The Aftermath of the End of “Sukkiri”… “That Long-Lived Program” Rumored to be Next to Be Canceled

Sukkiri” (NTV) has decided to end its broadcast in March of next year. About a month has passed since the announcement, and the aftermath is having unexpected repercussions.

Since its launch in 2006, “Sukkiri” has been a long-running program that has long been loved as the face of Nippon TV’s morning programming. Nippon TV explained that the reason for the program’s termination was “to respond to changes in the environment and needs surrounding television. However, it is not the only reason for the program’s termination.

It is true that the program could no longer keep up with the changing environment, as evidenced by the fact that the Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization (BPO) began deliberations on the program’s statements and news content. But there is another reason. The COVID-19 crisis has forced all the stations to cut production costs, and this has had a negative impact on the program, as MC Kato-san (Koji, 53) is paid approximately 800,000 yen per show, or 200 million yen a year.

The fact that Nippon TV, one of the leading commercial broadcasters, has taken a scalpel to an area that until now has been inviolable is increasing the likelihood that other broadcasters will follow its lead. Amid such a situation, the next candidate for termination among those in the know is TBS’s “Hiruobi,” the face of TBS’s daytime program.

This long-running information program has been on the air since March 2009, and next year will mark its 14th anniversary. However, it has recently been suffering from a slump in viewer ratings. A source at the production company reveals, “The program will run for nine episodes from 2012 to 2020.

The program has been the top-ranked program in the same time slot for nine consecutive years from 2012 to 2020,” said a source at a production company. The ratings were always at a high level of 6-7%. However, for the past year or two, the average viewer rating has plummeted to 3-4%. Last year, it finally lost the No. 1 position in the annual ratings for the same time slot to “Yoko Oshita Wide! Scramble” (TV Asahi), and has continued to stagnate since then. The program has been trying to rejuvenate the viewer base by newly appointing Reina Triendl (30) and Naomi Trauden (23), but it has not been successful. In fact, the main viewers, the housewives, have been deserting the program, further aggravating the situation.”

Adding fuel to the fire is the appearance fee for MC Toshiaki Megumi (57).

Megumi’s fee is said to be more than Kato’s. TBS is also in a difficult financial situation, so it is inevitable that there will be calls for the program to be terminated. There are rumors that the program will end either in the spring of next year, the same as “Sukkiri,” or in the fall when the program undergoes a change.

With the end of “Sukkiri,” all stations are now in the process of reviewing their programs. Hiruobi,” which established an era, is no exception, and is now at a major crossroads in terms of the continuation of the program.