J:COM
J:COM is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, whose main operation is an MSO (multiple-system) cable operator in Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. It is a consolidated subsidiary of KDDI, and is a 50/50 joint venture with Sumitomo Corporation.
Previously known as Jupiter Communications, the company uses the brand name J:COM, and many of its subsidiaries have the J:COM name.
History
[edit]The company was created in December 1994 by Tele-Communications Inc., one of the largest MSOs in the world at the time. The company would initially offer cable systems and would later branch out to telephone services.[1] The company expected to set up its telephony services by mid-1996, as well as trialing interactive television services.[2] TCI, on its behalf, had problems with Japanese bureaucracy, as well as problems faced by smaller cable companies to provide digital services even after deregulation in 1993, enabling more foreign control.[2] In 1999, it signed an agreement with @Home Internet to provide internet services for its subscribers.[3]
Liberty Global sold its stake to KDDI in January 2010.[4]
On December 1, 2023, it added Paramount+ to its services, alongside Paramount Global and WOWOW.[5] In June 2025, it took over satellite channel BS Shochiku Tokyu, saving it from closure, and renaming it J:COM BS.[6]
J:COM Channel
[edit]J:COM Channel is the name given to its community channels. A second channel, J:COM TV, started broadcasting in June 2011.[7][dead link]
References
[edit]- ^ Henry Dubroff Denver Post,Business Editor. (1994, Dec 07). TCI revamp to trigger four IPOs: [Rockies Edition]. Denver Post (Pre-1997 Fulltext)
- ^ a b Bureaucracy in Action: One Firm's Struggle to Bring Cable Television to Tokyo
- ^ At Home to Offer Internet Access In Japan in Sumitomo Venture
- ^ Liberty Global Sells Stake in Japanese Company
- ^ 小野佳希 (2023-09-20). "サブスク映像配信「Paramount＋」日本上陸。12/1提供開始". PHILE WEB. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
- ^ "｢BS松竹東急｣の｢J:COM BS｣へのチャンネル名変更と放送継続のお知らせ". BS松竹東急株式会社. 2025-06-18. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ J:COMメディアセンター J:COM チャンネル(コミュニティチャンネル) 放送統合送出センター