A “former controversial TV announcer” who is now a famous producer… and a key player in the “TV revival”.

It was reported that “Pop Up!” (Fuji TV), an information variety show that just started this spring, will be terminated by the end of this year.

(Fuji TV), which started this spring, will be terminated by the end of the year. “The deciding factor was allegations of power harassment by the chief producer, which came to light as the program struggled to attract sponsors. The variety production team, the old home of President Koichi Minato (70), who took over in June, will be in charge of the replacement program.

A senior executive at a commercial broadcaster said, “Fuji is likely to undergo a major change” along with “Pop Up!

The kicker was the early retirement program that was announced at the end of last year. This spring, about 100 people left the company, including seven former announcers, including Rika Sato, 55. Fuji, which has lost some of its best talent, is now undergoing drastic reforms. At the center of these reforms are former announcers.

For example, at the end of June, Nagao Ako (28), who used to appear on “Mezamashi TV,” was transferred to the Public Relations Department. Taisuke Uchino, 30, an active sports commentator, was transferred to the Sports Bureau. It is believed that by assigning high-profile former announcers to the Public Relations and Sports Bureaus, the company is trying to strengthen its ties with sponsors and media outlets. On the other hand, Sayaka Morimoto (44), a former analyst who was transferred to the Personnel Bureau last year, has been promoted to the position of general manager. They are probably trying to stop the exodus of junior analysts by showing former announcers playing an active role in the personnel bureau, where they are on the track to success.

TBS transferred several announcers to other departments in July.

Hitomi Okamura (40), who had been working in the Social Affairs Department since 2003, was transferred to the Social Affairs Department, and Daisuke Shimizu (59) was transferred to TBS Holdings. Tetsuya Saito (58), who is nearing retirement, has been transferred to the Programming and Review Bureau. Mahumi Mizuno (38) was transferred to the Personnel and Labor Affairs Bureau, although she is also an announcer.

When they see that they are not popular, they transfer them to other departments. On the other hand, they are treating their signature announcer, Shinichiro Azumi (49), like a bureau chief, and promoting Ai Eto (36) to a section manager’s position, and they are overworking her. Because of the shoddy treatment, popular announcers will continue to move to freelance positions in the future.

NTV has undergone a major organizational reform, renaming its programming bureau, which is responsible for programming and new planning, the Content Strategy Bureau in June. The department responsible for program production was also renamed the Content Production Bureau.

NTV has been focusing on the video distribution business due to the recent TV recession. Nippon TV used to distribute its programs through its affiliate, Hulu, but that alone was not enough to make a big business, so we started a partnership with another foreign video distribution company. Now, when we launch a new program or drama, we always have a strategy in place as to which platform we will work with. The reason for the name change is probably the increase in work outside of program production.

The main force in the Content Strategy Bureau is expected to be former announcers. This is because former Fuji TV announcer Yuri Akimoto (38), who was transferred to the Contents Business Department after the affair scandal, is working as a producer of the drama “The Window,” which was jointly produced with a subsidiary of a German public broadcasting station. She has a reputation for being a good negotiator because she is a former announcer,” said an advertising agency official.

The image of leaving the announcing department as a leftward shift is becoming a thing of the past.

From the September 23, 2022 issue of FRIDAY