Kochi Broadcasting (高知放送, Kōchi Hōsō), also known as RKC (Radio Kochi Company), is a Japanese radio and television broadcaster. It was founded in 1953 and headquartered in Kōchi, Japan.[1] Kōchi Broadcasting is affiliated with the NNN and NNS (TV), JRN, NRN (Radio). [2] It is a part of Kochi Shimbun group. [3]
Kochi Broadcasting started radio broadcasting in 1953, [4] and started television broadcasting in 1959. [5][6]
History
Following the implementation of the Three Radio Laws in 1950, bids for radio stations were being set up across Japan, including in Kochi Prefecture,[7]: 26 on October 30, 1952, the Kochi Shimbun took the lead in organizing the initiator meeting of Kochi Radio, and the newspaper contributed more than 30% of the stocks.[7]: 21–22 The original headquarters of the station were located in a two-story building in the open space at the northwest corner of the headquarters of the Kochi Shimbun.[7]: 21
On August 1 of the following year, Radio Kochi received a preliminary license.[7]: 25 On August 29, Radio Kochi began a trial broadcast.[7]: 27 At 5:30 am on September 1, 1953, Radio Kochi officially started broadcasting, becoming the 20th commercial broadcasting company in Japan.[7]: 27 In the first year of broadcasting, Radio Kochi had an income of 46.6 million yen, an expenditure of 62.17 million yen, and a loss of 15.57 million yen.[7]: 71 On August 3, 1954, the Radio Kochi Union was established.[7]: 75 As the demand for a salary increase was not met, Radio Kochi's labor union launched a 24-hour strike on July 2 of the following year, resulting in the suspension of a large number of programs. This was the first strike in the Japanese commercial broadcasting industry. In the end, the strike ended with the management partly accepting the demands of the trade union.[7]: 79–81 Afterwards, on November 30, 1961, the Radio Kochi union also went on strike.[7]: 121 In 1956, Radio Kochi realized stock dividends for the first time.[7]: 89
In the television channel allocation plan issued by the Ministry of Posts and Posts in 1957, Kochi Prefecture was allocated two channels. At that time, two companies in Kochi Prefecture, Radio Kochi and Kochi Television (not the current Kochi TV) applied for it.[7]: 92 Under the government's adjustment, Kochi Television agreed to withdraw its application in October of the same year and joined the Kochi Radio camp; Kochi Radio received a preliminary license on October 22.[7]: 95 In order to meet the hardware conditions required for television broadcasts, Kochi Radio expanded its headquarters in 1958 from two floors to six floors.[7]: 101 On March 2, 1959, Radio Kochi made its first TV test broadcast. On March 19, Radio Kochi obtained the official TV broadcasting license. A week later, on March 26, Radio Kochi began to broadcast a trial TV program.[7]: 103 Kochi Radio officially started broadcasting TV programs at 9:30 am on April 1, 1959.[7]: 105 Since other commercial TV stations in Shikoku were all members of the Nippon Television Network at that time, and the commercial TV microwave network could only accommodate one network, the TV division of Radio Kochi joined the Nippon Television Network after it started broadcasting.[7]: 252
With the popularization of TV sets and the development of the Japanese economy, Radio Kochi's TV income has also increased rapidly, while the broadcasting sector has stagnated.[7]: 117 Radio Kochi's broadcasting department's advertising revenue first declined in 1959.[7]: 203 On January 1, 1962, Kochi Radio changed its company name to Kochi Broadcasting, marking the entry into an era dominated by television.[7]: 122 In November 1963, following the 10th anniversary of the launch, Kochi Radio hosted the Kochi Performance of the Vienna Boys' Choir.[7]: 120 On October 1 of the same year, the groundbreaking ceremony for Kochi Broadcasting's new headquarters (Kochi Shimbun Broadcasting Hall) was held. The building has eight floors on the ground and three floors underground. The first phase of the project was completed in 1966, and the second phase of the project was completed in 1972.[7]: 156–157 At the end of the year, the number of television sets in Kochi Prefecture exceeded 100,000 households, with a penetration rate of 47.6%.[7]: 575 Kochi Broadcasting established a subsidiary RKC Production (RKCプロダクション) in 1964 to further expand the television production business.[7]: 430 In May 1965, the radio division of Kochi Broadcasting joined JRN and NRN.[7]: 207 On the other hand, the relationship between labor and capital in Kochi Broadcasting has been tense for a long time. Beginning on May 20, 1966, the Kochi Broadcasting Union launched an 85-day strike campaign.[7]: 365–369 Afterwards, Kochi Broadcasting's labor and management sides fell into serious confrontation for a long time, and it was not until March 1981 that a reconciliation was achieved.[7]: 372–377
When the TV division of Radio Kochi started broadcasting, grassroots employees hoped to use Tokyo Broadcasting, which also had a radio station, as the affiliate, but due to physical constraints, they joined the Nippon Television Network [5] :256 . In 1966, Kochi Broadcasting officially joined NNN.[7]: 279 In 1969, on the eve of the launch of Kochi TV, the second commercial TV station in Kochi Prefecture, Kochi Broadcasting decided to broadcast TBS news bulletins in the morning to strengthen its relationship with TBS because it was expected that the new station would join the Fuji TV network. In January 1970, Kochi Broadcasting asked TBS to join the Japan News Network, but was rejected by TBS.[7]: 258 After this move was learned by Nippon TV, the relationship between Kochi Broadcasting and Nippon TV seriously deteriorated.[7]: 258–259
In April 1970, Kochi TV started broadcasting, which led to intensified competition in the TV industry in the prefecture, and the revenue of Kochi Broadcasting's TV division decreased for the first time.[7]: 344 However, due to the booming Japanese economy at that time, Kochi Broadcasting's advertising revenue quickly resumed rapid growth.[7]: 345 In 1977, Kochi Broadcasting began to use computers in its business, which greatly improved business efficiency.[7]: 347–351 Kochi Broadcasting also actively participates in local contributions. Since 1972, Kochi Broadcasting has held the "Hometown Festival" (ふるさとまつり) event every year, becoming one of the representative large-scale events in Kochi Prefecture.[7]: 392–393
Kochi Broadcasting began to broadcast digital TV signals on October 1, 2006, and stopped broadcasting analog TV on July 24, 2011. Kochi Broadcasting started construction of its new headquarters in April 2020 and were completed in September 2021. On March 28, 2022, RKC began to broadcast from the new headquarters. [8][9]
