Wakayama Broadcasting System

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Radio station in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

1431 kHz (AM)
94.2 MHz (FM)

Brandingwbs
Wakayama Broadcasting Radio

LanguageJapanese

JOVF
Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture Japan
Logo used since 1979
Headquarters in Minatohonmachi, Wakayama
Broadcast area	Wakayama Prefecture
Frequencies	1431 kHz (AM) 94.2 MHz (FM)
Branding	wbs Wakayama Broadcasting Radio
Programming
Language	Japanese
Affiliations	JRN, NRN
Ownership
Owner	Wakayama Broadcasting System Co., Ltd.
History
First air date	1 April 1959; 66 years ago (1959-04-01)
Technical information
Licensing authority	MIC
Power	AM: 5 kW
ERP	FM: 0.5 kW
Links
Webcast	radiko.jp#!/live/WBS
Website	www.wbs.co.jp

Wakayama Broadcasting System Co., Ltd. (株式会社和歌山放送, Kabushiki-gaisha Wakayama Hōsō; WBS, stylized in lowercase lettering as wbs, callsign JOVF) is a commercial radio station in Wakayama Prefecture. Launched in 1959 as the forty-first commercial radio station to operate in Japan, the station is an affiliate of both the Japan Radio Network and the National Radio Network. The station has a favorable relationship with the Mainichi Shimbun printing company, as its major shareholder, the Nankai Electric Railway company, also holds shares.^[1]

The station started broadcasting at 5:30am on 1 April 1959 on 1560kc, from its building at Yoriyamachi number 15,^[2] with relay stations in Tanabe (800kc) and Shingu (1560kc).^[3] On 1 October 1959, the main station moved to 1400kc.^[4] The station then moved to 1430kc on 1 October 1962, adjusted to 1431KHz from 23 November 1978, when the Geneva frequency plan for AM radio was put in place.

Initially abbreviated as WBC (Wakayama Broadcasting Company),^[5] it was changed to the current WBS along with its relocation to its current premises at a four-floor building at 3-3 Minatohonmachi.^[2]

The station was one of the few in Japan to employ AM stereo broadcasting.^[6]

The station received its first request for an FM transmitting station to carry a "wide FM" simulcast on 22 December 2015, with the first license being for the Kainan transmitter.^[7]

On 19 February 2016, provisional licenses for two further transmitters (Gobo and Tanabe) were issued,^[8] with regular broadcasts beginning on 30 May, on 94.2 MHz.^[9] On 22 December, it received provisional licenses for three further transmitters (Shingo, Kudoyama and Kushimoto).^[10]

WBS held a wine sale event in 2023 to help revitalize the local economy, by setting up pop-up wine stores in Tokyo and Osaka. Both the economy of the prefecture and the station have been facing difficult times, and the event helped increase the station's sustainability.^[11] Following the attempted assassination of Fumio Kishida on 15 April 2023, WBS won the Excellence Award for the radio coverage in the 2023 News Parade Awards, alongside RCC (G7 summit in Hiroshima) and Nippon Cultural Broadcasting (garrison in Ishigaki, in Okinawa).^[12]

References

↑ Japan Commercial Broadcasters Yearbook, Japan Commercial Broadcasting Association, 2011, p.444
1 2 "組織概要". WBS和歌山放送ラジオ (in Japanese).
↑ "県広報番組" (PDF). 県民の友 (in Japanese). Wakayama Prefecture. 1 May 1959. p. 11.
↑ "県広報番組" (PDF). 県民の友 (in Japanese). Wakayama Prefecture. 1 May 1961. p. 11.
↑ Broadcasting Stations of the World. United States Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1968. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
↑ "時代に消えた画期的な放送技術～未来の放送をめざして". steranet.jp (in Japanese). Japan Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2 June 2025. ...現在でも、「ラジオ大阪」と「和歌山放送」ではAMステレオ放送を継続しています。
↑ "株式会社和歌山放送のFM補完中継局に予備免許《和歌山市内及び周辺部のラジオ受信環境を改善》". 総務省近畿総合通信局 (in Japanese).
↑ "株式会社和歌山放送のFM補完中継局に予備免許－御坊・田辺地域のラジオ受信環境を改善－". 総務省近畿総合通信局 (in Japanese).
↑ 和歌山放送FM「wbs FM94.2」
↑ "株式会社和歌山放送のFM補完中継局に予備免許－新宮・九度山・串本地域のラジオ受信環境を改善－". 総務省近畿総合通信局 (in Japanese).
↑ "全国トップの梅の産地和歌山で「和歌山放送」が取り組むあらたなプロジェクトとは？". chiiki-shikisai.com (in Japanese).
↑ "2023年ニュースパレード賞特集「沖縄慰霊の日レポート」制作のラジオ沖縄が最優秀賞を受賞". Nippon Cultural Broadcasting (in Japanese). 28 November 2023.

External links

Official website (in Japanese)

v t e Japan Radio Network
Hokkaido & Tohoku	HBC Hokkaido Broadcasting RAB Aomori Broadcasting ABS Akita Broadcasting IBC Iwate Broadcasting tbc Tohoku Broadcasting YBC Yamagata Broadcasting RFC Radio Fukushima
Kanto, Shin'etsu & Shizuoka	TBS Radio YBS Yamanashi Broadcasting SBC Shin-etsu Broadcasting BSN Niigata Broadcasting SBS Shizuoka Broadcasting
Kinki, Chukyo & Hokuriku	MBS Radio ABC Radio WBS Wakayama Broadcasting System CBC Radio KNB Kitanihon Broadcasting MRO Hokuriku Broadcasting
Chugoku & Shikoku	BSS San-in Broadcasting RSK Sanyo Broadcasting RNC Nishinippon Broadcasting JRT Shikoku Broadcasting RNB Nankai Broadcasting (FNam) RKC Kochi Broadcasting RCC Chugoku Broadcasting KRY Yamaguchi Broadcasting
Kyushu Region & Okinawa	RKB Mainichi Broadcasting NBC Nagasaki Broadcasting/NBC Radio Saga RKK Kumamoto Broadcasting OBS Oita Broadcasting MRT Miyazaki Broadcasting MBC Minaminihon Broadcasting RBC iRadio

v t e National Radio Network
Hokkaido & Tohoku	STV Radio HBC Hokkaido Broadcasting RAB Aomori Broadcasting ABS Akita Broadcasting IBC Iwate Broadcasting tbc Tohoku Broadcasting YBC Yamagata Broadcasting RFC Radio Fukushima
Kanto, Shin'etsu & Shizuoka	Nippon Broadcasting Nippon Cultural Broadcasting LuckyFM/Ibaraki Broadcasting CRT Tochigi Broadcasting YBS Yamanashi Broadcasting SBC Shin-etsu Broadcasting BSN Niigata Broadcasting SBS Shizuoka Broadcasting
Kinki, Chukyo & Hokuriku	OBC Radio Osaka ABC Radio MBS Radio KBS Kyoto/KBS Shiga WBS Wakayama Broadcasting System Tokai Radio KNB Kitanihon Broadcasting MRO Hokuriku Broadcasting
Chugoku & Shikoku	BSS San-in Broadcasting RSK Sanyo Broadcasting RNC Nishinippon Broadcasting JRT Shikoku Broadcasting RNB Nankai Broadcasting (FNam) RKC Kochi Broadcasting RCC Chugoku Broadcasting KRY Yamaguchi Broadcasting
Kyushu Region & Okinawa	Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting NBC Nagasaki Broadcasting/NBC Radio Saga RKK Kumamoto Broadcasting OBS Oita Broadcasting MRT Miyazaki Broadcasting MBC Minaminihon Broadcasting ROK Radio Okinawa
Former affiliates	CRK Radio Kansai (until 1975)

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