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Japan

NHK, Japan's public channel, has been around since 1953; it was followed swiftly by private competition in the shape of NTV. NHK offers 54 national channels. All 127 private channels are theoretically regional, although in practice five major Tokyo-based channels use the rest as a national network. 9 ot of 10 households can receive 80% of private 'national' TV, which in turn commandeers 80% of regional airtime.

Satellite and cable are as important in Japan as elsewhere in the changing shape of communications technology, and 11 million households subscribe to NHK's satellite services, with a further 2.7 million able to receive rival package WOWOW. Sky PerfecTV has 3 million ++ subscribers, and offers over one hundred channels. Plat-One and Sky Perfect Communications were launched in 2002, and offered viewers interactivity via the Internet.

Roughly 13 million (2000) Japanese households have cable. NHK's programming tends towards news, culture and education with commercial competition more biased towards entertainment genres. NHK's programming is as  follows: 43.9% news, 29.5% cultural, 15.3% entertainment, 11.3% education. Commercial TV provides a clear contrast, with 39% entertainment, 24.9% culture, 19.4% news, 12% education and 4.7% allocated to the remainder of categories. Prime-time commercial programming is almost exclusively entertainment-led.