Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation

History

Radio era (1961–1968)

Broadcasting from Seoul (call sign: HLKV, frequency: 900 kHz, output: 10 kW), MBC started as the first non-governmental commercial broadcaster in Korea. On 12 April 1963, it obtained a license from the government for operating regional stations in major cities (Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, Jeonju) in Korea and established a broadcast network which connects six cities including Seoul and Busan.

Black and white TV era (1969–1979)

MBC launched TV broadcasting on 8 August 1969 (call sign: HLAC-TV, output: 2 kW), and started to broadcast its main news program, MBC Newsdesk, on 5 October 1970. It reached an affiliation deal with 7 commercial stations (in Ulsan, Jinju, Gangnueng, Chuncheon, Mokpo, Jeju, Masan) between 1968 and 1969, and started nationwide TV broadcasting through its 13 affiliated or regional stations. In 1974, FM radio was launched, and MBC took over Kyunghyang Shinmun, a daily newspaper.

Colour TV era (1980–1989)

On 11 December 1980, the Korean Broadcasting System acquired 65% of the shares. The first colour TV broadcast was started on 22 December 1980. MBC was separated from the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper due to the 1981 Basic Press Act. In 1982, MBC moved into the Yeouido headquarters. That same year, the network founded its baseball team, MBC Cheong-ryong (Blue Dragon), which entered the KBO League as a charter team, in addition to the network being the first home of the league's TV broadcasts. With the live coverage of the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, MBC made a great advancement in scale and technology.

Ownership of the Blue Dragon baseball team was passed to LG Corporation in 1989.

Multimedia era (1990–1999)

After rapidly growing into a large corporation covering major international events, MBC established specialized companies for each value chain (MBC Production, MBC Media Tech, MBC Broadcast Culture Center, MBC Arts Company, MBC Arts Center) and spun them off as subsidiaries to become a more efficient corporation amid fiercer competition in the multimedia era. MBC Production and MBC Media Tech were merged into MBC C&I in August 2011.

Digital era (2000–present)

In 2000, MBC made its subsidiary iMBC (internet MBC) an independent corporation to pursue various internet-related business. Furthermore, it started cable TV (MBC Plus Media,) satellite TV, new DMB broadcasting and full daytime broadcasting on terrestrial television. In 2007, MBC established Ilsan Dream Center, a digital production centre. In September 2014, it completed the construction of a new headquarters building and moved from Yeouido to Sangam-dong.

In 2001, MBC launched satellite and cable television broadcasting. As part of this expansion, it created MBC America, a subsidiary based in Los Angeles, United States, to distribute its programming throughout the Americas. On 1 August 2008, MBC America launched MBC-D, a television network carried on the digital subchannels of KSCI-TV, KTSF-TV, and WMBC-TV. The service was planned to be launched in Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. by the end of the year. In northeast metro Atlanta, it aired on WKTB-CD channel 47.3 (now a Telemundo affiliate), but as of 2011 is on WSKC-CD channel 22.1.

In March 2013, computer shutdowns hit South Korean television stations, including MBC. The South Korean government asserted a North Korean link in the March cyberattacks, which has been denied by Pyongyang.

During the opening of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, MBC accidentally depicted stereotypes about specific countries like Italy for pizzas.

International relations

MBC is an active member of international organizations such as ABU (Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union), IATAS (International Academy of Television Arts & Science) and INPUT (International Public Television Screening Conference), and is affiliated with 21 broadcasters in 13 countries.

It is engaged in various global businesses through subsidiaries in Los Angeles and Shanghai, and bureaus in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, as well as Asia, in close cooperation with major global media groups.

It maintains a close relationship with foreign buyers by participating in major content markets every year, such as MIP-TV, MIPCOM, NATPE, BCWW and ATF. It also operates an English website that introduces MBC content to overseas buyers and viewers.

MBC drama What on Earth Is Love? was the first Korean Wave drama, sparking the K-drama boom across China when it was aired on CCTV in 1997. Since then, numerous MBC dramas, entertainment shows, and documentaries have been exported to different countries. The drama Dae Jang Geum was shown in as many as 91 countries around the world. More recently, MBC has been widening its content business by exporting show formats such as I Am a Singer, We Got Married and Dad! Where Are We Going?.

CEOs

Channels

• One terrestrial TV (MBC TV — channel 11ㆍMBC News Now — channel 12)
• Three radio stations:

• Five cable/satellite (MBC Drama, MBC Sports+, MBC M, MBC every1 and MBC ON)
• Three terrestrial DMB (TV, radio, data)
• Two satellite DMB (MBC Drama, MBC Sports+)
• MBC Voice Acting Division (), a voice acting company known for its work on movies, anime, documentaries, among other media.

Logos

File:MBC logo 1961.svg|First logo (used 1961 to 1969) File:MBC logo 1969.svg|Second MBC logo (used 1969 to November 1981) File:MBC logo 1974.svg|Third MBC logo (1974 to November 1981) File:MBC logo 1980.svg|Fourth MBC logo (used April 1980 to November 1981) File:MBC logo 1981.svg|Fifth MBC logo (December 1981 to 1985) File:MBC logo January 1986.svg|First variant of sixth MBC logo (1 January to 30 April 1986) File:1986 Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation logo.svg|Second variant of sixth MBC logo (1 May 1986 to 2 January 2005) File:MBC logo 2005.svg|Seventh MBC logo (3 January 2005 to 31 December 2011) File:Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.svg|Eighth MBC logo (1 January 2012 to 5 April 2023) File:Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (2023).svg|Ninth MBC logo and current MBC logo (used since 6 April 2023)

Flag

File:Flag of MBC (2005-2011).svg|2005–2012 File:Flag of MBC.svg|2012–present

Headquarters

File:MBC Sangam Center.jpg|Current MBC headquarters located in Sangam-dong (4 August 2014 – present). File:MBC Ilsan Dream Center.JPG|MBC Dream Center located in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province (30 November 2007 – present). File:MBC headquarter buld.jpg|Old MBC headquarters located in Yeouido (17 February 1982 – 3 August 2014). File:1970~1980's MBC Government building.jpg|Old MBC building located in Jeong-dong (8 August 1969 – 16 February 1982; now used by Kyunghyang Shinmun).

References

References

1. (23 February 2023). "Broadcaster MBC confirms new CEO appointment".
2. link. [[Maeil Business Daily]]. (December 11, 1980)
3. "About us". MBC Media Group.
4. "Archived copy".
5. Choe, Sang-Hun. (20 March 2013). "Computer Networks in South Korea Are Paralyzed in Cyberattacks". [[The New York Times]].
6. Lee Minji. (April 10, 2013). "(2nd LD) Gov't confirms Pyongyang link in March cyber attacks". [[Yonhap News Agency]].
7. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57966293
8. Song. Hye-young. (2014-02-25). link
9. (2017-02-23). "MBC 신임 사장에 김장겸…방문진, 각계 반대에도 강행". [[PD Journal]].
10. 추. 인영. (2017-12-08). link
11. 문, 현숙. (2020-02-23). "MBC 새 사장 박성제씨 "드라마왕국 명성 되찾겠다"".
12. 강. 아영. link