Concerns Raised at TV Tokyo Over Departure of Seven Female Announcers in Four Years

The “rush” of female announcers leaving TV Tokyo continues.

It was reported in February that Yuki Matsumaru, 42, an announcer who appeared on the variety shows “Godtan” and “Sinapshu,” has decided to leave the company at the end of June and is planning to work as a freelance announcer after July.

 

TV Tokyo is experiencing a wave of female announcers leaving the company.

Matsumaru Yuki, a TV announcer who appeared on variety shows like “God Tongue” and “Shinapurushu,” has decided to leave at the end of June and reportedly plans to work as a freelance announcer from July onwards. This was reported in February.

Similarly, Soguro Seika, who hosted “Winning Keiba” and assisted on “Shutsu Mo! Ado Machikku Tengoku,” also left at the end of June to pursue a career as a freelance announcer. It’s expected that formal announcements about their departures will be made closer to their leave dates.

Additionally, Fukuda Noriko, who joined the company in 2016 and served as the third assistant on the variety show “Moyamoya Samaazu 2,” featuring the comedy duo Samaa~zu, announced her departure via Instagram on March 9th, effective at the end of March. She revealed during her guest appearance on the show broadcasted on the same day that she would transition into a public relations role at a medical venture company and work as a freelance announcer and public relations specialist.

“At TV Tokyo, there’s a wave of announcers leaving, both male and female, but especially noticeable is the departure of female announcers since the spring of 2020. In March 2020, Reina Sumi (33) left, in May 2021, Tomoko Morimoto (46) left, in June 2021, Reina Akimoto (38) left, and in March last year, Kasumi Mori (28) left. As of now this year, three more departures have been confirmed.

With seven departures in four years, the pace is high. Given that TV Tokyo didn’t always hire female announcers every year, this situation is abnormal for the company. Since the departure of Eri Kano (37), who joined in 2009, the younger generation has only consisted of those who joined after Akane Katabuchi (30) in 2016. In other words, there are only veterans or newcomers left at the company, which is an abnormal situation for a television network.” (Broadcast reporter)

“TV Tokyo’s past presidents have all come from Nikkei Shimbun, and it’s the only key station in Tokyo where a full-time employee has never become president, effectively being under the ‘control’ of Nikkei. The program that has long been at the top within the station is ‘World Business Satellite,’ which will have Yuka Aina (38) as its new anchor from May.

Other than anchoring that show, there are hardly any prestigious programs, which doesn’t motivate the female announcers. Currently, no matter how hard they work on variety shows, they are not appreciated by the upper management.”

At TV Tokyo, there has always been a shortage of personnel and budget compared to other stations, so the production side had to be creative. It’s said that this led to the creation of programs like God Tongue, Urelo Series, and Achikochi Audrey, which threatened the major networks. However, even talented employees like Nobi Saku, who worked on such programs and is now a successful freelance producer and talent at the age of 48, have left the company.

“With budgets and personnel being cut, and with the influence of Nikkei, there’s pressure to cater to sponsors and prioritize safe programming, which has led to a decrease in creative freedom in program-making. Consequently, it seems there will be fewer opportunities for female announcers to shine, leading to more departures from the company.” (TV Tokyo insider)

There’s a growing trend among announcers to choose the path of freelancing over building a career as an employee. This trend might be more pronounced at TV Tokyo.

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