JVC
JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (日本ビクター株式会社, Nihon Bikutā kabushiki gaisha), the company was best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for developing the Video Home System (VHS) video recorder.
For other uses, see JVC (disambiguation).JVC
日本ビクター株式会社
Nihon Bikutā kabushiki gaisha
September 13, 1927
Yokohama, Japan
October 1, 2011[a]
Merged with Kenwood Corporation
Shoichiro Eguchi, President
Audio, visual, computer-related electronics and software, media products
¥658.4 billion (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2008)
19,044 (consolidated, as of March 31, 2008)
- Victor Talking Machine Company (1927–1929)
- Radio Corporation of America (1929–1942)
- Matsushita Electric (1953–2008)
- JVC Kenwood Holdings (2008–2011)
- JVCKenwood (2011–present)
From 1953 to 2008, the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. was the majority stockholder in JVC. In 2008, JVC merged with Kenwood Corporation to create JVCKenwood. JVC sold their electronic products in their home market of Japan under the "Victor" name with the His Master's Voice logo but used the name JVC or Nivico in the past for export due to differing ownership of the His Master's Voice logo and the ownership of the "Victor" name from successors of the Victor Talking Machine Company. In 2011, the Victor brand for electronics in Japan was replaced by the global JVC brand. However, the previous "Victor" name and logo are retained by JVCKenwood Victor Entertainment, and are used as JVCKenwood's luxury HiFi marque.
Sponsorship[edit]
JVC is a well-known brand among English football fans due to the firm's sponsorship of Arsenal from 1981 to 1999, when Sega took over as Arsenal's sponsors. JVC's 18-year association with Arsenal is one of the longest club-sponsor associations with any professional club football.[15] JVC also sponsored Scottish football club Aberdeen in the late-1980s and early-1990s as well as the FIFA World Cup from 1982 to 2002.
JVC also sponsors the "away" shirts of the Australian A-League club, Sydney FC, and Dutch race driver Christijan Albers.
JVC has also been a sponsor of a massively multiplayer online game called Rise: The Vieneo Province since 2003.[16]
![JVC QL-Y5F Direct drive turntable with electronic JVC tonearm[19]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/JVC_QL-Y5F_8535057066crop.jpg/120px-JVC_QL-Y5F_8535057066crop.jpg)
