The story
In 1967, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued eighteen UHF television licenses, which motivated the government of Miyagi Prefecture to establish a plan for a third commercial television station, attracting 59 companies. Under the coordination of then-governor of Miyagi, Soichiro Yamamoto, these bids were merged into one, forming Miyagi Television Broadcasting. It obtained its license on November 21, 1969 and held its founding general meeting on January 13, 1970. In March 1970, it acquired a plot of land in the Kutake area of Sendai to build its headquarters, construction for which finished on September 29. At the time, most people only had a VHF-only television set; much like other UHF upstarts of the time, it initiated a campaign to promote UHF sets and antennas. The station was initially known as MTB, though the name changed in 1975 to mm34 (based on the station's callsign: JOMM-TV, and the UHF frequency, channel 34).
The station launched at 6:40am on October 1, 1970, the first program being an ANN News bulletin, and its inaugural program, The Birth of Miyagi Television, aired at 9:30am. It initially was a joint affiliate of both NTV/NNN and NET/ANN. Per a 1972 Video Research study, its ratings surpassed the VHF stations (Tohoku Broadcasting and Sendai Television). Its ratings were at its highest in 1975, in both all-day and prime time periods. On October 1, 1975, Higashinippon Broadcasting opened as an ANN station, enabling the station to become a full-time NTV affiliate. Miyagi TV held its first cultural event in 1973, the Miyagi TV Cup Women's Gold Open, in 1973, the first female golf tournament in Tohoku. In 1990, it set up a record high number of visitors for the Miyagi Prefecture Arts Museum, for a [[[Auguste Rodin|Rodin]] exhibit. Stereo broadcasting (JOMM-TAM) began in 1980. In 1985, to adapt to its new businesses, it opened the West Building in 1985, upgraded its control room and set up a new Studio 1 with 320 square meters.
Until the 1990s, the station was often rated third. This changed when NTV's ratings grew. In 1995, it won the Triple Crown (6am-12am full day, 7pm-10pm prime time, 7pm-11pm evening) in ratings for the first time. Advertising revenue grew from 23.1% in 1990 to 25 7% in 1993 and later 29.1% in 1999. In 1994, it signed a co-operation agreement with Zhejiang Television. 1995 saw the refurbishing of its facilities, with a new headquarter complex featuring three buildings: the main building, the east building and the west building. A new news unit was established. Its official website launched in June 1996.
On October 1, 2001, the station unveiled its first mascot, MiTe (ミテ), designed by Makoto Matsunaga. Digital terrestrial broadcasts began on December 1, 2005 using LCN 4. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami caused the station to delay its analog shutdown to March 31, 2012. It also set up a disaster recovery plan.
In July 2012, it unveiled a new mascot, Dayon (だよん). It won the Triple Crown between 2010 and 2018.
From Wikipedia’s article on Miyagi Television Broadcasting, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4