, also known as Chūtele (中テレ) or FCT, is a Japanese
broadcast network
A terrestrial network (or broadcast network in the United States) is a group of radio stations, television stations, or other electronic media outlets, that form an agreement to air, or broadcast, content from a centralized source. For example, ...
affiliated with the
NNN. Their headquarters are located in
Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Pref ...
.
History
The birth of the second commercial broadcaster in Fukushima Prefecture date back to the dispute between the two major newspapers in the prefecture and the start of Fukushima TV, the first commercial station in the prefecture. At that time there were two local newspapers in the area: Fukushima Minpo (part of
Mainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by
In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...
) and Fukushima Minyu (part of
Yomiuri Shimbun
The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ...
).
When Fukushima Radio started broadcasting in 1953, Fukushima Minpo took the lead, which resulted the rival newspaper to enter the competition.
In the late 1960s, the Ministry of Posts opened up applications for the use of UHF TV frequencies.
Kōriyama City, the second largest city, campaigned for the establishment of the second broadcaster in the Prefecture.
At that time, there were 11 companies applied for the license. Most of the companies then merged into Fukushima Central Television, and on March 31, 1969, they obtained the broadcast license.
The broadcaster is located in Koriyama City, which was the first broadcaster to be headquartered outside the prefecture designated city.
Test broadcasts began on December 23, 1969, which was followed by a pilot broadcast on February 1 of the following year. Fukushima Central TV started broadcasting on April 1, 1970.
From its opening, it was affiliated with Fuji TV and TV Asahi.
However, more than a year from its first broadcast, Fuji TV and Nippon TV reach an agreement to let FCT air the latter network's programming, which resulted to Fukushima TV airing Fuji TV programs alongside TBS TV programming.
In 1971, FCT aired 100% of its programming in color, becoming the last station in Japan to start airing in color.
FCT introduced OB vans that can broadcast in color.
In 1976, FCT became number 1 in all-day and primetime TV ratings.
In 1976, FCT published the Fukushima Bunko books, with a total of 50 volumes.
This was later turned into a drama in 1980 under the title, "Hometown", with a total of 52 episodes.
With the launch of
Fukushima Broadcasting on October 1, 1981, FCT dropped its
All-Nippon News Network
, or ANN, is a Japanese commercial television network run by TV Asahi Corporation. The network's responsibility includes the syndication of national television news bulletins to its regional affiliates, and news exchange between the stations. ...
affiliation on that day.
Due to the launch of KFB, FCT had a decrease in turnover after competition from other broadcasters intensified.
Stations
Analog
*Fukushima 33ch
*Aizuwakamatsu 37ch
*Iwaki 34ch
Digital(ID:4)
*Fukushima 27ch
*Aizuwakamatsu 22ch
Programs
Anime
*''
Clione no Akari''
References
External links
Fukushima Central TV website
Companies based in Fukushima Prefecture
Television stations in Japan
Nippon News Network
Television channels and stations established in 1970
Mass media in Kōriyama
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