So-called 4K and 8K ultrahigh-definition satellite television broadcasting in Japan fully started at 10 a.m. on Saturday while the penetration of TV sets supporting the services has remained slow.
NHK and some commercial broadcasters certified by the communications ministry launched the 4K and higher-definition 8K services on a total of 17 channels.
An event to mark the start of the broadcast services was held at a hotel in Tokyo the same day, with participants including actress Kyoko Fukada, communications minister Masatoshi Ishida, Ryoichi Ueda, president of NHK, the nation’s public broadcaster, and Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association President Yoshio Okubo.
“We’re determined to offer highest-standard TV broadcast services in 2020,” Ueda said.
“To make a success of the 4K and 8K services, we need to create attractive programs,” Okubo, also president of Nippon Television Network Corp. said.
Fukada, who has just installed a tuner supporting the services, said, “I look forward to watching [4K and 8K programs] after returning home today.” She works for 4K and 8K campaigning activities of the Association for Promotion of Advanced Broadcasting Services, or A-PAB.
Broadcasting of 4K and 8K programs began on a trial basis in 2016.
But cumulative shipments of 4K-compatible TV sets stood at 5.05 million units as of the end of September, an indication that only about 10 percent of the total households in Japan have introduced such TVs.
To promote the 4K and 8K services, broadcasters need to offer attractive content, experts said. There are hopes that the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will help spur demand.
“We hope to promote the 4K and 8K services hand in hand with broadcasters and [TV] makers,” Ishida told a press conference on Friday.
To watch the 4K and 8K broadcasts at home, viewers need antennas or TVs that support the services or designated external tuners.
According to a survey conducted by A-PAB in September, only 19 percent of respondents knew that 4K and 8K broadcasting would start at the beginning of December.Speech