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 Wowow's headquarters at Akasaka Park Building in 2012. | |
| Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Akasaka,Minato, Tokyo |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Japanese |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Wowow, Inc. |
| History | |
| Launched | November 29, 1990; 34 years ago (1990-11-29) (pre-opening) November 30, 1990 (1990-11-30) (actual) December 1, 2000 (2000-12-1) (digital) |
| Closed | July 24, 2011 (2011-7-24) (analog) |
| Links | |
| Website | wowow |
Wowow (Wauwau,pronounced[waɯwaɯ], stylized in all-uppercase in Japanese) is asatellite broadcasting and premium satellitetelevision station owned and operated byWowow Inc. (株式会社WOWOW). Its headquarters are located on the 21st floor of the Akasaka Park Building inAkasaka, Minato, Tokyo.[1][2] Its broadcasting center is inKoto, Tokyo.[1][3]
Wowow was the first 24/7, 3 channel, full high-definition broadcaster in Japan.[4]
The channel's name is a double "Wow", and the three W's also stand for "World-Wide-Watching".
Wowow began pre-opening broadcasts on November 29, 1990, with service beginning the following day, on November 30, 1990. By 1992, Wowow had 800,000 subscribers.[5] Digital broadcasting began on December 1, 2000. The network began with 207,753 subscribers (31.5 billionyen in sales), growing to 2,667,414 two years later (64.5 billion yen in sales). As of December 2011, Wowow claimed approximately 2.56 million subscribers to its digital service.[6] On July 24, 2011, Wowow shut down its analog broadcast.
Previously, Wowow's headquarters were in another facility in Akasaka.[7]
On October 1, 2011, Wowow expanded their single channel broadcast satellite service to provide four high-definition TV channels:[8] Wowow Prime (WOWOWプライム), a general entertainment channel, Wowow Live (WOWOWライブ), covering sports, documentaries, movies and live performances, Wowow Cinema (WOWOWシネマ), a 24-hour movie channel and Wowow Plus.
Wowow also operated a 4K channel which launched in March 2021 and closed on February 28, 2025.[9]
Wowow mostly rebroadcasts movies, but is also well known for showing (and even co-producing and/or assisting in the production of) originalanime series such asThe Big O,Brain Powerd,Overman King Gainer,Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran,Trinity Blood,Cowboy Bebop (the complete uncut version),Ghost Hound,Crest of the Stars,Ergo Proxy,X/1999,SHUFFLE!,Paranoia Agent,Now and Then, Here and There,Le Chevalier d'Eon,Shigurui,Berserk (2016 TV series), as well as theAnime Complex block. Due to the looser broadcast standards for satellite television in Japan, Wowow has become a primary means of widespread distribution for anime with themes or subject matter that regular broadcast networks cannot show. Several anime studios have partnership deals for distributing their more mature series, with the famed studioMadhouse among them.
Wowow also broadcastsJapanese-dubbedAmericantelevision series such asFriends,CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,Sex and the City,The Sopranos,Cold Case,Grey's Anatomy,Medium,The 4400,Animaniacs,South Park, andThe Simpsons, among others. Wowow has also screenedUltimate Fighting Championship events for Japanese audiences, the British comedy sketch showLittle Britain, as well as the British drama/action showUltimate Force under the nameSAS: British Special Forces.
Wowow began producing original live-action TV series in 2003. The series called "Drama W" includes works such asPenance,xxxHolic,The Grand Family andFutagashira.[10]
Wowow has broadcast all four tennis Grand Slam Championships since 2008. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
The representative director, president & CEO of Wowow is, as of April 2024, Hitoshi Yamamoto.[12]
Wowow was one of the 18 channels that as of early 2000 has its coverage inChina restricted mostly to foreign compounds.[13]
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