Kouhaku Uta Gassen is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK network and by some overseas (mainly cable) broadcasters who buy the program. The show ends shortly before midnight. Before the show began broadcasting on television in late 1953, the show was held on 3 January and only consisted of a radio broadcast. Literally "Red and White Song Battle", the program divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing teams of red and white. The "red" team or akagumi is composed of all female artists (or groups with female vocals), while the "white" team or shirogumi is all male (or groups with male vocals). The honor of performing on Kohaku is strictly by invitation, so only the most successful singing acts in the Japanese entertainment industry can perform. In addition to the actual music performances, the costumes, hair-styles, makeup, dancing, and lighting are important. Even today, a performance on Kohaku is said to be a big highlight in a singer's career because of the show's wide reach.