JOFR-DTV (RKB Mainichi Broadcasting)

Credits

Compiled by
Cattotld

Background

RKB Mainichi Broadcasting Corporation (Radio Kyushu Broadcasting, callsign JOFR-DTV) is a Japanese television station which serves as an affiliate of the TBS Television-run Japan News Network. It is owned by RKB Mainichi Holdings Corporation.

In 1950, following the enactment of the Radio Law, Mainichi Shimbun wanted to establish three radio stations (Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka). Its application in the Tokyo area was later integrated with applications from other national newspapers and Dentsu to form Radio Tokyo. In the Osaka area, it applied to establish a radio station under the name of New Japan Broadcasting (now MBS Media Holdings), and in Fukuoka Prefecture under the name of Radio Kyushu. A license for JOFR was issued on April 21, 1951 and the company was formally established on June 29. On December 1, Radio Kyushu began its operations.

On March 1, 1958, RKB opened its television station, after applying for a pending license in 1956. A satellite station in Kitakyushu, JOFO-TV signed on in August of that year. Priot to 1966, the station carried NTV and its NNN network on a secondary basis until 1969 when Fukuoka Broadcasting System signed on. In 2011, the Kitakyushu relay was shuttered after the digital television transition.

In 2016, RKB restructured as RKB Mainichi Holdings and as a result, the radio and television operations were taken over by a new subsidiary under the RKB name.

2nd Logo (Closedown; March 1, 1969-1978)

Visuals: On a dark blue background, there is a Hakata doll wearing black and white clothing. After zooming in on it, the video fades in to a light blue background, then an orange and white pattern slide from the right. After fading to white, another pattern slides from the top. The video then fades to some branches at night. The background is a river reflecting the neon lights of shops. More views of the river is shown, then the next day's startup time followed by the text "未来をひらく明るい放送" ("Bright broadcasting that opens the future") appears. The video then fades to the streets of Fukuoka at night and the 1969 RKB logo, which then zooms out. Finally, the two slides of the list of relay stations on polka dots, the first slide shows the stations in Fukuoka City while the second one shows the stations in Kitakyushu City.

Technique: Live-action.

Audio: A rendition of Autumn Song, composed in 1953 for RKB (then Radio Kyushu) by Yasushi Akutagawa, Ikuma Dan and Toshiro Mayuzumi. After RKB stopped using this ID, they continued to use this rendition for radio until 2010.

3rd Logo (Startup & Closedown; 1978-September 30, 1992)

Visuals: On a blue background, a blocky white/blue pattern zooms in, soon stretching and spinning around. After 31 seconds, it turns back into its regular form, and the 1969 RKB logo wipe in segment-by-segment. The pattern wipes out, and the letters soon morph into a scanimate shape. soon flipping into a rectangle made out of the said letters. The white text "未来をひらく明るい放送" ("Bright broadcasting that opens the future") then scrolls from right to left, and the letters morph into a flower, then morphing back into the logo.

Technique: Scanimate.

Audio: An orchestral rendition of Autumn Song. The closedown version is calmer than the startup one. Around the late 80s, the pitch of the closedown version was dropped.

4th Logo (Startup & Closedown; October 1, 1992-July 1, 2007)

Visuals:

• Startup: On a white background, the 1969 RKB logo in blue forms. It then fades into a CGI model of Fukuoka Tower standing on a plain and below blue skies. A CGI paper airplane with RKB's logo flies in front of the tower, when the background changes to a helicopter video of various parts of Fukuoka, after that the tower moves aside. The paper plane then flies towards the screen, followed by an actual passenger plane taking off from a runway. The tower then appears again, moving to the center, when "福岡 4ch" and "関門 8ch" ("Fukuoka 4ch" and "Kanmon 8ch") goes into view to the left and right respectively. A montage of festivals in Fukuoka then appears on the left while the list of relay stations scrolling from the bottom appears on the right. At the end of the list, there is the text "68の放送所からお送りしております" ("Broadcasting from 68 stations"). After fading to white, the text "きょうもRKBテレビでお楽しみください" ("Please enjoy today's programming on RKB Television") spins into view.
• Closedown: The part until the plane taking off is the same, but after that, the view of the tower is skewed towards the bottom of it. The list of relay station now scrolls from the tower while looking like its spinning, and the sky darkens while it scrolls. At the end, with the tower still there, the text "あすもRKBテレビでお楽しみください" ("Please enjoy tomorrow's programming on RKB Television") spins into view.

Technique: CGI with live-action footage.

Audio:

• Startup: Newscast by Jeff Newmann.
• Closedown: A relaxing tune from a music box.