Who is the Winner of the New Year’s Eve Special? A TV personality reveals the strategies and behind-the-scenes details of the “winning variety shows.

I have the impression that NTV is very strong. It’s not a variety show, but they also have the Hakone Ekiden. They have programs that are a tradition during the year-end and New Year holidays, and they have developed regular programs that earn solid numbers with special programs.

This is the opinion of a producer from a key station who looked at the core ratings (ratings among men and women aged 13-49) and household ratings ranking (left) for variety programs broadcast between December 26 last year and January 3 this year.

The program that ranked first in both core and household viewership was “NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen,” a true “tradition,” but this producer analyzed, “If Nippon TV had that program, I think it would have come very close to the Kohaku.

But this producer analyzes, “If NTV had that program, I think it would have been close to the Kohaku. s year-end special ″Don’t Laugh Series″. It had been running for more than a decade and had become a tradition, and it was a program that pursued “things that can only be done on TV,” such as the luxury of talent, the luxury of gimmicks, and well-thought-out plans.

TV Asahi, which usually struggles with core viewer ratings and is the station that lags farthest behind in core measures among the key stations, has introduced “Celebrity Ratings Check! Ametalk! Ametalk!” and “Tunnels’ Sports King is Me! from TV Asahi, which usually struggles with core viewership ratings. All of these programs meet the requirements for a hit: “becoming a tradition” and “a large-scale, extravagant project that can only be done on TV.

The one that stood out for its high level of talent was “Rating” host Masanori Hamada (59). Some people argued that too strong a criticism was violent and out of step with the times, but Hamada took the lead in criticizing Emiko Uenuma (67) and Akiko Wada (72), who were higher-ranked than him, so there was no sense of discomfort at all. (Writer Kumao Oyama)

In addition to the gorgeous set and cast, including GACKT (49), who won his 71st consecutive win, “The format of laughing at the on-topic behavior of entertainers who are supposed to be eating good food and experiencing first-rate art is wonderful. Hamada must be having fun, too, because he got through the seven hours of recording in high spirits” ( TV Asahi director ).

TV people are now paying attention to the breakthrough of TBS. Looking at the top 30 core viewer ratings for the year-end and New Year’s holidays, there are 11 programs in the top 30.

The ramen and Showa beauty specials in “Matsuko no Shiranai Sekai Shinshun SP” (ranked 19th in the core ratings) were interesting. TBS has a good balance of variety, music, and sports such as ‘SASUKE,'” said TV watcher Masahiro Kitagawa.

The strength of “SASUKE” lies in the special atmosphere that can only be achieved on TV, but TBS officials also cited the unusually high enthusiasm of contestants such as Yoshio Itoi (41), a former Hanshin player, as a reason for the show’s success.

The special program “Golden Lavit! (19th place in the core), a special program of “Golden Lavit! (ranked 19th in the core) was a spectacular picture of 50 successful artists such as “New York” and “The Schematic”. It was also great to see them all live on air. It was a confirmation of TBS’ reputation as the “TBS of variety.

The casting method involving comedians, Johnny’s, and the Sakamichi series was highly praised by the director of TV Asahi, who said, “It is fun to watch and has a high viewer rating within the industry.

Fuji Television struggled in terms of both core and households. A staff member at the production company mentioned above said.

In the past, there were programs like the “New Year’s Kakushigei Contest” and other festive and traditional programs, but this year, there were only specials of regular programs. The only exception is “Johnny’s Countdown,” which has been running for 25 years. I get the impression that the program has fallen into decline, relying solely on Johnny’s and “Escape from Japan. We have not been able to create new content, and we have lost every special battle with other stations.

As mentioned above, TV Asahi’s three core specials made the top 15, but other stations are concerned about its future.

They have seven specials in the top 15 in terms of household viewer ratings,” said one station manager. This is proof that the company is trying to get household viewer ratings, but what does it mean? In fact, sales of commercial slots are gradually declining.

The director of TV Asahi refutes this claim, saying, “If you can get households like Kohaku, the core viewership should be proportional, and if you can’t expect households, you won’t get the OK from programming production from the programming department.

If we can’t expect households, we won’t be able to get the OK from the programming department.” “We are also trying to find a new project using seasonal talents and comedians for the late-night “Barabara Daisakusen” slot,” he said. We are trying to find out if household = core is viable.

There is one more thing that the commercial broadcasters’ executives are concerned about.

Although sales of commercial slots were strong, viewer ratings for the year-end and New Year holidays themselves were down slightly from the previous year, both in terms of core and households. In contrast, the number of views from December 23 to January 3 was 1.5 times that of the previous 12 days. Just as ABEMA has entered the martial arts market, which used to be one of the main contents during the year-end and New Year holidays, it will be necessary to take measures to address the viewing habits of “watching TV on the Internet.

The TV industry in Reiwa is changing. Will it be Nippon TV and TBS that will survive, or will it be those who have turned to core measures?

From the February 3, 2023 issue of FRIDAY