NHK
The Japan Broadcasting Corporation, or NHK (Nihon Hoso Kyokai), is considered a specially designated public corporation, which was organized in 1950 under Japan’s Broadcast Law. Merging the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka Broadcasting Corporations that had been broadcasting over radio airwaves since 1925, NHK went on to broadcast via television in February 1953. Nationally, NHK operates 54 stations; globally, the company operates in 35 locations.
The public broadcaster currently offers five TV channels: Terrestrial broadcast channels General TeleVision and Educational TeleVision are supplemented by satellite broadcast channels BS-1, BS-2 and BS-hi. Digital satellite and terrestrial broadcasting initiatives have been in place since 2000 and 2003, respectively.
Publicly funded (not to be mistaken with government-funded) NHK is tax-exempt but does not receive funding from nor is it operated by the Japanese government (though the government provides financial aid for overseas broadcasting purposes.) Instead, every household owning a television set is expected to pay a “receiving fee” as opposed to a “viewing fee” that is paid to cable satellite companies like WOWOW and SKY PerfecTV!. With no commercials airing on the network, the company states, “This system enables the Corporation to maintain independence from any governmental and private organization, and ensures that the opinions of viewers and listeners are assigned top priority.”
Privatization of the broadcaster has been debated as its efficiency as a public entity has repeatedly come into question. Despite maintaining its claim of independence from public and commercial organizations, the fact that the Diet must approve NHK’s budget and management appointees inevitably draws criticism of a pro-government bias. Proving the legitimacy of such concerns, an NHK producer admitted to altering one of a four-part documentary series that aired in 2001 after two Liberal Democratic Party members ordered the producer to incorporate positive viewpoints of the government to balance the coverage on a highly sensitive war-related topic. Any external influence on the broadcaster is deemed illegal under the Broadcast Law as a hindrance to free speech, and the news broke on the front page of The Asahi Shimbun on Jan. 12, 2005. However, following the resignation of President Katsuji Ebisawa on Jan. 25, 2005, it was discovered that Ebisawa had promptly been made an advisor to NHK. He and two other advisors were forced to step down just days later on Jan. 29. Ebisawa had previously made front-page news as NHK president the summer before, following an embezzlement scandal involving one of its producers. In July 2004, a former executive producer at the company was scrutinized for allegedly misappropriating some 49 million yen ($436,000) in programming fees.
NHK is also a popular destination for retired government officials, in an age-old practice known as amakudari, literally meaning “to descend from heaven.” Additionally, the monthly receiving fees must be collected door-to-door by NHK, but no special set-top boxes are required to view the channels, making it difficult for the staff to collect the fees. Such problems make NHK’s privatization a more realistic debate than ever before.
Commercial Broadcasters
Japan’s major commercial broadcasters are NTV, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi and TV Tokyo. These commercial stations provide free terrestrial TV broadcasts, and are the equivalent of network television in the United States. Regionally, the programming is broadcast to each area of Japan via local stations. All of the broadcasters cover a similar range in programming, from drama, documentary, animation, general entertainment and news. Each of these broadcasting companies operates nationally as well as internationally, and many either operate or are affiliates of radio broadcasting companies, newspapers and professional sports teams.
Since the technology became accessible in 2003, broadcasters have been pushing forward with digital programming.
Two companies, Nielsen Media Research and Video Research followed TV ratings in Japan until Nielsen left the market in 2000. Household ratings exceeding 15 percent in the Tokyo market is considered a hit, where Fuji TV topped ratings charts between 1982 and 1993, was surpassed by Nippon TV through 2003, until successfully regaining the top spot in 2004.
NTV
NTV obtained the first television broadcasting license in Japan in 1952 and has been broadcasting since 1953. It was the first broadcaster in 1978 to obtain a dual-audio broadcasting license, which enabled viewers to switch between Japanese and English audio whenever voice-overs were provided.
The company had approximately 1,300 employees as of July 2004. Its biggest investor is the Yomiuri Shimbun, since 1974 when the company bought out shares held by the Mainichi Shimbun and The Asahi Shimbun. NTV is thus affiliated with Yomiuri and the professional baseball team the Yomiuri Giants. For branding purposes, the company calls itself Nittere, which is short for Nippon Television.
Fuji TV
The largest commercial broadcaster in Japan, Fuji Television Corp., was founded in 1957. The company has been headquartered in the seaside metropolis of Odaiba in Tokyo’s Minato Ward since 1997 and counted 1,384 employees in June 2004. The broadcaster consists primarily of its Fuji Network System (FNS) and Fuji News Network (FNN), for national distribution of original programming and news.
When it launched the early evening news show FNN Supertime in 1984, Fuji TV forged the landscape for what was soon to become a highly competitive news hour, until canceling the show more than a decade later in 1997. Its live morning show, Mezamashi Terebi – akin to the genre of NBC’s Today Show – continues to be a competitive player in that segment. Fuji TV reclaimed its number-one spot in television in 2004 by focusing on popular “variety programs,” comedy shows that often feature celebrities engaging in conversation or games with fellow celebrities.
Fuji TV is part of the Fuji-Sankei Group, which includes Sankei Shimbun, Nippon Broadcasting System (NBS) and pro baseball team the Yakult Swallows. Fuji TV made headlines in January 2005 when it announced a takeover bid for NBS, which was followed by turmoil instigated by Internet media company Livedoor Inc.’s hostile takeover of NBS. The two companies negotiated a deal in which Fuji TV acquired Livedoor subsidiary Livedoor Partners Co., in effect becoming the major shareholder of NBS with plans to make the radio broadcaster its subsidiary in Fall 2005.
TV Asahi Corporation
Established in 1957 and broadcasting since 1959, the TV Asahi Corporation was launched as a provider of educational programming. Its headquarters are located in the new Roppongi Hills high-rise in Roppongi, Tokyo. Its major shareholder is The Asahi Shimbun.
Asahi’s highly controversial and popular evening news show, NewsStation ran from 1985 to 2004, featuring Hiroshi Kume as the news anchor. The show was replaced by Hodo Station and not just it has already achieved the ratings of its predecessor, it is actually doing better. The Sunday morning show Sunday Project, hosted by journalist Soichiro Tahara, serves as a platform for debate among leading politicians, whose statements made on the show often make news.
TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc., or TBS, was founded in 1951. TBS Radio & Communications became its own entity in 2001, and the television broadcasting division, TBS TV, was established in 2004. More than 800 TBS employees, roughly 80 percent, were transferred to the newly formed TBS TV. The company is affiliated with the Mainichi Shimbun and owns baseball's Yokohama Bay Stars.
TBS is known for its news reporting since establishing the nation’s first news network system, Japan News Network (JNN). Various scandals involving TBS led to a drop in the company’s credibility and ratings, and TBS no longer has the reputation it once had as a quality broadcaster. In one instance, TV Asahi uncovered the fact that the scheduled broadcast of an interview with Tsutsumi Sakamoto, the lawyer who was in litigious relations with the Aum Shinrikyo cult, was canceled after Aum officials paid a visit to TBS. The situation garnered national attention after members of the Sakamoto family were found brutally murdered in their home.
The station’s most distinctive news program is Chikushi Tetsuya News 23, anchored by Tetsuya Chikushi. Airing since 1989 in the 11 p.m. time slot, Chikushi never shied away from hiding his rivalry with fellow news anchor Kume of TV Asahi.
TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo Corporation first began broadcasting in August 1964, and underwent an IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange 40 years later in August 2004. Initially operated by the Japan Science Promotion Foundation, the company was founded to provide distance learning educational programming in the sciences for Kagaku Gijyutsu Gakuen High School before expanding operations to general programming in order to sustain its business. Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc. took over in 1969.
Niche programming seems to be the key behind TV Tokyo’s operations, especially with their strength in business news and documentaries. Nihon Keizai Shimbun produces original content for the business news show, World Business Satellite (WBS), though airing only in limited regions. Since its launch in 1988, the show has a history of featuring female news anchors. Though noticeably subdued compared to flashier news shows like NewsStation and News 23, the no-frills WBS program seems to suit its business-minded late-night audience.
Today, TV Tokyo offers six digital terrestrial channels, and is affiliated with the Yokohama Bay Stars baseball team. The network partnered with CNBC Asia of the GE Capital Group in 2002 to bolster content and reach, forming Nikkei CNBC.