Editing TX Network (section)

== History ==
Tokyo Channel 12 almost went into bankruptcy in 1968. At the time, a television production company was established, with two companies, business newspaper ''[[The Nikkei|Nihon Keizai Shimbun]]'' and the [[Mainichi Broadcasting System]] having a central role in the investment. At this time, MBS was affiliated to NET TV (now [[TV Asahi]]), which carried out a "key station declaration" at the request of Nikkei, in the form of cross-networking with Tokyo Channel 12 and NET, in October 1969. Both channels either signed a network, or launched a co-production program, by, for example, each other to supply the programs from both stations, to strengthen the relationship. However, the relationship involving MBS and Tokyo Channel 12 disappeared on March 31, 1975, when MBS and ABC swapped their affiliations. Tokyo Channel 12 became an independent channel and remained that way until the start of the 80s.

Then, on March 1, 1982, [[Television Osaka|TV Osaka]] (TVO) became the first affiliate stations of what came to be TV Tokyo's network of stations. The new network was named '''Mega TON Network'''. Although "Mega TON" initially stood for "Megalopolis Tokyo-Osaka Network", the "N" also meant '''Nagoya''', where a third station was planned. [[Television Aichi Broadcasting|TV Aichi]] (TVA) began broadcasting on September 1, 1983. Also, the "Megalopolis Song Festival" was once broadcast featuring the name of the network.

On October 1, 1985, a fourth station covering [[Okayama Prefecture|Okayama]] and [[Kagawa Prefecture|Kagawa]] (the Setouchi quasi-Wide Area), named [[TV Setouchi]] (TSC), started broadcasting. However, the name Mega TON Network continued to be used, as it also meant "T" for Takamatsu and "O" for Okayama, after their respective capitals.

Because of the expansion, the network changed names on April 1, 1989, to TXN Network (TXN). The catchphrase at the time was "Can you feel your hot heartbeat?". In connection with the changes, the name "TV Tokyo Network" was also used in magazines at the time, but "TXN Network" was also used in TV commercials. At the same time as the birth of the new network, the popular name "TX" was officially established as an abbreviation (derived from TV Tokyo's call sign JO'''TX'''-TV). At the same time, TV Tokyo gained the '''TX''' abbreviation from the station's calls. [[Television Hokkaido]] in [[Hokkaido]] and [[TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting]] in [[Fukuoka]] began broadcasting in 1989 and 1991, respectively. The network gained their current shape of six stations.