, also known as KAB, 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

ANN Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...

. Their headquarters are located in

Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to the northeast, M ...

History

Pre-launch

In the 1980s, following the Ministry of Post's (currently

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Of ...

) policy of making four well-known private TV stations accessible nationwide, Kumamoto Prefecture was allocated the fourth private TV broadcaster in 1984, and attracted 482 applicants (215 of which belonged to the

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition a ...

Group) to apply. In 1986, the Ministry of Posts commissioned the Kumamoto Prefectural Government to consolidate the applications. After nearly 2 years of the consolidated applications, the other companies agreed to integrate into one for application. On October 5, 1988, before the opening of the station, the name of the station was decided as Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting. A month later, they have obtained a preliminary license and a day before its opening, a general meeting was held. In July 1989, KAB moved into the Technology Plaza Building in Hanabata-cho, Kumamoto City, and started testing TV broadcasts on August 15. On September 22, KAB was granted an official license and started another trial broadcasts.

Launch and further developments

On October 1, 1989, KAB started broadcasting, becoming the fourth station in the Prefecture (TV Asahi/

programming aired from RKK & TKU also moved into the new station). On its second year, it started broadcasting the Kumamoto Prefecture qualifiers of the Japan High School Baseball Championship. In 1991, when Kumamoto Prefecture was hit by

Typhoon Mireille Typhoon Mireille, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Rosing, was the costliest typhoon on record, until it was surpassed by Typhoon Hagibis in 2019 (when not adjusted for inflation). Striking Japan in September 1991, it became the 20th named s ...

, some of its relay stations were damaged forcing to go off air. *2006 December 1: the network's Kumamoto main station commenced their

Digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTTV or DTT, or DTTB with "broadcasting") is a technology for terrestrial television in which land-based (terrestrial) television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to televisions in consumers' ...

broadcasting service.

Stations

Analog Stations

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

(Main Station) JOZI-TV 16ch * Hitoyoshi 36ch *

Minamata is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is on the west coast of Kyūshū and faces Amakusa islands. Minamata was established as a village in 1889, re-designated as a town in 1912 and grew into a city in 1949. As of March 2017, the c ...

32ch * Ushibuka 20ch * Oguni 23ch * Aso 50ch * Matsubase 52ch * Misumi 17ch *

Amakusa , which means "Heaven's Grass," is a series of islands off the west coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan. Geography The largest island of the Amakusa group is Shimoshima, which is 26.5 miles long and 13.5 mi ...

31ch

Digital Stations(ID:5)

(Main Station) JOZI-DTV 49ch

Programs

Rival Stations

RKK Kumamoto Broadcasting is a regional radio and television broadcaster headquartered in Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan that serves Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and ...

- JNN affiliated, ID:3 *

Kumamoto Kenmin TV is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

- NNN affiliated, ID:4 *

TV Kumamoto TV-Kumamoto Co., Ltd. ( ja, 株式会社テレビ熊本) , also known as TKU,is a Japanese television station, founded in 1968 and headquartered in Kumamoto, Japan. It started broadcasting in 1969. It is affiliated with the FNN and FNS, and it ...

- FNN affiliated, ID:8

References

External links

Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting
All-Nippon News Network Asahi Shimbun Company Television stations in Japan Television channels and stations established in 1989 Mass media in Kumamoto {{Japan-tv-station-stub