Seoul Broadcasting System
Seoul Broadcasting System is a national South Korean television and radio network company, owned by the Taeyoung chaebol. In March 2000, the company legally became known as SBS, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting System. It has provided digital terrestrial television service in the ATSC format since 2001, and T-DMB service since 2005. Its flagship terrestrial television station is Channel 6 for digital and cable.
History
After the 1987 South Korean democratic reform, the government had decided to create a new commercial broadcaster in South Korea. Eventually, MBC was a mouthpiece of KBS to broadcast sporting events like the 1986 FIFA World Cup, and however, the purpose for South Korea's new commercial broadcaster has to become an alternative channel to the audience that it was before 1990 mastered by MBC. Then, during the separation of MBC from KBS, the government had luckily succeeded it, and by that, it 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 were founded on 14 November 1990, when the government allowed the creation of a second commercial station in Seoul. At the same time, during its establishment, SBS were first marking its start by beginning its experimental demo emissions, and then later, it were therefore commencing its test transmissions for its TV and radio channels on 1 December 1990, that same year. Later, on 20 March 1991, SBS started its regular broadcasts by launching SBS Radio's first regular broadcasts on AM 792kHz. 9 months later, on 1 December 1991, that same year, 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 it 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 aims 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 had managed a network that airs 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 will complement the existing AM station came into fruition. In 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 was introduced in 2005.
SBS introduced its current logo on 14 November 2000, after its 10th anniversary celebrations 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 in all sectors such as vehicle, microphone, envelopes, business cards, memorabilia, helicopter, signs, ganpanryu, seosikryu, uniforms, program title, etc. SBS also had used the slogan "Humanism thru Digital" until January 2010 where a new slogan is currently used. Gomi is the mascot of SBS-oriented as the new face of 'Humanism thru Digital' through the harmony of nature and human life where green environment is important. On 29 October 2012, SBS TV became South Korea's second channel to go 24/7, but it had discontinued in 2017 thus, have reverted back to daily sign-off routines during overnights.
The network's current advertising slogan is Together, we make delight, 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
- 3 radio stations
| Name | Frequency | Power | Transmitter Site |
| SBS Love FM | 792 kHz AM 103.5 MHz FM 98.3 MHz FM | 50 kW 10 kW | Neunggok-dong, Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province Mount Gwanaksan, Seoul Icheon City, Gyeonggi Province |
| SBS Power FM | 107.7 MHz FM 100.3 MHz FM | 10 kW 100W | Mount Gwanaksan, Seoul Saengyeon-dong, Dongducheon City, Gyeonggi Province |
| SBS V-Radio | CH 12C DMB | 2 kW | Mount Gwanaksan, Seoul |
- 7 cable TV channels
Family companies
SBS Regional
Logos
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, ', 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, The Music Trend, and many more. SBS documentaries encompass a wide range of issues, from foreign affairs to the environment. ' 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 8 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.Foreign partners
Americas
Europe
Asia
Oceania
Controversies
SBS Eight O'Clock News Jang Ja-yeon letter case misreporting
SBS Eight O'Clock News, the network's flagship newscast, reported “Actress Jang Ja-yeon had ‘entertained’ 31 guests for a total of 100 times.” The newscast also showed a 230-page document directly written by Jang which however was not her writing. the newscast said "A 50-container/230-page document directly written and delivered to friends by Jang Ja-yeon, who committed suicide in March 2009, has been obtained. In the document, a narrative titled ‘Snow’ draws the story of how unknown celebrities are forced into an ugly entertainment industry." The newscast cited the documents, stating, "The police who were investigating Jang Ja-yeon’s case knew of this fact but chose to overlook it. Jang Ja-yeon asked for ‘revenge’ in the document." They added, "Jang Ja-yeon entertained a total of 31 people, 100 times - being forced to give sexual favors. However, claims by representative Kim from her past agency reveals a completely different story. Jang Ja-yeon had kept records of their jobs however, and within these records, it is supposed that officials, publisher officials, corporations, financial institutions, and media officials are involved." Also, "A handwriting expert has confirmed that the documents belonged to Jang Ja-yeon."The newscast revealed, "Jang Ja-yeon wrote, ‘Please get revenge. There is no way out of hosting. The men who come to receive services are evil. I was forced to host over 100 times. Whenever I get new clothes to wear, I had to meet another devil. Not just in Kangnam, but I also hosted at Suwon Karaoke and various room salons. Even on my parents’ memorial day, I was forced to host. Since I made a list, avenge me to the death. Even if I die, I will take my revenge to the grave.’". however the National Institute of Scientific Investigation said that the letters were fabricated. They said:"In these letters, the way that certain characters like ‘yo’ and ‘ya’ were written coincide directly with the writing habits of the late actress Jang Ja-yeon. The way the consonants and vowels were written are exactly alike, proving that these letters were written by the same person." SBS further added, "It is virtually impossible for Jun to have perfected the handwriting of Jang Ja-yeon by copying the picture of her suicide note from a newspaper. He could not have written 230 letters in her copied handwriting with such limited information, and it is also unlikely that three years worth of letters were merely the result of a concocted plan." SBS continued, "The letters also reveal detailed information regarding her agency’s advancement plans, as well as information on the figures she ‘hosted’ that others would not be able to know. If anything, the letters and envelopes show that Jun tried his best to make sure that Jang Ja-yeon's identity was not leaked through the letters.".
However the National Forensic Service confirms that Jang Ja-yeon’s letters were fabricated. Yang Hoo-yeol the chief of the NFS opened an official briefing with the media and reported, "After comparing Jang Ja-yeon’s original handwriting to Jun’s handwriting and the letters in question, results have shown that the letters are not in line with Jang Ja-yeon’s original handwriting. Many of grammatical errors are in line with the mistakes Jun made in his personal letters, so we believe that Jang Ja-yeon’s letters were fabricated by Jun." He concluded, "The letters that Jun claimed were sent to him by Jang Ja Yeon have a completely different handwriting style to Jang Ja Yeon’s original handwriting. Jang Ja Yeon did not write these letters.".
SBS responded to the reports made by the National Forensic Service yesterday, in which they asserted that Jang Ja-yeon's letters were indeed fabricated. SBS stated, "We have no option but to accept the results declared by the NSF. We felt that we had gone through all of the correct measures in investigating the letters for our reports, so we are apologetic for reporting something that was not revealed to be the truth." The station went on to explain their process for their findings. "We made a detailed comparison of the court records and the content of the letters and decided that the possibility of Jang Ja-yeon having written the letters herself was high. We did not, however, investigate the documents at the time." SBS continued, "When we commissioned a handwriting analysis, results showed that it belonged to Jang. We had met with Jun, the owner of the letters, twice already, and even met with his family. His family revealed that they had not directly confirmed that the celebrity Jun knew was Jang Ja-yeon, just that he had a celebrity friend. We then decided that it would be impossible for an inmate to accurately record the whereabouts of someone else outside for over three years." "As it stands, we have no option but to accept the results of the NFS."
The 8 News concluded with an apology to the viewers. "We are extremely apologetic towards the viewers for adding confusion, and to the bereaved for causing distress. We will be continuing to work to find the truth behind Jang Ja-yeon’s controversy.".