Nishinippon Broadcasting

Nishinippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd. is a Japanese commercial broadcaster based in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. Known by the abbreviation RNC, the company operates both a radio service and a television service, with its principal coverage and business activities centered on Kagawa and the wider Okayama–Takamatsu market. Its broadcasting identity developed from the original radio name, Radio Nishinippon Broadcasting Company, rather than from a consumer-product brand. The company was established in 1953 as Radio Shikoku by members of the Shikoku Shimbun Company and the Kagawa prefectural chamber of commerce and industry. Regular radio broadcasts began on October 1, 1953, using the JOKF callsign on 1060 kilocycles with an output of 100 watts. The station was renamed Radio Kagawa on December 25 of the same year. In 1956, it adopted the name Nishinippon Broadcasting, the name it continues to use, and increased its radio output to 1 kilowatt. Nishinippon Broadcasting expanded into television on July 1, 1958. Its television service began under the JOKF-TV callsign on channel 9, with a video output of 1 kilowatt and an audio output of 250 watts. The launch made it the eighth commercial television station to begin broadcasting in Japan. During the late 1950s, the company also established offices in Hiroshima, Imabari, Himeji, and Fukuyama, reflecting the regional commercial and news-gathering environment in which it operated. RNC is affiliated with the major Japanese broadcast-network structures serving its two media divisions. Its television operation is associated with Nippon News Network and Nippon Television Network System, while its radio operation has participated in the National Radio Network and Japan Radio Network frameworks. The station joined the radio network structure associated with NRN during the network’s formation in 1965 and later became connected with both JRN and NRN in the Okayama–Takamatsu market. RNC Radio currently functions as a JRN–NRN affiliate for Kagawa. The company’s core activities are the production, acquisition, scheduling, and transmission of radio and television programming, together with regional news, information, entertainment, advertising, and related broadcasting services. Its importance is primarily regional: it connects audiences and advertisers in Kagawa with the neighboring Okayama market and participates in Japan’s nationally coordinated commercial broadcasting system while maintaining a local station identity. Publicly available reference material identifies the company’s historical development and network affiliations but does not establish a separate parent company, owner, stock listing, or internationally distributed consumer brand.

Nishinippon Broadcasting traces its origins to Radio Shikoku, a company created in Takamatsu on July 29, 1953, with backing from members of the Shikoku Shimbun Company and Kagawa’s chamber of commerce and industry. The organization sought to establish a commercial radio service for the region. Its regular broadcasts began on October 1, 1953, using the JOKF callsign on 1060 kilocycles and transmitting at 100 watts. The original name was short-lived. On December 25, 1953, the station became Radio Kagawa. Taro Hirai served as its first president, before Jinnosuke Hirai replaced him on December 1, 1955. On October 1, 1956, the company adopted the name Nishinippon Broadcasting and raised its radio output to 1 kilowatt. The abbreviation RNC derives from the station’s earlier radio identity, Radio Nishinippon Broadcasting Company. The next major stage was entry into television. Nishinippon Broadcasting began television transmissions on July 1, 1958, using the JOKF-TV callsign on channel 9. The new service had a video output of 1 kilowatt and an audio output of 250 watts, and its launch placed the company among Japan’s earliest commercial television broadcasters. The company subsequently developed a wider regional presence, opening an office in Hiroshima in October 1958 and another in Imabari in November. Additional offices were established in Himeji and Fukuyama during 1959. Color television broadcasting began on October 5, 1964, marking a technical modernization of the television service during the period when color broadcasting was spreading through Japan. On the radio side, RNC participated in Japan’s commercial network system. It joined the National Radio Network during the network’s creation on May 3, 1965, initially serving the Okayama–Takamatsu market as an NRN-linked station. In October 1997, RNC and the cross-market broadcaster RSK Radio joined the JRN and NRN structures respectively, strengthening the formal network organization of radio broadcasting in the area. RNC Radio is described as the JRN–NRN affiliate serving Kagawa. The company’s television affiliations include Nippon News Network and Nippon Television Network System. These relationships allow a regional station to combine locally produced programming and news with nationally coordinated content and distribution. Nishinippon Broadcasting’s continuing business is therefore based on a dual role: it is a local broadcaster with a distinct Kagawa identity and a participant in Japan’s national commercial-radio and television networks. Available reference material confirms its radio and television operations, regional offices, technical milestones, and network relationships, but does not provide reliable information here about later corporate ownership, current senior management, financial performance, or a separate listed-company structure.

• 1997

  Radio network relationships are reorganized

  [1]Nishinippon Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  In October, RNC and RSK Radio joined the JRN and NRN structures respectively in the Okayama–Takamatsu market.

• 1965

  Radio network affiliation begins

  [1]Nishinippon Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  RNC joined the National Radio Network structure during its creation on May 3, serving the Okayama–Takamatsu market.

• 1964

  Color television broadcasting begins

  [1]Nishinippon Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  Nishinippon Broadcasting started color television transmissions on October 5.

• 1958

  Television service launches

  [1]Nishinippon Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  Television broadcasting began on July 1 under the JOKF-TV callsign on channel 9, making the station one of Japan’s earliest commercial television broadcasters.

• 1956

  The Nishinippon Broadcasting name is adopted

  [1]Nishinippon Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  The company changed to its current name on October 1 and increased radio output to 1 kilowatt.

• 1953

  Radio Shikoku is founded

  [1]Nishinippon Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  Radio Shikoku was established in Takamatsu by members of the Shikoku Shimbun Company and Kagawa’s chamber of commerce and industry.

• 1953

  Regular radio broadcasting begins

  [1]Nishinippon Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  Regular broadcasts began on October 1 under the JOKF callsign on 1060 kilocycles, with a transmission output of 100 watts.

• 1953

  The station becomes Radio Kagawa

  [1]Nishinippon Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org

  The organization changed its name from Radio Shikoku to Radio Kagawa on December 25.

A regional Japanese commercial broadcaster combining local radio and television programming with national network affiliations.

• Radio broadcasting · 1953

  RNC Radio

  Nishinippon Broadcasting’s radio service provides regional programming for Kagawa and participates in Japan’s coordinated commercial radio-network system. Its network relationships include JRN and NRN, and it serves as the JRN–NRN affiliate for Kagawa. The service’s institutional origins reach back to the company’s first broadcasts in 1953 and provide the source of the RNC abbreviation.

• Television broadcasting · 1958

  RNC Television

  The company’s television operation began in 1958 under the JOKF-TV callsign on channel 9. It combines locally relevant programming and news with content supplied through its affiliations with Nippon News Network and Nippon Television Network System. The service introduced color broadcasting in 1964 and remains the company’s principal television platform in the Kagawa and neighboring Okayama viewing area.

• 1964

  Introduction of color televisionGeneration change

  Background

  Color transmission was becoming an important technical development in Japanese television broadcasting.

  Action taken

  The station commenced color television broadcasting on October 5.

  Aftermath

  The television service moved to a newer broadcast standard and continued its technical modernization.

  Source

• 1958

  Launch of television broadcastingProduct launch

  Background

  After establishing a radio operation in Kagawa, the company expanded into the new commercial television medium.

  Action taken

  Nishinippon Broadcasting began television broadcasts on July 1 under the JOKF-TV callsign on channel 9.

  Aftermath

  The company became a combined radio and television broadcaster and expanded its regional media role.

  Source

• 1956

  Adoption of the Nishinippon Broadcasting name and radio expansionStrategy

  Background

  The broadcaster had operated under the names Radio Shikoku and Radio Kagawa since its founding and was developing its transmission capacity.

  Action taken

  On October 1, the company adopted the Nishinippon Broadcasting name and increased radio output to 1 kilowatt.

  Aftermath

  The change established the corporate and station identity used by the broadcaster today.

  Source

1. 1Nishinippon Broadcastingen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Nishinippon Broadcasting official websiternc.co.jp