Seoul Broadcasting System

Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS)

SBS Broadcast Center in Mok-dong, Seoul, the headquarters of Seoul Broadcasting System
Native name
Korean name
Hangul	주식회사 에스비에스
Revised Romanization	Jushikhoesa Eseubieseu
McCune–Reischauer	Chusikhoesa Esŭbiesŭ
Formerly
Korean name
Hangul	서울방송 주식회사
Revised Romanization	Seoul Bangsong Jusikhoesa
McCune–Reischauer	Sŏul Pangsong Chushikhoesa
Type	Public
Traded as	KRX: 034120
Industry	Terrestrial radio television
Founded	14 November 1990
Headquarters	161, Mokdongseo-ro, Yangcheon District, Seoul , South Korea
Area served	Worldwide, with a focus in South Korea
Key people	Yoon Se-young (Founder) Park Jung-hoon (President)
Products	Television show
Services	Broadcasting Web portal
Revenue	₩792,884,228,900 (2015)
Operating income	₩42,152,487,870 (2015)
Net income	₩34,884,042,815 (2015)
Total assets	₩934,369,945,679 (2015)
Total equity	₩91,262,910,000 (December 2015)
Owner	TY Holdings: 36.92% National Pension Service: 9.97%
Number of employees	1,141 (December 2015)
Parent	SBS Media Holdings
Subsidiaries	SBS A&T Mediacreate Co., Ltd.
Website	www.sbs.co.kr

Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) (Korean: 에스비에스; RR: EseuBiEseu) is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. The broadcaster legally became known as SBS in March 2000, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting System (서울방송; Seoul Bangsong). Its flagship terrestrial television station SBS TV broadcasts as channel 6 for digital and cable.

Established on 14 November 1990, SBS is the largest private broadcaster in South Korea, and is owned by the Taeyoung Construction. It operates its flagship television channel which has a nationwide network of 10 regional stations, and three radio networks. SBS has provided digital terrestrial television service in the ATSC format since 2001, and T-DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) service since 2005.

History

After South Korean democratic reform in 1987, the government decided to create a new commercial broadcaster in South Korea. MBC was a part of KBS to broadcast sporting events like the 1986 FIFA World Cup; however, the purpose for South Korea's new commercial broadcaster was to become an alternative channel for the public, more than there was before 1990 under MBC. With the separation of MBC from KBS, the government had succeeded in this and introduced a new South Korean commercial broadcaster called SBS. According to the National Pension Service, SBS is South Korea's second commercial broadcaster after MBC, and it was founded on 14 November 1990, when the government allowed the creation of a second commercial station in Seoul. SBS first marked its establishment by beginning experimental demo emissions, and then later, commenced its test transmissions for its TV and radio channels on 1 December 1990. Later, on 20 March 1991, SBS started its regular broadcasts by launching SBS Radio's first regular broadcast on AM 792kHz. 9 months later, on 1 December 1991, when MBC celebrated its 30th anniversary, SBS commenced its official broadcasts with the introduction of SBS TV at 10:00am in Seoul, and it was designated as "The Day of Birth of SBS", as was broadcast by MBC on the program MBC Newsdesk. Initially, SBS were only broadcasting terrestrially in Seoul and its surrounding areas. On 9 October 1992, the government began accepting applications for private broadcasting stations in other regions of the country. SBS had planned for a television and radio broadcast affiliate network that aimed to air SBS' programs in other new regional channels before its 5th anniversary. In 1994, the private channels KNN in Busan, TJB in Daejeon, TBC in Daegu, and KBC in Gwangju were created after government approval. On 14 May 1995, SBS launched its national television network with its new local affiliates, KNN, TJB, TBC, and KBC. SBS managed a network that aired SBS programs in other regional channels while local stations created local programming to suit the local residents needs.

In 1996, plans for an FM radio station, which would complement the existing AM station, came into fruition. On 14 November 1996, SBS Power FM began broadcasting on 107.7 MHz as a music-centric station. On 4 January 1999, the original SBS Radio on AM 792 kHz began broadcasting on FM as well. The station rebranded as SBS Love FM on 103.5 MHz, simultaneously airing on both AM and FM frequencies. High-definition digital television was introduced in 2001. Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) was introduced in 2005.

SBS introduced its current logo on 14 November 2000, after its 10th anniversary celebration titled SBS 10th Anniversary Special: Thank You, Viewers, to ensure the overall coherence of the current identity. SBS' logo has three embryos placed in a circle of the model where three colors are used to represent the symbol of human-centered, cultural and creative, future-oriented management philosophy, showing that the 'life' and 'the seeds of civilization' has centered on the theme of SBS. SBS' branding is used on many products such as vehicles, microphones, envelopes, business cards, memorabilia, helicopters, signs, ganpanryu, seosikryu, uniforms, program titles, etc. SBS also used the slogan "Humanism thru Digital" prior to January 2010 when a new slogan was introduced. Gomi is the mascot of SBS-oriented, as the new face of 'Humanism thru Digital' it attempted to show the harmony of nature and human life and highlight that a greener environment is important. On 29 October 2012, SBS TV became South Korea's second channel to go 24/7. However, this was discontinued in 2017 and has reverted to daily sign-off routines overnight (alongside MBC TV).

The network's current advertising slogan is Together, we make delight (함께 만드는 기쁨), as used in a new station identification video with apl.de.ap's "We Can Be Anything" as background music.

SBS channels

• 1 terrestrial TV (SBS TV Channel 6)
• 3 radio stations

• 7 cable TV channels (SBS Plus, SBS Golf, SBS funE, SBS Sports, SBS Biz, SBS M, KiZmom)

Holding and subsidiaries

SBS Media Holdings, Ltd.

Native name
Korean name
Hangul	(주)에스비에스미디어홀딩스
Revised Romanization	(Ju) Eseubieseu Midieo Holdingseu
McCune–Reischauer	(Chu) Esŭbiesŭ Midiŏ Holtingsŭ
Type	Public
Traded as	KRX: 101060 (2008.3.24)
Industry	Broadcasting Communication
Founded	Seoul, South Korea (4 March 2008)
Headquarters	161, Mokdongseo-ro, Yangcheon District, Seoul , South Korea
Services	Broadcasting holding company
Revenue	473,523,143,447 won (2015)
Operating income	23,260,805,348 won (2015)
Net income	25,227,364,840 won (2015)
Total assets	881,606,449,180 won (December 2015)
Total equity	69,948,095,000 won (December 2015)
Owner	Taeyoung Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd: 61.42% Kiturami Boiler Co., Ltd: 8.78% National Pension Service: 6.98%
Parent	Taeyoung E&C (KRX: 009410)
Subsidiaries	SBS SBS Contents Hub SBS Medianet
Website	www.sbsmedia.co.kr

Family companies

SBS Regional

Programming

SBS dramas have been part of the "Korean wave", exported to many countries across the world. Sandglass has one of the highest viewership ratings in South Korea, and is considered the breakout drama for the network. Other dramas that have enjoyed high viewership include Lovers in Paris, Trap of Youth, Brilliant Legacy, Rustic Period, Temptation of Wife, The Heirs, and My Love from the Star. SBS airs a variety of entertainment programs ranging from informational, comedy, music, reality, talk shows, and auditions. Many programs are popular throughout Asia, including X-Man, Family Outing, Running Man, Inkigayo, and many more. SBS documentaries encompass a wide range of issues, from foreign affairs to the environment. Unanswered Questions (Korean:그것이 알고싶다/literal translation: I Want to know) premiered in 1992, and has since earned notoriety for its investigations from a journalistic standpoint. SBS also broke tradition by creating its flagship newscast SBS Eight O'Clock News, airing at 20:00 instead of 21:00, giving itself the slogan "News an hour earlier". It also produces news-analysis programs such as Morning Wide, Nightline, SBS Current Affairs Debate, Curious Stories Y, and In Depth 21 covering the political, economic, social and cultural issues of the days.

See also

• Korean Broadcasting System
• Educational Broadcasting System
• Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation