# TBS Holdings

TBS Holdings, Inc., (formerly Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc.,) is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network TBS Television and radio network TBS Radio. It has a 28-affiliate television network called Japan News Network, as well as a 34-affiliate radio network called Japan Radio Network.
TBS produced the game show Takeshi's Castle and has also broadcast the Ultra Series programs and Sasuke (Ninja Warrior), whose format would inspire similar programs outside Japan.

## History

* May 1951 - Radio Tokyo (株式会社ラジオ東京, KRT, the predecessor of TBS) was founded in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
* December 25, 1951 - KRT started radio broadcasting (1130 kHz, 50 kW, until July 1953) from Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and the frequency changed to 950 kHz.
* April 1955 - KRT started TV broadcasting (JOKR-TV, Channel 6) from Akasaka-Hitotsukicho, Minato, Tokyo.
* August 1, 1959 - Japan News Network (JNN) is formed.
* November 29, 1960 - KRT was renamed Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc., and the headquarters and radio studio were moved to the main building in Akasaka.
* August 1961 - TBS unveils the cursive logo, after the renaming of Tokyo Broadcasting System from KRT.
* July 17, 1966 Ultraman Begins airing becoming popular in Japan.
* October 1, 1967 Ultraseven Begins airing becoming More popular and reaching More viewers Ratings.
* 1971 - TBS Radio's transmitter power was increased to 100 kW.
* April 2, 1971 Return Of Ultraman begins airing and revives The Ultra series.
* March 31, 1975 - Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) dropped out JNN and Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) joined the news network due to ownership issues with ABC. Since then, MBS has been an affiliated TV station of JNN in Osaka and Kansai region.
* November 23, 1978 - The frequency for TBS Radio was moved to 954 kHz.
* May 2, 1986 - TBS starts broadcasting the game show Takeshi's Castle.
* 1989 - TBS became culpable in the Sakamoto family murder by Aum Shinrikyo, resulting in complaints against the network after the case was solved several years later.
* October 19, 1990 - The last-ever episode of Takeshi's Castle was broadcast on TBS.
* September 20, 1991 - TBS enters into an agreement with CBS News in the U.S. for newscasts and satellite relays. Following a short-lived logo for 30 years.
* October 3, 1994 - The present headquarters, TBS Broadcasting Center, were completed next to the old headquarters (later renamed as Akasaka Media Building until its demolition in 2003). They are called "Big Hat (ビッグハット)". Nine months after the third logo was unveiled.
* April 1, 1998 - JNN News Bird starts broadcasting. In 2006, the channel was renamed TBS News Bird.
* February 2000 - TBS adopts a symbol based on the Kanji symbol for "person".
* March 21, 2000 - TBS founded TBS Radio & Communications Inc. (株式会社ティ・ビー・エス・ラジオ・アンド・コミュニケーションズ→株式会社TBSラジオ&コミュニケーションズ), TBS Entertainment Inc. (株式会社ティ・ビー・エス・エンタテインメント), and TBS Sports Inc. (株式会社ティ・ビー・エス・スポーツ), and founded TBS Live Inc. (株式会社ティ・ビー・エス・ライブ) the next day. On October 1, 2001, TBS succeeded the radio station to TBS Radio & Communications, and changed callsign of TV station (JOKR-TV → JORX-TV).
* July 1, 2002 - TBS ch. starts broadcasting on pay television.
* October 1, 2004 - TBS Entertainment merged TBS Sports and TBS Live, and changed the corporate name to Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. (株式会社TBSテレビ).
* October 13, 2005 - Rakuten Inc. announced that it bought 15.46 percent stake in TBS, bringing it up to 19%.
* After over a month and a half of worries over a possible hostile takeover, Rakuten withdrew its bid for TBS on December 1 and planned to form a business alliance with the broadcast company instead.
* April 1, 2006 - Digital terrestrial broadcasts commence.
* April 1, 2009 - TBS became a certified broadcast holding company named Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc.. TV broadcasting business and culture business were taken over by Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. and the letters TBS became in use for the abbreviation of the subsidiary company.
* March 14, 2011 - A news special program was broadcast without commercials in three days after the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster.
* December 1, 2011 - TBS sold the Yokohama BayStars, a Nippon Professional Baseball team to DeNA. DeNA will buy 66.92 percent of the team's stock for 6.5 billion yen from TBS. TBS will retain a 2.31 percent ownership stake in the team.
* April 1, 2016 - TBS Holdings subsidiary, TBS Radio and Communications renamed TBS Radio.
* April 1, 2020 - After 26 years, TBS unveils an updated logo.
* October 1, 2020: Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc. was renamed as TBS Holdings, Inc., to commemorate 70th anniversary of the company since 1950.

## Coverage
### Current
#### Football
##### Soccer

* FIFA
** National teams
*** Men's :
**** FIFA World Cup (including qualifiers for Europe (all matches) and Asia (selected matches)
** Japan national football team
** Japan national under-23 football team

#### Volleyball

* FIVB
** FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship
** FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship

#### Golf

* The Masters

#### Multi-sport events

* IAAF World Championships in Athletics
* Summer Olympic Games
* Winter Olympic Games

## Programs

Below is a selection of the many programs that the network has broadcast.

### Sporting competition

* Kinniku Banzuke (筋肉番付, also known as Unbeatable Banzuke in the United States and United Kingdom)
* Sasuke (known as Ninja Warrior in other countries, e.g.:American Ninja Warrior in the United States) an obstacle course based game show, originally part of Kinniku Banzuke
* Kunoichi Sasuke's female counterpart

### Variety and talk shows

* Masahiro Nakai's Friday Smiles [ja] (中居正広の金スマ)

### Music

* The Best Ten (ザ・ベストテン) (1978–1989) (the program's best episodes were rerun in 2020 as a special)
* Count Down TV

### Dramas and TV series

* Another World (もう一つの世界)
* Days of Our Lives (私たちの生活の日々)
* Passions (情熱)
* Santa Barbara (サンタバーバラ)
* Sunset Beach (サンセットビーチ)

### Information and news programs

* Mino Monta no Asa Zuba! [ja] (みのもんたの朝ズバッ!!)
* The World Heritage (THE 世界遺産)

### Game shows

* Quiz ¥20,000,000 Money Drop (2000万円クイズ！マネードロップ), Japanese version of The Million Pound Drop
* All Star Thanksgiving Festival [ja] (オールスター感謝祭) (Spring/Fall)
* Sanma's Super Karakuri-TV [jp] (さんまのスーパーからくりTV)
* Tokyo Friend Park II (関口宏の東京フレンドパークII)
* Dragon Zakura (ドラゴン桜)
* Princess Resurrection
* Japan Cable Awards (発表!日本有線大賞)
* Japan Record Awards (輝く!日本レコード大賞)
* Tokyo Music Festival (東京音楽祭)
* Food Battle Club
* Hachiji da yo! Zen'in shūgō (1969–1985)
* Takeshi's Castle (風雲!たけし城)
* Pro Sportsman No.1 (最強の男は誰だ!壮絶筋肉バトル!!スポーツマンNo.1決定戦)
** Sports Danshi Grand Prix (究極の男は誰だ!?最強スポーツ男子頂上決戦), reboot version of Pro Sportsman No.1.
* KASSO, skateboarding gameshow
* Honoo-no Taiiku-kai TV (炎の体育会TV)
* Newscope (ニュースコープ) → JNN Evening News (JNNニュースの森) → Evening 5 (イブニング・ファイブ) → THE NEWS (総力報道! THE NEWS) → N Studio (Nスタ)
* Karei-naru Ichizoku' (華麗なる一族) - TBS 55th anniversary drama starring Takuya Kimura (SMAP)
* Lincoln (リンカーン)
* Utaban (うたばん) → The Music Hour (ザ・ミュージックアワー)
* Samurai Baseball (侍プロ野球) - baseball games
* Masters Tournament
* Quiz Derby
* We asked 100 people (クイズ100人に聞きました) (1979–1992), Japanese version of Family Feud
* The Chance! (ザ・チャンス!) (1979–1986), Japanese version of The Price Is Right
* Toray Pan Pacific Open
* FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, FIVB Volleyball World League
* IAAF World Championships in Athletics (since 1997, IAAF Official Broadcaster)
* Happy family plan (しあわせ家族計画)
* Survivor (サバイバー)
* Ah, You're really Gone Now. This TV film was selected at the 49ème Festival de télévision de Monte-Carlo in Monte-Carlo in June 2009. It obtained the special commendation of the SIGNIS Jury.
* Hiroshima Showa 20 nen 8 Gatsu Muika (2005)
* Japanese Americans (2010)
* 南極大陸～神の領域に挑んだ男と犬の物語～ (2011)
* Ginayon (1985-2012 (present))
* Produce 101 Japan (2019)

### Anime programming

* The Idolmaster

## Criticism
### Sakamoto family murders

TBS was accused of failing to protect its sources in October 1989, when it taped an interview with Tsutsumi Sakamoto regarding his investigations into the Aum Shinrikyo sect. The network secretly showed a video of the interview to Aum members without Sakamoto's knowledge. Aum officials then pressured TBS to cancel the planned broadcast of the interview, but Sakamoto, his wife and child were murdered by Aum members on 3 November.