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{{short description|Defunct Japanese satellite radio broadcaster}}
{{Expand Japanese|セント・ギガ|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = {{nowrap|Satellite Digital Audio Broadcast Co., Ltd.}}
| logo             = St.GIGA_logo.svg
| image            = File:Nisseki Yokohama Billding.JPG
| image_alt        = A tall glass skyscraper
| image_caption    = St.GIGA's former headquarters in [[Yokohama]] (2001–2003)
| native_name      = 株式会社衛星デジタル音楽放送
| native_name_lang = ja
| trade_name       = St.GIGA
| romanized_name   = [[Kabushiki-gaisha]] Eisei Dejitaru Ongaku Hōsō
| type             = [[Subsidiary]]
| industry         = [[Satellite radio]]
| fate             = Merged with WireBee
| successor        = Club Cosmo
| founded          = {{start date|1990|04|02|df=y}}
| defunct          = {{ubl|{{end date|2003|03|31|df=y}}<ref name="RNikkei"/>|({{age in years and days|1990|04|02|2003|03|31}})}}
| hq_location      = [[Akasaka, Tokyo]]
| area_served      = Japan
| key_people       = Hiroshi Yokoi (director)
| products         = {{ubl|Satellite radio stations|[[Satellaview]]|Soundtrack albums|Tuners}}
| parent           = {{ubl|[[WOWOW]] (1990–2003)|WireBee (2003)|World Independent Networks Japan (2003–2007)}}
| subsid           = Studio St.GIGA
| website          = {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20000511154327/http://www.stgiga.co.jp/|www.stgiga.co.jp}} (Archive)
}}
{{nihongo|'''Satellite Digital Audio Broadcast Co., Ltd.'''|株式会社衛星デジタル音楽放送|[[Kabushiki-gaisha]] Eisei Dejitaru Ongaku Hōsō}}, [[trading as]] {{nihongo|'''St.GIGA'''|セント・ギガ|Sento Giga}}, was a Japanese [[satellite radio]] company headquartered in [[Akasaka, Tokyo]]. The company was established on 2 April 1990 as a subsidiary of the television station provider [[WOWOW]], achieving a cult following through its "Tide of Sound" [[nature sounds]] recording broadcasts and its nonstandard methodology. By 1994, St.GIGA was struggling financially due to Japan's [[Lost Decades|economic stagnation]] affecting the demand for its ambient music, as consumers became reluctant to invest in satellite tuners.
In 1995, St.GIGA partnered with [[Nintendo]] to produce the [[Satellaview]], a peripheral for the [[Super Famicom]] that allowed games to be played through satellite broadcasts. Though the peripheral was successful, St.GIGA's financial state and inability to secure a proper broadcast license dissolved the relationship between the two companies, with Nintendo ceasing production of new content in March 1999. St.GIGA ran the Satellaview's servers until June 2000, leaving the video game industry entirely to focus on its radio stations and music licensing. After a significant downturn in its finances and nearing bankruptcy, St.GIGA merged with radio station provider WireBee in 2003 and was rebranded as Club Cosmo. In 2006, St.GIGA's content licensing rights were sold to World Independent Networks Japan (WINJ), which broadcast reruns of St.GIGA music until 2007.
St.GIGA is credited as being the world's first digital satellite radio station. The Satellaview has received praise for being ahead of its time, particularly for St.GIGA's method of distributing and broadcasting high-quality audio and recordings. Its music has also inspired other Japanese radio stations and musicians, such as Yoshio Ojima.
==History==
Broadcast between 11 March 1990 and 28 November 2007, St.GIGA has undergone a number of changes of both carrier satellite and broadcast band. The following is a condensed history of these changes:
*2 April 1990 – St.GIGA is founded.<ref name="Nikkei BS">{{cite web |title=BSラジオ放送のセント・ギガ、民事再生法申請 |url=http://www.nikkei.co.jp/news/sangyo/20010725CAHI052525.html |website=[[The Nikkei|Nikkei News Media]] |publisher=Nikkei, Inc. |access-date=18 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010726233007/http://www.nikkei.co.jp/news/sangyo/20010725CAHI052525.html |archive-date=26 July 2001}}</ref>
*1990 – St.GIGA began broadcasts on BS-3ch via the [[BS-2a]] satellite.
*August 1991 – St.GIGA switched to the [[BS-3b]] satellite, and in September it began broadcasting on BS-5ch.
*23 April 1995 – Broadcasts begin to the [[Super Famicom]] add-on, [[Satellaview]].
*April 1999 – Nintendo withdraws support.
*30 June 2000 – Last Satellaview broadcast.
*1 December 2000 – St.GIGA began simultaneous broadcasts on Radio 333ch (Data broadcasting via 633 and 636ch).
*21 March 2003 – St.GIGA becomes Club COSMO.
*1 October 2003 – Club COSMO sold to WINJ.
*2005 – Club COSMO's 5ch broadcasts became analog (31 March) and the switch to 333ch was completed (10 May).
*2006 – WINJ begins St.GIGA rebroadcasts.
*28 November 2007 – All affiliated broadcast bands are terminated and the satellite broadcast certificate is revoked.
===Origins and early success (1990–1994)===
In 1990, the Japanese [[satellite television]] company [[WOWOW]] decided to expand their services into the field of [[satellite radio]].<ref name="Nikkei BS"/> The core management team made the executive decision to create a subsidiary named St.GIGA. The name was selected by a popular poll of "[[Vox populi|persons on the streets]]" because the executives agreed that they knew nothing about music. In deciding whom to hire as director for the subsidiary, {{nihongo|Hiroshi Yokoi|横井宏}} (who had recently designed the successful [[J-Wave|J-Wave FM]]) was selected as an innovator in the field. Soon after accepting the position, Yokoi crafted a radical proposal for the station concept. The initial reaction at WOWOW was skeptical; however within a few months of traditional satellite radio broadcasts, Yokoi's concept was given probationary adoption, and Yokoi was subsequently given full discretion to shape the company's future.
In accordance with Yokoi's conception, St.GIGA's broadcasts initially followed no externally fixed (or artificial) timetable. Rather, they were based upon the cyclical motif of a 24-hour "[[tide table]]"<ref name=toop>Toop, David & Réveillon, Arnaud. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=s1JNNhZGZFcC&pg=PA164 Ocean of Sound: ambient music, mondes imaginaires et voix de l'éther]''. Editions Kargo. Pp. 164-5. 2000. {{ISBN|2-84162-048-4}}</ref> where broadcast themes were approximately matched to the current tidal cycle according to the [[rule of twelfths]] throughout the 24-hour broadcasting period. Under this innovative schedule, the station broadcast a variety of primarily ambient music programs including {{nihongo|''Music Tide''|音楽潮流|Ongaku Chōryū}}, various jazz programs, and {{nihongo|''Tide Table''|タイド・テーブル|Taido . Teburu}} (featuring live sound-broadcasts of the ocean shore). The beginnings and ends of programs were not clearly demarcated and instead utilized the unprecedented {{nihongo|"Tide of Sound"|音の潮流|Oto no Chōryū}} method where songs of one genre would gradually flow into and intersperse with the songs from the prior genre until the new genre became predominant. The intent, according to Yokoi was to allow the listener to relax in a wave of sound "like a baby sleeps in the womb."<ref name=toop/> "Tide of Sounds" broadcasts operated under a principle of "No [[Radio advertisement|Commercials]], No [[DJ]]s, No [[News|News Broadcasts]], No [[Talk radio|Talk]]." Unlike most commercial-driven radio broadcasts, this was made possible for St.GIGA due to its reliance on a subscription [[Digital Audio Broadcasting]] (DAB) service. In order to receive this DAB service, the subscriber was required to obtain a special decoder, to pay an initiation fee, and subsequent monthly fees.<ref>Valenti, Gregory. ''[http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/amuilr8&div=22&size=2&rot=0&type=image Digital Audio Broadcasting: An International Perspective on Compact-Disc Quality Radio]''. 8 [[Washington College of Law#Publications|Am. U. J. Int'l L. & Pol'y]] 273, 289, 295-7 (1992).</ref> "Tide of Sounds" broadcasts often took the form of high-quality digital recordings of [[biomusic|nature sounds]] accompanied by [[spoken word]] narration by an [[voice acting|actor]] as the "Voice". Throughout the life span of "Tide of Sounds" broadcasts, the part of the "Voice" would be played by a number of notable Japanese poets, including, among others, Ryo Michiko. "Voice" performances often consisted of all new poetry composed specifically for the show.
St.GIGA also broadcast its B-mode audio programming (a series of all [[classical music]] broadcasts) over analog broadcasting frequency bands that were shared with its parent, the satellite broadcasting company WOWOW. Highly artistic and experimental, the St.GIGA sound became extremely popular within certain segments of the population, and the station was recognized for its innovative concept, unique vision, and nonstandard methodology.
The initial popularity of the music funded trips by St.GIGA [[biomusic]] recorders to travel abroad to record at such exotic locations as [[England]], [[Canary Islands]], [[Mikonos]], [[Venice]], [[Bali]], [[Tahiti]], [[Martinique]], [[Hanson Island]] ([[British Columbia|BC]]), and [[Maui]]. St.GIGA was also able to release a number of thematic books including the multi-volume ''St.GIGA Stylebook'', {{nihongo|''Current of dreams: An introduction St.GIGA programming''|Yume no choryu: St.Giga hensei soron}} (containing the full text of Yokoi's original concept proposal), and {{nihongo|''Trends in Dreaming - St.GIGA's Hiroshi Yokoi's General Office''|夢の潮流 -St.GIGA編成総論横井宏著 発行所}}.
{{quote box | align=right | width=25% | quote=St. Giga and other satellite radio broadcasters found it hard to attract paying subscribers as Japan's recession made consumer reluctant to invest in the expensive antennas and tuners needed to pick up satellite broadcasts.| source=''Billboard Magazine'', July 23, 1994<ref name="Billboard"/>}}
St.GIGA sold a variety of products ranging from program guides to "sound calendars" to fragrances. The company also released a number of CDs under St.GIGA's own label as well as a variety of foreign labels such as the [[Hearts of Space]], and music by [[Deep Forest]].
===Nintendo relationship and Satellaview (1994–2000)===
[[File:BSSuperMario.png|thumb|200px|right|From 23 April 1995 to 30 June 2000, St.GIGA broadcast video game data for such games as ''[[BS Super Mario USA]]'' which were only playable with [[Nintendo]]'s [[Satellaview]] subsystem.]]
{{quote box | align=right | width=25% | quote=Unlike St. Giga's regular programming, the new data service will feature paid advertising.  Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi [said] that Nintendo expects to sell 2 million adapter/cassette packages a year.| source=''Billboard Magazine'', July 23, 1994<ref name="Billboard"/>}}
By 1994, St.GIGA's financial difficulties resulted in the cutting back of "Tide of Sound" broadcasts.<ref name="Billboard"/> The company's portion of the subscription-funded audio broadcasts were to be replaced under subcontract by an all new series of advertising-funded Satellite Data broadcasts, managed under the "rescue" and executive control<ref name="CNN"/> of [[Nintendo]], St.GIGA's largest shareholder at 19.5%.<ref name="Billboard">{{cite news |last1=McClure |first1=Steve |title=Japan's St. Giga to Broadcast Nintendo Games |date=23 July 1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAgEAAAAMBAJ&q=billboard+magazine+july+23%2C+1994&pg=PA78 |access-date=18 January 2020 |work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118212356/https://books.google.com/books?id=YAgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA78&dq=billboard+magazine+july+23,+1994%23v=onepage&q=billboard%20magazine%20july%2023%2C%201994&f=false |archive-date=18 January 2020 |pages=78–84}}</ref>
Beginning on 23 April 1995, St.GIGA broadcast video-game-related data to owners of the [[Super Famicom]]'s [[Satellaview]] peripheral created by Nintendo.<ref name="NG">{{cite news |title=Nintendo aims high with "Satellaview" |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-005/page/n19 |access-date=18 January 2020 |agency=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=5 |publisher=[[Future Publishing]] |date=May 1995 |pages=18–19}}</ref> This device bolts onto the underside of the Super Famicom in a manner similar to the later [[Nintendo 64DD]]'s attachment to the [[Nintendo 64]] and the [[Game Boy Player]]'s attachment to the [[GameCube]].<ref name="Vice">{{cite web |last1=Kemps |first1=Heidi |title=Nintendo's Forgotten Console |url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xywnpw/satellaview-nintendos-forgotten-console |website=[[Vice Media|Vice]] |publisher=Vice Media |access-date=18 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920163242/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xywnpw/satellaview-nintendos-forgotten-console |archive-date=20 September 2019 |date=9 September 2015}}</ref> Only released to the Japanese market, the Satellaview acted as a [[satellite modem]], allowing players to download broadcast data.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obscura Machinia #5 — Satellaview |url=https://archive.org/stream/RetroGamerIssue086-090/Retro_Gamer_Issue_087#page/n81/mode/2up |access-date=18 January 2020 |agency=[[Retro Gamer]] |issue=87 |publisher=[[Future Publishing]] |date=March 2011 |location=United Kingdom |pages=82–83}}</ref> The resulting games were then stored on requisite specialized rewritable storage cartridges at an additional launch price of 14,000 yen ($143).<ref name="Billboard"/>
The broadcast content ranged from video-game-related Satellaview news and specific interest journals such as {{nihongo|''Game Tiger's big House''|ゲーム虎の大穴|Gemu Tora no OoAna}} to expansion data for popular Super Famicom games (including, for example, ''[[Chrono Trigger#Related media|Chrono Trigger]]'') and all new video game releases including titles in such flagship series as ''[[BS Zelda|The Legend of Zelda]]'', ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2#BS Super Mario USA Power Challenge|Super Mario]]'', and ''[[Kirby (series)#History|Kirby]]''. Additionally, a number of these broadcasts featured an updated version of St.GIGA's earlier "Tide of Sounds" "Voice," now called {{nihongo|"[[SoundLink]]"|サウンドリンク}}, with which St.GIGA [[voice actors]] would provide a live vocal track to accompany games, setting plot and describing in-game goals.
Due to the rewritability of the cartridges, the fact that "SoundLink" broadcasts were not downloaded to the game cartridges but rather were streamed live during the noon–2 a.m. ''Super Famicom Hour'' broadcasting time, and because the broadcast game data have never been rereleased by Nintendo, these games have become extremely rare. The subculture of collectors and enthusiasts that has grown online have exerted much effort engaged in electronic [[archaeology]] by extracting old data from heavily rewritten data cartridges in order to faithfully reproduce the games via emulation.<ref name="Vice"/>
Aside from St.GIGA's "SoundLink" or broadcasts accompanying the transmission of data for its {{nihongo|"Soundlink Games"|サウンドリンクゲーム}}, St.GIGA also broadcast a wealth of information on talk shows and celebrity idols, including a variety show. Broadcast times were fitted to match the schedules of students, and the station's audience demographics shifted radically much to the disappointment of the station's former ambient music fans. Before long the station had ceased transmissions of all "Time & Tide" programs (those featuring [[new age music]]) including the much-admired {{nihongo|''Tidal Currents''|潮の潮流|Shio no Chōryū}}.
Carrying a "cumulative debt of 8.8 billion yen" as of March 1998, a Reuters report on 21 August 1998 indicated St.GIGA's rejection of Nintendo's debt management proposal as well as the broadcaster's failure to apply for renewal of its governmental satellite license.<ref name="IGN">{{cite web |author1=IGN Staff |title=Giga Bites the Dust |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/08/22/giga-bites-the-dust |publisher=[[IGN]] |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124002906/https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/08/22/giga-bites-the-dust |archive-date=24 January 2020 |date=21 August 1998}}</ref> This resulted in the withdrawal of Nintendo's five executive staff, and the withdrawal of all current and proposed programming plans by Nintendo, Kyocera, and "many content providers", that had been intended for launch in 2000; though Nintendo's 19.7% ownership portfolio remained intact.<ref name="CNN">{{cite web |title=Nintendo Drops Satellite Plan, Video-Game Company Halts Plan To Deliver Games Directly To Homes |url=http://belarus.8m.com/1/cnn060001.html |website=[[CNN]] |publisher=[[WarnerMedia]] |access-date=18 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182437/http://belarus.8m.com/1/cnn060001.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 March 2016 |date=21 August 1998}}</ref> St.GIGA continued Satellaview broadcasts after this point; however, the company could only broadcast reruns of games previously transmitted as Nintendo had discontinued its supply of new original content as of March 1999. Facing economic difficulties again, St.GIGA discontinued its Satellaview broadcasts on 30 June 2000 in order to return focus to music broadcasts as had been done prior to the Nintendo deal.<ref name="CNN"/>
===Decline and dissolution (2000–2006)===
By 2001, St.GIGA was nearly bankrupt and entered into merger talks with {{nihongo|WireBee Inc.|株式会社ワイヤービー|Kabushikigaisha Waiyabi}} with which it became associated for the remainder of its lifespan.<ref>{{cite web |title=St.GIGA，民事再生手続きが終了，ディジタルBS放送専業で再出発 |url=http://nnm.nikkeibp.co.jp/nnm/2002/06/NNM20020610_193.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020619232027/http://nnm.nikkeibp.co.jp/nnm/2002/06/NNM20020610_193.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 June 2002 |website=[[The Nikkei|Nikkei News Media]] |publisher=Nikkei, Inc. |access-date=18 January 2020 |date=10 June 2002}}</ref><ref name="ASCII Wirebee">{{cite web |title=ワイヤービー、セント・ギガを子会社化――ワンコンテンツ・マルチユースによるストリーミング配信を展開 |url=https://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/330/330849/ |website=[[ASCII Corporation|ASCII]] |publisher=[[Kadokawa Corporation]] |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008084322/http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/330/330849/ |archive-date=8 October 2015 |language=ja |date=9 May 2002}}</ref> St.GIGA was rechristened {{nihongo|Club COSMO|クラブコスモ|Kurabukosumo}} under the leadership of {{nihongo|Shinichi Matsuo|松尾信一}}. Broadcasts continued until 1 October, when the company was forced to sell its licensing rights to World Independent Networks Japan Inc. (WINJ).<ref name="RNikkei">{{cite web |title=どうした？どうなる？WINJ [メディア情報] |url=http://www.radionikkei.jp/webmaster/entry-72888.html |website=[[Radio Nikkei]] |publisher=[[Nikkei, Inc.|Nikkei]] |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226223215/http://www.radionikkei.jp/webmaster/entry-72888.html |archive-date=26 December 2020 |language=ja |date=1 October 2006}}</ref> WireBee immediately began bankruptcy procedures,<ref>Tadayuki, Mitani [http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~cjq24190/insolvent%20cases/24civil02.html 2-4(2)160 衛星デジタル音楽放送（株）] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325104118/http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~cjq24190/insolvent%20cases/24civil02.html |date=25 March 2010 }}. The Mitani Tadayuki Law Office. 18 January 2010.</ref> and all recording instruments and 241 tapes of nature sounds were auctioned off at open market for a total divided sale price of ¥5 million. Discussions concerning Club COSMO's involvement under WINJ's oversight in a new reality show were circulated briefly at this time, however to date no such show has been produced.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
In 2006, WINJ began broadcasting reruns of St.GIGA's original "Tide of Sound" and "Time & Tide" broadcasts during a 2–4 p.m. time slot; however, on 1 November of the same year, these broadcasts were suspended on the pretext of broadcasting equipment maintenance. The program was scheduled to resume in the 2007 fiscal year. However, on 14 November 2007, [[Hiroya Masuda]] the Minister of [[Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications|Internal Affairs]] revoked the broadcasting certificate under Act 54 of Article 24 of the Japanese General Broadcasting Statute.<ref name="ITmedia">{{cite web |last1=Iwanaga |first1=Shinichi |title=メディアの興亡 / BSラジオ局WIN-Jに総務省が引導？ |url=https://blogs.itmedia.co.jp/showbiz/2007/09/bswinj_8595.html |website=ITmedia |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419160458/https://blogs.itmedia.co.jp/showbiz/2007/09/bswinj_8595.html |archive-date=19 April 2012 |language=ja |date=13 September 2007}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[WOWOW]]
* [[Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation]]
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20000511154327/http://www.stgiga.co.jp/|Official website}}
[[Category:Defunct companies of Japan]]
[[Category:Defunct radio stations in Japan]]
[[Category:Digital radio]]
[[Category:Japanese companies disestablished in 2007]]
[[Category:Japanese companies established in 1990]]
[[Category:Nintendo]]
[[Category:Radio stations disestablished in 2007]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1990]]
[[Category:Satellite radio stations]]
[[Category:Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]