The Japan News Network (JNN; ) is a Japanese commercial television network run by TBS Television, owned by TBS Holdings (which is a part of the Mitsui Group keiretsu and highly cooperating with the Mainichi Shimbun despite the lack of the latter's shareholding in TBS Holdings). The network's responsibility includes the syndication of national television news bulletins to its regional affiliates, and news exchange between the stations. Its affiliate stations also broadcast non-news programs originating from TBS Television. Founded on 1 August 1959,
History
Initial news exchange agreement
In 1956, when there were only four commercial television stations in Japan (Nippon Television, Tokyo Radio and Television (hereinafter referred to as KRT), Osaka Television Broadcasting, and Chubu Nippon Broadcasting), the television network was quite loose. Nippon Television and KRT in Tokyo had to sell their programs to the two commercial stations (Osaka TV Broadcasting and Chubu Nippon Broadcasting) outside of Tokyo as much as possible in order to recoup their production costs and meet the needs of advertisers. This puts the two stations in an advantageous position by allowing them to freely choose the programs they want to syndicate.On 15 November 1956, four commercial television stations signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Television Broadcasting Program Exchange among Four Companies, which specifically stipulated matters related to the syndication of programs.
List of affiliates
Stations are listed mostly in Japanese order of prefectures which is mirrored in ISO 3166-2:JP, with exceptions for the Kantō region, Aichi-Gifu-Mie, Kansai region (except Mie), Tottori-Shimane and Okayama-Kagawa, which form single wide broadcasting markets respectively. Some broadcasters listed here also have radio operations (either under a single company or as a subsidiary of its holding company).
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan="2" | Broadcasting area(s)
! colspan="3" | Station
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | LCN
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Start date of<br>broadcast
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Date of<br>affiliation
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Note(s)
|-
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Prefecture
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Region
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | On air branding
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Abbr.
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Call sign
|-
| colspan="2" | Hokkaidō
! Hokkaido Broadcasting
| HBC
| JOHR-DTV
| 1
| 1 April 1957
| 1 August 1959
| Core station
|-
| Aomori
| Tōhoku
! Aomori TV
| ATV
| JOAI-DTV
| 6
| 1 December 1969
| 31 March 1975
|
|-
| Iwate
| Tōhoku
! IBC Iwate Broadcasting
| IBC
| JODF-DTV
| 6
| 1 September 1959
| 1 September 1959
|
|-
| Miyagi
| Tōhoku
! Tohoku Broadcasting
| tbc
| JOIR-DTV
| 1
| 1 April 1959
| 1 August 1959
| Semi-core station outside the Five-Company Alliance
|-
| Yamagata
| Tōhoku
! TV-U Yamagata
| TUY
| JOWI-DTV
| 6
| 1 October 1989
| 1 October 1989
|
|-
| Fukushima
| Tōhoku
! TV-U Fukushima
| TUF
| JOKI-DTV
| 6
| 4 December 1983
| 1 October 1983
|
|-
| colspan="2" | Kantō region
! TBS TV
| TBS
| JORX-DTV
| 6
| 1 April 1955
| 1 August 1959
| Eastern flagship station; core station
|-
| Niigata
| Chūbu
! Niigata Broadcasting
| BSN
| JODR-DTV
| 6
| 24 December 1958
| 1 August 1959
|
|-
| Toyama
| Chūbu
! Tulip TV
| TUT
| JOJH-DTV
| 6
| 1 October 1990
| 1 October 1990
|
|-
| Ishikawa
| Chūbu
! Hokuriku Broadcasting
| MRO
| JOMR-DTV
| 6
| 1 December 1958
| 1 August 1959
|
|-
| Yamanashi
| Chūbu
! TV Yamanashi
| UTY
| JOGI-DTV
| 6
| 1 April 1970
| 1 April 1970
|
|-
| Nagano
| Chūbu
! Shin-etsu Broadcasting
| SBC
| JOSR-DTV
| 6
| 25 October 1958
| 1 August 1959
|
|-
| Shizuoka
| Chūbu
! Shizuoka Broadcasting
| SBS
| JOVR-DTV
| 6
| 1 November 1958
| 1 August 1959
| Semi-core station outside the Five-Company Alliance
|-
| Aichi and Gifu
| Chūbu
! rowspan="2" | CBC TV
| rowspan="2" | CBC
| rowspan="2" | JOGX-DTV
| rowspan="2" | 5
| rowspan="2" | 1 December 1956
| rowspan="2" | 1 August 1959
| rowspan="2" | Core station
|-
| Mie
| Kansai
|-
| colspan="2" | Kansai region (except Mie)
! MBS TV
| MBS
| JOOY-DTV
| 4
| 1 March 1959
| 31 March 1975
| Western flagship station; core station
|-
| Tottori and Shimane
| Chūgoku
! San-in Broadcasting
| BSS
| JOHF-DTV
| 6
| 15 December 1959
| 15 December 1959
|
|-
| Hiroshima
| Chūgoku
! RCC Broadcasting
| RCC
| JOER-DTV
| 3
| 1 April 1959
| 1 August 1959
| Semi-core station outside the Five-Company Alliance
|-
| Yamaguchi
| Chūgoku
! TV Yamaguchi
| tys
| JOLI-DTV
| 3
| 1 April 1970
| 1 April 1970
|
|-
| Okayama
| Chūgoku
! rowspan="2" | RSK Sanyo Broadcasting
| rowspan="2" | RSK
| rowspan="2" | JOYR-DTV
| rowspan="2" | 6
| rowspan="2" | 1 June 1958
| rowspan="2" | 1 August 1959
| rowspan="2" | Semi-core station outside the Five-Company Alliance
|-
| Kagawa
| Shikoku
|-
| Ehime
| Shikoku
! i-TV
| ITV
| JOEH-DTV
| 6
| 1 October 1992
| 1 October 1992
|
|-
| Kōchi
| Shikoku
! TV Kochi
| KUTV
| JORI-DTV
| 6
| 1 April 1970
| 1 April 1970
|
|-
| Fukuoka
| Kyūshū
! RKB Mainichi Broadcasting
| rkb
| JOFR-DTV
| 4
| 1 March 1958
| 1 August 1959
| Core station
|-
| Nagasaki
| Kyūshū
! Nagasaki Broadcasting
| NBC
| JOUR-DTV
| 3
| 1 January 1959
| 1 August 1959
|
|-
| Kumamoto
| Kyūshū
! Kumamoto Broadcasting
| RKK
| JOBF-DTV
| 3
| 1 April 1959
| 1 August 1959
|
|-
| Ōita
| Kyūshū
! Oita Broadcasting
| OBS
| JOGF-DTV
| 3
| 1 October 1959
| 1 October 1959
|
|-
| Miyazaki
| Kyūshū
! Miyazaki Broadcasting
| MRT
| JONF-DTV
| 6
| 1 October 1960
| 1 October 1960
|
|-
| Kagoshima
| Kyūshū
! Minaminihon Broadcasting
| MBC
| JOCF-DTV
| 1
| 1 April 1959
| 1 August 1959
|
|-
| Okinawa
| Kyūshū
! Ryūkyū Broadcasting
| RBC
| JORR-DTV
| 3
| 1 June 1960
| 15 May 1972
|
<!-- WHILE BS-TBS airs some JNN-silmucasted programs, they have a different program schedule |- class=sortbottom
| colspan="2" | Nationwide (Broadcasting Satellite)
! BS-TBS
| BS-TBS
|
| 6
| 1 December 2000
| 1 December 2000
|
|- -->
|}
Areas without a JNN station
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Prefecture
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Region
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" class="unsortable" | Station(s) from neighbouring prefecture
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" class="unsortable" | News gathering
|-
| Akita
| Tōhoku
| IBC (Iwate)
| ATV (Ōdate), TUY (from Nikaho to Oga), IBC (rest of Akita) and tbc (certain big events)
|-
| Fukui
| Chūbu
| MRO (Ishikawa) and MBS (Kansai region)
| MRO (Reihoku region and Tsuruga City; also handled by CBC in certain cases) and MBS (Reinan region except Tsuruga City)
|-
| Tokushima
| Shikoku
| MBS (Kansai region) and RSK (Okayama and Kagawa)
| MBS Tokushima Bureau
|-
| Saga
| Kyūshū
| RKB (Fukuoka)
| RKB
|-
|}
Former affiliate stations
Single asterisk (*) indicates former primary affiliate
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan="2" | Broadcasting area(s)
! colspan="3" | Station
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Ch.
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Years of<br>affiliation
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Current<br>affiliation
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Current JNN<br>affiliate
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" class="unsortable" | Note(s)
|-
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Prefecture
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Region
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | On air branding
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Abbr.
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Call sign
|-
| Fukushima
| Tōhoku
! Fukushima TV*
| FTV
| JOPX-TV
| 11
| 1971–1983
| FNN/FNS
| TUF
|
|-
| colspan="2" | Kansai region (except Mie)
! Asahi Broadcasting*
| ABC
| JONR-TV
| 6
| 1959–1975
| ANN
| MBS
|
|-
| Tottori and Shimane
| Chūgoku
! Nihonkai TV*
| NKT
| JOJX-TV
| 1
| 1959
| NNN/NNS
| BSS
|
|-
|}
Affiliates that wanted to join but gave up
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan="2" | Broadcasting area(s)
! colspan="3" | Station
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Ch.
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Current<br>affiliation
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Current<br>NNN/NNS<br>affiliate
! rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" class="unsortable" | Note(s)
|-
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Prefecture
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Region
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | On air branding
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Abbr.
! style="border-bottom:3px solid #00B66E;" | Call sign
|-
| Aomori
| Tōhoku
! RAB
| RAB
| JOGR-TV
| 1
| NNN/NNS
| ATV
| Due to business reasons.
|-
| Akita
| Tōhoku
! ABS
| ABS
| JOTR-TV
| 11
| NNN/NNS
| N/A
| This is attributed to the technical reasons of the microwave circuit.
|-
| Toyama
| Chūbu
! Kitanihon Broadcasting
| KNB
| JOLR-TV
| 1
| NNN/NNS
| TUT
| Initially, it was assumed that KNB would become an affiliate with Radio Tokyo Television (now TBS Television) due to its network agreement with the neighboring JNN stations. However, KNB ultimately decided to prioritize affiliating with Nippon TV, driven by factors such as the station's strong sales performance during broadcasts and its existing contracts to air professional baseball games.
|-
| Fukui
| Chūbu
! Fukui Broadcasting Corporation
| FBC
| JOPR-TV
| 11
| NNN/NNS/ANN
| N/A
| To avoid conflicts with Hokuriku Broadcasting.
|-
| Ehime
| Shikoku
! Nankai Broadcasting
| RNB
| JOAF-TV
| 10
| NNN/NNS
| ITV
| For technical reasons over the microwave circuit and avoiding competition with Chugoku Broadcasting and Oita Broadcasting.
|-
| Kochi
| Shikoku
! Kochi Broadcasting
| RKC
| JOZR-TV
| 8
| NNN/NNS
| KUTV
| Initially, the decision was made to affiliate with Nippon Television due to its higher popularity at the time of the station's opening and technical-related issues. In 1970, after resolving the issues, the second commercial broadcasting station was supposed to be affiliated with Fuji TV (TV Kochi). However, the relationship between the company and Fuji TV deteriorated, prompting consideration of a switch to TBS, which would have involved leaving the NNN network and joining JNN. Fortunately, TV Kochi, the second station, joined JNN just before the new station launched, rendering the affiliation change unnecessary.
|-
| Saga
| Kyūshū
! Saga Television Station
| sts
| JOSH-TV
| 36
| FNN/FNS
| N/A
| It started as a Fuji TV affiliated station, but in the early 1970s, an affiliation change to the TBS system was planned with the help of Nagasaki Broadcasting. As a result, it did not materialize, and the Kaneko family, the proponent who is said to have planned the affiliate change, was forced out of business by Fuji Television and TV Nishinippon.
|}