Setonaikai Broadcasting

Setonaikai Broadcasting Co., Ltd., commonly known as KSB, is a Japanese commercial television station serving the Seto Inland Sea region, principally Kagawa Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture. The company operates as a member station of the All-Nippon News Network (ANN), the television news and programming network associated with TV Asahi. Its geographic service area reflects the close economic, cultural, and communications links between Kagawa and Okayama across the Seto Inland Sea. The company’s origins date to the late 1960s, when a preliminary broadcasting license was granted on November 1, 1967. It was incorporated on November 22 of that year under the name Shin-nihon Broadcasting. The company adopted its current name, Setonaikai Broadcasting, on February 19, 1968, before commencing analog television transmission on April 1, 1969. This sequence placed KSB among the regional commercial television broadcasters established during Japan’s postwar expansion of television infrastructure. For most of its early operating history, KSB delivered television programming through analog terrestrial transmission. Its role combined network-supplied news and entertainment with regional coverage relevant to audiences in Kagawa and Okayama. As an ANN affiliate, the station’s schedule and news operations have been connected to the wider TV Asahi network while retaining a local broadcasting identity and responsibility for its designated service area. KSB began digital television broadcasting on December 1, 2006, part of Japan’s nationwide transition from analog terrestrial television to digital transmission. The transition concluded locally with the termination of analog broadcasting on July 24, 2011. Digital broadcasting enabled the station to continue terrestrial television operations under Japan’s modern broadcast system and provided the technical basis for ongoing local and network programming. On January 18, 2021, Setonaikai Broadcasting moved its headquarters within Takamatsu, relocating from Saihōchō in Takamatsu to a new facility in Kaminocho. The move represented a significant facilities and operating-base change, while the company continued to serve viewers in Kagawa and Okayama. Its principal business remains regional commercial television broadcasting, supported by local news, information, entertainment, and network programming distributed through its terrestrial television service. The Setonaikai Broadcasting brand is therefore primarily a regional media and public-information brand rather than a national consumer brand. Its value proposition rests on dependable access to television programming, ANN network content, and news and information with relevance to communities around the Seto Inland Sea. Publicly available reference material identifies the station’s licensing, incorporation, naming, analog and digital broadcast milestones, and headquarters relocation, but does not provide sufficient information here to document ownership structure, individual executives, revenue, or additional business lines.

Setonaikai Broadcasting emerged during the expansion of Japan’s commercial television sector in the late 1960s. A preliminary license was issued on November 1, 1967, and the company was established on November 22, 1967, initially under the name Shin-nihon Broadcasting. On February 19, 1968, it adopted the name Setonaikai Broadcasting, reflecting its intended regional identity around the Seto Inland Sea. The station began analog television broadcasting on April 1, 1969. Its operating territory developed around Kagawa and Okayama prefectures, two neighboring areas linked by the Seto Inland Sea and by the major transport and commercial relationships between Shikoku and western Honshu. KSB operated as an affiliate of the All-Nippon News Network, carrying network programming while also serving as a local broadcaster for its designated audience. As with other regional commercial stations, its activities centered on television transmission, local news and information, entertainment programming, and advertising-supported broadcasting. The next major technical transition came with the introduction of digital terrestrial television. Setonaikai Broadcasting started digital television broadcasting on December 1, 2006. Japan subsequently completed its planned analog switch-off, and KSB ended analog television broadcasting on July 24, 2011. This change moved the station’s terrestrial service fully into the digital era. On January 18, 2021, the company moved its headquarters from Saihōchō Itchōme in Takamatsu to a new headquarters in Kaminocho, also in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. The relocation updated the company’s physical operating base while preserving its role as a regional broadcaster for Kagawa and Okayama. Available reference material does not establish a separate corporate parent, ownership group, founder, financial profile, or current executive roster. Its documented identity remains that of an active regional ANN-affiliated television station operating under the KSB brand.

1. 2021Headquarters relocated within Takamatsu

   The company moved its headquarters on January 18 from Saihōchō Itchōme to Kaminocho in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture.

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2. 2011Analog television service ended

   Analog television broadcasting ended on July 24, completing the station’s transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting.

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3. 2006Digital television broadcasting launched

   The station began digital television broadcasting on December 1 as part of Japan’s terrestrial broadcasting transition.

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4. 1969Analog television broadcasting began

   Setonaikai Broadcasting commenced analog television transmission on April 1.

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5. 1968Current corporate name adopted

   The company changed its name to Setonaikai Broadcasting on February 19.

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6. 1967Preliminary broadcasting license granted

   A preliminary license was granted on November 1, establishing the basis for the future commercial television station.

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7. 1967Company established as Shin-nihon Broadcasting

   The company was incorporated on November 22 under the name Shin-nihon Broadcasting.

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A regional commercial television broadcaster focused on Kagawa and Okayama, combining locally produced news and information with programming supplied through the All-Nippon News Network.

• KSB terrestrial television serviceTelevision broadcasting1969

  The company’s core offering is a commercial terrestrial television service for viewers in Kagawa and Okayama prefectures. The service combines locally relevant broadcasts with programming supplied through the All-Nippon News Network, giving the station both a regional news role and access to broader network content.

• KSB digital television serviceDigital terrestrial television2006

  Introduced in December 2006, KSB’s digital television service replaced its earlier analog transmission platform. Digital terrestrial broadcasting became the station’s sole terrestrial television format after analog transmission ended in July 2011.

• Regional news and information programmingBroadcast content

  KSB’s regional role includes television news and information intended for audiences in Kagawa and Okayama. The available reference material confirms this regional broadcasting function but does not identify specific programs or program brands.

1. Setonaikai Broadcasting
2. Setonaikai Broadcasting official website