JTBC

Timeline

• June 26, 1964: Tongyang Broadcasting Corporation launches.
• December 7, 1964: TBC-TV starts broadcasting on channel 7.
• November 30, 1980: TBC-TV merges with KBS Television under a special law of Chun Doo-hwan, president of the military authorities, resulting in the launch of KBS 2TV.
• July 22, 2009: Amendment of the media law passed by the national assembly in order to deregulate the media market in South Korea. A response from the South Korean government to the Chojoongdong (the major media conglomerates of The Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and The Dong-A Ilbo), which were aiming to launch the cable market.
• December 31, 2010: JTBC, TV Chosun, MBN, and Channel A selected as "general cable television channel broadcasters".
• March 11, 2011: JoongAng Ilbo establishes the JTBC corporation.
• December 1, 2011: JTBC starts broadcasting on channel 15.
• May 2013: Former MBC news anchor Sohn Suk-hee designated as JTBC's new president of its news division.
• January 2015: JTBC constructs a new building in Digital Media City in Sangam-dong, Seoul.
• November 2018: Sohn Suk-hee promoted to JTBC's president and CEO.
• June 2019: JTBC acquired the South Korean media rights to the Olympic Games from 2026 to 2032. The company also later secured exclusive South Korean rights to FIFA tournaments from 2025 to 2030, including the 2026 and 2030 FIFA World Cups and the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.
• April 2020: JTBC moves its newscasts to Creation Hall, starting with JTBC Newsroom, with its other programs following suit on May 18.
• June 2021: JTBC buys a majority stake in production company Wiip from Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
• June 2026: JTBC defaulted on ₩20.6 billion of securitized loans after failing to repay principal and interest by the due date. NICE Investors Service downgraded the broadcaster's long-term credit rating from BBB to CCC, and later to D. JTBC subsequently filed for court-supervised corporate rehabilitation with the Seoul Rehabilitation Court, while stating that its broadcasting operations would continue normally.

• August 2026: JTBC decided not to seek a further extension of its Autonomous Restructuring Support (ARS) program, which was set to expire on August 30, after negotiations with creditors over a voluntary restructuring and funding plan failed to reach an agreement. The decision made it likely that the Seoul Rehabilitation Court would formally commence rehabilitation proceedings, under which the court directly oversees the company's debt adjustment and restructuring, comparing its going-concern value against its liquidation value; if the going-concern value is higher, a rehabilitation plan is pursued, while a higher liquidation value can lead to the proceedings being discontinued. JTBC had applied for the ARS program — a mechanism that allows the court to defer its decision on commencing proceedings while the debtor and its creditors negotiate a voluntary restructuring — after its June 12 default on ₩20.6 billion in securitized borrowings. The court accepted the application on June 30 and extended the deferral once, on July 29, to August 30. Meanwhile, the four other JoongAng Group affiliates that had filed for rehabilitation, including JoongAng Holdings, had already entered court-supervised proceedings, while the JoongAng Ilbo began a creditor-approved debt workout on July 10. On August 28, 2026, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court approved the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings for JTBC. Following the court's decision, JTBC began the sale process as part of its efforts to normalize its management.

Drama

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