V-shaped recovery! What is the “Way of Life” that “Miyaneya” has found?

Since July, when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot, the daytime wide show “Information Live Miyaneya” (NTV) has been doing well.

Although it had been the top-ranked program in the same time slot for a long time, since the COVID-19 crisis, it has been losing out to “Gogosuma ~GOGO! Smile! However, by being the first nationally televised program to tackle the issue of the former Unification Church, the program has succeeded in increasing not only household viewer ratings but also core viewer ratings, which are important to sponsors, and has once again become “the king of the daytime”.

(An advertising agency official) Backed by high viewer ratings, “Miyaneya” continues to pursue the former Fusion Church even four months after the shooting incident.

On September 29, the former Unification Church filed a lawsuit against Yomiuri TV, which produces the program, claiming that statements made in the “Miyaneya” program constituted defamation. The termination of “Viking More” (Fuji TV) by Shinobu Sakagami (55) is symbolic of this trend, but the younger generation tends to shy away from MC’s with a poisonous tongue. The significance of Seiji Miyane’s (59) existence began to be questioned, and just as the renewal of the program was beginning to be considered, Abe’s shooting incident occurred. Religious issues are sensitive, so other stations are hesitant to take a second look. Conversely, it is a chance to make a difference in the behind-the-scenes programs. That is why the station’s upper management gave the go-ahead to pursue the issue thoroughly,” said an NTV insider.

The program was quick to use journalist Aito Suzuki, who had been covering issues related to the second generation of religious believers, as well as actively interviewing former believers.

After the shooting incident, it was Tulip Television, a broadcasting station in Toyama, that was the first to tackle the former Unification Church issue. Miyaneya” also benefited from the fact that it was produced by Yomiuri TV in Osaka. If it had been produced by a key station in Tokyo, there would have been too many sponsors to pay attention to, and they would have been too cautious,” said a producer from a key station.

The hashtag “#Go for Miyaneya” has often trended on SNS. The “Miyaneya” hashtag has been trending on social networking sites.

On October 20, the church held a press conference after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (65) indicated his intention to use his right to ask questions to investigate the matter. At that time, it is well known that the second-generation believers who were promoted to the position of head of the church appeared on the show. Until now, “Miyaneya” had broadcast the press conference live while listening to the commentary of Eito Suzuki, lawyer Masaki Kito, and others, but at that time, the live broadcast had to be interrupted. This was because the personal information of the believers was disclosed at the press conference. It is expected that they will try the same thing again in the future, and since there has been no progress in investigating the cult, the viewers are getting tired of it.

Even within Yomiuri TV, there are whispers that “the bubble of the old Unification Church is bursting.

There is no need to be pessimistic. If we can make a strong report that sets us apart from other stations and do not succumb to pressure, the numbers will come in. It is significant that they have gained that successful experience.

With “Sukkiri,” another NTV program, scheduled to end next spring, and other such developments, “Miyaneya” may hold the key to the future of the TV programs in the bandwidth market.

From the December 2 and 9, 2022 issues of FRIDAY