Nippon TV (secondary; April 1, 1959 – August 31, 1962) Fuji TV (tertiary; April 1, 1959 – August 31, 1962) NET/ANN (quaternary; April 1, 1959 – September 30, 1975)
RCC Broadcasting Company (株式会社中国放送Kabushiki Gaisha Chugoku Hoso; later name: RCC) is a Japanese broadcaster which serves the Hiroshima region. It is a member of JRN and NRN networks for radio and JNN for television.
History
Early history
Alongside the planned expansion of private broadcasting across Japan after the passage of the "Three Radio Laws" in 1950, two companies, "Hiroshima Heiwa Broadcasting" and "Radio Hiroshima" applied for the establishment of private radio stations. Later, the two companies merged after the Radio Supervisory Committee's advice.[2]: 29 On April 21, 1951, Hiroshima Broadcasting (the new company after two companies merged) was granted a license and on February 25 the following year, they held the promoters' meeting and received funding from newspapers Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun.[2]: 29
Radio Chugoku's first headquarters (pictured in 1955)
On August 8, 1952, Hiroshima Broadcasting was renamed to Radio Chugoku after a general meeting of shareholders.[2]: 30 Radio Chugoku started broadcasting on October 1, 1952, at 6:30 am operating for at least 16 hours and 30 minutes every day.[2]: 34–35
Expansion to TV broadcasting and further developments
In 1954, Radio Chugoku applied for a TV license,[2]: 64 and received a preliminary TV license on October 22, 1957.[2]: 65 On March 17, 1959, Radio Chugoku began TV broadcast trials.[2]: 68 Radio Chugoku started TV broadcasts on April 1, 1959[2]: 68 Also in the same year, it joined the Japan News Network.[2]: 93
During its early operations, the broadcaster didn't have any professional TV studios which resulted its radio studio being multipurposed for TV broadcasts.[2]: 80 It was then decided that a new headquarters will be built in Motomachi (which started on November 5, 1960), adjacent to the Hiroshima Castle.[2]: 80 On October 19, 1960, Radio Chugoku started broadcasting on its newly built headquarters.[2]: 80
On March 20, 1966, Chugoku Radio and Television began TV broadcasting in color.[2]: 164–165 On April 1 of the same year, it started uninterrupted[1] TV broadcasts.[2]: 156–158 The company was then renamed to Chugoku Broadcasting on April 1, 1967 to reflect its TV and radio operations.[2]: 136
Since the mid-60s, RCC produced documentaries with foreign productions. These include a documentary about Japanese immigrants in Hawaii in 1965 and about Hiroshima City and Volgograd becoming sister cities in 1968.[2]: 149–151
On April 15, 1970, NPB Opening Day, RCC aired the first color Hiroshima Toyo Carp local game broadcasts for its broadcast markets. [2]: 165 Chugoku Broadcasting became an official broadcaster for airing highlights of the Hiroshima Flower Festival since it started in 1977.[2]: 212–214
On October 1, 2006, RCC started digital broadcasting and ended analog broadcasts on July 24, 2011.[3]
