MBC TV (South Korean TV channel)
MBC TV is a South Korean free-to-air television channel launched on 8 August 1969 and owned by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. History. On 21 February 1961, the Seoul Private Broadcasting Corporation was established. On 22 June 1966, the company received a broadcasting license from the government and started broadcasting on terrestrial television on 8 August 1969. On 5 October 1970, MBC Newsdesk was launched as the network's newscast. A year later, on 10 January 1971, the names of all regional broadcasters were merged under the MBC brand. On 22 December 1980, colour  transmissions began in Seoul alone, followed by a nationwide adopting on 1 January 1981. Together with its main rivals KBS and SBS, MBC TV began its full-scale daytime broadcasting on 1 December 2005. It went on to broadcast 24 hours a day on 1 January 2013 and discontinued on 30 December 2017. As of 4 August 2014, the channel news program began to be broadcast from the new television station located in Sangam, and from 1 September of that same year, the channel began to produce all the programs in the new studios. Programming. MBC dramas are exported to  100 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. "Dae Jang Geum" has high audience ratings in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong; its popularity has continued in 91 countries, including Japan. Other dramas that have enjoyed high viewership include "Jumong", "Coffee Prince", "Moon Embracing the Sun", "Yi San", "Queen Seondeok", and "Dong Yi". Infotainment shows and documentaries. MBC documentaries encompass a wide range of issues, from foreign affairs to the environment. "PD Notebook" premiered in 1990, and has since earned notoriety for its investigations from a journalistic standpoint. Episodes have included one covering scientific fraud by Korean geneticist  Hwang Woo-suk, and another containing arguments against importing US beef. The latter episode, entitled "Is American Beef Really Safe from Mad Cow Disease?", contributed to three months of protest in Seoul against importing US beef. Since then, the accuracy of the episode and the program's method of obtaining information has been questioned. MBC current-affairs and documentary programs have won recognition from the New York and Banff TV Festivals, the Asian TV Awards, ABU Prizes, Earth Vision and the Japan Wildlife Festival. News. MBC News now has 18 local news bureaus and 8 overseas news bureaus, with which  it signed a news supply contract with CNN, APTN, NBC and Reuters TV so it can bring up to date news to viewers. MBC currently offers a wide variety of in-depth analysis programs on politics, economy, society, and culture through Current Affairs Magazine 2580, 100 Minute Debate, Economy Magazine M, and Unification Observatory. Sports. MBC broadcasts Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers games when Hyun-jin Ryu pitches and Shin-soo Choo and Jung-ho Kang bat. International awards. The following are some of the international awards MBC TV programs have received between 2013 and the first  half of 2014.