Short answers, pulled from the story.
Nippon Television began broadcasting on the 28th of August 1953, making it the first commercial broadcaster in Asia. It was granted Japan's first commercial TV broadcasting license on the 31st of July 1952.
The first color live broadcast in Japan was the wedding of the crown prince, now Emperor Emeritus Akihito, aired on NTV on the 10th of April 1959. That same broadcast also carried Japan's first TV commercial in color.
NTV has funded all Studio Ghibli productions since Kiki's Delivery Service and holds exclusive Japanese broadcast rights to Ghibli films. On the 6th of October 2023, Nippon Television purchased a majority stake in Studio Ghibli, taking over management while the studio retained creative control. Hayao Miyazaki also designed NTV's mascot Nandarō in 1992.
Spirited Away holds the top spot, achieving a 46.9% rating when NTV broadcast it on the 24th of January 2003. Princess Mononoke is second at 35.1% and Howl's Moving Castle third at 32.9%.
In October 2000, NTV employees were found to have bribed households participating in audience ratings surveys, particularly affecting ratings for baseball games. Fuji TV took advantage of the scandal and moved ahead to become the ratings leader.
Matsutaro Shoriki was the founder of Nippon Television. He lobbied Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida alongside executives from rival newspapers to establish commercial television in Japan, securing the country's first commercial TV broadcasting license in 1952. He later returned as president in 1958 and drove the network's investment in color broadcasting.