View source for TV Tokyo

{{Short description|Television station in Tokyo}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=November 2010}}
{{Expand Japanese|テレビ東京|date=May 2009}}
{{Cleanup rewrite |date=July 2024}}
{{Copy edit |date=July 2024}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = JOTX-DTV
| logo = TV Tokyo (Japanese) 2023.svg
| logo_caption = Logo used since 2023
| image = Sumitomo RD Roppongi Grand Tower.jpg
| caption = TV Tokyo's headquarters at Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo.
| location = [[Kantō region]] 
| country = JP
| language = Japanese
| city = [[Tokyo]]
| branding = TV Tokyo
| digital = 23 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 7
| translators = <!-- '''[[Mito, Ibaraki]]'''<br />Digital: Channel 18 -->
| affiliations = [[TX Network]] (1983–present)
| former_names = {{ubl|Science TV Tokyo Channel 12 (1964–1968)|Tokyo Channel 12 (1968–1981)}}
| owner = TV Tokyo Corporation
| licensing_authority = [[Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications|MIC]]
| airdate = {{start date|1964|4|22}}
| callsign_meaning = T for Tokyo
| sister_stations = {{hlist|BS TV Tokyo | [[AT-X (TV network)|AT-X]] | [[Nikkei CNBC]] }}
| former_callsigns = JOTX-TV (1964–2011)
| former_channel_numbers = '''[[Analog television|Analog]]''': 12 ([[VHF]]; 1964–2011)
| former_affiliations = [[Independent station|Independent]] (1964–1983)
| erp = 10 kW (68 kW [[Effective radiated power|ERP]])
| coordinates = {{coord|35|39|50|N|139|44|36|E|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| website = {{url|tv-tokyo.co.jp}}
| embed_header = Corporate information
| embedded = {{Infobox company | embed = yes
| name = TV Tokyo Corporation
| native_name = 株式会社テレビ東京
| native_name_lang = ja
| romanized_name = Kabushiki gaisha Terebi Tōkyō
| traded_as = {{TYO was|9411}}
| type = [[Subsidiary]] [[Kabushiki gaisha|KK]]
| former_name = {{ubl|Tokyo Channel 12 Production, Ltd. (1968–1973) | Tokyo Channel 12, Ltd. (1973–1981) | Television Tokyo Channel 12, Ltd. (1981–2004)}}
| area_served = Worldwide, mainly Japan
| foundation = {{Start date|1968|7|01}}
| location = [[Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower]], [[Roppongi]]
| location_city = [[Minato, Tokyo]]
| location_country = Japan
| industry = [[Media (communications)|Media]]
| key_people = Ichiro Ishikawa (president and CEO)
| subsid = {{hlist|TV Tokyo Medianet | TV Tokyo Music | TV Tokyo Direct | TV Tokyo America | AT-X}}
| services = {{ubl|[[Television broadcasting]]}}
| parent = [[TV Tokyo Holdings|TV Tokyo Holdings Corporation]]
| website = {{url|https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/kaisha/}}
}}
}}
'''JOTX-DTV''' (channel 7), branded as {{nihongo foot|'''TV Tokyo'''|テレビ東京|Terebi Tōkyō|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha|extra=abbreviated and branded on-screen as {{nihongo|テレ東|Teretō}}}} is a Japanese [[television station]] that serves as the [[flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] of the [[TX Network]].<ref name="corporate-data">"[http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/contents/ir/eng/co_data/main.html Corporate Data]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130021311/http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/contents/ir/eng/co_data/main.html |date=January 30, 2010 }}. TV Tokyo. Retrieved on June 21, 2010.</ref> It is [[owned-and-operated station|owned and operated]] by {{nihongo foot|'''TV Tokyo Corporation''',|株式会社テレビ東京|[[Kabushiki gaisha]] Terebi Tōkyō|group=lower-alpha}} itself a [[subsidiary]] of the [[TV Tokyo Holdings|TV Tokyo Holdings Corporation]], in turn controlled by [[Nikkei, Inc.]]<ref name="corporate-data" /> It is headquartered in the [[Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower]] in [[Roppongi]], [[Minato, Tokyo]]. TV Tokyo is one of the five private broadcasters based in Tokyo, and the last to have started its broadcasts on VHF.

The predecessor of TV Tokyo was Tokyo Channel 12, which was broadcast using the bandwidth returned by the US military stationed in Japan. However, similar to [[TV Asahi|Nippon Educational Television]] (NET TV), which was also a private educational television station, Tokyo Channel 12 faced a serious business crisis after its launch due to low ratings. Nikkei, Inc. took over the operation of Tokyo Channel 12 in 1969 and officially converted it into a comprehensive television station in 1973. In 1981, Tokyo Channel 12 was renamed TV Tokyo.

==History==
[[File:TV Tokyo Headquarters.jpg|thumb|upright|Former TV Tokyo Toranomon headquarters]]

On July 2, 1960, the Japan Science and Technology Promotion Foundation (now {{illm|Japan Science Foundation|ja|日本科学技術振興財団}}) applied to the Ministry of Post for a television broadcast license for the VHF12 channel returned by the U.S. military stationed in Japan. As part of the license application, the majority of programs were set to be science and technology education programs; the rest were to be general education and news programs.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} However, after this decision was issued, three other companies participating in the bidding, including Central Educational Broadcasting, raised objections to the Postmaster General, and the debate was not concluded until 1969.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

=== 1960s ===
After the Science and Technology Promotion Foundation obtained the broadcasting license, it immediately invited Kurata, the then president of Hitachi Production Co., Ltd., to serve as the head of the television business headquarters and began preparations for the launch.<ref name="Tokyo12">{{cite book|script-title=ja:『東京12チャンネル15年史』 |year=1979 |publisher=Tokyo Channel 12|location=Tokyo|language=ja}} {{NCID|BN13674487}}</ref>{{rp|59}} At noon on April 12, 1964, Tokyo Channel 12 officially launched (broadcasting as {{nihongo|'''Science TV Tokyo Channel 12 Television'''|科学テレビ東京12チャンネルテレビ|Kagaku Terebi Tōkyō Jūni-channeru Terebi}});<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|59}} the first program broadcast was the special program "The Birth of Tokyo Channel 12",<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|65}} and the NHK Symphony Orchestra concert, the 90-minute TV series "The Shore of Sorrow" and variety shows such as "Good Night 21st Century" were broadcast.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|20}} On the first day of broadcast, Tokyo Channel 12's average full-day ratings were 2.1%, and the average prime-time ratings were 3.4%.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|96}} When Tokyo Channel 12 was launched, its main programs were mainly industrial high school lectures, supplemented by news, social education, TV dramas, foreign movies and other programs.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|60}} During the [[1964 Summer Olympics|1964 Tokyo Olympics]], Tokyo Channel 12 set aside all programs other than higher education for Olympic broadcasts, with the longest broadcast time among the flagship stations.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|60}}

However, due to the extremely low ratings of Tokyo Channel 12's educational programs (in the first year of its launch, the average daily ratings of Tokyo Channel 12 were only 1% and only 2% during prime time).<ref name="shashi30">{{cite book|script-title=ja:『テレビ東京30年史』 |year=1994 |publisher=TV Tokyo|location=Tokyo|language=ja}} {{NCID|BN10530152}}</ref>{{rp|20}} as well as the Japanese economy being in a securities recession at the time, Tokyo Channel 12 fell into serious operating difficulties after it started broadcasting.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|60}} In the first year of broadcasting, it recorded a deficit of 1.38 billion yen.<ref name="shashi30" />{{rp|24}} In 1966, Tokyo Channel 12 decided to shorten daily broadcasting to five hours and thirty minutes, and attempts were made to rebuild by requesting donations from powerful financial companies, laying off employees, and suspending advertising business activities.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|61}} However, Tokyo Channel 12 planned to lay off 200 people. This triggered a strong backlash from the labor union and led to a four-year dispute between the two.<ref name="shashi30" />{{rp|31}} In 1967, Tokyo Channel 12 changed its reconstruction plan again, extending the daily broadcast time to 8 hours and 10 minutes, and requesting companies in the financial sector to donate funds for reconstruction and restart advertising activities.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|61}} At the same time, four other private TV stations in Tokyo and NHK also formed the "Science TV Coordination Committee" to assist in the reconstruction of Tokyo Channel 12 and provide broadcasting parts for the Program.<ref name="shashi30" />{{rp|34}} These measures halved the accumulated losses of Tokyo Channel 12 to approximately 1.743 billion yen in 1967.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|61}} On March 28, 1968, Tokyo Channel 12 began broadcasting color programs.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|61}}

As the operating conditions of Tokyo Channel 12 were in trouble again in 1968, the Science and Technology Promotion Foundation decided to abandon the previous method of soliciting donations from the financial sector and instead invited the financial sector to inject capital to rebuild the television department. On July 1 of the same year, twenty companies in the Japanese financial circle, including Mainichi Broadcasting, [[Hitachi|Hitachi, Ltd.]], and [[Nissan|Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.]], invested in the establishment of Tokyo Channel 12 Production Company (Tokyo Twelve Channel Co., Ltd.) with a capital of 1 billion yen. The Science and Technology Promotion Foundation has the television broadcasting license and facility management rights, while Tokyo Channel 12 Production is responsible for program arrangement, production, and advertising business.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|61}} As Mainichi Broadcasting invested in the establishment of Tokyo Channel 12 Production Company, a network relationship was actually formed between Tokyo Channel 12 and [[Mainichi Broadcasting System]] during this period. Some programs of Tokyo Channel 12 were broadcast in Kinki through [[MBS TV|Mainichi Broadcasting]].<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|70}} In 1969, Tokyo Channel 12 Production once again increased its capital by 1 billion yen, of which Nihon Keizai Shimbun invested 600 million yen, becoming the largest shareholder of Tokyo Channel 12 Production.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|62}}

=== 1970s ===
In 1970, Tokyo Channel 12 achieved 100% colorization of evening prime-time programs and achieved profitability for the first time in the same year through business activities.<ref name="shashi30" />{{rp|44}} On October 24, 1973, Tokyo Channel 12 Production Co., Ltd. changed its company name to Tokyo Channel 12 Co., Ltd. (Tokyo 12 Channel Co., Ltd.), officially taking over the operation of Tokyo Channel 12 from the Science and Technology Promotion Foundation.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|62}} On November 1 of the same year, as the Ministry of Post and Post abolished the educational television license in the Keihin area, Tokyo Channel 12 was officially transformed into a comprehensive television station,<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|62}} and the program broadcast ratio was changed to 20% of educational programs, 30% of educational programs, and other programs 50%.<ref name="Tokyo12" />{{rp|15}} In March 1975, due to Mainichi Broadcasting joining JNN, Tokyo Channel 12 terminated its relationship with Mainichi Broadcasting Network and strengthened cooperation with Kinki local independent stations SUN TV and Kinki Broadcasting.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In 1969, the ''Nikkei'' and MBS signed a memorandum of understanding which stipulated that Tokyo Channel 12 should share programs with Nihon Educational Television (NET, now [[TV Asahi]]), this arrangement lasted until 1975.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In October 1977 Tokyo Channel 12 Production was renamed {{nihongo|'''Tokyo Channel 12, Ltd.'''|株式会社東京12チャンネル|Kabushiki-gaisha Tōkyō Jūni-channeru}}; and shortened the channel's name to {{nihongo|Tokyo Channel 12|東京12チャンネル|Tōkyō Jūni-channeru}}, dropping "Science TV" from its name. At the same time, the station moved to [[Shiba Park]]. A month later, it became a general-purpose TV station along with NET. On April 1, 1978, Tokyo launched a new production company, Softx.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

=== 1980s ===
In 1981, it was again renamed, this time to '''Television Tokyo Channel 12, Ltd.''' [[trade name|d/b/a]] '''TV Tokyo'''; the current Japanese name of the company was also assumed in the same year.

In 1983, TV Tokyo formed the Mega TON Network (now [[TX Network]]) with [[TV Osaka]], and [[Aichi Television Broadcasting]]. The company shifted its head offices from [[Shiba Park]] to [[Toranomon]] in December 1985.

=== 1990s to present ===
On October 4, 1999, Tokyo's production company Softx was renamed TV Tokyo MediaNet. In 2004, TV Tokyo MediaNet was shortened to MediaNet. On June 25, 2004, the company assumed its current English name TV Tokyo Corporation. After the digital transition, the channel began broadcasting on digital channel 7. On November 7, 2016, TV Tokyo moved its headquarters to the new building at [[Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower]] from its old studios in Toranomon. The network initially used a [[Circle 7]]-style logo to broadcast animated programs.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} The station mascot is a cartoon banana with eyes, a nose, and a mouth which is bent into a 7, named Nanana ({{lang|ja|ナナナ}}).

The network is part of the [[Japan Consortium]], which covers the [[Olympic Games]] and the [[FIFA World Cup]].

<gallery>
TV Tokyo logo (1981-1985).svg|TV Tokyo logo used between 1981 and 1985. This is the first variation of the テレビ東京 wordmark styling, which was used between 1981 and 1998.
TV Tokyo logo 20110629.svg|The network's logo from October 1, 1998, until November 12, 2023.
TV Tokyo logo 2023 en.svg|The network's current English logo, used for international operations.
</gallery>

==Programming==
{{Main|List of programs broadcast by TV Tokyo}}

== See also ==
* [[Television in Japan]]
* [[AT-X (TV network)|AT-X]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|TV Tokyo}}
* {{official website|http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/}} – {{In lang|ja}}
* {{Anime News Network|company|262}}

{{TV-Kanto}}
{{TXN}}
{{Japan television networks}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Companies|Japan|Tokyo|Television|1960s}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tv Tokyo}}
[[Category:TV Tokyo| ]]
[[Category:Anime companies]]
[[Category:Mass media companies based in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Japanese-language television stations]]
[[Category:Television networks in Japan]]
[[Category:Nikkei Inc.]]
[[Category:Mass media companies established in 1968]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1964]]
[[Category:Television in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Television stations in Japan]]
[[Category:TX Network]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:1964 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Roppongi]]
[[Category:2004 initial public offerings]]