KBC

What KBC does

KBC Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (KBC九州朝日放送) is a privately held regional terrestrial broadcasting corporation headquartered at 1-1-1 Nagahama, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Founded on August 21, 1953, in Kurume City and re-headquartered in Fukuoka City in 1959, it operates as the TV Asahi-affiliated television station and an NRN-affiliated radio station for the Kyushu-Okinawa region. The company runs dual-platform broadcast operations — KBC Television and KBC Radio — with a flagship morning franchise (Asadesu KBC, Asadesu 7, Asadesu GOLD), evening programming such as Gyutto (which carries Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks baseball coverage), a long-running branded golf event (the KBC Augusta Golf Tournament, held since 1973), and an annual regional drama series (Fukuoka Romance White Paper, 21 installments from 2006-2026). Beyond scheduled broadcast, KBC produces original short-form animation (KOWABON, Onara Goro), documentaries, and lifestyle programming, and runs a B2B Contents Sales service licensing approximately 200,000 archived video pieces to commercial and public-sector buyers. The company organizes its operations under KBC Group Holdings with four wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: KBC UNIE (broadcasting group), KBC Kaihatsu (development), KBC MoooV (content/services), and Glocal K (broadcasting operations). The business model is anchored on traditional broadcaster revenue streams — terrestrial advertising, sponsorship of flagship programs and events, content syndication and format licensing — supplemented by event production and the Asadesu mobile app for direct audience engagement. The firm has 501-1,000 employees and no public ticker. Of note, the input dataset contains some records that refer to KBC Group NV, the Belgian banking group (e.g., the €761 million 365.bank acquisition and the Qivalis euro stablecoin consortium records); these describe a separate, unrelated financial-services entity and have been excluded from the analysis of the broadcasting company.

Name

KBC

Legal name

九州朝日放送株式会社

Website

https://kbc.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

KBC Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting is a privately held regional TV and radio broadcaster headquartered in Fukuoka, Japan. Affiliated with TV Asahi and NRN, it serves the Kyushu-Okinawa region with local news, morning and evening programming, original animations and dramas, branded events, and a content licensing archive of approximately 200,000 assets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Television and Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161), Television Broadcasting Stations (51612), Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833), Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Network-Affiliated Local Radio Stations (News/Talk/Sports Syndication Affiliates) (MPABACAF)

Keywords

• Television broadcasting
• Radio broadcasting
• Regional news media
• Content licensing
• Entertainment programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Fukuoka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

Core offering

KBC Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting is a regional Japanese broadcaster headquartered in Fukuoka that operates the KBC Television and KBC Radio channels across the Kyushu-Okinawa region as a TV Asahi and NRN affiliate. The company produces and airs local news, variety shows, dramas, documentaries, sports coverage, and original animation, and operates a content licensing service offering roughly 200,000 archived video clips to businesses and public-sector organizations.

Product overview

KBC九州朝日放送 (Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting) is a regional broadcast television and radio station headquartered in Fukuoka, affiliated with TV Asahi and NRN radio. The company operates as a multi-platform broadcaster offering core television and radio services (KBCテレビ, KBCラジオ), flagship morning programs (アサデス。KBC, アサデス。7, アサデス。GOLD), and evening programming (ぎゅっと). Beyond scheduled broadcasting, KBC produces original content including the annual 福岡恋愛白書 drama series (21 installments from 2006-2026), original animations (KOWABON, Onara Goro), documentaries, and lifestyle programming. The company also operates a content licensing service (コンテンツ販売サービス) enabling businesses and public organizations to license video footage from its archive of approximately 200,000 pieces. Group companies include KBC UNIE, KBC Kaihatsu, KBC MoooV, and Glocal K.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KBC九州朝日放送: The primary TV and radio broadcasting brand serving the Kyushu-Okinawa region.
• KBCグループ (KBC Group)
• KBC Holdings

Products and services

• KBC Television (KBCテレビ) KBC's primary television broadcasting service, airing local and network programming including news, variety shows, dramas, and sports coverage across the Kyushu-Okinawa region as a TV Asahi affiliate.
• KBC Radio (KBCラジオ) KBC's radio broadcasting service offering news, talk shows, music programs, and sports commentary across the Fukuoka region as an NRN affiliate.
• Contents Sales (コンテンツ販売サービス) KBC's video content licensing service offering approximately 200,000 pieces of footage including dramas, animations, documentaries, cultural content, and lifestyle programs for business and public-sector use.
• KOWABON
• Onara Goro
• Fukuoka Romance White Paper Series (福岡恋愛白書シリーズ) Annual original drama series produced since 2006 based on real love stories submitted by Fukuoka viewers, covering episodes 1 through 21 spanning 2006-2026.
• KBC Augusta Golf Tournament (KBCオーガスタゴルフトーナメント) Japan's largest summer golf competition hosted by KBC since 1973, broadcast nationwide and featuring top professional golfers; the 2026 edition is titled Sansan KBC Augusta Golf Tournament.

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Qivalis Alliance (European Banking Consortium)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Consortium of 12 European banks including CaixaBank, BNP Paribas, ING, UniCredit, and BBVA, announcing launch of a euro-pegged stablecoin in H2 2026 as a regulated alternative to dollar stablecoins. Reserve mechanism comprises at least 40% in bank deposits and remainder in high-rated short-term eurozone government bonds.
• Qivalis ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2025European banking consortium developing a euro-pegged stablecoin. The consortium includes ten European banks including ING, KBC, BNP Paribas, and others. The project aims to challenge US market dominance and seeks Dutch central bank approval for operation, with plans to launch in H2 2026.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Hokkaido Broadcasting Corporation (HBC): HBC is a regional TV and radio broadcaster headquartered in Sapporo serving the Hokkaido market. Comparable as a long-established private regional broadcaster affiliated with a national network (TBS), offering a peer benchmark for revenue mix and operational structure.
• TOKYO MX: TOKYO MX is an independent Tokyo-area regional broadcaster operating without a major network affiliation, providing a useful comparison point for how a regional broadcaster competes for local relevance and ad revenue without network content leverage.
• Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting (KAB): KAB is a sister TV Asahi affiliate broadcasting in Kumamoto/Kyushu region, providing the closest network-affiliation peer. Comparable in scale and content pipeline, though operating in a sub-region of Kyushu rather than the Fukuoka DMA directly.
• Nagoya Television (Me-Tele / メ〜テレ): Me-Tele is another TV Asahi network affiliate operating as a regional broadcaster in the Nagoya/Aichi market, providing a comparable network-affiliated regional broadcasting model. Same network, similar revenue mix of national content plus local programming, but serving a different geography.

Direct peers

• RKB Mainichi Broadcasting System: Headquartered in Fukuoka, RKB is KBC's most direct local-market competitor as a regional TV and radio broadcaster serving the same Kyushu-Okinawa audience. Both stations compete for local advertising, sports rights, and viewer attention in the same Fukuoka DMA.
• Television Nishinippon (TNC): TNC is a Fukuoka-based regional TV station affiliated with the NTV network, directly competing with KBC in the same Fukuoka broadcast market for advertising, programming, and audience share. Both operate flagship local news and lifestyle programming targeting the same viewer base.
• TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting: TVQ is the fourth Fukuoka-based TV station (TX Network affiliate), directly competing with KBC, RKB, TNC, and FBS in the same regional market for audience and ad revenue. Same DMA, same viewer base, same revenue model.
• Fukuoka Broadcasting System (FBS): FBS is another Fukuoka-headquartered TV station affiliated with the Fuji TV network, providing a directly comparable regional broadcaster competing with KBC for Kyushu-Okinawa viewers, advertisers, and content licensing deals.
• Nippon Broadcasting System (Nippon Hōsō): Nippon Broadcasting is the flagship station of the NRN radio network of which KBC is an affiliate, providing the most direct peer on the radio broadcasting side. Comparable business model (radio programming, advertising, syndicated content) though operating nationally rather than regionally.

Broad incumbents

• TV Asahi Corporation: TV Asahi is KBC's parent network and the broader incumbent broadcaster in the Japanese TV industry. It supplies programming, sets affiliation economics, and competes indirectly for audience and ad spend, but operates at vastly larger national scale.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kbc_info_
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZ1k0cf-c7yOF-m4Tk20rLg
• Facebookfacebook.com/kbc.co.jp
• Instagraminstagram.com/kbc_koho

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KBC