BBC Japan was a short-lived subscription

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

channel co-owned by

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

and

SKY PerfecTV! is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service that provides satellite television, audio programming and interactive television services to households in Japan, owned by parent company SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation. SKY PerfecTV! is also a dire ...

subsidiary Japan Mediarc that was available via

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The channel's aim was to showcase the BBC's programming to the Japanese market, but it suffered from financial issues from its co-owner that led to the channel's closure a year later.

History

The channel was announced by the BBC on 8 October 2004 for a launch on 1 December. The channel launched as planned on that day, broadcast on

Sky PerfecTV! is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service that provides satellite television, audio programming and interactive television services to households in Japan, owned by parent company SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation. SKY PerfecTV! is also a dire ...

satellite channel 110. The channel launched with solid figures, with reports at the BBC citing that the audience was mainly Japanese. On 14 June 2005, the channel was added to Online TV Company's

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband, is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a Telephone company, telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live telev ...

service. On 20 March 2006, BBC Worldwide announced that the channel would cease operations in April, citing that financial problems at Japan Mediarc meant they could no longer honour contractual commitments to distribute the network. On 24 April 2006, the closure date of 30 April was announced, and the channel closed as planned on that day.

Programming

Being the Japanese counterpart to

BBC Prime BBC Prime was the BBC's general entertainment TV channel in Europe, Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Asia Pacific from 30 January 1995 until 11 November 2009, when it was replaced by BBC Entertainment. The network was the result of BBC W ...

, BBC Japan aired programmes normally sourced from

or the mainstream

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

archives, as well as third-party content from companies like Granada Media. With BBC Japan being a commercial network; programs were edited to fit the time slot, meaning a normal hour-long production would be shortened to 42 minutes on the channel. While some shows were dubbed or voiced over, the majority of the channel's content was broadcast in English with Japanese

subtitles Subtitles are texts representing the contents of the audio in a film, television show, opera or other audiovisual media. Subtitles might provide a transcription or translation of spoken dialogue. Although naming conventions can vary, caption ...

. * ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (often shortened to ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom created and written by Jennifer Saunders, which premiered in 1992. It is based on the 1990 '' French and Saunders'' sketch " Modern Mother and Daughter", cr ...

'' * '' Angelmouse'' * '' Bargain Hunt'' * ''Binka'' * ''

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'' * '' The Catherine Tate Show'' * ''

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'' * '' Changing Rooms'' * ''

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'' * ''

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'' * '' Friends Like These'' * '' Ground Force'' * ''

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'' * ''

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'' * ''

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'' * ''

My Family ''My Family'' is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broadc ...

'' * ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'' * '' Parkinson'' * ''

Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...

'' * ''

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'' * '' Shooting Stars'' * '' Sounds of the 60s'' * '' Sounds of the 70s'' * '' Top Gear'' * ''

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'' * '' Tweenies'' * ''

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'' * ''

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc Japan International BBC television channels Defunct BBC television channels Defunct television channels in Japan Television channels and stations established in 2004 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2006 2004 establishments in Japan 2006 disestablishments in Japan