunichi Shimbun[e]andKadokawa Daiei Studio) |
| Channel | Channel name | Callsign | Signal power | ERP | Broadcast area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
NHK General TV | JOAK-DTV | 10 kW | 68 kW | Kantō region |
2
|
NHK Educational TV | JOAB-DTV | |||
3
|
tvk | JOKM-DTV | 3 kW | 11.5 kW | KanagawaandTokyo |
4
|
Nippon TV | JOAX-DTV | 10 kW | 68 kW | Kantō region |
5
|
TV Asahi | JOEX-DTV | |||
6
|
TBS Television | JORX-DTV | |||
7
|
TV Tokyo | JOTX-DTV | |||
8
|
Fuji TV | JOCX-DTV | |||
9
|
Tokyo MX | JOMX-DTV | 3 kW | 11.5 kW | Tokyo |
Digital television
edit
JapanpioneeredHDTVfor decades with an analog implementation (MUSE/Hi-Vision) in the late 1980s. The old system is not compatible with the new digital standards. Japaneseterrestrialbroadcasting of HD viaISDB-Tstarted on December 1, 2003, in theTokyo,Osaka,andNagoyametropolitan areas. It has been reported that 27 million HD receivers had been sold in Japan as of October 2007.
The Japanese government is studying the implementation of some improvements on the standard as suggested byBrazilianresearchers (SBTVD). These new features are unlikely to be adopted in Japan due to incompatibility problems but are being considered for use in future implementations in other countries, including Brazil itself.
Analog terrestrial television broadcasts in Japan were scheduled to end on July 24, 2011, as per the current Japanese broadcasting law. However, the switch-over was delayed in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures, due to a desire to reduce the inconvenience of those affected most by the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiand subsequentFukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.In those areas, analog broadcasting ended on March 31, 2012.
Cable television
editCable television was introduced to Japan in 1955, inShibukawa,Gunma Prefecture.Until the 1980s, cable television in Japan was mainly limited to rural mountainous areas and outlying islands where the reception of terrestrial television was poor. Cable television started to proliferate in urban areas in the late 1980s, beginning withTokyo,whose first cable television station began broadcasting in 1987.[68]
Only one percent of Japanese households were able to receive cable TV in 1992.[69]This posed issues to the launch of new specialized cable networks.[69]
Following the lifting of legal controls by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, six new cable channels launched on Japan's two communication satellites in mid-1992.[69]Japanese law required new channels to receive half of the revenue from subscribers who received the scrambled signals.[69]
Over one million homes were connected to cable TV in 1995.[70]
As of 1995, Japan's eleven cable-only channels were carried through communication satellites. The most successful channel out of the eleven channels had less than 30,000 subscribers, far fewer than Wowow's 1.6 million subscribers. Programming was mostly limited to sports, news and old movies. The lack of programming and the downfall in the Japanese film industry were primary obstacles for the development of cable networks.[70]
In the mid-1990s, two-way multichannel cable television platforms first appeared in the market;broadband internetservices started being bundled to cable television subscriptions in the late 1990s.
Currently, there are several national and regional cable television providers in Japan, the largest beingJ:COM(aKDDIandSumitomo Corporationjoint-venture) and its subsidiaryJapan Cablenet(JCN). These companies currently compete with the Japanese satellite television platformsSKY PerfecTV!andWOWOW,as well as the IPTV platform Hikari TV operated byNTT Plala.
The Japan Cable Television Engineering Association (JCTEA) is the umbrella organisation representing 600 member companies involved in research, designing, manufacturing, installation and maintenance of cable television facilities in Japan.[71]
Satellite and IP television
editThe medium-scale Broadcasting Satellite for Experimental Purposes (BSE) was planned by Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MOPT) and developed by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) since 1974. After that, the first Japanese experimental broadcasting satellite, called BSE orYuri,was launched in 1978.NHKstarted experimental broadcasting of TV program using BS-2a satellite in May 1984.
The satellite BS-2a was launched in preparation for the start of full scale 2-channel broadcasts.Broadcasting SatelliteBS-2a was the first nationalDBS(direct broadcasting satellite), transmitting signals directly into the home of TV viewers. Attitude control of the satellite was conducted using the 3-axial method (zero momentum), and design life was five years. The TV transponder units are designed to sufficiently amplify transmitted signals to enable reception by small, 40 or 60 cm home-use parabolicantennas.The satellite was equipped with three TV transponders (including reserve units). However, one transponder malfunctioned two months after launch (March 23, 1984) and a second transponder malfunctioned three months after launch (May 3, 1984). So, the scheduled satellite broadcasting had to be hastily adjusted to test broadcasting on a single channel.
Later, NHK started regular service (NTSC) and experimentalHDTVbroadcasting using BS-2b in June 1989. Some Japanese producers of home electronic consumer devices began to deliverTV sets,VCRsand even home acoustic systems equipped with built-in satellitetunersorreceivers.Such electronic goods had a specificBSlogo.
In April 1991, Japanese companyJSBstarted a pay TV service while BS-3 communication satellite was in use.
An estimated two million viewers tuned to NHK's two-channel satellite television broadcasts in 1992.[69]
In 1996, the total number of households that received satellite broadcasting exceeded 10 million.
The modern two satellite systems in use in Japan are BSAT and JCSAT; the modernWOWOWBroadcasting Satellitedigital service uses BSAT satellites, while other systems of digital TV broadcasting such asSKY PerfecTV!andHikari TVuses JCSAT satellites.
Satellite and IPTV channels
editBS Channels (HD)
edit| Channel Number | Channel Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Current channels | ||
| BS101 | NHK BS | NHKProgramming (HD) |
| BS141 | BS NTV | Nippon TV/NNN Programming (HD) |
| BS151 | BS Asahi | TV Asahi/ANN Programming (HD) |
| BS161 | BS-TBS | TBS/JNN Programming (HD) |
| BS171 | BS TV Tokyo | TV Tokyo/TXN Programming (HD) |
| BS181 | BS Fuji | Fuji Television/FNN Programming (HD) |
| BS191 | WOWOWPrime | General Entertainment (HD) |
| BS192 | WOWOWLive | Sports and Live Performances (HD) |
| BS193 | WOWOWCinema | Movies (HD) |
| BS200 | Star Channel1 | Movies (HD) |
| BS201 | Star Channel2 | Movies (HD) |
| BS202 | Star Channel3 | Movies (HD) |
| BS211 | BS11 | General Entertainment (HD) |
| BS222 | BS12 TwellV | General Entertainment (HD) |
| BS231 | Open UniversityBS Campus Ex | Educational (HD) |
| BS234 | Green Channel | Horse Racing (HD) |
| BS236 | BS Animax | Animation (HD) |
| BS241 | BS Sky PerfecTV! | Variety (HD) |
| BS242 | J Sports1 | Sports (HD) |
| BS243 | J Sports2 | Sports (HD) |
| BS244 | J Sports3 | Sports (HD) |
| BS245 | J Sports4 | Sports (HD) |
| BS251 | BS Tsuri Vision | Fishing (HD) |
| BS252 | Cinefil WOWOW | Movies (HD) |
| BS255 | Nippon Eiga Senmon Channel | Japanese Movies (HD) |
| BS531 | Open UniversityBS Radio | Educational (Radio) |
BS Channels (4K/8K)
edit| Channel Number | Channel Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4K-BS101 | NHK BS Premium 4K | NHKProgramming (4K) |
| 8K-BS102 | NHK BS8K | NHKProgramming (8K) |
| 4K-BS141 | BS NTV 4K | Nippon TV/NNN Programming (4K) |
| 4K-BS151 | BS Asahi 4K | TV Asahi/ANN Programming (4K) |
| 4K-BS161 | BS-TBS 4K | TBS/JNN Programming (4K) |
| 4K-BS171 | BS TV Tokyo 4K | TV Tokyo/TXN Programming (4K) |
| 4K-BS181 | BS Fuji 4K | Fuji Television/FNN Programming (4K) |
| 4K-BS203 | The Cinema 4K | Movies (4K) |
| 4K-BS211 | Shop Channel 4K | Shopping (4K) |
| 4K-BS221 | 4K QVC | Shopping (4K) |
CS Channels (SKY PerfecTV!/Hikari TV,HD)
edit| Channel Number | Channel Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CS055 | Shop Channel | Shopping (HD) |
| CS161 | QVC | Shopping (HD) |
| CS218 | Toei Channel | ToeiMovies and Television Programs (HD) |
| CS219 | Eisei Gekijo | ShochikuMovies, Kabuki and Asian Drama (HD) |
| CS223 | Channel Neco | Movies (HD) |
| CS227 | The Cinema | Movies (HD) |
| CS240 | Movie Plus | Movies (HD) |
| CS250 | Sky A | Sports (HD) |
| CS254 | Gaora Sports | Sports (HD) |
| CS257 | Nittere G+ | Sports (HD) |
| CS262 | Golf Network | Golf (HD) |
| CS290 | Takarazuka Sky Stage | Takarazuka Revue's Theatre (HD) |
| CS292 | Jidaigeki Senmon Channel | Jidaigeki (HD) |
| CS293 | Family Gekijo | Variety (HD) |
| CS295 | Mondo TV | Variety (HD) |
| CS296 | TBS Channel 1 | General Entertainment (HD) |
| CS297 | TBS Channel 2 | General Entertainment (HD) |
| CS298 | TV Asahi Channel 1 | General Entertainment (HD) |
| CS299 | TV Asahi Channel 2 | General Entertainment (HD) |
| CS300 | Nittere Plus | General Entertainment (HD) |
| CS301 | EntaMētele | General Entertainment (HD) |
| CS305 | Channel Ginga | General Entertainment (HD) |
| CS307 | Fuji TV One | Sports and Variety (HD) |
| CS308 | Fuji TV Two | Drama and Animation (HD) |
| CS309 | Fuji TV Next | Sports and Music Live (HD) |
| CS310 | Super! Drama TV | Foreign Drama (HD) |
| CS312 | Dlife | General Entertainment (HD) |
| CS314 | Lala TV | Women's Programming (HD) |
| CS317 | KBS World | Korean Entertainment (HD) |
| CS318 | Mnet Japan | Korean Entertainment (HD) |
| CS322 | Space Shower TV | Music (HD) |
| CS323 | MTV Japan | Music (HD) |
| CS325 | Music On! TV | Music (HD) |
| CS330 | Kids Station | Animation and Children's Programming (HD) |
| CS333 | AT-X | Animation (HD) |
| CS339 | Disney Junior | Family (HD) |
| CS342 | History Channel | History (HD) |
| CS343 | National Geographic | Documentary (HD) |
| CS349 | Nittere News 24 | News (HD) |
| CS351 | TBS News | News (HD) |
| CS566 | CNNj | News (HD) |
| CS567 | CNN | News (HD) |
| CS570 | Nikkei CNBC | Business News (HD) |
| CS800 | Sports Live+ | Sports (HD) |
| CS801 | Sukachan 1 | Sports (HD) |
CS Channels (SKY PerfecTV!/Hikari TV,4K)
edit| Channel Number | Channel Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4K-CS821 | J Sports1 (4K) | Sports (4K) |
| 4K-CS822 | J Sports2 (4K) | Sports (4K) |
| 4K-CS823 | J Sports3 (4K) | Sports (4K) |
| 4K-CS824 | J Sports4 (4K) | Sports (4K) |
| 4K-CS880 | Nippon Eiga + Jidaigeki 4K | Japanese Movies and Jidaigeki (4K) |
| 4K-CS881 | Star Channel4K | Movies (4K) |
| 4K-CS882 | Sukachan 1 4K | SKY PerfecTV!Original Programming (4K) |
| 4K-CS883 | Sukachan 2 4K | SKY PerfecTV!Original Programming (4K) |
Channels from Asian neighbors
editThe systems used are incompatible with Japan's ISDB-T.
Programs
editWhile TV programs vary from station to station, some generalizations can be made. Most commercial television stations sign on between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. every morning. Early morning hours are dominated bynews programs,and these run from around 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. They are then replaced by late morning shows that target wives who have finished their housework. These run to around 1:30 p.m., at which time reruns ofdramasand information programs that target the same age group start. On some stations at 4:00 p.m., the young kid-orientedanimeand TV shows start, and end around 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. Evening news programs air as early as before 4:00 p.m. or before 5:00 p.m. and end at 7:00 p.m., when the "Golden Hour"of TV shows start. 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. are the time periods into which TV stations pour the most resources. Appearing in this time slot is a certain sign that an actor or actress is a TV star. After 9:00 they switch over toJapanese television dramasand programs focusing on older age groups, which run until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. Stations run their late night news mostly at the 11:00 p.m. hour, and around midnight sports news programs run which target working ages. After these, programs for mature audiences run as well as anime that do not expect enough viewers if they were run earlier. Some commercial stations sign off between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. every night; however, most stations affiliated with NNS or JNN broadcast 24 hours a day, with the sign off window replaced by a simulcast of their networks' news channel during the overnight hours. Other stations do filler programming to fill time before the start of early morning news. Commercial stations sometimes sign off on Sunday late nights or other days for technical maintenance. NHK is required to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Advertisers sponsor programs rather than buying advertising time during commercial breaks. The advertisers have major power over prime time programs, aiming to thelowest common denominatorby having "familiar, tested" celebrities hosting the programs, regardless of genre.[43]
None of the foreign programs air on terrestrial television during prime time, even rare outside the prime time hours; instead, locally produced programs dominate the slot, favored by the public.[43]The broadcasters have control over production companies, hence production companies often work with a single TV station and the TV station itself owns the copyright to the completed program.[43]
The Japanese have sometimes subdivided television series and dramas intokūru(クール),from theFrenchterm "cours"(both singular and plural) for" course ", which is a three-month period usually of 13 episodes.[72]Eachkūrugenerally has its own opening and ending image sequence and song, recordings of which are often sold. A six-month period of 26 episodes is also used for subdivision in some television series.
Drama
editJapanese dramas(テレビドラマ,terebi dorama,television drama)are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedies, detective stories, horror, and many others. With a theme, there may be a one-episode drama, or two nights, that may be aired on special occasions, such as in 2007 where they had a drama produced as a sixty-year anniversary from the end of the World War II, with a theme of the atomic bomb.
Science fiction
editJapan has a long history of producingscience fiction series for TV.Non-anime science fiction are still largely unknown to foreign audiences. An exception isPower Rangersand theirsubsequent seriesthat used battle sequences from theSuper Sentaicounterpart and combined them with American actors who acted out entirely original story lines.
Anime
editAnime(アニメ),taken from half of the Japanese pronunciation of "animation", is the Japanese word for animation in general, but is used more specifically to mean "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world.[73]Anime dates from about 1917.[74]TV networks regularly broadcast anime programming. In Japan, major national TV networks, such asTV Tokyobroadcast anime regularly. Smaller regional stations broadcast anime onUHF.Doraemon,Case Closed,Pokémon,Fairy Tail,Bleach,Naruto,Dragon BallandOne Pieceare examples of anime. While many popular series air during the daytime and evening hours, most air only at night from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. These series usually make profits primarily through BD (Blu-ray Disc)/DVDsales andmerchandisingrather than throughtelevision advertising.Some anime series are original, but most are intended to promote something else, such as an ongoingmanga,light novel,orvideo gameseries which they are usually based on.[citation needed]
Variety shows
editJapanesevariety shows(also known as Japanesegame shows) aretelevisionentertainmentmade up of a variety of originalstunts,musicalperformances,comedyskits,quizcontests, and other acts. Japanese television programs such asMusic StationandUtabancontinue in an almost pristine format from the same variety shows of years before. The only major changes have been the increasing disappearance of live backup music since the 1980s.
Most viewed channels
edit| Position | Channel | Rating, 2023 (%) | Rating, 2022 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nippon TV | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| 1 | TV Asahi | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| 3 | NHK G | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| 4 | TBS | 2.7 | 2.8 |
| 5 | Fuji TV | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| 6 | TV Tokyo | 1.2 | 1.2 |
See also
edit- Hobankyo—Organization based in Japan that enforces broadcast television copyright issues
- List of Japanese-language television channels
- NHK
- Video Research—company which conducts audience measurement for television and radio
Notes
edit- ^The English acronym NHK was only used after the end of the Second World War.[14]
- ^TV Asahi is the largest single shareholder in Toei.
- ^Fuji TVand theSankei Shimbunare under the common ownership ofFuji Media Holdings.
- ^Toho is the largest single shareholder in Fuji TV's parent company Fuji Media Holdings; its parent company, theHankyu Hanshin Toho Group,is the second largest shareholder in FNS'Kansai region flagship.
- ^The Chunichi Shimbun Company owns stakes in most JAITS stations.
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Further reading
edit- "Japan",Digital News Report,UK:Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism,University of Oxford, 2020,OCLC854746354