ABEMA’s “Free Games” for the World Cup was intended to enhance its brand image…?

Argentina, led by Lionel Messi (35), won the World Cup in Qatar for the third time in 36 years, defeating France in a penalty shootout after extra time.

Messi, the “Son of God,” scored twice, while France’s “Monster” Mbappe (24) had a hat trick, and both teams’ aces exploded in this famous match. The top trending words on Twitter were related to the World Cup. Japan’s defeat of the powerful Germany and Spain was the most exciting ever,” said a sports journalist.

(Sports newspaper reporter) “ABEMA, which distributed all games free of charge, was the company whose stock rose the most during the World Cup.

The commentary by Keisuke Honda, 36, a former member of Japan’s national team, and Yuka Kageyama, 21, of “Hyuhizaka 46,” a group that has made a name for itself with its knowledge beyond that of a soccer-loving idol, also became a hot topic. On November 23, when the match against Germany was held, 10 million people attended, and on November 27, when the match against Costa Rica was held, 14 million people attended. On December 2, when the match against Spain was played, 17 million people watched. The Croatia game showed such a phenomenal increase that even late at night the viewing was restricted, and we are seeing a trend of viewers who downloaded the ABEMA app for the first time becoming paying members in the future.

According to some reports, CyberAgent, which operates ABEMA, has paid as much as 20 billion yen in broadcasting rights fees. It seems difficult to make up the cost of the broadcasting right fee with only a slight increase in the number of paying members. ……

The World Cup is merely bait to boost the company’s and ABEMA’s brand power, as a CyberAgent executive told the web media. ABEMA is said to have been losing more than 10 billion yen per year since its opening in 2004. However, CyberAgent itself is expected to generate more than 40 billion yen in operating income in FY2011 due to the strong performance of its advertising business and game business such as “Uma Musume Pretty Derby”. The 20 billion yen in broadcasting rights fees is a good investment,” said an advertising agency official.

Another major pillar supporting the company is the public gambling business.

Another major pillar supporting the company’s public gambling business is its “Win Ticket” bicycle and auto race Internet voting site, which was released in April 2007. ABEMA also airs programs provided by one company, Boat Racing Promotion Association. The programs themselves are advertisements,” said a sports newspaper reporter.

A broadcaster who works for ABEMA confides an inside story.

A broadcaster working for ABEMA confides, “They lavishly invest large sums of money in content that will be the centerpiece of the program, such as the World Cup and New Map’s program ‘7.2: A New Window,’ but they cut production costs to the limit or terminate the program without mercy for programs with a low viewership. Because the number of viewers is clearly shown on network TV stations, they are more severe in this area than terrestrial TV stations.

Behind the generosity of the network, which allowed viewers to enjoy the World Cup free of charge, were the struggles of its affiliated companies and its severe business strategy.

From the January 6 and 13, 2023 issues of FRIDAY