Kansai Television

JODX-DTV (channel 8), branded as Kansai TV (Japanese: 関西テレビ, Hepburn: Kansai-terebi; KTV, also spelled as Kantele (カンテレ)), is the Kansai region key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and Fuji Network System (FNS), owned-and-operated by the Kansai Television Co. Ltd. (Japanese: 関西テレビ放送株式会社, Hepburn: Kansai Terebi Hōsō kabushiki gaisha). Its studios and headquarters are located in Osaka and the broadcaster is an affiliate company of the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Group, part of the wider Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group.

In 1952, when the Ministry of Posts announced the first channel plan for Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, "TV Osaka" (テレビ大阪, unrelated to the current Television Osaka) initiated by the Sankei Shimbun, as well as Kyoto Broadcasting System and Kobe Broadcasting, applied for a TV license in the Osaka area. However, the TV license in the Osaka area was later obtained by Osaka TV Broadcasting, a joint operation of Asahi Broadcasting and New Japan Broadcasting (now Mainichi Broadcasting System). Afterwards, when the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications released a new channel frequency plan again, the Sankei Shimbun and Hankyu Electric Railway applied for a TV license in the name of "Kansai TV Broadcasting" (Japanese: 関西テレビ放送) to apply for a TV license in its name. The two were integrated into "Dai Kansai TV Broadcasting" (大関西テレビ放送) in June 1957, and obtained a TV license on July 8 of the same year. On February 1, 1958, the Great Kansai TV Broadcasting Formally established, and changed the company name to "Kansai Telecasting Corporation" in July of the same year. With the completion of the signal launch station in September 1958 and the completion of the headquarters building in October, the conditions for KTV to start broadcasting were ripe.

At 16:30 on November 22, 1958, Kansai Telecasting officially started broadcasting. The first program broadcast was "This is Commercial" (これがコマーシャルだ) which lasted for one and a half hours, introducing the general situation of KTV and the information from East and West House. The History of Advertising From Beginning to Broadcast TV Advertising. On the evening of the first day of the broadcast, the commemorative performance held at the Umeda Theater, as well as movies and news programs were broadcast. At the beginning of the broadcast, since Kansai TV did not join any network, 95% of KTV's programs were self-made except for news. It was not until Tokai Television in December of the same year and Fuji Television and Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting's television division in March of the following year that KTV had the support of a network, and was able to reduce the number of self-produced programs to save costs, and the proportion of self-produced programs was also reduced to about 40%. KTV also participated in the 1959 broadcast of the wedding of the crown prince (the current emperor) Akihito and Michiko Masada. This wedding also became a major opportunity for the popularization of television in Japanese households[8]:14. KTV also achieved the first program broadcast from the seabed in the Japanese private TV industry in this year, and won the People's Congress Award for this. were broadcast. At the beginning of the broadcast, since KTV did not join any network, 95% of KTV's programs were self-made except for news.

Because Hankyu Electric Railway was one of the main shareholders of KTV, the Hosei Opera became an important program resource of the channel in its early days. In 1961, the average audience rating of Kansai Telecasting during the prime time reached 16.3%, and it was the first time it was rated first place in the Kansai area. With the rapid development of Japan's economy, TV advertising expenses also increased rapidly, and Kansai TV's advertising revenue also increased rapidly. In 1959, Kansai Television Station turned losses into profits the following year, and in 1967, it achieved zero debts. In October 1968, it was the first to rank first in the operating income of Osaka's four private four stations. The program production capacity of Kansai TV Station also improved simultaneously during this period. The finale of the TV series "Udon" (うどん) aired in 1967 set a record of 49.3% ratings, which is the only broadcast on Kansai TV to achieve the record for highest ratings so far except for sports events. In September 1964, KTV broadcast its first color program "Thunderbolt Boat", and broadcast its first color production in 1967. In 1969, Kansai TV realized 60% of the prime-time programs in color, and in November of the following year, all the prime-time programs were in color. KTV sent 30 people to participate in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics interview activities, and used color TV to broadcast some events.

In 1969, the Fuji Network System (FNS) was formally established, and KTV was one of the four permanent directors (The other three were Fuji TV, Tokai Television, and Television Nishinippon), which have an important position in the network. KTV was also the first TV station in Japan to start using computers for business affairs among private TV stations in Japan. It began to use computers for salary calculation and other businesses in 1962. In 1978, KTV celebrated its 20th anniversary. During this period, KTV made new achievements in the fields of technology and international communication. In 1979, KTV began broadcasting stereo programs. In 1978 and 1981, KTV also invited two former US presidents, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, to visit Japan.

After the 1980s, as the ratings of Fuji TV ushered in a leap forward, KTV also entered a peak ratings. In 1983, the station won the ratings championship for the first time in the evening prime time (19:00 to 22:00) and 19:00 to 23:00. In 1985, the station further won the triple crown of ratings in the prime time, evening time, and full-day three-time period, and maintained these records until 1994. KTV's advertising revenue has also increased significantly with the increase in ratings. In 1985, the operating income of Kansai TV Station reached 36.9 billion yen, achieving an average daily turnover of more than 100 million yen. Kansai TV is also actively exploring new areas other than television. In 1986, it produced its first film "The Capital Disappears". In 1988, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its launch, Kansai TV produced and broadcast special programs such as "Ancient Capital" and "A Journey to Central Asia".

In 1991, at the peak of Japan's bubble economy period, KTV set a record of 61.7 billion yen in operating income and 9.8 billion yen in regular interests.

Under the background of excellent performance, insufficient space in the existing headquarters, and the successive relocation of Yomiuri TV and MBS to new headquarters, KTV also released a plan to build a new headquarters in 1994. Due to the lack of a suitable large-scale open space in Osaka City, Kansai TV decided to obtain the new headquarters construction land in the form of land trust by participating in the Ogimachi Park redevelopment plan of the Osaka City Government. In 1991, Kansai Telecasting also set up a studio in Tokyo, so that artists could record KTV's programs in Tokyo and improve program production capabilities.