TV Asahi’s “Morning Show”: Intensifying Competition and a Strong “Cheering Squad” Behind Toru Tamagawa’s Full-Scale Return
![](https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/c_scale,dpr_2,f_auto,t_article_image,w_664/wpmedia/2023/04/4a949e76de71d0122f290caf210a3ff1.jpg)
TV Asahi employee Toru Tamagawa made a full-fledged comeback on the April 3 broadcast of the information program “The Shinichi Hatori Morning Show” (TV Asahi).
In September of last year, he was suspended for his “Dentsu” comment regarding the state funeral of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He returned to the newsroom a short time later, but his appearances in the studio were irregular.
In the broadcast on January 3, announcer Shinichi Hatori, the program’s MC, said
Mr. Tamagawa will be appearing on the program from the beginning of the program today.
Mr. Tamagawa will appear at the beginning of the program today. Mr. Tamagawa said
Mr. Tamagawa said, “For the past six months, I have gone back to the basics and continued my coverage. I would like to continue to value the input of reporting and output in the form of broadcasting. I will continue to work hard, without flinching or slacking off.
He bowed his head.
Tamagawa’s return to NTV has been motivated by a variety of reasons, one of which is to win the “information program war” in the morning.
NTV’s “Sukkiri” has ended, and “ZIP!” has been extended by one hour to 9:00 a.m. to connect with the new program “DayDay.
Fuji Television’s “Mezamashi 8” saw the graduation of MC Yumi Nagashima, with Eriko Komuro, in her third year as MC for Monday through Thursday, and Risa Kishimoto and Naomi Trauden, in their second years, taking over as MC for Friday.
TBS “Lavit! is blasting ahead on its own path, and NHK’s “Asa Ichi” has always boasted stable numbers.
TV Asahi won the triple crown in the all-day (6-24:00), prime (7-10:00), and prime (7-11:00) time slots in the FY2010 average viewer ratings (April 2010-March 2011), the first triple crown since the station’s inception.
In particular, “Morning Show” showed overwhelming strength in the all-day slot, earning an average individual viewership rating of 5.2% for the year (Video Research, Kanto region).
Still, it was a case of “win to tighten the helmet,” as they put it. Other stations have been reorganizing their morning shows to defeat us. When they saw that Mr. Tamagawa had been retreating to the backyard more and more due to his comments about Dentsu, they decided that this was the time to win. When they heard that Mr. Tamagawa was making a full-fledged comeback, staff members at other stations lamented, “It’s too soon, TV Asahi-san.
The second factor was the support of fans. TV Asahi executives claimed that viewers were eagerly awaiting Tamagawa’s return, but in fact, other media outlets received daily phone calls from Tamagawa’s fans, who could be described as a “support group. According to a sports newspaper reporter in charge of entertainment who had direct communication with them.
When we reported critically on a series of inappropriate comments made by Mr. Tamagawa, a woman who said she was a “big fan” called the company every day and said, “Please don’t write anything inappropriate! She said, “When we reported critically on Mr. Tamagawa’s series of inappropriate comments, we were scolded endlessly by a woman who said she was a ‘big fan’ and that Mr. Tamagawa was a beacon of hope in the fight against great evil. On the other hand, if I wrote a positive article such as a “long-waited-for” or “love call,” I was told to “keep writing this kind of article.
The woman was in her 70s. According to the woman, similar people were checking all the media and standing up for Mr. Tamagawa. I am sure they were instrumental in this full-fledged comeback.”
Mr. Tamagawa will reach the retirement age of 60 this year. At one time, there were whispers that he might leave TV Asahi and appear on the show as a freelancer, but now that he has returned to the “Morning Show” studio, his relationship with TV Asahi appears to be on solid ground.
However, his relationship with Teresa appears to be solid. “In anticipation of Tamagawa’s retirement, several entertainment production companies were trying to acquire him, but he is not that concerned about money,” said Mr. Kurokawa. Rather, he feels indebted to TV Asahi, and it seems unlikely that he will make any major moves for some time to come.
With the help of his supporters, it is likely that we will be able to hear Tamagawa’s “Tamagawa-isms” once again.